Despite record 8.7% COLA for 2023, “Still more work to do to help seniors”
The Social Security Administration announced a historic 8.7 percent COLA increase for benefits in 2023. The extra money each month will help recipients cope with inflation to a degree when it arrives with January’s payments.
However, there are concerns that more needs to be done especially in the case of seniors to make the COLA more responsive to the expenses they face that aren’t used in the current calculation.
The current COLA uses inflation figures from the CPI-W, a broad basket of consumer goods and services. There are calls to use the CPI-E which targets goods and services that “would more accurately measure spending patterns of seniors.”
The Senior Citizens League reported recently that since the early 2000s, those on Social Security have lost forty percent of their purchasing power.
Despite record 8.7% COLA for 2023, “Still more work to do to help seniors”
The Social Security Administration announced a historic 8.7 percent COLA increase for benefits in 2023. The extra money each month will help recipients cope with inflation to a degree when it arrives with January’s payments.
However, there are concerns that more needs to be done especially in the case of seniors to make the COLA more responsive to the expenses they face that aren’t used in the current calculation.
The current COLA uses inflation figures from the CPI-W, a broad basket of consumer goods and services. There are calls to use the CPI-E which targets goods and services that “would more accurately measure spending patterns of seniors.”
The Senior Citizens League reported recently that since the early 2000s, those on Social Security have lost forty percent of their purchasing power.
Search and rescue teams are continuing to search through rubble for seven missing people following a missile strike on a five-storey residential building in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the attack Thursday, posting on Telegram that a child pulled from the rubble of the building earlier today had been trapped for six hours before being rescued.
“The search for seven more people is ongoing. All services are there and working,” the president said.
“Each of the Russian strikes, all manifestations of Russian terror against our people, our cities will not remain unpunished for the occupiers. A fair punishment awaits you. Know this,” he added.
Vitaly Kim, the head of the Mykolayiv Regional Military Administration, posted a video on Twitter earlier showing efforts to rescue the boy from the rubble.
— Holly Ellyatt
Satellite imagery shows damaged Crimea bridge being repaired
A satellite image by Maxar shows repairs being made to the Kerch Strait bridge that was damaged by an explosion on Oct. 8, 2022.
New satellite images have been released by Maxar showing repairs being made to the Kerch Strait, also known as the Crimea Bridge, that was damaged by a large explosion last Saturday.
The image above shows repairs in progress on both the rail line of the Crimea Bridge as well as on damaged sections of the road/vehicle bridge span.
Vehicles (primarily cars and small trucks) can be seen traveling along the bridge and nearby while a ferry transports trucks across the Kerch Strait. The image was taken on Oct.12.
On Wednesday, Russia’s security services said it had made eight arrests in connection to the attack, detaining five Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia that it alleged were connected to the attack on the bridge that Russia uses to access Crimea, a peninsula it illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and to resupply its troops in southern Ukraine.
Kyiv has not said whether it was responsible for the attack on the bridge and said it would not respond to the arrests.
— Holly Ellyatt
Ukraine says it has only 10% of what it needs for air defenses
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy poses for a pictures with Ukrainian servicemen as he visits the town of Izium, recently liberated by Ukraine’s armed forces, in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on Sept. 14, 2022.
Gleb Garanich | Reuters
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country only has about 10% of what it needs for its air defenses and ruled out diplomatic contacts with Russia, Reuters reported Thursday.
Participating in a question-and-answer session with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Zelenskyy said diplomacy was not possible with leaders who do not respect international law.
The comments come as Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet Turkey’s President Erdogan on Thursday.
It’s expected that Turkey could formally offer to host peace talks between Russia and the West in a bid to end the war in Ukraine. Kyiv has previously said it will not partake in any talks while Putin is president.
— Holly Ellyatt
More details on drone strikes on the Kyiv region
More details have emerged of drone strikes on the Kyiv region in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Oleksiy Kuleba, the head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, said on Telegram earlier that “kamikaze” drones were attacking the region, calling on residents to shelter.
In an update on the messaging platform, Kuleba said three attacks by kamikaze drones had targeted an “infrastructure object” causing a fire.
“There are no victims or injured. At 06:45, the fire was contained, there was no open fire. 43 people and 12 units of emergency services equipment were involved in extinguishing the fire,” he said, without specifying the object targeted.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this week, severely disrupting the country’s water and power supplies.
— Holly Ellyatt
Russian forces likely looking to cement new front line in the south, UK says
A view of the grad rocket firing as counterattacks against Russian forces continue in the Kherson region, on October 07, 2022.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Having retreated around 20 kilometers (around 12 miles) in the north of the Kherson region earlier in October, Russian forces are likely now attempting to consolidate a new front line, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defense.
This new front line was likely to the west of the village of Mylove, which lies to the east of the city of Kherson, a Russian-occupied city in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces are continuing a counteroffensive to reclaim lost territory.
“Heavy fighting continues along this line, especially at the western end where Ukrainian advances mean Russia’s flank is no longer protected by the Inhulets River. Most of the Russia troops on this front line remain understrength VDV (airborne) units,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update on Twitter.
The U.K. believes that, in recent days, the Russian occupation authorities have likely ordered preparation for the evacuation of some civilians from Kherson. “It is likely that they anticipate combat extending to the city of Kherson itself,” the ministry said.
— Holly Ellyatt
Putin and Erdogan could discuss peace talk options
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday. It’s expected that Turkey could formally offer to host peace talks between Russia and the West in a bid to end the war in Ukraine.
There have been various reports suggesting Ankara — which has positioned itself as something of a broker between Russia and Ukraine during the conflict, helping to negotiate the restarting of grain shipments from Ukraine — could suggest that it host talks between Western governments and Russia about how to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
Crucially, however, no mention of Ukraine attending the talks has been made. Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy has repeatedly said lately that he will not negotiate with his Russian counterpart and that Ukraine is only ready to talk when Russian troops retreat from its territory.
