Friday,  May 27th, 2022 

Winnie the Pooh goes on a rampage in new horror movie  Here’s … Winnie! A new horror movie in the works, called Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, will see the beloved cartoon bear made into a horrifying slasher villain. In one still image released from the movie, a woman is chilling in a jacuzzi while a blood-thirsty Pooh and Piglet stand behind her, preparing to go in for a Jason-like kill. Director Rhys Waterfield told Variety the film involves Pooh and Piglet “going on a rampage” after Christopher Robin abandons them, leading them to “become feral.” Obviously, Disney has zero role in this project, which is legal because the original Winnie the Pooh stories became public domain this past January. On a related note, Mickey Mouse is currently slated to enter public domain in 2024, at which point we’re anticipating R-rated Mickey movies will just become an entire, disturbing subgenre.  BLOODY DISGUSTING 

Students stage walkouts to protest gun violence Students at schools across the United States staged walkouts on Thursday to protest gun violence in response to this week’s mass shooting of 19 4th graders and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. Students left classes for demonstrations at Oxford High School in Michigan, where four students died in a November shooting, and Saugus High School in California, where two died in a November 2019 shooting. Students from several Providence, Rhode Island, schools lay down for three minutes outside the Rhode Island State House. “Students don’t have to be quiet about it just because they’re a kid,” said Emma Janoff, a New York 11th grader and member of Students Demand Action, a national organization against gun violence. ABC NEWS 

‘Abbott Elementary’ creator slams people asking for ‘a school shooting episode’  The creator of Abbott Elementary will thankfully be ignoring fans’ absolutely awful idea for an episode. Quinta Brunson, who created and stars in the uplifting ABC sitcom set in an elementary school, said on Twitter it’s “wild how many people have asked for a school shooting episode” of the show in the wake of the horrific massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead in Texas this week. “People are that deeply removed from demanding more from the politicians they’ve elected and are instead demanding ‘entertainment,’” Brunson wrote, and she shared a bizarre message she received from a fan suggesting the series should end with a shooting in order to “get our government to understand why laws need to pass” — something real tragedies can’t even accomplish, let alone fictional ones. “We’re not okay,” Brunson concluded. “This country is rotting our brains.” PEOPLE 

The United States Department of State approves the sale of the M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system to Australia. (Reuters) 

Seven people are killed by Russian shelling in downtown Kharkiv, according to local authorities. (Ukrinform) 

Russia expels five Croatian diplomats. (Reuters) 

The Russian defense ministry says that civil vessels are allowed to use a maritime humanitarian corridor to access the port of Mariupol, which Russia captured last week. (Reuters) 

The US seizes a Russian operated oil tanker carrying Iranian crude oil in Greece. The seizure is theorized to be part of US sanctions on Russian oil smuggling. (Reuters) 

British Chancellor Rishi Sunak announces a 25% levy, a so-called windfall tax, on the profits of energy companies in order to help fund emergency economic support amid a cost of living crisis in the UK. The extra support includes increased welfare payments for low-income households, disabled people and pensioners, as well as a universal grant of £400 towards energy bills. (BBC News) 

Fiji announces that it will become the 14th member of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific, amidst a visit by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to Kiribati. (Al Jazeera) 

New York court denies Trump appeal to avoid questioning A New York state appeals court ruled Thursday that former President Donald Trump and two of his adult children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, must submit to questioning under oath as part of a civil investigation into their business practices. Trump’s lawyers had sought to block the testimony, arguing that the investigation being conducted by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office was politically motivated. The legal team also said Trump and his children shouldn’t have to talk to James’ investigators because the operations of the family property business, the Trump Organization, are the subject of a criminal investigation as well. The court found that the Trumps were not being unfairly singled out. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

‘Goodfellas’ actor Ray Liotta dies at 67 Ray Liotta, the actor best known for his lead role in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, has died. He was 67. Liotta died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting the film Dangerous Waters. Authorities did not immediately release a cause of death. Liotta played gangster Henry Hill in the classic 1990 mob film Goodfellas, starring alongside Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci less than 10 years after making his acting debut in The Lonely Lady. Liotta’s other notable films included Field of Dreams and Hannibal. More recently, he appeared in Marriage Story and The Many Saints of Newark. He also won an Emmy for a guest role on ER. DEADLINE 

