All posts by David Obelcz

Heat Advisory issued for another round of record-breaking weather

[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory from noon Wednesday to midnight Thursday for Western Washington, with temperatures expected to flirt with the 90-degree mark. Seattle set a record for the most days in a year over 90 degrees and tied the record for the most days at or over 95 degrees in a year earlier this month.

It isn’t all bad news if you’re not a warm weather fan. The region has crossed over the point where 100 degrees are highly unlikely and inching closer to where 90-degree heat will be in the rearview mirror. So far, 2022 has been almost smoke-free. Air quality flirted with moderately unhealthy last week, with one afternoon providing orange-tinged afternoon light due to a layer of high-altitude smoke. Keen noses might have noticed the smell of smoke in the air on Monday evening.

Rest of Today

The afternoon will be pleasant for most, while old-school eastsiders might find it too warm. High temperatures will be 82 to 86 degrees under clear skies with winds from 5 to 10 MPH.

Tuesday Night

Temperatures will be pleasant, providing perfect sleeping with a low of 58 to 61 degrees.

Wednesday

Clouds may roll in and help moderate temperatures, making it difficult to break the 90-degree barrier. In the Bellevue-Kirkland-Woodinville area, highs will be 87 to 91 degrees under clear skies, with a light onshore flow forming toward the end of the day. Clouds will start to move in near sunset.

Wednesday Night

Partly to mostly cloudy skies will act like a blanket, while a weak onshore flow will hold back temperatures from dropping after sunset. Area lows will be 63 to 67. The onshore flow will shift overnight, causing humidity to climb.

Thursday

Partly to mostly cloudy skies won’t stop the mercury from climbing. Thursday morning will have the “it is going to be a hot day” feel as you head out the door. High temperatures will be 88 to 93 degrees. The dew point will be 63 to 65, which isn’t terrible, but will make the air feel a touch sticky.

Thursday Night

Cloud cover will once again act like a blanket that holds in the day’s heat. Low temperatures will be 63 to 66.

Friday Outlook

Friday and the rest of the weekend look to be partly cloudy, with highs in the 70s and 80s and pleasant sleeping weather returning.

Up to 100 Russian mercenaries killed in HIMARS attack – August 15, 2022 Ukraine update

[UKRAINE] – MTN It has been 3,091 days since Russia occupied Crimea on February 27, 2014. Here is our latest update. You can visit our Russia-Ukraine War Center to find more news about Ukraine. You can also listen to our in-depth podcast, Malcontent News Russia Ukraine War Update, hosted by Linnea Hubbard.

Northeast Donetsk

A Russian Special Operation Force (SOF) reconnaissance in force team attempted to advance on Serebrianka, came under fire from Ukrainian forces, and retreated.

Elements of the 2nd Army Corps of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR), supported by the Russian Federation Armed Forces, attempted to advance into Ivano-Darivka, Vesele, and Spirne using reconnaissance in force and were unsuccessful.

The headquarters for Private Military Company Wagner Group was hit by rockets fired from High Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems (HIMARS), causing significant damage and reportedly causing up to 100 casualties.

On August 8, Private Military Company Wagner Group aligned Telegram channel Grey Zone, shared detailed pictures of the Wagner command and control base in Popasna. One of the photos a Russian journalist took during the visit included the address of the building where the base was located. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner and a close Putin ally, was in one of the pictures.

Wagner Telegram channel Reverse Side of the Medal shared pictures of the destroyed base and the wounded and dead being removed. Pictures shared by Wagner Group show at least two impacts on the building, including one that would have penetrated the basement area. Another post-attack video was recorded by an insurgent or Ukrainian SOF showing Wagner loading some of the dead into a van.

Ukrainian SOF made a reconnaissance mission in Brusivka, on the north bank of the Siverski Donets River near Lyman. They came under machine gun fire, attempted to flank the Russian positions, and withdrew.

Bakhmut

Russian airborne forces (VDV) attempted another reconnaissance in force push on the edge of Soledar and were unsuccessful.

PMC Wagner, supported by LNR separatists, tried to advance on Yakovlivka and Vershyna without success. Russian VDV forces assaulted Bakhmut and, according to the General Staff, had “partial success.” After the attack, Bakhmut experienced the worst shelling since the war began.

