Friday, July 21, 2023

7/21 WAKE-UP CALL: Ukraine Using Cluster Bombs

Ukraine is using the U.S.-provided cluster bombs but promised not to launch them on Russian soil. After reports that Ukraine had started using the controversial munitions to blast Russian troops out of fortified positions along the war's front lines, the Ukrainian military pledged to employ the bombs exclusively in areas where Russian troops are amassed in occupied Ukrainian territory. President Joe Biden's decision this month to provide Ukrainian troops with the weapons — which are banned by more than 100 nations for the threat they present to civilians — ignited condemnation from some NATO allies and even fellow Democrats in Congress.

➤NEW POLL HAS DeSANTIS TIED WITH RAMASWAMY: New national polling conducted by Kaplan Strategies shows businessman Vivek Ramaswamy tied with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.  "While DeSantis remains a top-tier candidate amongst non-Trump choices, he now shares this status with Ramaswamy. The reactions of these camps in the face of this new dynamic are anticipated with interest," Kaplan released Thursday. "Despite DeSantis' favorable rating of 59 percent amongst GOP voters, Kaplan suggests that Ramaswamy may have the potential for a higher ceiling, as he is less well-known amongst Republican voters, with a 27 percent uncertain rate." 

➤RFK JR. TESTIFIES: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has promoted a number of conspiracy theories in the course of his long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, on Thursday told lawmakers he was the victim of censorship by social media and members of his party while defending himself against charges of antisemitism. “Antisemitism, racism—these are the most appalling, disgusting words applied to me to silence me, because people don’t want me to have that conversation about the war, about groceries, about inflation, about the war on the middle class in this country that we need to be having,” Kennedy said at a hearing convened by House Republicans.  The 69-year-old environmental lawyer also addressed his stance on vaccines, saying that contrary to how critics have labeled him, “I have never been antivax.”  Last week, he drew wide accusations of antisemitism and racism with comments asserting that the virus was “targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people” while sparing Chinese people and Ashkenazi Jews.


➤RFK JR. TO BE ON HANNITY TOWNHALL: Fox News’ Sean Hannity will once again moderate another town hall, this time with Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The town hall with Fox News, which will be pre-taped, will take place on Tuesday, July 25, at 9 p.m. ET and be held at The Glasshouse in New York City.

➤WOMAN'S KIDNAP STORY FALLING APART: An Alabama attorney has said he cannot believe Carlee Russell has not been arrested amid doubts she was ever kidnapped after seeing a toddler on a highway. Russell, 25, claims she was abducted and held captive for two days, but local police have said they cannot corroborate any of her claims. Now lawyer Eric Guster has said the police are using every means possible to avoid saying she lied, but he believes it is clear Russell wasted police's time and money.

'She says she was kidnaped, and a kidnapping didn't happen. [They say] our citizens are safe. There's not a kidnapper out there. So, they use every other synonym for lie except saying she lied,' he told WVTM. Russell has now stopped cooperating with officers, but initially told authorities she was taken by a white man with 'orange hair' who appeared from the trees on the side of I-459 after she saw a 'baby boy in a diaper' on LAST Thursday at 9.30pm.

➤PARENTS ACCUSED OF LOCKING-UP THEIR KIDS: Milwaukee parents Katie Koch, 34, and her boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, were both arrested after her children escaped from their 'horror movie' home on July 13. The boys, aged seven and nine, smashed a window and escaped naked and bedraggled where neighbors found them in the street. In a tragic sight the children's boarded up windows were draped with feces clad curtains featuring the popular children's animation Paw Patrol. A criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee Circuit Court reveals the dire domestic situation and extent of abuse the children allegedly endured. The document describes how an officer spoke to the couple about the boards on the bedroom windows, to which Manke said they were to 'keep the children from bothering the nosey neighbor.'

➤LEVINE CLAIMS KIDS CAN GO THRU THE 'WRONG PUBERTY': Transgender Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine has claimed children can go through 'the wrong puberty.' Levine, 65, endorsed providing gender-affirming care to minors, arguing that the treatment options are 'evidence-based.' 'The treatment options for gender-affirming care for transgender youth really are evidence-based,' Levine said. She had been asked about the possibility of keeping transgender youth from seeking body-altering treatment until at least the age of 18. Levine has previously said so-called gender-affirming care for minors has the 'highest support' from the Biden administration. Levine is the highest ranking openly transgender federal official in the country and was made a four-star admiral of the public health service. 

➤TWH TURNED DOWN ROYALS AIR FORCE ONE REQUEST: DailyMail.com exclusively reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a very unusual request to the White House after attending Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in September. The Bidens were in London to express the deep condolences of the nation. The couple reportedly asked Joe  Biden and the First Lady if they could hitch a ride on Air Force One to fly them all back home. Even the Biden White House was smart enough to dodge this terrible, awful, very bad idea.