Macy’s, Dollar Tree report strong sales Shares of major retailers surged on Thursday after Macy’s and Dollar Tree reported strong quarterly sales despite high inflation. Shoppers increased spending on clothes for work and special occasions, and bought necessities at discount stores to save as fuel and food costs jumped. Dollar General reported flat sales but raised its full-year outlook. Shares of Dollar General and Dollar Tree jumped 14 percent and 22 percent, respectively. Retailers said despite the strong quarter, rising prices remained a growing threat. “Consumers are still spending, but headwinds are getting increasingly fierce,” Macy’s Chief Executive Jeff Gennette told The Wall Street Journal. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Broadcom agrees to buy VMware in $61 billion deal Semiconductor maker Broadcom announced Thursday it has agreed to buy the software company VMware. The $61 billion deal would be the world’s second-biggest proposed acquisition of the year behind Microsoft’s $75 billion offer for video game maker Activision Blizzard, according to Dealogic data. Buying VMware would give Broadcom computing tools popular with many corporations, and give it a strong position in data-center and cloud computing technology. VMware has more than 500,000 global customers, including cloud-computing giants Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Home supply rises as owners rush to sell before market cools  The supply of homes for sale increased by 9 percent last week compared to the same time a year ago as sharply higher mortgage rates triggered a sudden drop in home sales, according to Realtor.com. “Rising mortgage rates have caused the housing market to shift, and now home sellers are in a hurry to find a buyer before demand weakens further,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at real estate brokerage Redfin. Numerous signs have indicated recently that the market is softening after people seeking more space during the pandemic took advantage of low mortgage rates and drove prices higher. Pending home sales dropped nearly 4 percent in April compared to March. CNBC 

The value of the Lebanese pound falls to 35,600 pounds against the U.S. dollar, its lowest value ever. (Al Jazeera) 

The US seizes a Russian owned oil tanker carrying Iranian crude oil in Greece and has transferred the cargo to another ship destined for the US. It is unclear if the seizure was due to US sanctions against Iran or US sanctions on Russia. (Reuters) 

Italian fossil fuel company Eni signs an agreement with Algerian state-owned company Sonatrach to both explore up to 3 billion cubic meters of gas and launch a pilot green hydrogen project in the Algerian desert. The agreement comes as Italy looks to decrease its dependence on Russian gas in light of the conflict in Ukraine. (Al Jazeera) 

Quebec will begin offering the Imvamune vaccine after 25 cases of monkeypox were confirmed in the province. (Montreal Gazette) 

The UK Health Security Agency says that it has procured 20,000 doses of a smallpox vaccine produced by Bavarian Nordic as part of an effort to combat the increase in monkeypox cases. (Reuters) 

The Iraqi parliament prohibits all attempts at normalizing relations with Israel with the punishment of life imprisonment or capital punishment. The law was introduced by Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose party won the most seats in the last election. (Reuters)  

The Polish Parliament passes a law replacing the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, established by a controversial judicial reform bill, with a new body, in order to allow the European Union to unfreeze €35 billion in COVID-19 recovery funds earmarked to the country. (Reuters) 

Thursday, May 26th, 2022 

Coronavirus vaccines offer limited help against long COVID Coronavirus vaccines may provide only limited protection against long COVID, according to a new paper published Wednesday in Nature Medicine. Six months after an initial COVID-19 diagnosis, vaccinated patients were 15 percent less likely than unvaccinated people to get long COVID, which the CDC says affects 1 in 5 adult U.S. COVID survivors. The research showed that vaccination reduced the risk of lung and blood clot disorders, but not other symptoms. “This was disappointing,” said lead author Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development service at VA Saint Louis Health Care System. “I was hoping to see that vaccines offer more protection.” The data confirmed that vaccination significantly reduced the risk of serious illness and death, though. THE WASHINGTON POST

The US seizes a Russian operated oil tanker carrying Iranian crude oil in Greece. The seizure is theorized to be part of US sanctions on Russian oil smuggling. (Reuters) 