Russian forces attempted to advance on Zaitseve, 10 kilometers southeast of Bakhmut and were unsuccessful. In the Svitlodarsk bulge fighting for control of Kodema and Zaitseve (north of Horlivka) continued.

Southwest Donetsk – Zaporizhia

West of Donetsk, the 1st Army Corps of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) continued its offensive to capture Pisky. They remained unsuccessful in pushing Ukrainian forces out of the northern part of the village.

On the south side of Pisky, DNR forces attempted to advance on Pervomaiske and were unsuccessful.

In southern Ukraine, Russian forces made another attempt to advance on Pavlivka and tried to improve their position near Vremivka without success.

Insurgents in Melitopol destroyed a railroad bridge south of the city and reportedly caused major damage to the structure.

Social media pictures showed a large fire at the port in Berdyansk. The exiled mayor of the port city reported the fire was caused by a “violation of safety requirements” during welding work that ignited fuel and oil storage.

Mykolaiv

Russian forces fired S300 antiaircraft missiles in a ground-to-ground capacity for the first time in almost a week into Mykolaiv. The main port was hit, causing damage to the facilities.

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Izyum

South of Izyum, pictures by Ukrainian forces confirm that the settlement of Brazhivka has been fully liberated. Russian forces attempted to advance in the direction of Dolyna and were unsuccessful.

Dnipropetrovsk

Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to trade accusations of shelling the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The Russian-controlled city of Energodar, where the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is located, was shelled, killing one person. Russian forces fired 20 Grad rockets into Nikopol and shelled Marganets. There were no injuries reported.

Sumy

Dmytro Zhivytsky, Sumy Regional Administrative and Military Governor, reported Yunakivka, Esman, Khotin, and Billopillia were shelled and hit by mortars. There was a border skirmish north of Billopillia at the now closed international border crossing into Russia.

Chernihiv

The settlement of Senkivka was shelled.

Beyond Ukraine

In Zareche-Vtore, Russia, Ukrainian SOF used a loitering munition or explosives to collapse a large communications tower, destroying it.

Daily Assessment

  1. The 2nd Army Corps of the Luhansk People’s Republic is combat ineffective, with multiple reports that it is on the brink of being combat destroyed.
  2. Volunteer fighters in Russia are starting to return home from their contracts and complain of poor equipment, terrible treatment, and going unpaid.
  3. Russian proxy forces suffered another embarrassing and preventable defeat due to terrible operational security, resulting in dozens of mercenaries being killed and wounded in a confirmed HIMARS attack.

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Polio detected in New York, London, and Jerusalem wastewater – King Co not Testing

[SEATTLE, Wash.] -MTN The poliomyelitis virus has been detected in the wastewater of the international travel hubs of New York, London, and Jerusalem, indicating that the disease is spreading through the community. King County tests wastewater for several diseases but polio, long eradicated in Washington state, isn’t one of them.

“At this time, we are not testing King County wastewater for poliovirus,” Kate Cole, communications representative for Public Health of Seattle and King County, said.

Polio once struck fear into the hearts of parents until the 1950s, when the first polio vaccine brought the disease, which has no cure, into check. Thanks to widespread vaccination campaigns, the disease, which can cause paralysis and death, was declared vanquished from the United States. By 2016, the complete eradication of polio appeared to be within grasp, with cases numbering in the hundreds appearing in two nations – Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The virus spreading in New York and London is a revertant Sabin type 2 virus, which originates from the Sabin orally administrated polio vaccine. The oral polio vaccine was discontinued in the United States in 2000 but is still used in other nations, mainly to contain polio outbreaks. When a person is vaccinated with the oral vaccine, which uses a weakened version of poliomyelitis, they can shed the virus in their feces for up to a month. If an unvaccinated person comes in contact with a contaminated surface, they can become infected. Eventually, if the weakened virus sickens enough people, it can revert to a more virulent version.

On July 21, the New York State Department of Health reported the first case of community transmission of polio in the United States since 1981. The infected Rockland County resident suffered from paralytic polio, which state officials identified as a “revertant polio Sabin type 2 virus.” In a fully vaccinated population with strong herd immunity, the story would have stopped there. But due to declining vaccination rates, it didn’t. In the following weeks, polio was detected in the wastewater of three New York regions, including New York City.