Yuri Ushakov, an aide to President Putin, told the Russian state-owned Interfax news agency that the Russian leader and Erdogan could be expected to discuss the matter when they meet in Astana Thursday, however. The leaders enjoy cordial relations despite Turkey’s NATO membership.
“Many say that the Turks are ready to come up with other initiatives in the context of the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, there are various reports in the press that the Turkish side puts forward specific considerations on this matter. I do not exclude that Erdogan will actively touch upon this topic in during this Astana contact, so a very interesting and, I hope, useful discussion awaits us,” Ushakov said, Interfax reported Thursday.
Ushakov noted that several possible formats for talks were being reported on in the Turkish media, “including ‘Russia and the United States, the leading countries of Western Europe’, etc.”
Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Moscow had not received any specific proposals to hold talks with Washington, London, Paris and Berlin in Turkey.
Peskov said that “there is a need to figure out what the goal of such a meeting will be, what the result of the meeting could be and whom it could involve,” before speculating about the possibility of talks.
— Holly Ellyatt
Mykolaiv ‘massively shelled’ overnight, mayor says
Air raid warnings sounded out over the southern port city of Mykolaiv overnight with the city’s Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich saying it had been “massively shelled.”
“Mykolaiv was massively shelled. A five-story residential building was hit. The two upper floors were completely destroyed, the rest – under rubble. Rescuers are working on the spot,” the Ukrainian official posted on Telegram.
A 12-year-old boy (some reports suggest the boy is 11) was found under the rubble of a residential building and was handed over to medics.
“According to preliminary information, there may be seven more people under the rubble, with whom there is no contact. Search and rescue work continues,” he added.
— Holly Ellyatt
Ukraine says critical infrastructure facilities in Kyiv hit by drones
Critical infrastructure facilities in the Kyiv region have been hit by drone strikes, Reuters reported, citing a statement from Ukraine’s presidential office.
“Another attack by kamikaze drones on critical infrastructure facilities,” the office’s deputy head Kyrylo Tymoshenko was quoted as saying on Telegram, the messaging app.
–Jihye Lee
Air defense systems crucial for Ukraine as Russian strikes continue, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spent much of the week calling on Ukraine’s international allies to provide it with more air defense assistance as Russian strikes on various regions continue.
In his nightly address Wednesday, he said “the more audacious and cruel Russian terror becomes, the more obvious it is to the world that helping Ukraine to protect the sky is one of the most important humanitarian tasks for Europe.”
NATO ministers gathering in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday have already pledged more comprehensive air defense assistance for Kyiv to protect against Russian strikes. The U.S., U.K., France and Germany all pledged, or have sent, such systems to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov (center) talks to his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar (left) before the start of the Ukrainian defense contact group meeting at NATO headquarters, on Oct. 12, 2022 in Brussels, Belgium.
Omar Havana | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The need for such systems has become pressing given Russia’s targeting of cities and critical infrastructure across the country this week. Power and water supplies are still damaged in a number of regions after Russia targeted energy facilities on Monday and Tuesday and, to a lesser extent, yesterday.
Zelenskyy said last night that the power supply had been fully restored to most parts of the country while work was ongoing to repair the electricity supply in four regions.
“Recovery continued across the country today [Wednesday] after a two-day Russian missile attack. At that time, energy facilities were damaged in 12 regions and in the capital. As of now, the technical capability of electricity supply has been fully restored in most regions. In four regions, work is ongoing, repairs should be completed in the near future.”
— Holly Ellyatt
U.N. General Assembly votes to condemn Russia’s annexation of Ukraine
A view of the 74th United Nations General Assembly on September 28, 2019 in New York City.
Kena Betancur | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The United Nations General Assembly voted to condemn Russia for its attempt to annex more areas of Ukraine.
The final vote was marked as 143 in favor of the resolution, five nations against it and 35 abstentions.
Ahead of the vote, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield called on the General Assembly to pass the resolution, saying, “Let us send a clear message today colleagues, the United Nations will not tolerate attempts at illegal annexation. We will never recognize it.”
“A U.N. member state, one with a permanent seat on the Security Council has attempted to annex territory from its neighbor by force. This U.N. member state has not only put its neighbor in its crosshairs but also put a bull’s eye in this institution’s core principle. One country cannot take the territory of another by force,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that “there are four new regions of Russia.” He referred to the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Putin cited sham referendum votes held in Russian-occupied areas, saying voters wanted to become part of Russia. Western officials widely view those votes as rigged and illegitimate.
— Amanda Macias
A Russian nuclear strike would almost certainly draw ‘physical response,’ NATO official says
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the plenary session of the 2022 Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Russia September 7, 2022.
Sergey Bobylev | Tass Host Photo Agency | via Reuters
A Russian nuclear strike would change the course of the conflict and almost certainly trigger a “physical response” from Ukraine’s allies and potentially from NATO, a senior NATO official said on Wednesday.
Any use of nuclear weapons by Moscow would have “unprecedented consequences” for Russia, the official warned. It would “almost certainly be drawing a physical response from many allies, and potentially from NATO itself,” he said.
The official added that Moscow was using its nuclear threats mainly to deter NATO and other countries from directly entering its war on Ukraine.
— Reuters
Putin suggests U.S. stood to benefit from Nord Stream pipeline leaks
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with members of the Security Council via a video link in Saint Petersburg, Russia, October 10, 2022.
Gavriil Grigorov | Sputnik | Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the U.S. had the most to gain from recent damage done to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines which caused major gas leaks into the Baltic Sea.
