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Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Wake-Up Call: Russia Tested Missile With Biden In Ukraine

Russia carried out an intercontinental ballistic missile test on Monday while Joe Biden was in Ukraine, according to a report - but warned the U.S. in advance. Moscow was told several hours before Biden arrived in Kyiv that he would be there, and warned not to attack the city during that time. The bold visit, designed to emphasize U.S. support for Ukraine as the first anniversary approaches, was not publicized in advance. But on Tuesday, two sources told CNN that Russia has tested an ICBM known as Satan II while the president was meeting his Ukrainian counterpart. Moscow warned Washington in advance, and the U.S. officials told CNN they did not consider the launch to be an escalation. The test launch failed.

➤XI VISITING MOSCOW: Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow for a summit with Russia’s president in the coming months, according to people familiar with the plan, as Vladimir Putin wages war in Ukraine and portrays himself as a standard-bearer against a U.S.-led global order. Beijing says it wants to play a more active role aimed at ending the conflict, and the people familiar with Mr. Xi’s trip plans said a meeting with Mr. Putin would be part of a push for multiparty peace talks and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used. Western capitals have expressed skepticism about China’s diplomatic initiative, the broad outlines of which were first previewed last week by the country’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, at the Munich Security Conference.

➤'UKRAINE WILL NEVER BE A VICTORY FOR RUSSIA,' BIDEN ASSERTS AFTER COMBATIVE PUTIN SPEECH: President Joe Biden vowed Tuesday that Russia would never defeat Ukraine and reaffirmed Western support for Kyiv, just hours after the Kremlin said it would suspend participation in the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the U.S. In a combative speech marking the approaching anniversary of Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine, Biden praised Poland and other Western allies for funneling weapons, artillery and billions in aid that have helped a resilient Kyiv fend off Russian forces for a year.

➤VIVEK RAMASWAMY ANNOUNCES HE WILL RUN FOR PRESIDENT: Vivek Ramaswamy, the multi-millionaire biotech entrepreneur and self-described intellectual godfather of the anti-woke movement, announced on Tuesday that he is running for president. Ramaswamy is the third high-profile candidate to declare for the presidency in 2024. Though he filed forms with the FEC declaring he would be running on the Republican side of the aisle, his announcement video made no mention of the party itself, an indication that he hopes to frame his candidacy as outside the conventional political framework.

➤SEATTLE BECOMES FIRST U.S. CITY TO BAN CASTE DISCRIMINATION: The Seattle City Council on Tuesday added caste to the city’s anti-discrimination laws, becoming the first U.S. city to ban caste discrimination and the first in the world to pass such a law outside South Asia. Calls to outlaw discrimination based on caste, a division of people based on birth or descent, have grown louder among South Asian diaspora communities in the United States. But the movement has been getting pushback from some Hindu Americans who argue that such legislation maligns a specific community.

➤BIDEN ADMIN TO TRY NEW MIGRANT POLICY: In a bid to prevent a surge of migrants at the southern border when a pandemic measure is lifted in May, the Biden administration on Tuesday announced its toughest policy yet to crack down on unlawful entries. The proposed rule, which has been opened for 30 days of public comment before taking effect, would presume that migrants are ineligible for asylum if they entered the country unlawfully, a significant rollback in the country’s traditional policy toward those fleeing persecution in other countries. It would allow rapid deportation of anyone who had failed to request protection from another country while en route to the United States or who did not notify border authorities through a mobile app of their plans to seek asylum. Administration officials said the policy would take effect on May 11 with the expected termination that day of Title 42, a Trump-era health emergency rule that has allowed border authorities to swiftly expel migrants back to Mexico. The new rule would then remain in place for two years.

➤VA ELECTS FIRST BLACK CONGRESSWOMAN: Democrat Jennifer McClellan defeated her Republican opponent in a special election Tuesday to win a seat in the House of Representatives - making her the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.BMcClellan, a veteran state legislator from Richmond, prevailed over pastor and Navy veteran Leon Benjamin in the race for the blue-leaning 4th District, which has its population center in the capital city and stretches south to the North Carolina border. The seat was open after the death of Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin in November. 