While polio appearing in the wastewater of two of the largest cities in the world and three travel hubs is alarming, most of the infected have no idea they are a carrier. Up to 75% of people who get infected are asymptomatic – they never experience a single symptom. While many will never know they had polio, they are contagious and quietly spread the disease for up to a month.

For those who get sick, symptomatic polio resembles the flu or a mild case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Fatigue, body and joint aches, weakness, stomach distress, and fever. That makes it even harder to spot because many physicians haven’t seen a case of polio in their lives, and mild symptoms mirror more common diseases that are active in the community.

In less than 2% of cases, polio crosses from the digestive tract to the nervous system. One out of two hundred who catch polio will develop paralytic polio, which can be fatal. The chances of experiencing paralysis increase the older a person is. Polio thrives in areas with warm water and populations with poor hygiene, especially children.

According to the National Library of Medicine, in 1981, over 90% of Americans were vaccinated for polio, creating so-called herd immunity. Vaccination rates peaked in 2008. The journal Nature published a study in 2019, reporting the rate had dropped to 80%. Preliminary data indicates that vaccine disinformation has dropped the rate even lower. In some conservative and religious counties, the rate is below 70%.

Travelers who took the oral vaccine, or in rarer cases, are infected with a vaccine acquired case of polio unwittingly spread the disease to the unvaccinated. In closed communities, the disease can spread quickly and silently.

Some epidemiologists believe because polio is spreading in New York City, it has likely spread to other major travel hubs in the United States. Americans have taken to the skies in near-record numbers after two years of COVID-related travel declines. Orlando. Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle could have cases silently spreading without carriers even knowing.

Breaking: Truck drives off after striking the Kirkland Ave bridge

[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – MTN The infamous truck-eating bridge didn’t quite claim another victim but may be a victim itself after a significant bridge strike where the driver left the scene.

Around 4:30 PM on Saturday, a truck heading “eastbound” toward 85th Avenue struck the bridge, causing moderate damage to the concrete, exposing the supporting rebar, and sending at least one section of conduit into the road. The roadway is littered with concrete pieces. The truck drove off after the strike with unknown but likely significant damage.

This is a breaking news story and we will provide an update as more information becomes available.

Heat Advisory issued for Sunday and Monday with a side order of smoke

[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory from noon Sunday to 9 PM Monday for Western Washington, with temperatures expected to flirt with the 90-degree mark. Smoke is expected to roll into the region and linger through Tuesday.

Saturday Night

Saturday evening will be pleasant with a northwest breeze from 5 to 10 MPH. Temperatures will be perfect for sleeping – 56 to 60 degrees.

Sunday

Sunny skies with light winds will heat things up with highs reaching 88 to 92 degrees. Temperatures will be cooler by the water and hotter in urban canyons and our area hot spots like Totem Lake and Kingsgate. An onshore flow will develop, pulling smoke over the Cascades. The AQI will be moderately unhealthy, 51 to 100 PM2.5. Very sensitive groups should limit their time outdoors and avoid strenuous activity. Photographers will want to have their cameras ready for a brilliant sunset.

Sunday Night

Temperatures will drop to 57 to 61 degrees, and smoke will remain moderately unhealthy, with the AQI between 51 and 100. Smoke tends to be worse at night as cooler air sinks and pulls it closer to the ground.

Monday

Monday’s forecast is complex, which makes it tricky. If the smoke becomes denser than current models, it will moderate high temperatures. Cloud cover is expected to move in from a weak disturbance, and that will also impact the high temperature and how much smoke settles in the area. High temperatures will reach 89 to 92 degrees in the Bellevue-Kirkland-Woodinville area, with an AQI of 51 to 100. Clouds aren’t expected to roll in until very late on Tuesday, but if that accelerates, it will moderate temperatures and convert our smoke into smog.

Monday Night

Low temperatures will be 59 to 65 degrees depending on when the clouds arrive and how much smoke is in the area. Expect cooler temperatures if the current weather models hold and warmer temperatures if the area gets blanketed. AQI will remain 51 to 100. By sunrise, winds will shift to an offshore flow, moderating our temperatures and blowing any smoke left out of our region.

Tuesday Outlook

Tuesday will be mostly cloudy, with smoke blowing out of the region. Expect the AQI to move back to normal by the afternoon. High temperatures will be 80 to 85 degrees with a southwest wind increasing to 7 to 10 MPH. On Tuesday night, there is a small chance of some rain showers moving through the area, cleaning the air out and moderating temperatures back into the 70s for Wednesday.