“Who is behind the subversion of the Nord Streams? Obviously, it’s the one who seeks to finally cut off the ties between Russia and the EU, seeks to finish off and undermine the political subjectness of Europe, weaken its industrial potential and control the market,” Putin said at the Russian Energy Week forum in Moscow on Wednesday, without naming the U.S.
It’s just over two weeks ago that a series of blasts on the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia to Germany provoked an international outcry and widespread suspicions in the West that the blasts were a deliberate act of sabotage. Suspicions fell on Moscow, which denied any involvement in the incidents and in turn insinuated that NATO could have carried out the damage, an accusation firmly rebuffed by the West.
Putin said Wednesday that gas exporters like the U.S. stood to gain from the damaged pipelines.
“Certain market participants who are guided exclusively by their own geopolitical ambitions … simply eliminate the infrastructure of their competitors. In this particular case, I’m talking obviously about the subversion of the Nord Stream pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2. There’s no doubt it was an act of terrorism aiming to undermine the energy security of a whole continent,” he said.
“Russia built these [pipelines] with its own money but the U.S. can now supply energy sources at high prices,” he said, adding that he believed U.S. LNG (liquefied natural gas) exports were “unstable.”
— Holly Ellyatt
Ukraine won’t comment on Russia’s Crimea bridge arrests
Ukraine’s intelligence services said it will not respond to Russia’s arrests of eight individuals it alleges are connected to last Saturday’s Crimea bridge blast.
“All the activities of the FSB and the Investigative Committee are nonsense. These are fake structures that serve the Putin regime, so we will definitely not comment on their regular statements,” Andrey Yusov, a spokesperson for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, said in a statement provided to CNBC on Wednesday.
Russia’s Federal Security Service said Wednesday that it arrested five Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia that it alleged were connected to the attack, which partially damaged the bridge that Russia uses to access the peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and to resupply its troops in southern Ukraine.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the bridge attack and Yusov insinuated the arrests (and potentially, the attack) were staged.
“It is surprising that no business card has yet been found in the area of the Crimean bridge,” he said.
That was a reference to an attack on a checkpoint near Sloviansk in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine in 2014 that Russia claimed was led by Ukrainian nationalist Dmytro Yarosh.
Ukraine claimed pro-Russian separatists (or Russian special forces) had initiated what it described as a “staged” attack and had planted Yarosh’s business card at the scene in order to blame it on Ukraine. The purported discovery of Yarosh’s business card was widely ridiculed by Ukrainians at the time.
— Holly Ellyatt
Russia makes arrests in alleged connection to Crimea bridge attack
Russia’s security services said it has arrested eight people it alleges are connected to the explosion that damaged the Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Russia and Crimea last Saturday.
Russia’s Federal Security Service said Wednesday that it has arrested five Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia that it alleged were connected to the attack, which partially damaged the bridge that Russia uses to access the peninsula, that it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and to resupply its troops in southern Ukraine.
The FSB issued a statement alleging that the explosion was organized by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and its director, Kyrylo Budanov.
“At the moment, five citizens of Russia, three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia, who participated in the preparation of the crime, have been detained as part of a criminal case,” the FSB said.
“The investigation into the attack continues. All its organizers and accomplices, including foreign citizens, will be held accountable in accordance with Russian law,” it added.
Black smoke billows from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links Crimea to Russia, after a truck exploded, near Kerch, on October 8, 2022.
– | Afp | Getty Images
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the bridge attack and is yet to respond to the allegations. CNBC has approached the Ministry of Defense for comment.
The FSB detailed how it alleges the plot to blow up the bridge took place, claiming that “the explosive device was camouflaged in rolls with a construction polyethylene film on 22 pallets with a total weight of 22,770 kg.” The FSB claimed the device was shipped from Odesa to Bulgaria and then on to Georgia and Armenia before crossing over the border to Russia and then on its final journey to Crimea.
Fox News hosts forced to make on-air U-turn over support for Kanye West
A former TMZ staffer said he was unsurprised by Kanye West’s troubling antisemitic language recently, claiming the rapper made comments praising “Hilter and the Nazis“ in a previous, edited interview at the celebrity gossip site.
Van Lathan, the host of the Higher Learning podcast, said West sat down with TMZ for an interview and claimed the rapper said he “loved Hitler and the Nazis.” According to Mr Lathan, that portion was cut out of the interview.
Earlier it was announced that LeBron James’s YouTube talk show Uninterrupted The Shop would not show an interview with West after he used “more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes” during a taping.
The Shop, which is produced by James and his business manager, Maverick Carter, said in a statement first issued to Andscape on Tuesday that they would be canning the episode taped with Ye this week and would not be disclosing the contents of what was specifically said, but apologised to the crew and guests for “believing Kanye wanted a different conversation”.
“Hate speech should never have an audience,” said Mr Carter.
Leaked video footage from earlier on Tuesday also showed that West reportedly made a string of anti-semitic comments that were edited out of his interview with Tucker Carlson.
The rapper, who remains banned from Twitter and Instagram for a string of separate anti-Semitic posts, also made bizarre statements that “fake children” had been put in his home to manipulate his own children. The controversial fashion mogul also talked about having visions of “kinetic energy” that he is sent by God.
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Canadian Jewish advocacy group labels Kanye West’s tweets ‘Jew hatred in plain sight’
ICYMI: The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an advocacy group of Jewish Federations across Canada, issued a video condemning Kanye West’s most recent attacks on social media platforms, labelling the posts “Jew hatred in plain sight”.
“In #Canada, Jews remain the most targeted religious minority for hate crimes,” the CIJA wrote in a tweet on Wednesday. “Kanye West’s recent post perpetuated stereotypical antisemitic tropes. Language like this has led to violence & targeted attacks against the Jewish community.”
In a video attached to the tweet, the group explains how incendiary comments like the ones West made over the weekend have been used to justify violence against the religious minority in the past.
