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Friday, April 28, 2023

4/28 WAKE-UP CALL: U-S Economy Cools During 1Q

The U.S. economy cooled in the first quarter amid still-high inflation and rising interest rates. GDP, a measure of the value of all the goods and services produced in the country, rose at an inflation- and seasonally-adjusted 1.1% annual rate from January to March, the Commerce Department said. That’s down from 2.6% growth in the fourth quarter. While solid consumer spending propelled the economy to its third straight quarter of growth, businesses drew down inventories and pulled back on equipment purchases, and housing remained weak.

Businesses pulled back sharply, drawing down inventories, cutting equipment purchases and reducing housing investment. Many economists expect the economy to slow even more as the year progresses, predicting a recession in the second half of the year as the Federal Reserve continues its campaign to cool the economy and lower inflation.  “Both CEOs and consumers are looking around the corner and not expecting good things in the six to nine months ahead,” said Erik Lundh, principal economist at the Conference Board, adding that there is evidence that an economic slowdown started at the end of last year.


➤RUSSIA USES ROCKETS TO ATTACK KYIV: Russia attacked cities in a wide arc across Ukraine early on Friday, from the capital, Kyiv, through central and southern regions and at least 12 people were killed, according to media and officials. The attacks come as Ukrainian forces are expected to soon launch an offensive with new military equipment, including tanks, from its Western allies after Russian forces made little headway in a winter offensive. Air raid sirens sounded around the capital in the first attack against the city in nearly two months and Ukraine’s air force intercepted 11 cruise missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles over Kyiv, according to the Kyiv City Administration. There were no immediate reports of any missiles hitting targets in Kyiv but fragments from intercepted missiles or drones damaged power lines and a road in one neighborhood. No casualties were reported.

But in Uman, around 134 miles south of Kyiv, two cruise missiles hit a nine-story residential building, killing three people and wounding eight, said regional Governor Ihor Taburets.


➤REPORT..UKRAINE USED DRONE TO TRY AND KILL PUTIN: Ukraine purportedly attempted to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin with a killer drone — but it crashed short of its high-profile target, a report claims. Unidentified sources claimed that the Ukrainian secret service launched a UJ-22 drone loaded with C4 explosives on Sunday, the German newspaper Bild reported. The drone was allegedly intended to target the Rudnevo Industrial Park, where Putin was expected to visit either Sunday or Monday. Instead, the outlet said, it exploded about 12 miles away, on the outskirts of Voroskogo. Photos published by Bild purportedly show the wreckage of the device in a wooded area.


➤TWH PRESS SECRETARY KJP ASSERTS 'NORMAL' White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed Thursday it was “entirely normal” for President Biden to be holding a cheat sheet with advance knowledge of a journalist’s question at a joint press conference — even as she denied that was what happened. “It is entirely normal for a president to be briefed on reporters who will be asking questions at a press conference and issues that we expect they might ask about,” Jean-Pierre told members of the White House press corps at her regular briefing.

“It is not surprising that yesterday we would anticipate questions that he did receive — right? — on the visit with the South Korean president [Wednesday],” the press secretary went on. “We do not have specific questions in advance, that’s not something that we do,” Jean-Pierre added — despite that fact that her own briefings have been heavily pre-scripted for months, with an aide generally canvassing reporters for their questions ahead of time and the press secretary then declining to call on those who balk. The question for the 80-year-old president was submitted by Los Angeles Times reporter Courtney Subramanian, whose outlet denied in a statement to Fox News that it gave Biden’s team advance knowledge of its contents.

Biden and Child
➤BIDEN SEEMS  TO FORGET WHERE HE WAS LAST WEEK: The 80-year-old commander-in-chief had difficulty remembering his recent state visit to Ireland Thursday while being grilled by kids during a Take Your Child to Work event at the White House. “The last country I’ve traveled, I’m trying to think of the last one I was in,” Biden mused to the children of administration staffers and members of the media. “I’ve been to, met with 89 heads of state so far. So, uh, trying to think where was the last place I was; it’s hard to keep track.” “Ireland,” a child shouted out, jogging the president’s memory. Another child at the White House event asked Biden: “Do you watch the Stanley Cup playoffs, and if you do, do you have a favorite team?” “I did, and I do: the Philadelphia Flyers,” the president answered, apparently unaware that the team did not make the tournament this year.

