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Thursday, April 18, 2024

4/18 WAKE-UP CALL: High Stakes House Vote Coming This Weekend


House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would proceed with a high-stakes vote on stalled funding for overseas allies, defying conservative critics. Democrats were expected to support the vote, but many Republicans, angry about the additional aid for Ukraine and a lack of border provisions, planned to oppose the measure. Johnson’s plan—which could determine the fate of his political career after navigating months of GOP infighting—comprises one bill each for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan and a fourth bill containing many GOP priorities. Leaders posted the text of three of them, laying out a $95 billion aid package that largely matches one that passed the Democratic-controlled Senate earlier. One major change: $9.5 billion to Ukraine in forgivable loans, not grants—Donald Trump’s demand.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his forces can’t stop Russia from advancing unless the U.S. provides more military aid. A final vote is expected Saturday.

➤IRAN BRACES: Iran is bracing for a retaliatory Israeli attack on its territory or proxies. The West is urging Israel to respond to Iran’s weekend attack in a way that avoids escalating tensions. Tehran’s missile and drone assault on Saturday was retaliation for what it said was a fatal Israeli strike on a diplomatic building in Syria. Israel hasn’t claimed responsibility. Iran’s attack marked a strategic shift and a major gamble because it had long known that its conventional military was weaker than Israel’s and the U.S.’s. For much of the time since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Tehran had few foreign friends to support an attack on a U.S. ally. Over the years, it has built strong diplomatic ties with U.S. rivals such as Russia and China, reconciled with neighbors and used illicit oil sales to strengthen its economy.

➤HEZBOLLAH LAUNCHES MISSILES: Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday it launched missiles and drones at a military facility in northern Israel in retaliation for Israeli strikes that killed Hezbollah members, an incident that the Israeli military said left 14 soldiers wounded. The military said six of the soldiers were in serious condition. It said it "struck the sources of fire" after identifying several anti-tank missile and drone launches from Lebanon towards the Bedouin village of Arab al-Aramshe. The Israeli Ynet news site said the soldiers were in a community centre in the village. On Tuesday, Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed three people, including a Hezbollah field commander, Lebanese security sources said. Israeli forces and Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah have been exchanging fire for over six months in parallel to the Gaza war, in the most serious hostilities since they fought a major war in 2006.

➤REPUBLICANS BLOCK REMOVAL OF ABORTION BAN:  Republicans in the Arizona state House blocked two attempts to repeal the state’s 160-year-old near total ban on abortion. Democrats had hoped that a few GOPers would help them force a vote to overturn the law, but only one did. The measure, one of the strictest abortion bans in the U.S., is expected to go into effect as early as the end of May. 

Arizona became ground zero in the abortion fight after the state Supreme Court reinstated the Civil War-era law earlier this month. The ruling has given some momentum to Democrats in a battleground state that could decide elections for the White House and both chambers of Congress. Previously, Arizona’s GOP-controlled legislature in 2022 passed a law permitting abortion through 15 weeks of pregnancy.


🔥POWER LINE PLAYED ROLE IN HAWAII WILDFIRES: A Hawaiian Electric power line played a role in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century, a new report said. A Maui County emergency dispatcher called Hawaiian Electric early on Aug. 8 and said one of the utility’s power lines had broken and started a fire near Lahaina, according to a report by the Hawaii attorney general’s office. The blaze, which ultimately destroyed the historic Maui town later that day and killed at least 101 people, can be traced back to that morning incident, the report said. Hawaiian Electric said the report’s description of the early-morning fire aligns with what it has said publicly. 

The company has previously said that its power lines likely caused that fire, but had been shut off for more than six hours by the time the afternoon blaze erupted. That second blaze, the company stated in response to a lawsuit filed by Maui County, was the one that destroyed Lahaina.

➤911 OUTAGES REPORTED:  Several U.S. states experienced a 911 emergency services outage late on Wednesday, including the entire state of South Dakota and portions of Nevada, Texas, and Nebraska, according to local officials. It was not immediately clear what was causing the outages. Late on Wednesday, officials in South Dakota and Las Vegas said that 911 services had been restored, but they did not say what caused the crucial emergency infrastructure to fail.

➤DRUG SHORTAGES REPORTED: Drug shortages have reached a record high in the first three months of 2024. In the first quarter of the year, 323 drugs were running low, surpassing the 2014 high of 320, according to data provided by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the University of Utah Drug Information Service. Since 2001, the groups have tracked shortages using voluntary reports from practitioners and patients that are confirmed by drug makers. Both basic and life-saving drugs are in short supply, from oxytocin and chemotherapy medications to prescriptions for to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications. The data does not explain how many patients are affected.


✟NFL DRAFT HOPEFUL DIES: Former Albany defensive lineman AJ Simon, a 2024 NFL draft hopeful, has died at the age of 25, the school announced Wednesday.   "The UAlbany football program was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former student-athlete Amitral 'AJ' Simon this morning," Albany said in a statement posted on social media. "AJ was a tremendous young man and even better teammate throughout his time at UAlbany. He was a role model both on and off the field, serving as a pillar to this program over the last two years. He will be profoundly missed.” Cause was not deisclosed.


⚾RED SOX 2 GUARDIANS 0: Tanner Houck pitched a three-hit shutout to help the Boston Red Sox end a two-game losing streak by beating the Cleveland Guardians, 2-0, Wednesday. Houck (3-1) struck out nine and didn't walk a batter. He threw 94 pitches, 69 for strikes. It was the first complete game of Houck's career, and the first complete game by a Red Sox pitcher since Nathan Eovaldi in May 2022.

The Red Sox were limited to five hits, and two of them came from Connor Wong. After hitting a solo home run in the third, Wong singled in the seventh. Wong's home run was his third of the season. Boston also received two hits from Jarren Duran — a single and a double — and a single from Pablo Reyes. Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor and Gabriel Arias had the Cleveland hits, all of which were singles. The official time of Wednesday's game was one hour, 49 minutes.

⚾MLB SCORES

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


🏀NBA PLAYER GETS LIFETIME BAN: The NBA gave Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter a lifetime ban for "by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games," the league announced in a news release Wednesday. 

"There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. 

➤THURSDAY WEATHER:





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