“This is Jew hatred in plain sight,” a caption in the video reads after sharing a screenshot of West’s tweet from Saturday night.
Graeme Massie13 October 2022 09:01
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Watch: Kanye West appears to show porn video to Adidas executives during business meeting
ICYMI: Kanye West has released a video in which he appears to show a porn video to Adidas business executives.
The rapper, who goes by Ye, released the bizarre 30-minute vlog titled ‘LAST WEEK’ on his YouTube channel on Monday morning. In one clip, he appears to be in a business meeting with five men when he pulls out his phone to show the group a video.
“Is that a porn movie?” one of the unidentified men asks, to which West can be heard replying: “Yeah.”
Watch the full clip of the documentary here with The Independent:
Kanye West appears to show porn video to Adidas executives during business meeting
Kanye West has released a video in which he appears to show a porn video to Adidas business executives. The rapper, who goes by Ye, released a bizarre 30 minute vlog titled ‘LAST WEEK’ on his YouTube channel. In the vlog, Mr West appears to be in a business meeting with five men. He out his phone and shows the group a video. “Is that a porn movie?”, one of the unidentified men asks. “Yeah”, replies Mr West. Mr West’s associate goes on to accuse Adidas of stealing the rapper’s ideas. Sign up to our breaking news email alerts here
Graeme Massie13 October 2022 07:55
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Mehdi Hasan calls out Fox News after video tapes of Kanye West interview unearthed
ICYMI: Mehdi Hasan took Fox News to task after unaired versions of the network’s two-part interview with Kanye West were unearthed and showed the rapper making a string of anti-Semitic comments that were edited out of his interview with host Tucker Carlson.
“Here’s a thought: neither the political party nor the TV network that excused or ignored Trump’s antisemitism, Greene’s antisemitism, Gosar’s antisemitism, and now Kanye West’s antisemitism should probably never be taken seriously again on the issue of antisemitism,” tweeted the MSNBC host.
Graeme Massie13 October 2022 07:01
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ICYMI: Leaked videos reveal West made anti-Semitic comments that were edited out of Carlson interview
Kanye West made a string of anti-Semitic comments that were edited out of his interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, according to a report.
The rapper, who is currently banned from Twitter and Instagram for a string of separate anti-Semitic posts, also made bizarre statements that “fake children” had been put in his home to manipulate his own children. The controversial fashion mogul also talked about having visions of “kinetic energy” that he is sent by God.
Graeme Massie has more details below.
Kanye West made anti-Semitic comments that were edited out of Carlson interview
Ye is currently banned from Twitter and Instagram for comments about Jews
Graeme Massie13 October 2022 06:05
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Bella Hadid seemingly reacts to Kanye West’s anti-Semitic posts: ‘This is NOT okay’
ICYMI: Bella Hadid has seemingly addressed Kanye West’s recent anti-Semitic posts, noting on Instagram that it would be a “disservice” to herself and her loved ones if she did not “speak up.”
On Tuesday, the 26-year-old shared a statement to condemn antisemitism and the “things” that have been shared about it recently on “public platforms”.
While she didn’t mention West by name, her post comes after the rapper went to Twitter to claim that he would go “death con three on JEWISH PEOPLE”.
“To allow any form of antisemitism to slip by, as desensitized as the world has become, it would be a disservice to my friends, the families I have grown up with, the people I love and work with, myself, and even the Palestinian cause as a whole,” she wrote.
Amber Raiken has the full report below.
Bella Hadid seemingly reacts to Kanye West’s anti-semitic posts: ‘This is NOT okay’
‘Anti-semitism, or targeting any innocent Jewish person, anywhere, will never be okay’
Graeme Massie13 October 2022 05:10
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Anne Frank Trust calls Kanye West’s tweets ‘deeply troubling’ and ‘dangerous’
ICYMI: The Anne Frank Trust, an education charity that empowers young people to challenge all forms of prejudice, warned that Kanye West’s antisemitic remarks were not only “deeply troubling” but also “dangerous” in a response shared on their account on Tuesday.
“The clear antisemitism present in recent tweets by Kanye West is not only deeply troubling and upsetting but also dangerous,” the account tweeted.
“His words incite violence and spread antisemitic conspiracies that cause real harm to the Jewish community. Words matter, especially when spoken by someone with such a large platform.”
Graeme Massie13 October 2022 04:04
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Trevor Noah includes West’s comments in his top contenders for week’s most ‘amazing racism’
ICYMI: Trevor Noah’s late-night roast of Kanye West included a moment where he said the famed rapper’s comments had earned him a top-three spot in his ranking for the week’s most “amazing racism”.
“I don’t even know where to begin with this shit,” The Daily Show host began in his Tuesday night segment on the rapper, who remains locked out of his Twitter and Instagram accounts for separate antisemitic posts. “I mean promoting antisemitism to your 50 million followers?”
Zeroing-in on what he acknowledged was the less important point of West’s rants was the typo where the rapper wrote that he would be going “death con 3” on Jewish people.
“I know this is not the point but that’s not how you say it. I know it’s not the main issue. I know that,” Noah added. “But it’s DEF CON 3. Alright, not death con 3. Death con sounds like like a trade show where they unveil all the latest coffins or something.”
Watch the full clip here:
Graeme Massie13 October 2022 03:03
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Kanye West episode on Lebron James’ show ‘The Shop’ canned after Ye uses ‘more hate speech’
ICYMI: Kanye West continued to air “more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes” during a taping of a new episode of LeBron James’s YouTube talk show Uninterrupted The Shop.
The Shop, which is produced by the championship-winning NBA star and his business manager, Maverick Carter, said in a statement first issued to Andscape on Tuesday that they would be pulling an episode taped with Ye and would not be disclosing the contents of what was specifically said by the controversial figure.
