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Wednesday, April 17, 2024

4/17 WAKE-UP CALL: Israel Pushes For More Iran Sanctions


Israeli foreign minister pushes for sanctions against Iranian missile project Israel's foreign minister said Tuesday that he's leading a "diplomatic offensive" against Iran after Saturday's unprecedented attack on Israel and amid global efforts to calm tensions between the two countries to prevent a wider war in the Middle East. What they're saying: Israel Katz said in a social media post that he's calling for sanctions on the Iranian missile project and that "the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be declared a terrorist organization ... to curb and weaken Iran." Katz's efforts included sending letters to 32 countries and conversations with dozens of foreign ministers. "Iran must be stopped now − before it is too late," he said.

⛽OIL RICH NATIONS FORCED TO TAKE SIDES:  The Israel-Iran confrontation might force oil-rich Persian Gulf states to choose sides. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates struggled to stay on the sidelines when it became clear last week that Tehran would retaliate for what it said was a deadly Israeli strike in Syria. The Saudis and Emiratis shared intelligence that contributed to a successful defense against the Iranian air attack, but didn’t let the U.S. and Israel use their airspace to intercept missiles and drones, Arab officials said. Israel and Iran both seek deterrence but risk escalating their faceoff into a regional war. Neither side wants to compromise out of fear of looking weak. Meanwhile, long-simmering grudges and arguments over how best to fight Hamas have soured relations among Israel’s wartime decision makers who now also must decide how to respond to Iran.

➤7 JURORS SELECTED FOR TRUMP TRIAL:  Former President Donald Trump was back in court for the second day of his Manhattan criminal trial as he's accused of covering up a hush money payment to a porn star to help his 2016 presidential campaign. Some selections made: Six jurors have been selected, and all were sworn in late Tuesday afternoon. Twelve jurors, plus several alternates, are needed before the trial can begin. Why the trial? Prosecutors claim Trump falsified business records to hide a payment to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to reimburse him for $130,000 in hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump denies Daniels' claim of an affair and has pleaded not guilty in the case.


➤REBEL LAWMAKERS HOUND JOHNSON: House Speaker Mike Johnson is drawing closer to peril after another conservative hardliner publicly came out in support of forcibly removing the Republican leader from his job. Shortly after unveiling a plan to deliver foreign aid to key U.S. allies, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., forcibly came out against the House speaker's proposal in a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday morning, announcing he would support an existing effort to oust Johnson. Massie, along with conservative rabble-rouser Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., are calling on Johnson to step down from the top post. If he doesn't, they are threatening to call up a vote on the House floor that could supplant the speaker and send the chamber into another leadership vacuum. In the last year, Johnson took the job, putting him second in line of succession for the presidency, after a handful of Republican rebels last fall voted to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from the role.

➤DISNEY CRUISE MEMBER ARRESTED FOR KIDDIE-PORN: VA third Disney Cruise Line crew member was arrested Monday on child pornography charges. Law enforcement found sexually explicit pictures and videos of minors on two phones belonging to Tirso Neri, who was working on the Disney Dream. The material featured both teenagers and young children, according to an affidavit signed by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Eric Stowers. Neri, 44, told investigators that he downloaded and bought links for files containing adult pornography via group chats on Telegram and Facebook Messenger. When asked about folders on one of his phones, including one that depicted sexually explicit images of a 17-year-old girl, he said he must have saved it to his phone without looking at it after receiving it in one of the group chats.


⚾D-BACKS WIN SLUGFEST:  Pinch hitter Randal Grichuk delivered a walk-off double in the 10th inning to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 12-11 win against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night in Phoenix. Arizona's Ketel Marte had four hits, including a game-tying home run with two outs in the ninth, and scored three runs. Blaze Alexander had two hits and three RBIs and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Joc Pederson each homered and drove in two runs for the Diamondbacks, who lost the opener of the three-game series 3-2 in 11 innings on Monday. 

Arizona starter Tommy Henry allowed five runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking one. Kevin Ginkel (1-0) pitched a scoreless 10th for the Diamondbacks. Chicago's Ian Happ had three hits, including a grand slam in the seventh inning. Nico Hoerner had four hits and scored two runs, and Miguel Amaya had two hits and two RBIs. Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks went 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs and five hits. He struck out three and walked three.

⚾MOOKIE HAS 5 HIT NIGHT: Mookie Betts had his third-career five-hit game, Enrique Hernandez hit his first home run of the season and the Los Angeles Dodgers picked up a 6-2 victory Tuesday over the visiting Washington Nationals. 

Betts drove in two runs, Austin Barnes added his first RBI and right-hander Kyle Hurt went two scoreless innings in his first career start as the Dodgers' opener. Los Angeles evened the series after entering with four losses in five games. It was Betts' second five-hit game for the Dodgers, also doing it Aug. 23 of last season against the Cleveland Guardians. Jesse Winker hit a two-run home run for the Nationals, while left-hander Patrick Corbin (0-3) gave up five runs over 6 1/3 innings. He has allowed at least four runs in each of his first four starts. Winker had two hits as the Nationals dropped to 4-4 on a nine-game California road trip that also had stops at San Francisco and Oakland.

⚾MLB SCORES: 

  • Blue Jays 5 Yankees 4
  • Rays 7 Angels 6
  • Phillies 5 Rockies 0
  • Dodgers 6 Nationals 2
  • Cardinals 3 Athletics 2
  • Mariners 3 Reds 1
  • B-Backs 12 Cubs 11
  • Braves 6 Astros 2
  • Padres 6 Brewers 3
  • Guardians 10 Red Sox 7
  • Mets 3 Pirates 1
  • Marlins 6 Giants 3
  • Orioles 11 Twins 3
  • Tigers 4 Rangers 2
  • Royals-White Sox PP

🕇HERZOG HAS DIED: Whitey Herzog, the gruff and ingenious Hall of Fame manager who guided the St. Louis Cardinals to three pennants and a World Series title in the 1980s and perfected an intricate, nail-biting strategy known as “Whiteyball,” has died. He was 92. Cardinals spokesman Brian Bartow said Tuesday the team had been informed of his death by Herzog’s family. The team was not yet sure whether it happened Monday night or Tuesday. Herzog had been at Busch Stadium on April 4 for the Cardinals’ home opener.

➤SEVERE WEATHER ON THE WAY: April means severe weather, and this month has been no exception. Plus, there's more on the way. Forecasters are warning of another multi-day outbreak of severe weather over the central U.S., which started Tuesday and will last for much of the week. The storms Tuesday were forecast to rattle southern Iowa into northern Missouri and west-central Illinois, where a tornado watch was in effect. Already this month, through April 15, there have been more than 1,100 reports of severe thunderstorms (which includes hail, wind, or tornadoes) across the nation, according to the Storm Prediction Center. But that is actually below the average pace for April, which concludes with an average of nearly 3,000 severe thunderstorm reports for the entire month.

➤WEDNESDAY'S WEATHER:



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