Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
AP’s Today in History for October 24th
Dawn of the UN; Dwight Eisenhower vows to end the Korean War; Suspects caught in D.C.-area sniper shootings; Concorde makes last trans-Atlantic flight; ‘Star Trek’ creator Gene Roddenberry dies.
Breakfast Tune Theme from Star Trek (TOS)
Something to think about, Breakfast News & Blogs below
THE UAE’S POWERFUL AMBASSADOR IS STILL HOBNOBBING IN WASHINGTON AFTER JAMAL KHASHOGGI’S MURDER
Ryan Grim, The Intercept
THE MAN IN Washington most responsible for elevating Mohammed bin Salman to the position of crown prince of Saudi Arabia has largely escaped scrutiny in the wake of the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
And on Tuesday, life goes on as normal for United Arab Emirates Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, the diplomat who lobbied Washington heavily to support the crown prince’s internal efforts to disrupt the line of ascension and put himself next in line for the throne. When MBS — as the crown prince is known — was given his title in June 2017, and as he went on a ruthless power grab in the months that followed, the Washington foreign policy establishment nodded along and touted him as a reformer.
Otaiba, according to an invitation obtained by The Intercept, will be hosting a dinner party Tuesday night for former Obama administration Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker at his Virginia mansion. The invite identifies Pritzker by her current role as chair of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Otaiba’s dinner parties are a thing of legend in the Washington social scene, occasionally prepared by Wolfgang Puck himself. The exclusive events are part of the UAE’s strategy to buy influence in Washington, by assiduously flattering and pampering the most influential members of the elite. Otaiba, beginning in 2015, used those relationships to smooth the path for MBS, Saudi Arabia’s defense minister at the time, to eventually become crown prince. Otaiba’s boss, Mohammed bin Zayed, had determined that it would be to the UAE’s benefit if MBS seized control from then-Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef.
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Something to think about over coffee prozac
Winning ticket scoops almost $1.6bn US Mega Millions jackpot
A ticket sold in South Carolina matched all six numbers in the US’s almost $1.6bn (£1.24bn) Mega Millions lottery draw, the state’s lottery has said on its website.
The ticket matched the five numbers 5, 28, 62, 65, 70 and the mega ball 5 that were drawn on Tuesday night. Anyone who matched all six can choose an immediate cash payment of $904m or receive the almost $1.6bn over 29 years.
Lottery officials said the final sales numbers showed the winning lottery jackpot was just shy of the all-time world record.
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