THE DAILY NEWSLETTER - MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2022

Media Winners & Losers

MEDIA WINNER:
Clarissa Ward

Despite the constant parade of horrible news from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward managed to find a glimmer of positivity by reporting that an elderly woman she previously met had been safely evacuated from her war-torn area of the country.

Ward has been reporting on the ground since the invasion began, and some of her most recent coverage of the war came from Avdiivka, a Donbas region town near the war’s frontline in eastern Ukraine. Ward heard from numerous desperate residents remaining in the area, one of whom was 86-year-old Lidia, who emotionally described the terror of hearing Russia’s shelling while being unable to evacuate.

Ward didn't hide her joy in being able to report that Lidia had been successfully evacuated to a care facility in Dnipro. Ward and CNN cameraman Scott McWhinnie caught up with Lidia there and captured the happy reunion. 

“It’s our old friend,” said Lidia. “I’m so glad to see you again.”

“Leaving Lidia alone in her apartment was incredibly tough,” Ward narrated in her report. “To see her safe is a huge relief.”

Ward's reporting style is steady and informative, remaining remarkably calm even in the midst of literal wars, but she never sets her humanity aside. She doesn't take credit for helping Lidia get to a safer location, although that seems highly likely to have happened. It wouldn't be the first time she leveraged her resources to help someone escape a war zone. 

MEDIA LOSER:
Shannon Sharpe

Kyrie Irving left Boston for Brooklyn three years ago, but you would think it was just yesterday judging by the reaction he got from Celtics fans during Game 1 of the NBA playoffs — with the Boston faithful heckling the Nets guard for the entirety of the contest.

Irving didn't let the heckling go unanswered, giving Celtic fans several middle-fingered salutes and even shouting back at one fan a suggestion he perform a certain sexual act. 

At the post game press conference, Irving said that while it wasn't every fan behaving this way, some had been very vulgar. He saw no reason to just remain "docile," explaining he would have the "same energy they have for me."

That's not good enough, according to Fox Sports' Shannon Sharpe. The former NFL star said he would have responded to hecklers by going "into the stands," pretending he was trying to catch the ball and then "catch somebody with an elbow, right on the chin." 

"Imma clean a couple of them clocks," said Sharpe. "It’ll calm down.” 

Irving at least kept his perspective and responded to insults with insults; he didn't escalate. It's some laughably illogical reasoning from Sharpe to suggest that hitting a fan would "calm down" the situation. We've covered many brawls at sporting events and things absolutely do not calm down when hands start getting thrown. Seriously though, the idea that a professional athlete should jump into the stands and physically assault a fan is insane -- and irresponsible. 

The A-Block

"We will continue cooking" 

A facility operated by Chef José Andrés’ non-profit organization, World Central Kitchen (WCK), was badly damaged during a round of Russian missile attacks in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

In the past month, Andrés’ humanitarian kitchen has put much of its focus into feeding refugees who are fleeing war-torn Ukraine from the invading Russian army. The celebrity chef told the media last month that WCK had provided more than 4 million meals to refugees since the invasion began.

WCK CEO Nate Moss posted video from the scene, and announced that four of their restaurant's staffers had been wounded. At least one other person was killed.

“The WCK team and our fellow Ukrainians are unnerved but safe after a missile attack on a restaurant in Kharkiv," wrote Andrés in a tweet. "Giving food in the middle of a senseless war is an act of courage, resilience, resistance…and we will continue cooking.”

In an interview on Monday with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, Andrés addressed the attack and vowed to continue feeding Ukrainians

He assured viewers that his organization has set up over 400 kitchens, and while a majority are in Ukraine, there are others in surrounding countries.

“We have thousands of people working with us. We are doing 320,000 meals a day, already reaching 12 million meals,” he continued. “We have been bringing into and distributing inside Ukraine over 7 million pounds of food.”

Andrés went on to say that he and his team will “make sure that nobody will go hungry,” until the situation in Ukraine “goes back to normal” following Russia’s invasion.


🇺🇦 FOR LATEST UKRAINE COVERAGE CLICK HERE


In Other News...

Cable News Veteran Richard Roth Thanks CNN Colleague on Air for Saving His Life With Kidney Donation

Alex Jones' InfoWars Filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Amid Sandy Hook Defamation Lawsuits

Zelensky Bashes World Leaders, Accuses Them of Empty Rhetoric in Saying 'Never Again' to Genocide: 'We Don't Believe' Their Words

Fox News Panel Hits SNL For Elon Musk Joke 'Mocking Free Speech': Writers 'Might as Well Walk Across the Hall' to Work for MSNBC

RATINGS: The Five Continues to Roll


Industry News...

Incoming CNN Boss Announces He's Ditching Twitter Because it Can 'Skew What's Really Important in the World'

Megyn Kelly Says Jeff Zucker Made Her a ‘Huge Offer’ to Come to CNN

Must See Clip

Tanning what?!

This truly is the weirdest timeline.

In Tucker Carlson's latest special, "The End of Men," he chats with a "fitness professional" about the supposed benefits of dudes exposing their tater tots to "red-light therapy" to increase testosterone levels.

Yep, they're talking about testicle tanning.

Because the story isn't strange enough, there's also a clip of Carlson discussing this new "bromeopathy" (yes, that's an actual word that was used) with Kid Rock (who was amusingly unconvinced of its merits).

Twitter went nuts (zero apologies for the absolutely-intended pun) over a promo for the special, and the extended clips just threw more fuel on the social media fire. "Testicle Tanning" was trending all day on Monday. 

Watch Carlson's bromeopathic report here.

Links We Like

Trump Supporters Explain Why They Believe the Big Lie
- Sarah Longwell, The Atlantic
Crime upstages progressive priorities in Los Angeles mayor's race
- Alexander Nieves and Lara Korte, Politico
Given endless resources, Tucker Carlson zeroes in on UFOs and testicles
-  Philip Bump, Washington Post
Apple’s Privacy Rules Leave Its Engineers in the Dark
Wayne Ma, The Information
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