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Friday, February 23, 2024

2/23 WAKE-UP CALL: Ukraine War Reaches Two-Year Milestone

The United States will impose sanctions on over 500 targets on Friday in action marking the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. The action, taken in partnership with other countries, will target Russia's military industrial complex and companies in third countries that facilitate Russia's access to goods it wants, Adeyemo said, as Washington seeks to hold Russia to account over the war and the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

"Tomorrow we'll release hundreds of sanctions just here in the United States, but it's important to step back and remember that it's not just America taking these actions," Adeyemo said. The package will be the latest of thousands of sanctions targeting Moscow announced by the United States and its allies following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which has killed tens of thousands and destroyed cities.

U-S WARNS RUSSIA: The U.S. government warned Russia not to deploy a new nuclear-armed antisatellite weapon. That would violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and jeopardize U.S. national security interests, officials said. The Biden administration’s diplomatic campaign to head off the threat also involves approaches to China, India, G-7 nations and other close allies that have interests in space and channels to Moscow. The Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Kremlin last week accused the U.S. of manufacturing concerns about Russian space weapons to generate support in Congress for additional Ukraine aid, according to Russian state media.

➤HOSTAGE TALKS CONTINUE:  The White House and Arab states are pursuing talks to free the hostages in Gaza as Israel signals progress. CIA Director William Burns is tentatively scheduled to meet senior Middle East leaders tomorrow in Paris, regional officials said. Burns was instrumental in securing a weeklong cease-fire in November that freed more than 100 Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Israel was against Hamas’s previous cease-fire proposal that called for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, among other demands. The militant group sent mediators a new offer in the past day. The talks come as Israel threatens to invade Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city where more than a million Palestinian civilians are sheltering, and fears for the safety of Oct. 7 hostages are rising. Israel says Hamas fighters are hiding in Rafah.



U-S DESTROYS 6 ATTACKING DRONES: The battle for control of the Red Sea heated up Thursday as U.S. aircraft and a coalition warship shot down six Houthi drones and a cargo ship was damaged by a missile fired by the Yemen-based militant group. U.S. Central Command said that the drones were an "imminent threat" to U.S. and coalition warships. Hours later, the Houthis fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles from southern Yemen into the Gulf of Aden, damaging a U.K.-owned cargo ship. The State Department has condemned the "reckless and indiscriminate attacks" on civilian cargo ships, saying they are driving up prices and causing delivery delays in critical humanitarian items, such as food and medicine.

Earlier Thursday, the militant group announced a "ban" on ships owned or flagged by Israel, the U.S. and Britain transiting through the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. The Houthis, claiming support for the Palestinians in Gaza, have been attacking ships flagged by those and other countries since November. 

➤FLY ME TO THE MOON: A spacecraft built and flown by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines landed near the moon's south pole on Thursday, the first U.S. touchdown on the lunar surface in more than half a century and the first ever achieved by the private sector. NASA, with several research instruments aboard the vehicle, hailed the landing as a major achievement in its goal of sending a squad of commercially flown spacecraft on scientific scouting missions to the moon ahead of a planned return of astronauts there later this decade. 

Initial communications problems following Thursday's landing raised questions about whether the vehicle may have been left impaired or obstructed in some way. The uncrewed six-legged robot lander, dubbed Odysseus, touched down at about 6:23 p.m. EST, the company and NASA commentators said in a joint webcast of the landing from Intuitive Machines'  opens new tab mission operations center in Houston.

➤WENDY WILLIAMS DIAGNOSED WITH DEMENTIA:  Daytime talk show legend Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with the same form of dementia that actor Bruce Willis has, a statement released Thursday on behalf of her caretakers says. The statement said the 59-year-old’s diagnoses of primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia “have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life." On Wednesday, a cover story in People magazine quoted Williams’ family about the nature of her struggles, ahead of a Lifetime documentary set to air Saturday. "The people who love her cannot see her," Williams’ sister Wanda said in the People article. Williams rose to fame in part due to her no-boundaries approach to her life, which included sharing personal details about her health, plastic surgery and cocaine addiction. In 2022, her daytime talk show “The Wendy Williams Show,” ended because of her ongoing health issues.

➤FLORIDA LEGISLATURE PASSES BAN ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR KIDS:  The Florida Legislature passed a ban on social media for kids under 16 Thursday, sending it to a skeptical Gov. Ron DeSantis and setting up the possibility of a court challenge. Citing companies’ “addicting features” and concern over kids’ mental health, House lawmakers cheered as they voted 108-7 to give the bill final approval. Whether teens will be kept off social media any time soon is far from certain.

➤BIDEN MEETS WITH RUSSIAN DISSIDENT’S WIDOW: President Joe Biden met with the widow and the daughter of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny in California yesterday to express his condolences over Navalny’s death. The most prominent critic of Vladimir Putin’s regime was in a Russian prison when his unexplained death occurred.

➤JUDGE TELLS TRUMP TO PAY UP NOW: The judge who ordered Donald Trump to pay a fine of more than $350 million for falsifying business records has denied a request to delay the payment. Judge Arthur Engoron told Trump’s lawyers in an email that they “have failed to explain, much less justify, any basis for a stay.” Trump can appeal the ruling but will have to post a bond for the full amount to do so.

➤MYPILLOW GUY ORDERED TO PAY $5 MILLION: Mike Lindell, better known as the My Pillow guy, has been ordered to pay the $5 million reward he promised to anyone who could disprove his theory that the 2020 election was rigged against Donald Trump. Robert Zeidman studied the alleged election data Lindell provided and proved that it was just a bunch of random numbers and letters. That was in 2021 but Lindell hasn’t paid up yet.

⚾MITCH KELLER EXTENDS PIRATES CONTRACT: Pitcher Mitch Keller will be with the Pittsburgh Pirates for another five years. He has agreed to a deal worth a reported $77 million over five years, ESPN reports. 

⚾TIM ANDERSON SIGNS WITH MIAMI MARLINS: Shortstop Tim Anderson has signed a one-year deal worth $5 million with the Miami Marlins. Anderson spent eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox. He made the All-Star team twice and won the AL batting title in 2019. Anderson struggled with injuries over the last two years and the White Sox declined his option last November.

⚾METS PLACE SENGA ON THE INJURED LIST: New York Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga is out with a strained shoulder. There’s no firm date for his return but he’s said to be unlikely to be able to play at the start of the season.

⚾MLB UNIFORM DEEMED TOO REVEALING: Maybe Major League Baseball is just trying to attract more female fans to the stadium? The new team uniforms are made by Fanatics using a Nike fabric that is supposed to be more breathable and stretchier. They’re also pretty much see-through, as seen in the first photos from spring training. Needless to say, the fans are agog.

🏀NBA SUSPENDS PISTONS’ ISAIAH STEWART: Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart has been suspended for three games for punching Drew Eubanks of the Phoenix Suns in the face before a game last week. He should be back for the February 27th game against the Chicago Bulls.

➤FRIDAY'S WEATHER MAP: 



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