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Monday, April 24, 2023

4/24 WAKE-UP Call: Warring Sides Cause Evacs From Sudan


Chaos, lawlessness and fear grip much of Sudan. It’s been a week since tensions between the country’s two most prominent generals exploded into full-blown battles that have sprawled across the country of some 46 million people, turning the teeming capital, Khartoum, into a ghost town and triggering a wave of refugees fleeing for safety. The armed forces of the United States and the United Kingdom have evacuated embassy staff from Sudan, while other nations rushed to get their citizens to safety as rival military factions battled in the capital Khartoum on Sunday.


The eruption of fighting eight days ago between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group has triggered a humanitarian crisis, killed 420 people and trapped millions of Sudanese without access to basic services. As people attempted to flee the chaos, countries began landing planes and organizing convoys in Khartoum to pull out their nationals. Some foreign citizens were injured. Gunfire rang out across the city and dark smoke hung overhead, a Reuters reporter said. The warring sides accused each other of attacking a French convoy, both saying one French person was wounded. France's Foreign Ministry, which had earlier said it was evacuating diplomatic staff and citizens, did not comment. The efforts to extract foreign residents frustrated some Sudanese who felt the rival factions showed less concern for the safety of locals.

➤BAHKMUT BATTLING CONTINUES: Russia on Sunday said its forces had advanced in Bakhmut while a top Ukrainian commander said his troops were holding the frontline through the city, all but destroyed in some of the bloodiest combat of the 14-month war.

The Russian defense ministry said its forces had secured two blocks in western districts and airborne units were providing reinforcements to the north and south. Russia sees Bakhmut as a stepping stone to more advances in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi shared images on the Telegram messaging app of him poring over a map with three other uniformed men, with the caption "Bakhmut frontline. Our defense continues." "We hit the enemy, often unexpectedly for him, and continue to hold strategic lines," he wrote. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private Wagner military force which is leading the Bakhmut assault, has claimed 80% control of the city. Kyiv has repeatedly denied claims its troops are poised to withdraw.

NY Post 4/24/23
➤AFGHAN TERROR MAKES FOR STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: Afghanistan has devolved into a haven for ISIS terrorists since the precipitous US withdrawal in 2021 — but the US has found the new Taliban government an unlikely ally in the fight against the jihadists, a report said. The Taliban — an Islamic fundamentalist group that seized power after the withdrawal — has been battling back against the progress of Islamic State-Khorasan, also known as ISIS-K, a senior US defense official told the Washington Post. The dueling groups of religious fanatics are openly warring, the official said. ISIS-K has assaulted ethnic minorities and government institutions, while the Taliban has retaliated by hitting Islamic State hideouts. “I would never want to say that we had mortgaged our counterterrorism to a group like the Taliban, but it’s a fact that, operationally, they put pressure on ISIS-K,” the official told the Washington Post. “In a strange world, we have mutually beneficial objectives there.”

➤TEXAS TEENS WOUNDED DURING AFTER-PROM SHOOTING: Nine teenagers were shot early Sunday at an after-prom party in Jasper, Texas, prompting what will be an increased police presence at the town's high school this week, officials said. None of the gunshot wounds were life-threatening, the Jasper County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that offered few other details about the shooting at a residence in Jasper, a town of about 7,200 people some 134 miles northeast of Houston. The victims were taken to two hospitals, the sheriff's office said, without reporting on the number of shooters. "This investigation is ongoing and people of interest are being questioned," the statement said. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 19, KBMT-KJAC television news reported.



➤MULTIPLE SHOOTERS OPEN FIRE AT 200-PERSON PARTY, KILLING 1, INJURING 4, NC COPS SAY: A woman is dead and four others are injured after multiple people opened fire at a party in North Carolina, police say. Winston-Salem police responded just before 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, to a pavilion at Happy Hill Park and found several gunshot victims and a large crowd fleeing the party. There were more than 200 people in attendance when the shooting began. Beatrice Maxine Knights, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene. A 34-year-old woman who was shot in the arm, leg and abdomen was taken to the hospital by EMS. Her injuries are not considered life-threatening.

➤BIDEN EXPECTED TO DECLARE TUESDAY:  President Joe Biden may be 24 hours away from announcing his reelection bid. But nearly 3 out of 4 Americans are hoping he has a last-minute change of heart. According to a new poll out Sunday from NBC News, 70 percent of Americans do not want Biden to run for a second term, compared to only 26 percent who do. Among those who don’t want the 80-year-old president to pursue a second term, 69 percent cite age as a reason why, with 48 percent calling it a “major” reason.