➤JUSTICES SEEM SKEPTICAL DURING SECTION 230 TESTIMONY: Supreme Court justices reacted skeptically Tuesday to claims that YouTube parent Google LLC could be sued for algorithms that automatically recommended extremist recruiting videos, in the first session of a two-day round of arguments testing the liability of internet providers for material posted online. A 1996 measure, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, shields providers from liability for content others upload to their platforms, a protection the industry says permitted the internet economy to grow into the giant it has become. At the same time, such immunity has been blamed for the proliferation of noxious content—including, in this week’s cases, posts that allegedly helped foment attacks by the terrorist group Islamic State, or ISIS.

➤TUCKER CARLSON GAINS ACCESS TO J/6 VIDEO: Thousands of hours of surveillance footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol are being made available to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, a stunning level of access granted by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that Democrats swiftly condemned as a “grave” breach of security with potentially far-reaching consequences. The hard-right political commentator said his team is spending the week at the Capitol pouring through the video and preparing to reveal their findings to his viewers. But granting exclusive access to sensitive Jan. 6 security footage to such a deeply partisan figure is a highly unusual move, seen by some critics as essentially outsourcing House oversight to a TV personality who has promoted conspiracy theories about the attack.

➤RETAILERS BECOMING CAUTIOUS: The US consumer is largely holding up, but retail executives are becoming more cautious about the quarters ahead given a shift toward spending on services and a dip in purchases of nonessential products. Walmart Inc. and Home Depot Inc. both gave cautious annual guidance Tuesday and warned that demand could moderate through 2023. At the same time, though, Walmart’s comparable store sales in the three months through January far exceeded analyst estimates while Home Depot Chief Executive Officer Ted Decker said “we still see a healthy consumer.  A Wall Street chorus also pointed out that setting low expectations in February makes it easier for companies like Walmart to exceed them later on.

➤RESTAURANTS TRYING TO CASH-IN ON SUBS: Consumers are willing to pay monthly subscription fees for streaming services, pet food and even toilet paper. And now some restaurants are betting they'll do the same for their favorite meals. Large chains like Panera and P.F. Chang’s as well as neighborhood hangouts are increasingly experimenting with the subscription model as a way to ensure steady revenue and customer visits. Some offer unlimited drinks or free delivery for a monthly fee; others will bring out your favorite appetizer each time you visit. They’re following a trend: The average American juggled 6.7 subscriptions in 2022, up from 4.2 in 2019, according to Rocket Money, a personal finance app.

NY Post Composite 2/22/23
➤HARRY AND MEGAN DOWNPLAYING 'SOUTH PARK' EPISODE: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are downplaying the “South Park” episode that mocked them, saying it was “baseless and boring,” according to their rep. The famously nonprivate couple, who put their past royal life on full display with Harry’s memoir “Spare,” was reportedly fuming after the Comedy Central episode aired, titled “The Worldwide Privacy Tour.” The duchess was said to be “upset and overwhelmed” by the show, which did not name the Sussexes specifically but featured characters that resembled them. The long-running animated satirical series mocked the “fictional” couple for begging for privacy while throwing themselves in the limelight, including one scene where they go on the talk show “Good Morning Canada” to promote the prince’s new book, “Waaagh.” 

➤LOW TIDE LEAVES VENICE CANALS ALMOST DRY: Venice canals are almost dry after exceptionally low tides making it impossible for gondolas, water taxis and ambulances to navigate some waterways. The problems in Venice are being blamed on a combination of factors including lack of rain, a high-pressure system, a full moon and sea currents. Weeks of dry weather have raised fears of another drought after last summer's emergency with the Alps having received less than half of their normal snowfall. Italy's longest river, the 'Po', has 61% less water than normal at this time of year

➤'HIDDEN' PLANET AT EDGE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM COULD BE FIVE TIMES THE SIZE OF EARTH: A huge planet that has never been seen by astronomers could be lurking, almost invisibly, at the dark edges of our solar system, some scientists believe. There is a lot of evidence for the planet, thought to be up to 20 times further out from the Sun than Neptun, but it may be impossible to see with current technology. The giant, hidden planet is thought to be 10 times larger than Earth and on an orbit that takes 10,000 or 20,000 years to go round the sun.