Lynnwood man indicted for hate crime and interstate threats

[SEATTLE, Wash.] – A 37-year-old Lynnwood, Washington man was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury for a hate crime and four counts of interstate threats, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Joey David George will be arraigned on the indictment on August 11, 2022, in Seattle Federal Court. George remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, Washington.

“By law, the decision to charge a hate crime is appropriately deliberate – with consultation and approval from DOJ’s Civil Rights Division in Washington DC,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “In this case, the hate-filled threats to kill, based on race, are fittingly being prosecuted as a hate crime.”

The probable cause court filing on July 21 outlined the alleged incidents. According to records filed in the case, on July 19 and 20, George allegedly telephoned a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and threatened to shoot Black people in the store.

“On July 19, 2022, an individual called a Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York. The caller, who identified himself as “Peter,” spoke with an employee at the store. The caller asked how many Black people were in the store. He said he would make the news if he shot and killed all of the Black people, including all of the women, children, and babies. He asked if the employee had cleared out the building. He said there was a chance he was already in the store or somewhere nearby. He said that if he did not see anyone at the store, he would travel to the Jefferson Tops store,” the court filing said.

The Tops Friendly Market store in Buffalo had reopened on July 14, two months after a racially motivated mass shooting left ten dead and three injured. In the second call, George allegedly ranted about a “race war.”  Law enforcement traced the phone number and identified George as the person who made the call. The second Tops location in Buffalo on Jefferson Avenue, had a grand reopening on July 16 after an extensive renovation.

In addition to the calls to Buffalo, George is charged in connection with a May 2022 call to a Shari’s Restaurant and Pies in San Bruno, California. In that call, George, using the pseudonym “Tony Sumorrah,” talked to a San Bruno, California police officer. George told the officer that he called Shari’s restaurant because “he wanted to attack Black people and strike fear into the Bay Area’s Black community. He stated Black people are not human but rather “sub-humans.” He said he was proud of his actions because he instilled fear in the employees and customers of the restaurant.”

The San Bruno police department obtained location data for the origination point of the call. The call was made from Lynnwood, Washington, using a T-Mobile-provided cellphone number with Joey George as the subscriber. T-Mobile confirmed the May 12 call to Shari’s came for George’s number and phone. In the eyes of the law, a restaurant is a place of public accommodation, which added the hate crime charge: Interference with a Federally Protected Activity.

Additionally, George is charged with making interstate threats to a business in Maryland, saying he intended to shoot Black people at the store.  The fourth count of the indictment charges him with making interstate threats to bomb a restaurant in Connecticut. 

On January 16, 2022, George threatened marijuana dispensaries in Seattle and Skyway. An employee answered the call, and the male caller asked if there were any Black employees at the business. The male caller stated that he carried a gun and would go to the business to shoot any Black people who were there at the time of his arrival. According to the dispensary, a similar threat was made to their Skyway location. T-Mobile records show the call to the Seattle business came from George’s cellphone. George is not facing charges for the January 2022 incident, and it is unclear if the Seattle Police Department was contacted about the threat and if they were if they initiated a case and performed an investigation.

George is facing up to 30 years in prison based on the five charges.

Wildfire smoke might make an unwanted visit by the end of the weekend

Smoke season has become a new summertime feature in Puget Sound during the last decade, and after a cold, wet spring suppressed fire season, our area’s luck might be running out.

Wind could carry smoke from a wildfire burning near vantage over the Cascades late this weekend and into the start of next week during a period where high temperatures will tickle 90 degrees. This won’t be a repeat of 2020 or 2021 when thick blankets of smoke choked the area, but there is the potential to impact vulnerable populations and put the taste and smell of smoke into the air.

If you haven’t restocked your smoke season supplies and revisited your plan, now is the time to get prepared.

