Wednesday, April 26, 2023

4/26 WAKE-UP CALL: Ukraine Expected To Mount Spring Offensive


Ukraine has been gearing up for a major push aimed at ousting Moscow’s forces occupying swaths of its territory, but they aren’t as well-equipped as they had hoped to be. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has continued to press Western allies for military and financial support as Kyiv prepares for its offensive.

➤PUTIN SENDS HIS 'INVISIBLE' T-14 ARMATA TANKS INTO BATTLE IN UKRAINE FOR THE FIRST TIME: Russia has begun using its new T-14 Armata battle tanks to fire on Ukrainian positions 'but they have not yet participated in direct assault operations.' The tanks have been fitted with extra protection on their flanks and crews have undergone 'combat coordination' at training grounds in Ukraine. In January, British military intelligence reported that Russian forces in Ukraine were reluctant to accept the first tranche of the tanks due to their 'poor condition'.

President Biden’s administration insists the U.S. will provide aid to Ukraine for however long it takes, but continued assistance has become a flashpoint among some Republicans, influenced by a small but vocal minority opposing aid. With Republicans now in control of the House, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) warning the U.S. shouldn’t “write a blank check to Ukraine,” future aid packages are expected to face added scrutiny on Capitol Hill. 

Also Tuesday we got word the Taliban has killed the Islamic State terrorist who plotted the deadly attack at Kabul's airport during the chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021, an assault that fatally wounded more than 170 people and 13 U.S. troops, according to a U.S official.  A suicide bomber killed Afghans who had clustered near one of the entrances to Hamid Karzai International Airport and the U.S. troops screening them. The attack on Aug. 26 was one of the darkest chapters of the chaotic withdrawal of American military and diplomatic personnel after 20 years of war in Afghanistan. The U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that the Taliban killed the mastermind behind the attack.

➤BIDEN IS RUNNING: President Joe Biden announced that he and Vice President Kamala Harris will seek re-election in a video released early Tuesday morning. In the video titled "Freedom," President Biden echoed his 2020 campaign message of battling for the "soul of our nation," uniting the country, and supporting the middle class, his campaign said. The announcement comes four years to the day that Biden announced his candidacy for the 2020 presidential election. While there are perils ahead, including a potential recession and a possible third-party contender, he has more in common at the moment with recent predecessors who won than those who didn't. "He starts out in a pretty good place," said Allan Lichtman, an American University historian who devised a highly regarded system of 13 "keys" to winning the White House. It's too early to make a prediction for 2024, he said, "but any other Democratic nominee would start out in a much worse position."


➤KJP FUMBLES BIDEN RUNNING QUESTION: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to say President Joe Biden would serve out his entire term if reelected at a briefing Tuesday – then quickly cleared up the comment online. Jean-Pierre fielded questions hours after Biden announced he would seek reelection in a three-minute video. That came at a White House press briefing where the very first question was about the Hatch Act – and where Jean-Pierre repeatedly tried to sidestep questions that might require to navigate the nuances of the law on politicking by federal employees. 

Asked if Biden, 80, planned to serve 'all eight years' if elected to a second term, she responded: 'I'm just not going to get ahead of the President. That's something for him to decide. I'm just not going to get ahead of it.' The answer risked exposing a hint of doubt about the tenure of Biden, who at 80 is the nation's oldest president and would be the oldest president reelected next year. His new video features repeated shots of Vice President Kamala Harris. Within minutes of the end of her briefing, Jean-Pierre tweeted: 'As you know, we take following the law seriously. So I wanted to be sure that I didn't go into 2024 more than is appropriate under the law. But I can confirm that if re-elected, would serve all 8 years.'

REPORT..TRUMP URGED TO CONSIDER DeSANTIS AS RUNNING MATE: Politics makes strange bedfellows … possibly even Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. While the polls have Trump leading Florida Gov. DeSantis in a potential 2024 GOP race, some Trump insiders are urging the former president to make DeSantis his running mate — and Trump is "listening". “Some of his supporters are suggesting he make a deal with DeSantis to make him VP, and he’s listening, but hasn’t agreed.” The source added, “Supporters say the VP offer [would] stop DeSantis from opposing [Trump] and offer a ‘youthful conservative vigor’ to the slot, which Biden doesn’t have.

➤CHEVY BOLT EV AND EUV, TWO OF THE MOST AFFORDABLE EVS, ENDING PRODUCTION: The Chevy Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, arguably the best deals in EVs right now, are leaving production by the end of the year according to GM CEO Mary Barra. The last three quarters saw sales increases for GM. In the first quarter of this year, Chevy sold 19,700 examples, more than the Blazer, Colorado and even Suburban individually. It was certainly GM's best-selling EV

➤THEY'RE COMING...AGAIN: Migrant shelters across Texas are bursting at the seams and one city will declare a state of emergency as the state prepares to be flooded with people crossing from Mexico when Title 42 ends next month. Asylum-seekers, mostly from Central and South America, are poised for the end of Title 42 — the federal pandemic-era policy which has allowed US officials to kick millions of migrants back to Mexico — to expire on May 11. “We’re going to see something, based on all the information we’ve received, that we haven’t seen in El Paso,” Mayor Oscar Leeser said Monday. The state of emergency will go into effect in the coming days as up to 40,000 migrants have gathered just across the border in Juarez, Mexico. This is the second time an emergency has been declared in six months and El Paso’s own figures show they are encountering over 1,000 people a day at the border.