“Yesterday we taped an episode of The Shop with Kanye West. Kanye was booked weeks ago and, after talking to Kanye directly the day before we taped, I believed he was capable of a respectful discussion and he was ready to address all his recent comments,” Mr Carter said in the Tuesday statement, just days after the rapper was locked out of his Twitter and Instagram accounts for posting antisemitic comments. “Unfortunately, he used The Shop to reiterate more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes.”
The statement from the executive producer added that the show would not be airing any of the specific comments made during the taping of the episode and that they took “full responsibility” for their error in judgement.
“While The Shop embraces thoughtful discourse and differing opinions, we have zero tolerance for hate speech of any kind and will never allow our channels to be used to promote hate,” said Mr Carter. “I take full responsibility for believing Kanye wanted a different conversation and apologize to our guests and crew. Hate speech should never have an audience.”
According to Andscape, James was not in attendance at the taping of West’s episode, which had been scheduled weeks before the recent controversies involving the rapper had even occurred.
Graeme Massie13 October 2022 02:03
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CEO of American Jewish Committee calls Kanye comments ‘a clear and present danger’
The CEO of the American Jewish Committee has called Kanye West’s antisemitic comments “a clear and present danger to every Jewish person.”
Ted Deutch also called for Twitter, Instagram and other social media companies to keep the rapper off their platforms.
“Although some have tried, there is no rationale, no explaining away Kanye West’s rants on social media for anything else than what they are: vicious antisemitic statements that pose a clear and present danger to every Jewish person,” said Mr Deutch.
“With 31 million followers on Twitter and 18 million more on Instagram, West is an influencer in the worst sense of the word. With his vile online comments, West effectively encouraged hatred against Jews at a time when antisemitism and other hate crimes have risen to alarming levels around the world. This cannot be countenanced.
“West has acknowledged he suffers from bipolar disorder, but mental illness is no excuse for antisemitism. Let’s hope he gets the help he desperately needs. Until then, Twitter, Instagram should follow their own guidelines prohibiting hate speech and keep West’s anti-Jewish hate off their channels.”
Graeme Massie13 October 2022 00:01
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Podcaster claims Kanye West said he ‘loved Hitler and Nazis’ in edited TMZ interview
A former TMZ staffer said he was unsurprised by Kanye West’s troubling antisemitic language recently, claiming the rapper made comments praising “Hilter and the Nazis“ in a previous, edited interview at the celebrity gossip site.
Van Lathan, the host of the Higher Learning podcast, said West sat down with TMZ for an interview and claimed the rapper said he “loved Hitler and the Nazis.” According to Mr Lathan, that portion was cut out of the interview.
Podcaster claims Kanye West said he ‘loved Hitler and Nazis’ in edited TMZ interview
An episode of LeBron James’ ‘The Shop: Uninterrupted’ featuring West will not air due to alleged antisemitic remarks
Ukraine is dealing with the aftermath of another day of missile attacks,, with power and water supplies still damaged in many locations after critical infrastructure was targeted by Russia.
Air raid sirens sounded out across multiple regions in Ukraine again on Tuesday with the emergency services warning of more Russian strikes.
Those came early in the day, with both Lviv in the west and Zaporizhzhia in the south hit by missile strikes, giving Ukraine’s authorities more logistical challenges to deal with and causing more casualties, a day after Russian attacks left at least 19 people dead and over 100 injured.
Rescuers at work following a missile attack on Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine on Oct. 11, 2022.
President Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Tuesday that, were it not for the additional strikes during the day, the Ukrainian authorities would have been able to focus on repairing and restoring water and energy supplies.
“If it wasn’t for today’s strikes, we would have already restored the energy supply, water supply and communications that the terrorists damaged yesterday. And today, Russia will achieve only one additional thing: it will delay our recovery a little,” Zelenskyy said.
Russia’s ramping up of missile strikes comes after it was dealt a blow last weekend when an explosion partially destroyed the Kerch Bridge that links the Russian mainland to Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014. On Wednesday, Russia’s security services said it had made arrests in connection to the attack.
Kyiv has not said whether it was responsible for the attack on the bridge, although the blast was widely seen as humiliating for Moscow and President Vladimir Putin.
Fox News hosts forced to make on-air U-turn over support for Kanye West
Leaked video shows that Kanye West reportedly made a string of anti-semitic comments that were edited out of his interview with Tucker Carlson.
The rapper, who is currently banned from Twitter and Instagram for a string of separate anti-Semitic posts, also made bizarre statements that “fake children” had been put in his home to manipulate his own children. The controversial fashion mogul also talked about having visions of “kinetic energy” that he is sent by God.
Earlier the Holocaust Museum of Los Angeles extended a public invitation for him to visit the California-based facility, noting that the musician’s words “reach millions” and he had the choice to either “incite or inspire”.
“Words matter and words have consequences Ye. We urge you to come visit us at Holocaust Museum LA to understand just how words can incite horrific violence and genocides,” the museum wrote in a statement.
Elsewhere, alt-right figures took to various platforms online to celebrate and defend the rapper’s incendiary messages, which earned him a lockout on his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Those account restrictions remained in place as of Tuesday morning.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez she joined a chorus of celebrities like John Legend, Lizzo and Jamie Lee Curtis in condemning West‘s anti-semitic remarks, which included a Saturday night tweet that said he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” according to internet archive records.
Over the weekend, West also shared a post on Instagram that suggested that Sean “Diddy” Combs was being controlled by Jewish people.
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Ariana Grande shares posts condemning Kanye West’s remarks
ICYMI: American pop artist Ariana Grande shared the since-viral clip of Jamie Lee Curtis tearfully addressing Kanye West’s most recent anti-Semitic social media posts, during which she called them “abhorrent”.