Russian lawmakers remove maximum age for military service Russian lawmakers on Wednesday rushed through a law eliminating the upper age limit for contractual military service. The State Duma, or lower house, passed the bill on three readings in a single session. The upper house, the Federation Council, promptly approved the bill, sending it to President Vladimir Putin for his signature. The move comes as Russian forces suffer heavy casualties in Ukraine, which Russia invaded three months ago. Until the change becomes official, only Russians aged 18 to 40 and foreigners aged 18 to 30 can enlist as professional Russian soldiers. The bill’s authors said the change would help attract medical personnel, engineers, and other specialists with “required skills.” REUTERSRADIO FREE EUROPE 

Fed minutes point to more rate hikes to tame inflation    Federal Reserve officials said in their policy meeting earlier this month that they might have to raise interest rates high enough to weaken the economy to accomplish their goal of bringing inflation down from a four-decade high, according to minutes of the meeting released Wednesday. Policymakers said they could “assess the effects” of rapid rate hikes after several months, and slow the pace of the increases, depending on the state of the economy. During the May 3-4 meeting, the Fed raised its benchmark short-term interest rate by a half-point, instead of the usual quarter-point shift. Most of the central bank’s leaders said further half-point hikes “would likely be appropriate” at June and July meetings. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Heavy fighting between DRC forces and the M23 movement continues in Rumangabo and Kibumba in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters) 

The Caliph of the Islamic State Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi is arrested in Istanbul, Turkey. (Bloomberg) 

Quebec will begin offering the Imvamune vaccine after 25 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in the province. (Montreal Gazette) 

The UK Health Security Agency says that it has produced 20,000 doses of a smallpox vaccine produced by Bavarian Nordic in an effort to combat the rise of monkeypox cases. (Reuters) 

American actor Kevin Spacey is charged by UK prosecutors with four counts of sexually assaulting four men. (Reuters) 

The Canadian national soccer team cancels a match with Iran following criticism because of the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 by the IRGC. (Sportsnet) 

CBO warns inflation will remain high through 2022 High inflation could ease but will likely remain uncomfortably high for the rest of 2022, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. The nonpartisan agency forecasts that the consumer price index will rise 6.1 percent for the entire year, down from a current four-decade high of 8.3 percent. The CBO said the rate would slow to 3.1 percent in 2023, still above the 2.3 percent long-term baseline, and wouldn’t fall to targeted levels until 2024. “People’s desire to consume more goods than businesses can produce is leading to a rise in prices,” said Adam Ozimek, chief economist at the Economic Innovation Group. THE WASHINGTON POST 

Ex-reality TV star Josh Duggar sentenced to 12 years on child pornography charges A judge in Arkansas on Wednesday sentenced former reality TV star Josh Duggar, 34, to more than 12 years in prison for his convictions on federal child pornography charges. Duggar, who appeared on TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting, was arrested in 2021 and accused of downloading photos and videos of sexual child abuse. His legal team had requested a five-year sentence. Prosecutors had asked for 20 years. “While this is not the sentence we asked for, this is a lengthy sentence,” U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes said Wednesday. Duggar’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, who appeared with their 19 children in the TV series from 2008 to 2015, said they will “never stop praying for Joshua, and loving him.” TODAY 

Wendy’s shares surge on news of possible sale, merger Wendy’s shares jumped 11 percent on Wednesday, a day after the burger chain’s chairman, Nelson Peltz, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the company’s board would consider a possible sale or merger. Peltz’s management fund, Trian Partners, initiated the search for a potential deal. “Our board is committed to continuing to act in the best interests of the company and its stockholders,” Wendy’s said in a statement. “Consistent with its fiduciary duties, the board will carefully review any proposal submitted by Trian Partners.” Trian is Wendy’s largest shareholder, owning more than 19 percent of its shares. The stock is down 23 percent in the last 12 months. CNN

Big-city populations shrink further in pandemic migration Big-city populations continued to fall last year as Americans, many newly free to work remotely, moved to smaller towns where they could afford bigger homes, according to census figures released Thursday. In nine cities with more than one million residents, populations fell by 1.7 percent. New York City, the nation’s largest, lost 3.5 percent of its population. Los Angeles and Chicago, the nation’s No. 2 and No. 3 cities, lost 1 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. In the large city category, only Phoenix and San Antonio gained residents. Midsize cities with 500,000 to one million people lost a smaller percentage of their populations, 0.7 percent. Growth was flat in cities with 250,000 to 500,000 people, while those with 100,000 to 250,000 grew 0.1 percent. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

The End