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Friday, June 16, 2023

6/16 WAKE-UP CALL: Fierce Fighting Reported In Ukraine


Russia and Ukraine are engaged in fierce battles in Ukraine’s south and east as Moscow’s forces push back against a counteroffensive aimed at driving them from the region, said senior Ukrainian leaders. Kyiv’s forces are progressing in their offensive, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky told NBC News in an interview released on Thursday, but said they are being met with an intense Russian riposte.

“Our heroic people, our troops on the front of the front line are facing very tough resistance,” he said. “And you understand why, because for Russia, to lose this campaign to Ukraine, I would say, actually means losing the war.” The initial stages of the Ukrainian offensive began in recent days, with Ukraine’s forces attempting to punch through the first of multiple layers of Russian defenses in areas of the country seized by the Kremlin’s forces during its full-scale invasion of the country that began last year. 

➤GUARDSMAN INDICTED: Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of taking and sharing highly classified intelligence documents, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Boston.  He faces six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.  Teixeira, 21 years old, was arrested by federal agents in April at his family home in Dighton, Mass., after he allegedly shared classified documents with an online community from the social-media app Discord.

➤CYBERATTACKS HIT U.S. GOVERNMENT: Several agencies of the U.S. government were hit by hackers in a wide-reaching campaign that also breached computer systems operated by Johns Hopkins University, the state governments of Minnesota and Illinois and the University of Georgia. The hackers gained access through a security flaw in a software program called MOVEIt Transfer. The perpetrator is a criminal group with Russian ties called CIOp, which has carried out many hacks in the past and extorts payment with the threat of revealing the sensitive data it obtains. The group issued a statement yesterday saying that it has erased the government data and will not exploit it. The U.S. Energy Department, which manages America’s nuclear infrastructure, said it has notified Congress of the breach. MOVEIt software is used by many organizations to share sensitive information with their partners and customers. The company said it is working with its customers to fix the problem.


➤AT LEAST 15 DEAD IN CANADIAN CRASH: At least 15 people were killed in the Canadian prairie province of Manitoba on Thursday after a semi-trailer truck hit a small bus that was carrying a group of mainly elderly people, police said. The crash is one of the most lethal road accidents in recent Canadian history. The crash occurred at the junction of two major roads near the town of Carberry in southwestern Manitoba, 105 miles west of Winnipeg. The bus passengers, mostly seniors, had been on their way to a casino in Carberry, CBC News reported, citing a casino spokesperson.

The underpass exit is being eliminated

➤LIVESTREAM OF I95 REBUILD NOW AIRING: A livestream is now available for residents to watch the ongoing reconstruction of I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia, where a tanker truck fire caused a bridge to collapse on Sunday. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the livestream would give residents and commuters across the region “a sense of timing as we move forward.”  Crews will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to first build a temporary roadway at the collapse site, where I-95 remains closed in both directions, Shapiro said. That would allow the busy section of the highway — which averages about 160,000 vehicles a day — to partially reopen before the full reconstruction project is complete.The plan is to fill in the demolished area with 2,000 tons of recycled glass pieces from  Delaware County. Crews will then pave over the filled-in gap and open three lanes of traffic in each direction of I-95.

➤SPOTIFY BOOTS MEGHAN: Meghan Markle's Spotify podcast Archetypes will not be renewed for a second season, as the audio company begins to make changes and revamp its output, it has been confirmed. The Duke and Duchess reportedly signed a $20 million deal with Spotify for the project in late 2020. But insiders close to the audio giant claim that the royal couple did not meet the productivity benchmark required to receive the full payout. The determined Duchess, however, is still planning to create more podcasts and find a new home for her series, that has previously featured her friend and tennis star Serena Williams, pop sensation Mariah Carey and South African comedian Trevor Noah. The axing of the show comes after sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed the pair would stop making tell-all Netflix documentaries, publishing memoirs and sitting down for interviews that bash the Royal Family, as they have 'nothing left to say'.

➤FOX NEWS ON VERAGE OF SETTLING MAJOR LAWSUIT: Abby Grossberg, the former network producer who filed an explosive complaint against the company earlier this year, is in the final stages of ironing out a settlement with the company, people familiar with the matter told CNN. The settlement will mark the fourth case in a string of lawsuits that the billionaire owners of Fox News, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, have moved to put an end to in recent months. The Murdochs, facing scrutiny on a number of fronts, have sought to disentangle themselves from a web of legal threats.

🍺A-B OFFERS FINANCIAL HELP: Anheuser-Busch, in an effort to soften the blow from a more than two-month boycott of Bud Light, on Thursday announced it would provide financial assistance to its distributors, wholesalers and other partners. In a securities filing, the company said it would offer sales incentives, boost marketing and help cover the costs of fuel and freight. “We recognize that over the last two months, the discussion surrounding our company and Bud Light has moved away from beer,” CEO Brendan Whitworth wrote in a letter posted on the company’s website. “And this has impacted our consumers, our business partners, and our employees.”

In April, Bud Light partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who also received a promotional can of the beer with her face on it. Some people were offended by the brand using a transgender person in its marketing, and the ire of many was raised further when its vice president of marketing said that the branding of “Bud Light has been kind of a fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor.”

🏌TWO FOR THE RECORD BOOKS AT U.S. OPEN: Golfer Rickie Fowler hit a record-equaling opening round of 8-under-62 at the U.S. Open in Los Angeles yesterday. Then, astonished fans watched Xander Schauffele match Fowler’s achievement 20 minutes later. Neither player has ever won a major championship. The record for lowest round ever shot at a major championship was held by Branden Grace for six years. 

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Rays 4 Athletics 3
  • Phillies 5 D'backs 4
  • Orioles 4 Blue Jays 2
  • Tigers 8 Twins 4
  • Braves 8 Rockies 3
  • Angels 5 Rangers 3
  • Cubs 7 Pirates 2
  • Nationals 4 Astros 1
  • Guardians 8 Padres 6
  • Dodgers 5 White Sox 4

🏀JORDAN’S SHOES SELL FOR $1.38 MILLION: A pair of Air Jordans 12s worn by Michael Jordan has sold for $1.38 million at Goldin Auction. These aren’t any old Air Jordans. He wore them for the famous “Flu Game” during which he scored 38 points for the Chicago Bulls for a 90-88 win over the Utah Jazz during the 1997 NBA Finals despite suffering flu-like symptoms. Jordan revealed later that he actually had food poisoning from pizza. Jordan initially gifted the shoes to a Jazz ballboy who gave him some graham crackers and applesauce to snack on.

🏀MASSIVE CROWD CELEBRATES DENVER NUGGETS: A crowd estimated at 750,000 flooded into downtown Denver for a parade and rally to celebrate the team’s first NBA championship win yesterday. Even Nikola Jokic had a good time. He had been threatening to go home to Serbia for his side gig, which involves horse racing.

➤TWISTER HITS PANDHANDLE: At least three people were killed and more than 75 others were injured on Thursday after a tornado struck the Texas city of Perryton. Images revealed the devastation as parts of the town were left in rubble by the twister - while emergency crews searched for survivors amid the broken homes and debris. 'It's bad, it's very bad. It's non-stop crazy. It couldn't have hit in a more vulnerable place,' Mayor Kerry Symons said, adding that he would be unable to say how many people had died until Friday morning.



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