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Wednesday, April 10, 2024

4/10 WAKE-UP CALL: Biden says Bibi War Approach Is 'Mistake'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approach to the war in Gaza is a "mistake," U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview published on Tuesday, offering further criticism of Israel's handling of the conflict. "I think what he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree with his approach," Biden said in comments to Univision, a U.S. Spanish-language TV network. Biden has also previously called Israel's bombing in Gaza "indiscriminate, opens new tab" and its military actions "over the top, opens new tab." The White House said last week that the president, in a call with Netanyahu, threatened to make conditional, opens new tab U.S. support for Israel's offensive on it taking concrete steps to protect aid workers and civilians. That call followed an Israeli airstrike that killed seven staff, opens new tab of the aid group World Central Kitchen.

👉U-S FOES GETTING TO USE STARLINK:  A black market delivers Elon Musk’s Starlink to U.S. foes, from Russian fighters in Ukraine to Sudanese paramilitary forces. A WSJ investigation found that the shadowy supply chain has fed backroom deals in Africa, Southeast Asia and the U.A.E. and tracked sales of the pizza-box-size satellite-internet devices on Russian online retail platforms, including some that link to U.S. sellers on eBay. SpaceX can cut off Starlink access, but hasn’t. SpaceX, Musk and the Kremlin didn’t respond to requests for comment. Musk has said that to the best of his knowledge, no terminals had been sold to Russia and that they wouldn’t work there. The U.S. Defense Department said that SpaceX is working with Ukraine to end the Russians’ use of the terminals on the front line.

📺WOMEN RATING TOP THE MEN:  The NCAA women’s basketball tournament final drew more viewers than the men’s game for the first time. The popularity of the Iowa-South Carolina face off on Sunday is partly due to the Hawkeyes’ record-setting sensation Caitlin Clark. The viewership won’t be reflected in the money each side earns for TV rights: $6.5 million for the women’s tournament and $873 million for the men’s. The discrepancy raises the question of whether college athletics officials have failed to capitalize on a surge in popularity in the women’s game. The women’s final attracted 18.9 million viewers—almost four times what it drew two years ago—according to Nielsen. Yesterday’s Connecticut-Purdue men’s final had 14.8 million watchers. Hoops fans also were interested in Clark-less games. Excluding Iowa’s games, viewership through the Elite Eight women’s matchups was up 73% from last year, ESPN said.


➤MISSOURI EXECUTES MAN: Brian Dorsey, the convicted Missouri murderer whose fight against a death sentence gained support from dozens of correctional officers, was executed by lethal injection Tuesday in a state prison, according to his attorney Kirk Henderson, who was a witness. The U.S. Supreme Court declined appeals to intervene in Dorsey’s behalf earlier in the day, and his request for clemency was turned down Monday by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson. Dorsey, 52, was sentenced to the capital punishment for the confessed killing of his cousin and her husband in 2006. His lawyers argued he did not receive proper representation by his public defenders and had been “'fully rehabilitated’’ in prison.

➤GUILTY PARENTS SENTENCED: James and Jennifer Crumbley made history Tuesday as the first parents to be convicted and sentenced concerning their child’s school shooting that resulted in the death of four students at Oxford High School in Michigan in 2021.The Crumbleys were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March after the prosecution argued the parents showed a “significant lack of remorse” and James Crumbley threatened the rosecuting attorney Karen McDonald, according to CNN. Judge Cheryl Matthews ordered that both James and Jennifer Crumbley be sentenced to 10 to 15 years after the prosecution requested the maximum 15-year sentences for both defendants, according to NBC News. 


➤ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL CHARGED WITH CHILD ABUSE: The assistant principal of the Virginia school where a 6-year-old boy shot his first grade teacher has been charged with eight counts of felony child abuse and disregard for life, according to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday. Ebony Parker, who worked for Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6, 2023, when Abigail Zwerner was shot by her student, was indicted on March 11. But the charges were not unsealed until Tuesday, according to the Virginia courts website. Parker is not yet in custody. Parker committed "a willful act or omission in the care of such students” that was “so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life," and should be held on $4,000 bond, according to a copy of the indictment obtained by the Virginian-Pilot.