  • Get some N-95 masks, especially if you work or exercise outdoors. N-95 masks work when tightly fitted to the face. Surgical masks don’t block fine particulates, so they aren’t effective in the smoky air. The particles in smoke are accumulative in your lungs. Repeated exposure over the years can have health implications decades later.
  • Smoky days in Puget Sound typically go hand-in-hand with our hottest days due to the onshore flow carrying smoke into our region. In 2018 and 2020, we avoided 100+ degree heatwaves because the dense blanket of smoke kept daytime highs down by 3 to 6 degrees. Ideally, on the worst days, you should keep your windows closed. Now is the time to consider a portable air conditioner if you haven’t been convinced yet for at least one room to create a clean air space in your home.
  • If your choices are sitting in dangerous heat in an enclosed space or opening a window to regulate temperatures while allowing smoke to circulate, you should open your windows. If you have vulnerable family members or care for the elderly, consider finding relief in air-conditioned places.
  • Along with a room with AC, having a box fan with a furnace filter taped to the “intake” side (the side that pulls the air) has been shown to reduce particulate matter in the air dramatically. If you can’t afford an AC, a $35 box fan and a $15 filter can significantly improve air quality in a single room.
File photo – a homemade smoke filter using a box fan, duct tape, and a 20X25 standard furnace filter
  • Smoke typically is at its worst after sunset and during the overnight hours. As the air cools overnight, it sinks, which tends to pull the blanket of smoke to lower altitudes. After sunrise and the air starts to heat up, the rising warm air lifts the smokes up to higher elevations.
  • When you drive your car run your AC in the “max” or “recirculation” mode. This recycles the air within your cabin. If your car doesn’t have a working AC, consider wearing an N-95 mask when driving.
  • On the worst smoky days, don’t do outdoor activity if you can. If you work outdoors, your employer should provide N-95 masks. This is vital on days where there is ash fall.
  • Exercise should be done indoors in a climate-controlled setting. If you have medical issues, talk to your primary care physician about what is best for you.
  • Contact lens wearers should make sure their glasses prescription is up to snuff. Smoke can irritate the eyes, which can be made worse by contacts.
  • Ash is very alkaline and damaging to car paint. Additionally, ash can create spiderweb scratches in auto finishes. On days with bad ashfall, consider gently rinsing your car off with a hose or using a leaf blower. Don’t brush ash off your car or use an automated car wash before removing the particles.

Seattle’s 6-day heatwave is one for the record books

[KIRKLAND, Wash.] – (MTN) Clouds and marine air rolled into Puget Sound, putting an end to a six-day run of temperatures over 90 degrees, the longest heatwave since weather records have been kept in Seattle.

The infamous heatwave of 2021, which killed over a dozen and smashed multiple weather recordings, including setting an all-time high of 108 degrees at Seatac Airport, couldn’t pull off five days in a row over 90. The heatwave of 2022 set the new mark and did it without the benefit of an onshore flow. Winds were light through the entire period but were mostly from the west, northwest, and north. If the wind had been from the east, Seattle likely would have broken 100 degrees on several days.

Record highs

Multiple records were set, but the bar was high. July 28 and 29 were competing against the 2009 three-day heatwave where Seattle reached 94 on the 27th, 97 on the 28th, and the previous all-time record high of 103 on the 29th. That heatwave was caused by an onshore flow and ended when the winds shifted overnight on the 29th, ushering in cloudy skies and normal temperatures. The heatwave of 2022 was shockingly consistent.

  • July 26 – 94 degrees – broke the old record of 92
  • July 27 – 91 degrees
  • July 28 – 94 degrees
  • July 29 – 95 degrees
  • July 30 – 95 degrees – three-way tie of 5-days in a row over 90 degrees, prior records were 1981 and 2015
  • July 31 – 95 degrees – longest streak over 90 degrees and tie for the longest streak of highs reaching 95 degrees or hotter; the prior record was 2021

July 26 to 30 was the fourth hottest streak on record, with an average high temperature of 93.8 degrees. The record-setting heatwaves of 1981, 2009, and 2021 were hotter.

Was this due to climate change

Weather is not climate, and climate is not weather. A heatwave in Puget Sound does not prove or disprove climate change. Just as the cold, wet, cloudy non-existent Puget Sound spring did not disprove or prove climate change. Globally, 2022 is currently the fifth hottest on record through June. Record-setting heat has hit Europe, Asia, and North America.

Will we have a smoke season

Washington’s cold and wet spring provided a good snowpack and slowed down the growth of underbrush and other burn materials. The heatwave that baked the region has removed some of that safety margin, and a large wildfire has erupted near Weed, California, on the Oregon-California border. For the next six to eight weeks, the chances of smoke rolling into Puget Sound will likely increase looking at the long-term weather models.