➤TRUMP RAPE ACCUSER TO PRESENT "EVIDENCE": A federal jury on Tuesday began hearing columnist E. Jean Carroll’s allegations that Donald Trump raped her in a department-store dressing room in the 1990s, in a civil trial spurred by a recent New York law that gave alleged long-ago survivors of sexual assault a new opportunity to file lawsuits. “We will present overwhelming evidence that Carroll is telling the truth,” Shawn G. Crowley, a lawyer for Ms. Carroll, told jurors during opening statements in the civil case. Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, said Carroll made up the story for money and political reasons. Carroll, a former columnist for Elle magazine, filed the suit last November under the new New York law, seeking damages and a retraction from Mr. Trump of statements she says were defamatory. The trial is expected to last from five to 10 days.

➤LIA THOMAS BLASTS CRITICS: Lia Thomas called her critics and former teammates fake feminists for only 'half supporting' her while pushing transphobic beliefs. 'I think a lot of people in that camp sort of carry an implicit bias against trans people,' she told fellow transgender athlete Schuyler Bailar. Thomas said a 'true feminist' would be working for everyone to 'come together to sort of break down these patriarchal ideals of what a woman is.' One of Thomas' biggest critics is former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines recently asked for fellow competitor if it broke her heart to see women lose opportunities to transgender women after the swimmer campaigned for the Biden Administration to protect trans-athlete. In December, Thomas also faced heat from teammates parents, who wrote a letter demanding the NCAA change the rules to exclude transgender women from women's sports.


Abby Grossberg
➤FIRED FOX PRODUCER SAYS CARLSON RESPONSIBLE FOR BREAKING HER: Abby Grossberg, who was fired by Fox News shortly after she filed two separate lawsuits against the network earlier this year, said Tucker Carlson and his show's executive producer Justin Wells were 'responsible for breaking me.' Grossberg on Tuesday said she felt a slew of different emotions when she found out that Carlson had parted way with the cable news network. Insiders have said suggested that her lawsuit alleging bullying, sexism and anti-Semitism among Carlson's senior staff coupled with his own 'derogatory' remarks about senior News Corp executives is what is said to have led Rupert Murdoch to fire the star host. 

Grossberg's 79-page discrimination suit alleges that Carlson fostered an environment where 'unprofessionalism reigned supreme, and the staff's distaste and disdain for women infiltrated almost every workday decision.'

🏀MAGIC'S PAOLO BANCHERO WINS NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD: Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero was named the overwhelming winner of the NBA's Rookie of the Year award on Tuesday. Banchero dominated the voting, claiming 98 of 100 first-place votes and 494 out of 500 possible points. He was followed in the voting by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams and Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, with Kessler claiming the remaining two first-place votes.

🏀NBA SCORES:
  • Atlanta Hawks 119 vs Boston Celtics 117
  • Denver Nuggets 112cMinnesota Timberwolves 109
  • Phoenix Suns 136 Los Angeles Clippers 130

⚾PIRATES, OF BRYAN REYNOLDS REACH 8-YEAR EXTENSION: Outfielder Bryan Reynolds and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on an eight-year, $106.75 million contract extension, marking the largest deal in franchise history amid Pittsburgh's scorching start. After talks between the sides fell apart during spring training when Reynolds requested an opt-out, they picked up in recent days, and a limited no-trade clause helped push the deal across the finish line.

⚾CHICAGO CUBS PLACE OF CODY BELLINGER ON PATERNITY LIST: Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger was placed on the paternity list Tuesday following the birth of his second child on Sunday, a baby girl. The paternity list allows players to miss 1-3 games for the birth of a child. Bellinger, 27, is hitting .300 with five home runs while playing stellar defense in center field during his first month with his new team. The 2019 NL MVP finalized a $17.5 million, one-year contract with the Cubs in December.

🏈BENGALS PICK UP STAR QB JOE BURROW'S FIFTH-YEAR OPTION: The Bengals have picked up the fifth-year option for quarterback Joe Burrow, the team announced Tuesday. The transaction comes ahead of the May 2 deadline for teams to exercise such options for the first-round picks in the 2020 class. Burrow's fifth-year option will land him $29.5 million in fully guaranteed money for 2024.

🏈FATHER OF GEORGIA'S DEVIN WILLOCK SEEKS $2 MILLION FROM FATAL CRASH: Attorneys representing the father and estate of a Georgia football player killed in a January car wreck have notified the board of regents of the University System of Georgia that they plan to seek $2 million in damages for his wrongful death. Attorneys representing Devin Willock's father, Dave, sent a legal notice to the board of regents and others on April 11, which is required when filing legal action against state entities in Georgia. State agencies can't be sued for more than $2 million under Georgia law.



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