➤ARIZONA SUPREME COURT REVIVES ABORTION BAN:   The Arizona Supreme Court revived a 160-year-old ban on abortion The decision ups the political stakes in a crucial swing state in the presidential election. In 2022, shortly before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the GOP-controlled Arizona legislature passed a law allowing abortion through 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Abortion opponents and some Republican lawmakers argued that it didn’t override an 1864 law predating Arizona’s statehood that banned abortion except in lifesaving situations. Most abortions take place before 15 weeks. It is unclear whether the ban—one of the strictest in the nation—will ultimately be enforced. Arizona’s governor and attorney general are Democrats. A measure to protect abortion rights that is expected to be on the state ballot in November could spill over into other races in the top battleground.

⛽BIDEN ADMIN, DRIVERS SEE RISING GAS PRICES: Gasoline prices in the United States have soared to a six-month high, reaching an average of $3.60 per gallon, marking a more than 50% increase since President Joe Biden took office. Over the past month alone, pump prices have surged by more than 20 cents a gallon, leaving consumers feeling the pinch. The current average price is over $1 higher than when former President Donald Trump left office, at $2.38 per gallon. Various factors contribute to the escalating costs, with industry experts warning that prices could continue to climb. Biden's policies, aimed at reshaping the nation's energy landscape, are being closely scrutinized amid ongoing instability in regions like the Middle East and Ukraine.

➤NORFOLK SOUTHERN SETTLES: Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million to settle lawsuits brought by individuals and businesses in connection with a toxic train derailment in Ohio early last year.  The proposed settlement announced Tuesday is pending approval in an Ohio federal court, according to the company and plaintiffs’ attorneys. If approved it would be the largest-ever for a railroad disaster in North America, exceeding the $343 million fund established after the 2013 Lac-Mégantic accident, when a crude oil train derailed in Quebec, killing nearly 50 people and destroying a small town. Norfolk Southern said the settlement isn’t an admission of liability or wrongdoing. 


⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Rays 6 Angels 4
  • Morel Grand Slams
    Cardinals 3 Phillies 0
  • Yankees 3 Marlins 2
  • Cubs 5 Padres 1
  • Nationals 5 Giants 3
  • D-Back 3 Rockies 2
  • Athletics 4 Rangers 3
  • Royals 4 Astros 3
  • Dodgers 6 Twins 3
  • Braves 6 Mets 5
  • Blues Jays 5 Mariners 3
  • Brewers 9 Reds 5
  • White Sox 7 Guardians 5
  • Orioles 7 Red Sox 1
  • Tigers 5 Pirates 3

⚾FORMER DODGER CHARGED WITH ATTACKING WIFE: Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías was charged with five misdemeanor accounts stemming from an alleged attack on his wife in September, the L.A. City Attorney's office confirmed Tuesday. Urías, 27, was charged Monday with two counts of domestic battery involving a dating relationship and one count each of assault, false imprisonment and spousal battery. Urías and his wife were attending a Major League Soccer match on Sept. 3 at BMO Stadium, after which he was arrested, booked and charged with felony domestic violence. The Department of Public Safety later received cell-phone video of the alleged incident outside the stadium. Urías is scheduled to be arraigned on May 2.

🏌TIGER COMPETING AT AUGUSTA: Despite the physical limitations that have have become his constant companion, five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods still believes he has "one more" in him. Woods' health was a major subject in his pre-tournament news conference Tuesday at Augusta National Golf Club, and while he did say his surgically fused right ankle is no longer an issue, the rest of his body – from his other ankle to his back – are having to compensate. "I hurt every day," he admitted. And when it comes to walking and playing on Augusta's notoriously hilly course, "Every shot that's not on the tee box is a challenge."

➤WEDNESDAYS WEATHER MAP:



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