Worse yet for Biden, the new survey shows him facing a steep uphill climb in a general election. The NBC poll shows 41 percent of Americans plan to vote for Biden in 2024, compared to 47 percent who say they will back the Republican nominee. If there is a silver lining to the dismal numbers for Biden, it’s that he is still more popular than his most likely 2024 opponent. In all, 38 percent have a positive view of Joe Biden, compared to 48 percent who have a negative view. And while those numbers might ordinarily spell doom for an incumbent seeking a second term, they are significantly better than those of former President Donald Trump — about whom just 34 percent of Americans hold a positive view, compared to 53 percent who have a negative view.

Meanwhile for the Republicans, Donald Trump is ahead of Ron DeSantis by 15 percentage points, according to NBC News' first national 2024 primary poll.

Trump, Carroll
➤TRUMP'S CIVIL RAPE LAWSUIT STARTS: The first of three bombshell cases facing Donald Trump in his home state will head to trial this week in a civil rape lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll — including allegations waiting five years to make it before a panel of New Yorkers. Jury selection starts Tuesday in Manhattan federal court in Carroll’s sexual battery and defamation suit against Trump, who was indicted this month on criminal charges related to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and is also the subject of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million financial fraud lawsuit.


NY Post Composite (4/24/23)

➤TEEN BOYS GET WRIST-SLAP AFTER FATAL CRASH: Two teenage boys are facing only misdemeanor charges after they allegedly stole a car and crashed it into another vehicle, killing a 6-month-old baby in Chicago last week. The boys, ages 17 and 14, were each charged with just one misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing in the deadly April 16 crash in the city’s West Garfield Park neighborhood, according to Chicago police. The teens were driving in a stolen Hyundai when they slammed into a Ford pickup truck at an intersection of West Washington Boulevard and North Kostner Avenue shortly after 5 p.m., according to cops. The 6-month-old boy, Cristian Uvidia, died in the hospital following the crash. His 34-year-old mother and two sisters, ages 15 and 7, were each injured and treated at a local hospital, ABC 7 reported.


➤BED BATH AND BEYOND FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION AFTER FAILED TURNAROUND EFFORTS: Bed Bath & Beyond on Sunday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after it failed in several last-ditch efforts to raise enough money to keep the company alive. The beleaguered home goods retailer has been warning of a potential bankruptcy since early January, when it issued a “going concern” notice that it may not have the cash to cover expenses after a dismal holiday season. Shares of the company closed at 29 cents Friday, giving it a market value of $136.9 million. The stock is down about 88% this year. Last April, it was trading around $20 a share.

✞DWTS JUDGE DIES: Len Goodman, the longtime judge of “Dancing With The Stars,” has died after a battle with bone cancer, according to reports. He was 78.

➤TOLL FROM KENYA'S SUSPECTED STARVATION CULT REACHES 47: Dozens of bodies have been exhumed in Kenya, as part of an investigation into a suspected religious cult. The remains are thought to belong to followers of a Christian cult who believed they would go to heaven if they starved themselves to death. Police began exhuming the bodies on Friday April 21st near the coastal town of Malindi, in the southeast of the country.

🏈USC LANDS FORMER GEORGIA DEFENSIVE LINEMAN BEAR ALEXANDER: USC added a big piece to its future defense on Sunday, when Georgia defensive line transfer Bear Alexander committed to the Trojans. Alexander was the No. 56 prospect in the 2022 recruiting class and the No. 5 defensive tackle overall. He originally committed to Georgia out of high school, decommitted, considered Texas A&M, and then recommitted to Georgia before signing with the Dawgs in the 2022 cycle.

🏈BIILS SIGN KICKER TYLER BASS TO FOUR-YEAR EXTENSION: The Bills have signed kicker Tyler Bass to a four-year extension that keeps him with the team through the 2027 season, the team announced Friday. The deal is worth up to $21 million with $12.3 million guaranteed.

🏌LILIA VU WINS CHEVRON CHAMPIONSHIP IN PLAYOFFS FOR FIRST MAJOR: Lilia Vu birdied the first playoff hole to win her first major at the Chevron Championship after fellow American golfer Angel Yin hit her approach shot into the water on Sunday. Yin's second shot came up short and left and splashed into the pond guarding the par-5 18th hole, and Vu hit her approach just over the green. Vu went with putter from off the green and came up well short, but she converted from about 10 feet for the victory.

🏀NBA SCORES:
  • New York Knicks 102 Cleveland Cavaliers 93
  • Golden State Warriors  126 Sacramento Kings 125
  • Boston Celtics 129 Atlanta Hawks 121
  • Minnesota Timberwolves 114 Denver Nuggets 108


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