🏈AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATING DEATH OF UNLV FOOTBALL PLAYER: Authorities in Las Vegas are investigating the death of a 20-year-old UNLV football player from Chicago who was found unresponsive in bed in a studio apartment, officials said Tuesday. The Clark County coroner said the cause and manner of Rebels defensive lineman Ryan Keeler's death were pending after his death on Monday. Medical examiner blood toxicology test results can take several weeks.


🏀ATLANTA HAWKS FIRE COACH NATE MCMILLAN: The Atlanta Hawks fired coach Nate McMillan on Tuesday, clearing the way for an immediate search that will start with the candidacy of Quin Snyder. The Hawks made assistant Joe Prunty the interim coach of a team that's 29-30 and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, but new general manager Landry Fields will begin pursuit of the franchise's next coach as soon as Tuesday.

🏀CHICAGO BULLS RULE OUT LONZO BALL (KNEE) FOR REMAINDER OF SEASON: Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball will miss the remainder of the 2022-23 season, the team announced Tuesday morning, as Ball continues to experience discomfort during basketball activities despite arthroscopic knee surgery before the season. Ball did not appear in a game this season and has not played since Jan. 14, 2022. He has undergone two surgeries on his left knee since then, in late January 2022 and again in September at the start of training camp, but despite some small improvements in recent months, he has still not been able to run, cut or jump without pain.

⚾GUARDIANS' TERRY FRANCONA CITES NERVES FOR CRACKED TOOTH: Terry Francona broke a tooth while preparing to speak to the Guardians in Goodyear, Arizona because he wanted to work on his remarks, Francona skipped dinner with his staff on Monday night to prepare. He made some pasta, but it was undercooked. "It was frozen at the bottom and I broke part of my tooth," he said Tuesday following his speech. "At first I didn't think I did. Then I started chewing and said, 'That tastes awful.' Not only did I swallow the tooth, I chewed it." Then, when he arrived at the team's facility, Francona spilled coffee over his speech.

⚾ROYALS REBOUND WOULD NET LHP AROLDIS CHAPMAN UP TO $8.75M: Aroldis Chapman can earn up to $8.75 million as part of his one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals if he regains a job as a regular closer. The left-hander, who turns 35 on Feb. 28, is guaranteed $3.75 million under the deal announced Jan. 27. Chapman can earn $2.5 million in performance bonuses based on games: $312,500 for 20 and for each additional five through 55. He also can earn $2.5 million based on games finished: $312,500 for 12 and for each additional four through 40.

➤STORM BLAMED FOR CALI BLACKOUTS: Blackouts swept across the San Francisco Bay Area late Tuesday as high winds struck in advance of a winter storm system that could coat the region’s hills in snow.  More than 135,000 PG&E Corp. homes and businesses were without power, with most of the outages reported in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, according to PowerOutage.us, a website that tracks blackouts. PG&E’s outage map showed blackouts striking rural stretches of the Santa Cruz Mountains and densely populated Silicon Valley neighborhoods alike. Blackouts struck other California utilities but not to the same degree. Sempra Energy’s San Diego utility lost power to more than 6,400 customers. In all, about 151,000 homes and businesses statewide were without power as the end of the workday approached. Powerful winds battered the region as a cold front swept through California after weeks of spring-like temperatures.  

➤C2C WINTER STORM CALLED 'MASSIVE': A massive winter storm spreading across the U.S. West into the Northern Plains and Midwest on Tuesday could produce blizzards, brutal cold, and record snowfall, making road travel treacherous and disrupting air travel. The National Weather Service issued winter storm, blizzard and high-wind advisories for a broad swath of the western and north-central United States. Up to two feet (61 cm) of snow and winds of up to 60 miles (97 km) per hour were expected in some spots from Tuesday through Thursday. Snow falling at a rate of two inches an hour and gusty winds will make travel conditions treacherous and perhaps impossible in parts of the Northern Plains and the Upper Midwest, the service said in its forecast. "Snowplow crews will be out working statewide, but this storm could be a doozy," the Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a tweet. While much of the United States will grapple with cold, snowy weather over the next several days, parts of the South may, by contrast, see record high temperatures this week.



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