In the clip, where Curtis is being interview by NBC Today host Hoda Kotb, she explains how when she saw the anti-Semitic post from West, she “burst into tears”.
“Death con three on Jewish people? What are you doing? I mean, it’s bad enough that fascism is on the rise around the world, but on Twitter, on a portal, to pour that in as if Jewish people haven’t had it hard enough?” said Curtis, who’s of Hungarian Jewish descent on her father’s side.
Ariana Grande reshared a series of posts about the recent fallout from Kanye West’s remarks on Twitter and Instagram, all of which seemed to show her support for condemning the rapper’s comments
(Instagram/Ariana Grande)
Grande also shared a post from Saint Hoax, a pseudonymous name for a Syrian artist and Instagram influencer, where they had photoshopper a collection of tweets that discussed West’s post’s and his mental health.
“It is possible to both recognize Kanye’s mental health challenges and vehemently condemn his foul and dangerous anti-Semitism,” read one of the tweets used in the collage, reshared by Grande.
Ariana Grande reshared a series of posts about the recent fallout from Kanye West’s remarks on Twitter and Instagram, all of which seemed to show her support for condemning the rapper’s comments
(Instagram/Ariana Grande)
Graeme Massie12 October 2022 07:56
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Why has Kanye West turned on his old friend Jared Kushner?
ICYMI: Kanye West took issue with a figure he’d previously professed his love for in his wide-ranging interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson: Jared Kushner.
Throughout the explosive Thursday night sitdown between the pair, Kanye addressed a number of topics, including his pro-life stance, his decision to don a red MAGA cap, labelled the body positive moment “demonic” and admonished the fashion industry for encouraging his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, to “stick her a** out” for magazines.
In one of the more zany and unexpected exchanges, Kanye sharply criticised Mr Kushner, a former senior White House adviser to his father-in-law, Donald Trump, insinuating that he was a person solely motivated by financial gain.
“I just think it was to make money,” he told Mr Carlson of Mr Kushner’s work facilitating the Abraham Accords, a deal that sought to normalise ties between Israel and Arab nations.
Though it seems relations between the two men have soured recently, the pair of Trump-loyalists were not always at odds with one another. Here, we chart the chummy-turned-hostile relationship between Mr Kushner and Kanye and explain why the recent tensions have unfolded.
Why has Kanye West turned on his old friend Jared Kushner?
After Kanye accused Kushner of using his time as a White House adviser for financial gain, Johanna Chisholm charts how the pair’s relationship turned sour
Graeme Massie12 October 2022 07:02
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Elon Musk says he’s ‘spoken’ to Kanye West about his antisemitic tweet
ICYMI: Elon Musk has revealed he has spoken to Kanye West, who remains embroiled in controversy for posting antisemitic messages.
The world’s richest man said in a tweet that he spoke to the rapper to express his concerns about his recent tweet and he believes West took his concerns to heart.
“Talked to ye today & expressed my concerns about his recent tweet, which I think he took to heart,” wrote the Tesla chief executive on Tuesday.
Mr Musk’s second tweet over the controversy came in reply to his earlier tweet welcoming the rapper-fashionista and his “friend” back to Twitter after nearly two years.
Shweta Sharma has the full story here:
Elon Musk says he’s ‘spoken’ to Kanye West about his antisemitic tweet
Musk earlier celebrated West’s return to Twitter after nearly two years
Graeme Massie12 October 2022 06:02
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Opinion: Kanye West’s antisemitism is part of a wider bigotry that appeals to the right
ICYMI: Kanye’s enthusiastic, undeniable embrace of antisemitism shows that antisemitism is central to, and an inevitable consequence of, the GOP’s embrace of a politics of division and intolerance, writes contributor Noah Berlatsky.
The right offers its adherents a suite of bigotry and hatred. If you are white, or Christian, or a man, or heterosexual, or cis, or a citizen, or old, the GOP will tell you that you are better than someone else out there. They will assure you that that someone else is trying to take away your money, your status, your power, and your God-given right to be as cruel and vicious and hateful to those who are less white, or less Christian, or less male than you are.
Noah Berlatsky writes for The Independent
Read the full opinion piece for The Independent here:
Kanye West’s antisemitism is part of a wider bigotry that appeals to the right
Musician’s threat to Jewish people is linked to his flirtation with white supremacy, his misogyny and his fatphobia
Graeme Massie12 October 2022 05:01
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Holocaust Museum of LA invites Kanye West: ‘We urge you to come visit us’
ICYMI: The Holocaust Museum of Los Angeles extended a public invitation to Kanye West to visit their California-based facility, noting that the musician’s words “reach millions” and he had the choice to either “incite or inspire”.
“Words matter and words have consequences Ye. We urge you to come visit us at Holocaust Museum LA to understand just how words can incite horrific violence and genocides,” the Holocaust Museum L.A. wrote in a statement, first reported by Page Six.
The statement arrives after a chorus of celebrities and political figures across the country have condemned the musician’s comments over the past weekend, which earned him a lockout from his accounts on both Instagram and Twitter.
The Holocaust Museum of LA invited Kanye West to visit their facility in California, noting that the rapper had the choice to ‘incite or inspire’
(Instagram/bethlanefilm)
“The Holocaust started with only words that sadly begat stereotypes, racial and religious tropes and blaming others and led to the murder of six million Jews,” the museum wrote, adding that it was the museum’s mission to commemorate people killed in all genocides from around the world – including the one perpetuated against the Armenian people.
“Of which your children would be included,” the museum noted, highlighting how West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, and their children are of Armenian descent.
“Your words reach millions and you can choose to incite or you can choose to inspire. We are located at 100 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90036 and welcome you any time,” the museum wrote.
