Polio virus detected in upstate New York: https://apnews.com/article/health-new-york-united-states-wastewater-climate-and-environment-6cbf3081ba7d0b9a1e420d9e210c973b .
WSJ: Ukraine war a violent stalemate: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-violent-stalemate-sets-in-as-battle-lines-harden-in-ukraines-east-11661598000 . No. The entire war is 6 months old. Russian advances have stopped. The Ukrainians are using American long-distance precision artillery to disrupt Russian supply lines. This is a logical prelude to actual offensive attack in the south. The Journal needs to recognize this is a war, not a video game.
The real question should be, when does the weather change? That is the biggest question in determining whether an offensive can be mounted in the next few months. However, noises are that Ukraine will try to retake Kherson in the coming weeks. This would be a major geographic and psychological victory in the south.
WSJ: Ukraine grain exports pass one million tons: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-grain-exports-surpass-one-million-tons-under-u-n-deal-11661604013 . You would think any competent reporter would state Ukraine’s annual pre-war grain exports so we could compare. This, of course, is Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal. So, to fill in the blank, the annual total is roughly 20 million tons. One million tons is just a first step. Ukraine is currently sitting on 22 million tons, and the fall harvest is about to need storage.
Judge leans toward appointing special master: https://apnews.com/article/florida-government-and-politics-1cc6c63010da10a19fb8cfc8595ffe38 . Special masters are typically judges, so that comment in the article is no surprise. However, the judge does not appear to know what she is doing. Orange Julius, as a former president, has no executive privilege. Only President Biden has that, and he has waived executive privilege as to these documents: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-mocks-trump-s-claims-that-he-declassified-documents-found-at-mar-a-lago-c-mon/ar-AA11ay2I?cvid=9e1e874b2e9648edad2aa17e42850d3e . So that leaves us with return of documents taken but found not to be covered by the search warrant. That is standard FBI procedure, and they have already returned such documents (for example, OJ’s passports) on their own volition.
This is simply a delaying tactic with no merit, and the judge should reject it. However, the FBI has presumably made copies of all records in their possession, so tender to the special master should not delay their investigation. This is political show, not legal substance.
US intelligence agencies do damage assessment on Mar-a-Lago documents: https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trumps-documents-seized-at-mar-a-lago-undergoing-security-risk-assessment-11661625645 . Here is one of many reasons the government needed to regain control of its property.
Predicting the tax fraud outcome of the OJ Organization case: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-business-face-twin-probes-set-for-big-next-steps-115357711.html . There are a range of predictions in this article. However, I do not find the corporate “death penalty” likely. The evidence of fraud would have to indicate an entrenched system of conduct which was unlikely to be corrected by the civil penalties (that’s possible, but we need to hear the evidence). As to the amount of civil penalties, if Weisselberg had to pay $2 million, the indicator is that the OJ Organization will be found liable for tens of millions of dollars at the least. So I stick with my earlier prediction.
Solar power and water conservation in California: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-solar-panels-canals-drought/ . This makes technical sense. Covering the canals with solar panels should reduce evaporation and vegetation growth in the canals while saving water. But the numbers give me some pause. So, 8,500 feet is 1.6 miles. Therefore, scaling up to 4,000 miles is a multiplier of 2,500. Thus, covering all of the state’s irrigation canals would cost of $50 billion (!!!), based on the cost of this study project.
What are the maintenance costs? What economics of scale occur in scaling up by 2,500? Would these panels be the targets of vandalism or theft? What is the lifespan of the panels? The “proof of concept” study should answer these questions.
Juror spots error in Vanessa Bryant’s award, judge adjusts it to $15 million: https://sports.yahoo.com/vanessa-bryants-lawsuit-winnings-reduced-by-1-million-after-juror-error-found-030430031.html . It seemed odd that one party would get $16 million and the other $15 million, so the correction makes sense.
WSJ: NASA’s newest rocket launches Monday for a mission around the Moon: https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-inside-look-at-nasas-most-powerful-rocket-ever-the-sls-11661616000 . Armchair astronauts have a special event over the next 6 weeks, with return of the mission to Earth on October 10: https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-1-moon-mission-timeline .
Antitrust issues in the PGA-LIV clash: https://sports.yahoo.com/tiger-woods-rory-mc-ilroy-subpoenaed-over-pga-tour-players-only-meeting-041419322.html . This will be complex litigation. The PGA certainly has the right to adjust its product in response to competition. It is (anti-competitive) collusive behavior which can be problematic. Some US sports, such as major league baseball and football, enjoy certain antitrust protections, but golf is not one: https://theathletic.com/news/us-senate-mlb-antitrust-manfred/czCdXJCAAatD/ ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radovich_v._National_Football_League ; https://www.antitrustinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/USandEuropeExemption.pdf . Golf differs from the protected sports because professional golf typically does not involve teams. Everyone will lawyer up, and these multimillionaires will battle it out over the coming years.