The time to prepare for smoke is now by making sure you have a supply of N-95 masks, particularly if you exercise or work outdoors or have moderate to severe asthma or other clinical breathing issues. If you don’t have air conditioning, now is the time to set up your clean air room and have a plan in place in the event it is over 85 or 90 degrees with heavy smoke. You can build your own smoke filter for under $50 with a box fan, furnace filter, and small bungee cords. Securely attach the air filter to the fan’s intake side, ensuring the arrow on the filter faces the right way.

Night of the HIMARS – July 30, 2022 Ukraine update

[UKRAINE] – MTN It has been 3,074 days since Russia occupied Crimea on February 27, 2014. Here is our latest update.

Luhansk – Russian forces did not attempt to advance from the administrative borders of Luhansk.

Ukrainian forces destroyed ammunition depots in Pervomaisk and Bryanka in separate strikes using rockets fired by High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). In Bryanka, a base for terrorist members of the Imperial Legion working with Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner Group was heavily damaged.

Northeast Donetsk – Russian forces made a reconnaissance in force advance toward Verkhnotoretske from the Verkhnokamyanka oil refinery, but they were unsuccessful.

Bakhmut – Russian forces gained ground in Pokrovske, moving northwest and closer to Bakhmut. In the Svitlodark Bulge, Russian forces attempted to advance on Vershyna and Semyhirya. Terrorists with the Imperial Legion working with PMC Wagner Group reached the eastern boundary of Semyhirya. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russian forces attempted to advance from the area of Travneve in two directions but did not gain new territory.

Southwest Donetsk – Zaporizhia – Russian forces have started a broad offensive west of Donetsk, attacking Ukrainian positions. Some marginal gains have been made.

Elements of the 1st Army Corps of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and the 2nd Army Corps of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) continue to attempt to advance on Kamyanka, Avdiivka, Opytne, Pisky, and Krasnohorivka. Fighting continued in Marinka, with Russian forces repulsed.

Rockets fired by HIMARS destroyed ammunition depots in Alchevsk, Mospyne, and Yasynuvata.

In Zaporizhia, rockets hit a hotel complex used as barracks for Russian troops in Enerhodar. An ammunition cache cooked off, causing a larger fire. HIMARS rocket fire also destroyed a fuel depot in Kamyanka-Dniprovska.

Kherson – In Kherson, Ukrainian forces are setting conditions to advance on Bruskynske from the Inhulets River bridgehead established in Lozove.

There are unconfirmed reports that the situation for Russian forces in Vysokopillya and those remaining in part of Arkhanhelske is becoming increasingly difficult. Both settlements are cut off from their Ground Lines of Communication (GLOC – supply line), and the remaining forces are technically encircled.

Rockets fired by HIMARS struck two locations in Nova Kakhovka. A big box hardware store holding a large ammunition depot was hit, producing a massive secondary explosion. A second area to the east was also hit. Additionally, an ammunition depot in Semenivka was targeted and destroyed in a rocket attack.

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Mykolaiv – Russian S-300 antiaircraft missiles in a ground-to-ground capacity struck a busy bus stop, killing five, hospitalizing 12, wounding dozens, and killing some dogs that people were walking at the time of the attack

Kharkiv – Neither belligerent launched any ground offensives north of Kharkiv. Russian forces targeted the Kharkiv University of Agricultural Studies in a missile attack using S-300 antiaircraft missiles in a surface-to-surface capacity. The school was heavily damaged.

Russian S-300 antiaircraft missiles also target a meat processing plant in Bohodukhiv, destroying the facility.

Izyum – Russian forces attempted to advance into Brazhivka and Dmytrivka and were unsuccessful. Russian forces also attempted to conduct reconnaissance in Schurivka and were unsuccessful.

Ukrainian forces destroyed another Russian battery of artillery north of Izyum. The artillery unit was clustered in the tree line south of Sukha Kamyanka and suffered heavy losses by drone-directed counterbattery.

On July 27, rockets fired by HIMARS destroyed a base for the terrorist organization Imperial Legion working for PMC Wagner Group in Izyum. Video shot by Russian State Media and PMC Wagner Group tried to portray the strike as an attack against a grade school. The video released by Wagner showed the building was sandbagged with firing positions and had trenches and defensive positions dug around it.

