Wednesday, September 21 top stories
It is Wednesday, September 21. Here are today’s top stories.
Putin orders military call-up
Russian President Putin said he has ordered a call-up of military reservists to support its war against Ukraine. BBC News said about 300,000 people who have had military training, including some retired officers over the age of 60, will be asked to go into battle.
News analysts said Putin may be making this move because of recent losses in the Kharkiv region after Ukrainian troops mounted a successful counterattack.
News reports said one-way flights from Russia have either sold out or skyrocketed in price, possibly because many are trying to flee being called into military action. There were also protests in Russia against Putin’s announcement with over 500 people arrested.
In separate but related news, four pro-Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine plan to hold referendums to join Russia, which would allow Russia to annex these regions in a similar way that Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
The Ukrainian government said the referendums are illegal and that most of the international community will not recognize the results.
Hurricane Fiona now Cat. 4, heading towards Bermuda
Hurricane Fiona, which hit Puerto Rico on Sunday as a Category 1 storm, has strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane and is heading towards Bermuda. It has maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. It will brush through the Bermuda area tomorrow night or early Friday and then approach Canada’s Atlantic provinces late Friday.
News reports said Puerto Rico is struggling to get its electricity and running water restored. As of today, only 26% of the island had power. Many people are using generators.
Fiona is blamed for at least three deaths in Puerto Rico. One person was killed after he was swept away in a flooded river, the second burned to death after he tried to fill his generator with gasoline while it was still running, and a third died after inhaling toxic gases from his generator. The hurricane killed three other people in Guadeloupe and the Dominican Republic.
FDA warns against cooking chicken in NyQuil
The FDA said it has noticed videos posted on TikTok in which people challenge others to cook chicken in NyQuil or similar products. The FDA warned that doing this can cause harm or even death.
The FDA said if you boil a medication, it can cause the substance to become much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways. The FDA said that even just inhaling the vapors while cooking NyQuil can cause damage to the lungs.
The FDA said they noticed another TikTok challenge in which people dare others to take large doses of Benadryl in order to hallucinate. The FDA said they’ve received reports of teenagers being brought to the emergency room or dying.
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NY AG files civil lawsuit against Trump and his family
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced her office filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and three of his adult children for allegedly engaging in “years of financial fraud to enrich himself, his family, and the Trump Organization.”
The AG said Trump, with the help of his children, “inflated and deflated his net worth by billions to obtain and satisfy loans, get insurance benefits, and pay lower taxes. In short, he lied to gain massive financial benefits for himself.”
The AG said her office is seeking to make Trump pay $250 million, ban the Trumps from running businesses in New York for good, and ban Trump and the Trump Organization from buying commercial real estate in New York for five years.
The AG said her office has made a criminal referral to the U.S. Department of Justice and the IRS.
Trump’s lawyer said the lawsuit is purely political and has nothing to do with facts or the law. She said she looks forward to defending Trump in the judicial system.
Yankees’ Aaron Judge hits 60th home run
The New York Yankees star player Aaron Judge hit his 60th home run during a game last night. He joined a club of only five people who have hit 60 home runs in a single season: Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Maris, and Babe Ruth.
A 20-year-old college student caught the ball and returned the ball to Judge in exchange for a meet-and-greet with Judge, four autographed baseballs, and a signed baseball bat.
The record for most home runs in a season is 73, which is held by Barry Bonds, but it is considered an unclean record due to allegations of steroid use.
There are 15 games left in the MLB season so Judge has some time to earn more home runs.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-donetsk-f64f9c91f24fc81bc8cc65e8bc7748f4
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62981289
https://www.axios.com/2022/09/20/russia-annex-vote-ukraine-putin
https://www.axios.com/2022/09/21/russia-flights-putin-partial-mobilization-protests
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/20/health/dangerous-social-media-challenges-wellness/index.html
https://twitter.com/NewYorkStateAG/status/1572611509351772165
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/20/sports/baseball/aaron-judge-60-homers.html