The Russo-Ukrainian War Thread (FKA Political Thread)

[Deezy]

Invest in generators.

 

[Chris]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/14/us/baltimore-bridge-collapse-ntsb-report/index.html

The cargo ship Dali that crashed into Baltimore’s Key Bridge in March had a pair of catastrophic electrical failures minutes before the crash and had experienced two blackouts a day earlier, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The 24-page report details investigators’ early factual findings on the March 26 disaster that took down the 1.6-mile long steel structure, killing six construction workers on the bridge and severing access to critical shipping routes in and out of the Port of Baltimore.

 

[Chris]

Alsobrooks defeats Trone in Senate primary, will face Hogan in November

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks defeated David Trone for a chance to become Maryland’s first Black U.S. senator.

www.baltimoresun.com

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, backed by Maryland’s governor and other leading Democrats, defeated wealthy, self-funded Democrat David Trone for a chance to become the state’s first Black U.S. senator.

If she defeats the Republican nominee, former Gov. Larry Hogan, in November, she would also become only the fourth Black woman in U.S. Senate history and join Maryland’s currently all-male congressional delegation.

Alsobrooks beat Trone on Tuesday despite the fact that he massively outspent her in what became the costliest Senate primary in state history.

 

[Chris]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/15/cpi-inflation-april-2024-consumer-prices-rose-0point3percent-in-april.html

Inflation eased slightly in April, providing at least a bit of relief for consumers while still holding above levels that would suggest a cut in interest rates is imminent.

The consumer price index, a broad measure of how much goods and services cost at the cash register, increased 0.3% from March, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Services reported Wednesday. That was slightly below the Dow Jones estimate for 0.4%.

 

[Chris]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/15/politics/joe-biden-debate/index.html

Washington CNN — President Joe Biden’s campaign is calling on former President Donald Trump to join him for two presidential debates hosted by news organizations and has formally informed the Commission on Presidential Debates that Biden will not participate in its previously scheduled fall debates.

In the letter, the campaign proposed debate dates in June and September.

“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again,” Biden said in a direct-to-camera video released Wednesday.

“Well, make my day, pal, I’ll even do it twice. So let’s pick the dates, Donald – I hear you’re free on Wednesdays,” Biden continued, alluding to Trump’s court schedule. In the letter, Biden’s campaign acknowledged that the first debate would likely take place after Trump’s criminal hush-money trial has concluded.

In a post to Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump accepted the revised schedule: “I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September,” adding that he would “strongly recommend” more than the two debates proposed. A senior Trump adviser told CNN they are “ready to debate” Biden, and reviewing the terms but are eager for an onstage match-up.

 

[Chris]

Slovakia's prime minister wounded in shooting

Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico has been wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon and taken to hospital.

apnews.com

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon and taken to hospital.

Reports on TA3, a Slovakian TV station, said that Fico, 59, was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, some 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, where the leader was meeting with supporters. A suspect has been detained, it said. Police sealed off the scene.

 

[Chris]

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/15/drug-overdoses-decline-fentanyl

By the numbers: Drug overdose deaths fell 3% from 111,029 in 2022 to 107,543 last year, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• After rising sharply during the pandemic's first two years, overdose deaths had appeared to plateau in 2022.
• The number of deaths involving fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids, which account for the vast majority of fatal overdoses, declined from 76,226 in 2022 to 74,702 last year.
• But deaths from cocaine and stimulants like methamphetamine continued to tick up, as they are increasingly mixed with fentanyl, creating a new wave in the evolving drug epidemic. About 1 in 3 fatal overdoses last year involved stimulants, while just over 1 in 4 involved cocaine.

 

[Sky]

Slovakia's prime minister wounded in shooting

Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico has been wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon and taken to hospital.

apnews.com

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon and taken to hospital.

Reports on TA3, a Slovakian TV station, said that Fico, 59, was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, some 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, where the leader was meeting with supporters. A suspect has been detained, it said. Police sealed off the scene.

And of course, because he supports Russia's genocidal war and is antivax, brainlets are producing conspiracy theories about how this was teh Evul NATO/WEF/whoever

 

[Bobby Barrows]

French government preparing for a state of emergency after violence in New Caledonia

France’s government is considering imposing a state of emergency in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia to curb deadly violence on the island.

www.google.com

God dayum, France is looking close to a civil war if New Caledonia is any indicator.