➤JUDGE DELAYS LEAKER RULING: The Massachusetts Air National guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents kept an arsenal of guns and said on social media that he would like to kill a “ton of people,” prosecutors said in arguing Thursday that 21-year-old Jack Teixeira should remain in jail for his trial. But the judge at Teixeira’s detention hearing put off an immediate decision on whether he should be kept in custody until his trial or released to home confinement or under other conditions. Teixeira was led away from the court in handcuffs, black rosary beads around his neck, pending that ruling. The court filings raise new questions about why Teixeira had such a high security clearance and access to some of the nation’s most classified secrets. They said he may still have material that hasn’t been released, which could be of “tremendous value to hostile nation states that could offer him safe harbor and attempt to facilitate his escape from the United States.”

Police in Dighton had twice denied Jack Teixeira’s application for a firearms license following a 2018 incident when he was suspended from high school after a classmate overheard him make racist threats and remarks about weapons. But in 2020, as a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, he applied a third time, attaching a personal letter explaining that his military service and top secret security clearance had given him a new sense of responsibility.

⮞TRUMP ATTORNEY IRKS JUDGE: Taking the stand for a second day as part of her civil lawsuit against Trump, E. Jean Carroll was questioned by Joe Tacopina, the former president’s attorney, who appeared focused on picking apart her allegations and generally weakening her credibility with jurors. On the third day of the trial in the E. Jean Carroll case, the cross-examination from Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, frustrated the judge. As the day wore on, tension grew. The federal judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, stopped Tacopina several times. He asked the lawyer to move quickly through his lines of inquiry and to clarify his questions. Lawyers questioning witnesses are supposed merely to elicit facts that help their cases. But the judge criticized Tacopina for arguing — asking a witness to agree to an interpretation or characterization of the evidence — and asking questions fundamentally similar to previous ones.

➤PENCE TESTIFIES: Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared on Thursday before the grand jury hearing evidence about former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election, a person briefed on the matter said, testifying in a criminal inquiry that could shape the legal and political fate of his one-time boss and possible 2024 rival. Mr. Pence spent more than five hours behind closed doors at the Federal District Court in Washington in an appearance that came after he was subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury earlier this year. As the target of an intense pressure campaign in the final days of 2020 and early 2021 by Mr. Trump to convince him to play a critical role in blocking or delaying congressional certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory, Pence is considered a key witness in the investigation.

➤U-S TOO NEGATIVE: James Corden on his final episode of CBS' The Late Late Show spoke about the divisions and negativity that have grown in America over issues of politics and ideology. He urged his audience to remember the optimism that America represents to the rest of the world and to look for the light and joy in life. Corden announced one year ago that he would be ending his show after eight seasons to return to his native UK to be closer to family and his loved ones. The final episode included appearances from Tom Cruise, Adele, Harry Styles, and Will Ferrell, as well as goodbyes from other late-night hosts in a pre-taped segment.

🏈NFL DRAFT IS UNDERWAY: The Carolina Panthers made Alabama quarterback Bryce Young the first pick of the NFL Draft last night. The Houston Texans selected Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud as the number two pick.



🏈LAMAR JACKSON GETS A RECORD-BREAKING DEAL: The Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson have agreed to a five-year extension of his contract that is reportedly worth $260 million, with $185 million of that guaranteed. The deal was reached hours before the NFL Draft was scheduled to start. It instantly made Jackson the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.

🏀BRITTNEY GRINER IS DONE GOING OVERSEAS: Basketball star Brittney Griner says she’ll “never go overseas again” to play basketball, except maybe to compete in the Olympics. That’s no surprise, after Griner spent nearly a year imprisoned in Russia for traces of cannabis oil that were found in her luggage. Griner held a press conference yesterday just before starting preseason camp with her team, the Phoenix Mercury.

🏀WHAT ANTHONY EDWARDS WAS DOING WITH THAT CHAIR: An attorney for Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards says he is innocent of hitting two bystanders with a chair as he stalked off the court after missing a chance to revive his team’s chance of defeating the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. He simply picked up the chair and set it down out of his way, the lawyer says. The Denver Police have charged Edwards with two counts of misdemeanor assault because two women say the chair hit them. No one was seriously injured.



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