Friday, May 5, 2023

5/5 WAKE-UP CALL: Gunman's Rampage Ends With 4 Dead In GA

Four people are dead in a small south Georgia town after a 26-year-old gunman killed two relatives, a fastfood employee and then himself on Thursday morning, according to the local coroner. The man, who the Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified as Kentavious White, shot his 50-year-old mother and 74-year-old grandmother before going to a local McDonald's halfway across town and killing a female assistant manager in Moultrie, GA. The McDonald's employee killed was identified as 41-year-old Amia Smith, GBI said in a release later Thursday. GBI said police in Moultrie requested assistance at about 5:50 a.m. after a man and woman were found dead at the McDonald's. Police then reported they were responding after finding two women who had been shot in homes next door to each other, who witnesses identified as White's relatives. One of the women was alive but died later at the hospital, and the other was dead on the scene, GBI said.

🛢OIL PRICES UNDER PRESSURE: Oil prices are under pressure in part because traders don’t think Russia has followed through on cutting production in response to Western sanctions. Moscow keeps pumping and exporting huge volumes of oil to help its beleaguered economy, they say, adding to a global surplus and undermining Saudi Arabia’s effort to bolster the market. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. oil benchmark, are approaching their lowest levels since the run-up to the Ukraine war. Separately, regional-bank shares dropped, despite FDIC assurances that all is well. Investors are wondering how much further the banking turmoil could spread and whether it will spill over to the broader economy.

➤RUSSIAN DRONES ATTACK KYIV: Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday evening, the fourth assault in as many days subjecting residents to spasms of gunfire and explosions, and at least one drone was shot down. City authorities had declared an alert for Kyiv and the surrounding area. Residents who had gone to air raid shelters said the drones arrived more quickly than usual after the alerts were declared. Reuters witnesses heard gunfire and repeated heavier explosions near the city center. The attacks started just after 8 p.m. and lasted around 20 minutes. Ukraine's air force said in a statement that it had destroyed one of its own drones after the drone lost control over Kyiv region, probably because of a technical failure. It wasn't clear how many drones in total were destroyed. Russia said on Thursday that the United States was behind a purported drone attack on the Kremlin aiming to kill President Vladimir Putin. Washington and Kyiv denied involvement.


➤SEX OFFENDER EPSTEIN HAS MANY APPOINTEMENTS: Jeffrey Epstein had a blockbuster calendar, years after pleading guilty to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution and registering as a sex offender. On Monday, Sept. 8, 2014, the disgraced financier was scheduled to meet with four of the richest men in the country, according to schedules and emails. He also planned meetings that day with a former top White House lawyer, a college president and a philanthropic adviser. Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on sex-trafficking charges, and he died by suicide in jail awaiting trial.

➤DEBT-CEILING TUSSLE CONTINUES: The Biden administration and lawmakers are weighing debt-ceiling fallback options. As they scramble to avoid a first-ever government default that could arrive as soon as June 1, one potential alternative is a short-term increase in the borrowing limit that would buy time to find a compromise, according to people familiar with the matter. The White House also is taking a fresh look at experimental ways the U.S. could keep paying the government’s bills even if Congress doesn’t raise the debt limit, the people said. Biden is slated to meet with top lawmakers, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), on Tuesday.

➤SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR RESIGNS: An embattled George Soros-bankrolled prosecutor in St. Louis resigned Thursday amid a legal effort by Missouri's attorney general to fire her for allegedly neglecting her duties. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, the city's top prosecutor, is stepping down following repeated, bipartisan calls for her resignation from officials across the state. Gardner's office tweeted her resignation letter, which was addressed to the people of St. Louis. Gardner is one of the first progressive prosecutors whom Soros, a liberal billionaire and Democrat mega-donor, bankrolled in 2016 and again for her re-election in 2020. Her resignation is effective June 1. For years, Gardner's office has faced criticism for mishandling cases and office dysfunction.

➤CARLSON MAY GET INVOLVED IN THE ELECTION CYCLE: Ousted Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson has floated hosting his own 2024 Republican primary debate - and has spoken to former President Donald Trump about putting on a candidate forum. The Washington Post reported Thursday on what Carlson might do next - writing that he would be willing to walk away from millions of dollars still owed to him in his Fox contract to have a hand in the 2024 election cycle.