➤SENATOR RELEASES BRIBERY ALLEGATION AGAINST THE BIDENS: A bombshell FBI informant file describing a $10 million bribery allegation against President Biden and his son Hunter was released Thursday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, showing that a Ukrainian oligarch claimed that he was “coerced” into making the payoff.  The NY Post reports Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of natural gas company Burisma Holdings, told the FBI informant in 2016 while meeting at a coffee shop in Vienna, Austria, that “it cost 5 [million] to pay one Biden, and 5 [million] to another Biden,” according to the redacted FD-1023 form. “Zlochevsky made some comment that although Hunter Biden ‘was stupid, and his (Zlochevsky’s) dog was smarter,’ Zlochevsky needed to keep Hunter Biden (on Burisma’s board) ‘so everything will be okay,’” the June 2020 document says. The source asked whether Hunter Biden or Joe Biden told Zlochevsky he should “retain” the younger Biden; Zlochevsky allegedly replied, “They both did.”

➤IS THREADS UNRAVELING?: Threads may not be the “Twitter killer” app Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hoped it would be. The Instagram-linked Threads has seen users flee in droves since it became the toast of the social media world at the beginning of the month, according to analytics company Similarweb, The most recent data shows Threads ‘ daily active users plummeted to 23.6 million on July 14 after hitting a peak of 49 million on July 7. Elon Musk-owned Twitter, meanwhile, had about 107 million users on July 14, according to Similarweb, which tracks usage only on the social media platform’s Android app. Last week, Zuckerberg crowed that his app was downloaded more than 100 million times since launching on July 5. He has been noticeably silent since.


➤NETFLIX CEO TED SARANDOS SAYS HE’S ‘SUPER COMMITTED’ TO REACHING A DEAL WITH SAG-AFTRA AND WGA: Deadline reports that Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos expressed his desire to reach a deal with SAG-AFTRA and WGA during Wednesday’s (July 19th) earnings call. “I was raised in a union household. My dad was a member of IBEW Local 640, he was a union electrician,” Sarandos said. “I also remember on more than one occasion, my Dad being out on strike. And I remember that because it takes an enormous toll on your family, financially and emotionally.” He added, “We’re super committed to getting to an agreement as soon as possible, one that’s equitable, and one that enables the industry, and everybody in it to move forward into the future.”

➤VANNA WHITE TO CONTINUE HOSTING ‘CELEBRITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE:’ According to Deadline, Vanna White reached a deal with ABC to return as a host for Celebrity Wheel of Fortune. The deal reportedly includes a significant salary increase. Whether or not White will continue to co-host Wheel of Fortune once Ryan Seacrest takes the helm remains to be seen. The outlet reports her contract is up in 2024.

⚾MLB ORIOLES 4 RAYS 3:  Colton Cowser hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, and the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series between the American League's top teams. Baltimore started the day in first place for the first time after the All-Star break since Aug, 15, 2016. The Orioles, who started July 6½ games back, now have a one-game lead. Aaron Hicks opened the 10th at second as the automatic runner. He advanced on pinch-hitter Adam Frazier's sacrifice bunt and scampered home on Cowser's fly ball to left against Robert Stephenson (1-4). Félix Bautista (5-1) worked a perfect ninth for Baltimore and then stayed on for the 10th. He hit Luke Raley and struck out Randy Arozarena before Brandon Lowe bounced into a game-ending double play. Tampa Bay has lost five in a row. It is tied with Pittsburgh for the majors' worst July record at 3-12.

⚾MLB CARINDALS 7 CUBS 2: Jordan Walker and Paul DeJong each hit a two-run homer, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-2 on Thursday night for their sixth straight victory. Nolan Arenado drove in two runs and Steven Matz pitched five effective innings as St. Louis won for the the ninth time in 11 games overall. Paul Goldschmidt had two hits and scored two runs. Marcus Stroman (10-7) pitched just 3 2/3 innings in possibly his final home start for the Cubs. 

⚾MLB WHITES SOX 6 METS 2: Yasmani Grandal started a four-run sixth inning with a two-run double that followed Pete Alonso's error, and the White Sox spoiled José Quintana´s Mets debut. Grandal doubled to the warning track in right after the White Sox loaded the bases against Drew Smith. The inning started when Alonso backed up on a grounder by Luis Robert Jr. that bounced off his glove. The first baseman expressed his frustration by putting his head in his hands.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Brewers 4 Phillies 0
  • Braves 7 D-Backs 5
  • Reds 5 Giants 1
  • Blue Jays 4 Padres 0
  • Tigers 3 Royals 0
  • Mariners 5 Twins 0
  • Astros 3 Athletics 1

🏈SALE OF COMMANDERS GET APPROVAL, HOWEVER: NFL owners unanimously approved Dan Snyder’s sale of the Washington Commanders to a group led by private equity billionaire Josh Harris, then immediately levied Snyder with a record $60 million fine after presenting the findings of the latest NFL-led investigation into the team and its owner.  Approval of the deal allows it to clear the final hurdle before the completion of a record-setting transaction that will extricate the league of one of its biggest headaches. But the approval comes after the league fined Snyder for the second time in about two years for his operation of the team. The team was previously fined a then-record $10 million in 2021 following a prior investigation into the team’s hostile workplace.  The findings from the probe, led by former Securities and Exchange chairwoman Mary Jo White and released by the league, corroborated a woman’s allegations of sexual misconduct against Snyder and also sustained another former employee’s allegations that the team improperly withheld approximately $11 million that should have been shared with the league’s 31 other teams.



 

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