Graeme Massie12 October 2022 04:03
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Jimmy Kimmel jokes that his ‘Kanye-themed bar mitzvah is off’
ICYMI: Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel couldn’t resist taking a public swipe at the celebrity who is, once again, dominating the headlines for his latest social media tirade.
On Monday night, after wrapping a bit about the country not being too keen to observe Columbus Day holiday – “there’s not even a Google doodle” for it, he jibed – the ABC host turned his attention to the “future president”.
Kanye West, he deadpanned, has been “Ye-zier than ever” Mr Kimmel began, before quipping that, “even Mel Gibson is like, reel it in, buddy.”
He explained how the rapper had accused Sean “Diddy” Combs in a text exchange he posted online of being controlled by Jewish people, to which the late-night host then defeatedly responded by saying: “I guess my Kanye-themed bar mitzvah is off!”
Watch the full clip here:
Graeme Massie12 October 2022 03:08
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Far-right figures champion and celebrate Kanye West’s posts
ICYMI: While most took to condemning Kanye West after he blasted off a series of anti-Semitic posts over the weekend, the message he championed quickly took hold in alt-right circles where he was lauded as a warrior of “cancel culture” gone awry.
Andrew Torba, the CEO of the alt-right microblogging platform Gab, took to Twitter to beckon West to his platform after users had begun calling for a permanent ban on his account.
“How do we get Kanye on Gab?” tweeted Mr Torba, referring to his platform which is well-documented as a gathering space online for neo-Nazis, white supremacists and conspiracy theories such as QAnon.
Candace Owens, a 33-year-old conservative commentator, made her feelings about West’s posts very clear on her Monday podcast and claimed the media was overreacting to his posts, which have since been denounced by the Anti-Defamation League and the Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance.
“If you are an honest person, you did not think this tweet was antisemitic. You did not think that he wrote this tweet because he hates or wants to genocide Jewish people,” she said, adding that “this does not represent the beginning of the Holocaust”.
Keep reading the full briefing from The Independent here:
Far-right figures champion and celebrate Kanye West’s posts
Many people online have widely condemned the rapper’s messages as being “hurtful” and “deeply dangerous”
Graeme Massie12 October 2022 02:04
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Fox News hosts forced to make humiliating on-air U-turn over support for Kanye West
Fox News hosts conceded that Kanye West’s post directed at Jewish people was “ugly” and “condemnable”, making a swift on-air U-turn shortly after supporting the rapper.
Fox News hosts Will Cain and Pete Hegseth along with co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy defended West on Sunday after he was locked out of his Instagram and Twitter accounts for posts that were condemned as anti-Semitic.
While Cain and Hegseth said they did not see the posts because they were censored, Campos-Duffy who saw the posts said it was “totalitarian” and “anti-American” for Instagram to delete them.
After speaking in his defence, the Fox & Friends Weekend hosts returned to the television screens with a very different perspective after coming to know what he had actually posted.
Hegseth said it is “unfortunate” and Cain described it as “pretty ugly”.
Read more about the hosts reaction on the Sunday programme here:
Fox News hosts forced to make humiliating on-air U-turn over support for Kanye West
West’s Twitter account also locked after Meta restricts his Instagram
Johanna Chisholm12 October 2022 01:00
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Kiss star slams Kanye West’s anti-semitic comments
Paul Stanley, who is Jewish, took to Twitter to slam the rapper, who has been banned from Twitter and Instagram and widely criticised for his recent comments.
“Mental Illness IS a disease but should NEVER be used to minimize the danger of hate speech, advocating anti-semitism and violence against religions or ethnicities. We have found ways over centuries to rationalize this behavior and viewed the atrocities that followed. SPEAK UP!” tweeted Stanley on Monday.
Graeme Massie12 October 2022 00:03
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Leaked videos reveal Kanye West made anti-Semitic comments that were edited out of Tucker Carlson interview
Kanye West made a string of anti-Semitic comments that were edited out of his interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, according to a report.
The rapper, who is currently banned from Twitter and Instagram for a string of separate anti-Semitic posts, also made bizarre statements that “fake children” had been put in his home to manipulate his own children. The controversial fashion mogul also talked about having visions of “kinetic energy” that he is sent by God.
Kanye West made anti-Semitic comments that were edited out of Carlson interview
Ye is currently banned from Twitter and Instagram for comments about Jews
Russia’s latest attacks on Ukraine aren’t a show of strength, but a “show of weakness” that reflects its inability to advance and seize Ukrainian territory, said Kurt Volker, a distinguished fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that he ordered long-range missile strikes on a number of locations in Ukraine targeting military, energy and communications facilities.
“Putin’s goal was to take over Ukraine, replace the government, have someone in Ukraine that was subordinate to Moscow. That’s simply not going to happen,” the former U.S. ambassador to NATO (2008-2009) told CNBC’s “Capital Connection” on Tuesday. “Ukrainians have made tremendous inroads taking territory back. This is the kind of thing that Putin has to resort to.”
“He’s not actually able to affect the course of the war anymore.”
Volker, who was also U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations (2017-2019), added that Russia’s increasing aggression is an expected reaction to Ukraine’s resistance.
Last Saturday, an explosion obliterated part of the bridge linking the Russian mainland to Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, in what appeared to be a strategic move to disrupt a key supply route for Russian troops.
Though Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the attack, Volker said “we have to assume they were behind it.”
“We are going to see continued efforts by the Ukrainians to make sure that Russian forces deployed in Ukraine are unable to sustain themselves, and that they have a very difficult winter … This lays the conditions for Ukraine to take back its territory later this year, and more next year.”
The West needs to do “a lot more” to help Ukraine with their defenses to these unpredictable attacks and end the war more quickly, he added.
Nuclear weapons
Putin’s explicit threats to use nuclear weapons have called into question the risk of an impending nuclear conflict.