➤EX-PROUD BOY FOUND GUILTY: Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was among four members of the group convicted of seditious conspiracy on Thursday, May 4. The charges were related to a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Tarrio was also convicted of obstructing Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral victory and obstructing law enforcement as well as two other conspiracy charges. He was acquitted of an assault charge stemming from a co-defendant who stole an officer’s riot shield. The other three Proud Boys of seditious conspiracy.

🏀WARRIORS EVEN SERIES: Klay Thompson scored 30 points with eight 3-pointers, Golden State limited Anthony Davis while allowing LeBron James 23 points, and the defending champion Warriors evened their Western Conference semifinal with the Los Angeles Lakers at one game apiece with a 127-100 win Thursday night. Stephen Curry added 20 points and 12 assists as Splash Brother Thompson shined to help Golden State make 21 more 3-pointers - giving the Warriors an NBA record for most in the first two games of a playoff series at 42. James' Cavaliers hit 40 against Atlanta in the 2016 second round. Coach Steve Kerr switched things up and inserted JaMychal Green into the starting lineup for Kevon Looney, who had a career-high 23 rebounds in Game 1 but has been dealing with an illness.

🏀BUCKS FIRE HEAD COACH: Mike Budenholzer has been dismissed as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks after the team's first-round loss to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat. Budenholzer, 53, guided the Bucks to their second NBA title in 2021.  ESPN was the first to report the decision on Thursday. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo missed multiple games against the Heat due to a lower back injury. Following the series, Antetokounmpo was critical of the team's coaching - particularly on defense, where the Bucks struggled to control Heat star Jimmy Butler.

🏀PISTONS FIRE G-M: The Detroit Pistons have fired assistant general manager Rob Murphy for an alleged violation of the team workplace conduct policy involving his female executive assistant. That woman, 32-year-old DeJanai Raska, is now breaking her silence and has filed a lawsuit against the team, claiming that Murphy groped her private parts in front of her 4-year-old daughter and also grabbed her buttocks on several occasions, subjected her to unwanted kissing, and even told her she aroused him and he wanted to 'put a baby in her. 'Rob attempted to force me to have sex with him, and that's something hard to talk about,' Raska, a mother of two, told Detroit's Fox affiliate .

🏒NHL PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: Panthers leave Maple Leafs 'baffled' while taking 2-0 series lead with 3-2 win in Toronto as Stars top Kraken, 4-2, to even Western Conference semi at 1-1. Count the Toronto Maple Leafs as the latest NHL elite to be absolutely confounded by the eighth-seeded Florida Panthers. Following their first-round upset of the top-seeded Boston Bruins, the Panthers beat the Leafs, 3-2, on Thursday in Toronto to take a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal. Of particular concern to Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was a pitiful second-period performance, in which the Panthers scored two unanswered goals.

🏀MAVS PLAYER PLEDGES TO PAY FOR FUNERALS IN SERBIA: Following the tragic events at a Belgrade elementary school in Serbia, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has pledged to pay for the funeral services and grief counseling for classmates and staff, a spokesperson confirmed to ESPN. Several of Doncic’s family members live in the Serbian capital’s region. His father, Sasha, was born in Serbia. According to officials, eight children and a security guard were killed after a 13-year-old boy went on a shooting rampage on Wednesday at Vladislav Ribnikar primary school. Doncic also previously committed to helping with aid efforts shortly after the mass shooting and vowed to be part of any long-term assistance.

🍺BUD LIGHT IGNORED AT FENWAY: Boston Red Sox fans at Fenway Park are seemingly walking past Bud Light vendors to purchase their stadium refreshments at other concession stands as the Dylan Mulvaney controversy continues to saddle the beer maker. A TikTok video posted Wednesday shows fans waiting in line while the adjacent stand that appears to be selling the blue Bud Light cans is deserted. “Fenway Park Bud Light stand Ghost Town!” wrote Luis Tejada, a Massachusetts-based real estate agent who posted the video, which has generated more than 1.2 million views as of Thursday. The video, apparently shot during the Red Sox battle with the Toronto Blue Jays, was taken at the concession area in the bleacher concourse section of the famous ballpark on Yawkey Way. The 40-second clip pans from the packed concession line to one that shows two workers listlessly behind a stand marked “cold beer.”


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