Chernihiv – Operational Command North reported the settlement of Semeniv on the Russian border was shelled, with the town administration building damaged. There were no casualties reported.

Daily Assessment

  1. Private Military Company Wagner Group likely committed a war crime and violated the Geneva Convention for the trust and care of prisoners of war.
  2. Ukraine continues to target ammunition depots, troop concentrations, and critical transportation infrastructure with HIMARS, crippling Russia’s ability to wage war.
  3. Russian forces have initiated or are setting conditions for a significant offensive west of Donetsk but likely do not have the combat power to be successful.

To read the rest of our report, become a Patreon! For as little as $5 a month, you get access to the daily Russia-Ukraine War Situation Report. The report provides analysis, maps, detailed information about all the axes in Ukraine, international developments, information about war crimes and human rights, and economic news. As an added benefit, you get access to flash reports, breaking news, and our Discord server.

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Former Juanita High School security guard accused of voyeurism in Bonney Lake

[WASHINGTON] – MTN – A woman is accusing former Juanita High School security guard Jeff Lewis, who was at the center of excessive force allegations in 2013, of voyeurism after she caught him following and video recording underaged girls at Target in Bonney Lake.

A video of TikTok of a woman confronting Lewis on TikTok has received over 900K views.

@momoftwowithone

Do you know this guy? Saw this guy blatantly taking pictures and videos of teenage girls in their shorts at my local @target Security and managers couldnt (wouldnt) do anything and he booked it when someone mentioned police. #creep #karen #target #fyp

♬ original sound – JJ

“You have pictures of children on your phone; that’s not OK. That’s disgusting. You can’t take pictures of underage girls in a store. That’s not OK.”

Lewis tries to walk away, pauses, and says, “you’re wrong.”

The woman says, “I’m not wrong, I saw the whole thing.”

In a follow up video, she explains that she witnessed Lewis filming underaged girls who were in the back-to-school section with his cellphone, taking close-ups of their bottoms and following them through the store. When Lewis realized he was being watched, he stopped filming. The woman approached the girls, asking them if they knew the man, and they stated they did not. She told the girls what was happening and that she would take care of it and make sure they were safe. The girls contacted store security.

The woman who recorded the video shared on TikTok claims that store security was waiting for Lewis when he tried to leave the store, questioned him, and asked to see his cell phone, which he refused. Target said they couldn’t legally detain Lewis, who left the store.

TikTok user @thatdaneshguy, with 1.2 million followers, has created a career in identifying people who commit acts of racism, spread malicious disinformation, and commit child abuse. Danesh and his team identified the man in the video as Jeff Lewis, a former Juanita High School security guard terminated in 2013 due to misconduct.

Lewis was suspended from his job in January 2013 after a 16-year-old student at Juanita High School accused him of causing injury when he manhandled her to the office. After a four-month suspension, Lewis was initially quietly released, causing outrage among area parents and students.

Students mounted a protest in the school with the support of parents, and over 500 signed a petition demanding Lewis be hired back.

The Kirkland Reporter wrote on July 1, 2013, that Lewis had been released after the four-month investigation and was involved in another use of force incident in 2007 when he worked for the Edmonds School District. In a negotiated settlement with Lewis’s attorney, he opted to resign from his position versus being fired “with cause.” The district agreed to pay Lewis’s salary through August 2013 and provide medical benefits through September of the same year. Part of the agreement included purging his employee file of the incident.

“In 2007, Lewis was placed on paid administrative leave during an Edmonds School District investigation, documents state. Lewis was involved in an incident that led to an autistic student’s broken wrist. But after three months of investigating, the Edmonds School District assistant superintendent Ken Limon informed Lewis on Oct. 8, 2007 that based on the information gathered, he did not believe Lewis deliberately or willfully sought to cause the student injury during the physical interaction.”

In that incident, an autistic student at Lynnwood High School had become disobedient and was slapping the teacher when Lewis arrived. After being removed from the classroom, the student allegedly grabbed Lewis and hit him several times. Lewis claims he “gently” pushed the student back to create physical space, and the boy fell, breaking his wrist.

The Lynnwood Police investigated and did not press charges. The Edmonds School District paid a $119,000 settlement to the mother but admitted no wrongdoing.

We have reached out to Target, the Bonney Lake Police Department, Danesh, and the woman who made the video to provide an update to this story.