Volker said the possibility of Putin using nuclear weapons can never be ruled out, but he will have more to lose than gain.
“It does not serve any military objective that Putin has to use nuclear weapons. It will actually make the territory he’s attacking uninhabitable … and blow back on his own forces in ways that will weaken his own military capabilities.”
Others have taken a similar view. Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commanding general for the U.S. Army in Europe, told CNBC earlier this month that although the nuclear threat is “absolutely a credible” one because Russia has thousands of nuclear weapons, it’s unlikely that Putin will resort to it given the lack of a battlefield advantage.
Volker added that even the Russian military may not support Putin should he call for nuclear weapons to be deployed.
“The Russian military knows full well that crossing the nuclear threshold is a big deal for the West and other nuclear powers, including China. I have no doubt that it would draw a direct response against Russian military, which they certainly don’t want.”
“Would they even follow an order, if given that order by Putin? And would Putin give such an order, if he’s concerned about the reliability of his military?”
Top officials in the United States, European Union and at the United Nations expressed shock and horror Monday over Russia’s coordinated missile strikes on civilian areas in Ukraine’s major cities, including its capital, Kyiv.
President Joe Biden said the attacks “once again demonstrate the utter brutality” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “shocked” by the attacks, saying through a spokesman that they represented an escalation of the war.
The full number of casualties from the attacks is not yet clear, but Ukraine’s State Emergency Services said there were least 11 dead and 89 injured.
In addition to the human toll, the strikes damaged significant parts of the Ukrainian energy grid, prompting the nation’s energy ministry to announce it would halt exports of electricity to the European Union starting Tuesday.
“Today’s missile strikes, which hit the thermal generation and electrical substations, forced Ukraine to suspend electricity exports from Oct. 11, 2022 to stabilize its own energy system,” the ministry said in a statement on its website.
Russia’s missile strikes came just two days after a blast destroyed part of Russia’s Kerch Bridge, the only bridge linking Russia to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed he ordered the strikes on Ukrainian cities, which were carried out by long-range missiles, in response to the bridge attack, and vowed a “harsh response” to any acts threatening Russia.
Clash of Clans Update – Town Hall 15 additions, Release Date, time, and more updates on October 2022 Update: Supercell announced the…
Clash of Clans Update – Town Hall 15 additions, Release Date, time, and more updates on October 2022 Update: Supercell announced the much-awaited Town Hall addition for Clash of Clans a few days back. As per the latest estimations, the next update is set to roll out in the next few days. However, the release date is not official yet. Meanwhile, the devs have also revealed some unique features and stats for the upcoming Town Hall, including new defenses. Besides these inclusions, Supercell has also released a brand new teaser, including four special companions for the heroes in Clash of Clans. For future updates on Clash of Clans and COC Update in October 2022, follow InsideSport.IN.
Clash of Clans Update
As mentioned earlier, Supercell hasn’t confirmed a specific release date for the in-game launch of Town Hall 15, however, one can expect it to arrive alongside the October update. The arrival of the new Town Hall level is happening more than a year later, as the developers launched Town Hall 14 in April 2022. On the other hand, the October 2022 update is expected to be released in the first half of the month, most probably around Monday, October 10.
Clash of Clans Update: Town Hall 15 additions, Release Date, time, and more updates on October 2022 (Image via COC)
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Town Hall 15 additions and more updates
The new Town Hall addition in Clash of Clans will feature an upgrade cost of 18 million Gold, which will take 15 days to complete. When it comes to capacities, at the base level, Town Hall 15 will be able to hold two million Gold, two million Elixir, and 20K Dark Elixir, with an HP of 9600. Players will be able to upgrade these storages alongside various other buildings.
Meanwhile, TH 15 will not have a unique signature defensive weapon. Supercell has revealed that the new Clash of Clans Town Hall addition will borrow Giga Inferno from previous TH levels – 13 and 14. The Giga Inferno, however, will be upgradable several times to make TH 15 even more powerful.
Clash of Clans Update: Town Hall 15 additions, Release Date, time, and more updates on October 2022 (Image via COC)
Furthermore, Supercell also revealed two new defenses in Town Hall 15 – Spell Tower and Monolith.The former will allow players to select between three spells to defend the base, while the latter will be a single target base defense. Here are the three spells of Spell Tower.
Rage Spell – It will boost nearby defenses and units – At Level 1 with an upgrade cost and time of 14 million and 14 days, alongside 2500 HP.
Poison Spell – It will spew poison onto the enemies – At Level 2 with an upgrade cost and time of 16 million and 16 days, alongside 2800 HP.
Invisibility Spell – It will temporarily conceal defense, units, and buildings – At Level 3 with an upgrade cost and time of 18 million and 18 days, alongside 3100 HP.
Monolith will have two levels which are upgradable with Dark Elixir. The first level will cost around 300K DE (18 days), while the second will have a price of 360K DE (19 days). For future updates on Clash of Clans, follow InsideSport.IN.
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Putin’s bridge of dreams explodes in flames:In 2018, when Putin crossed the Crimean Bridge — a 12-mile span of steel and concrete connecting the peninsula he seized from Ukraine to mainland Russia — it was framed as a patriotic victory. During the reign of the Czars, “people dreamed of building this bridge,” Putin boasted as he took the wheel of an orange dump truck adorned with Russian flags leading a convoy across the bridge.
Now, a section of that bridge — one of Europe’s longest — has been damaged in an explosion, with parts seen sinking in the water, a symbolic and strategic blow for Russia.
Ukraine, while not taking credit publicly for the blast, had openly promised to attack the bridge as recently as June, calling it a “number one” target because of its strategic importance, The Post’s Maite Fernández Simon and Paul Sonne report. The bridge is an important artery for Moscow’s war effort, carrying troops and weapons from mainland Russia to Crimea.
