Taliban response to Afghan protests increasingly violent, UN says

The U.N. rights office on Friday said that the Taliban response to peaceful marches in Afghanistan has been increasingly violent, with authorities using live ammunition, batons and whips that have resulted in at least four protester deaths.

Ravina Shamdasani, U.N. rights spokesperson, told a U.N. briefing in Geneva that it had received reports of house-to-house searches for those who participated in the protests. Journalists have also faced intimidation and one of those who was beaten in custody was verbally threatened with a beheading, she added.

Oil Futures Up Sharply Amid Signs Of Tighter Supplies

Crude oil prices are rising sharply Friday morning, extending gains from the previous session, amid signs of a drop in crude supply in the U.S. due to the impact of Hurricane Ida.

According to reports, nearly 75% of offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico region remains halted for nearly three weeks now.

The latest data from Energy Information Administration showing declines in crude oil, gasoline and distillate stockpiles in the U.S. last week continues to support oil’s uptick.

Also, there are expectations of a warmer relationship between the U.S. and China after reports about a call between the presidents of the two countries.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October are up $1.27 or 1.85% at $69.41 a barrel.

Brent crude futures are gaining $1.29 or 1.81% at $72.74 a barrel.

Data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. declined 1.529 million barrels in the week ended September 3, much less than an expected draw of 4.6 million barrels.

Gasoline inventories dropped by 7.2 million barrels, more than twice the expected drop, while distillate stockpiles were down by 3.142 million barrels in the week, the EIA data showed.

Ted Cruz Tries Trolling Patton Oswalt, Who Just Puts The Joke On Him

If you come at a comedian, you best not miss.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) took a cheap shot at Patton Oswalt early Thursday after Oswalt nixed multiple performances at venues that refuse to require proof of vaccination or a negative test result from audience members.

“Both of his fans were disappointed,” Cruz snarked on Twitter.

Oswalt wasn’t having it.

The stand-up hit back at the Texas Republican with a series of one-liners, zinging Cruz for his ill-fated vacation to Cancun as his state was hit by a devastating winter storm, that hardcore porn incident and his amplification of 2020 election conspiracy theories that led to the U.S. Capitol riot.

“Well, that was fun,” Oswalt concluded the thread with a final slam of Cruz as “a friendless, cowardly embarrassment.”

Twitter users also weighed in:

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Omega Therapeutics Q2 Loss Widens

Omega Therapeutics Inc. (OMGA) reported that its net loss for the second quarter of 2021 widened to $15.4 million or $3.36 per share, from last year’s $6.3 million or $1.58 per share, primarily due to increased research and development and G&A expenses to support the company’s growth.

As of June 30, 2021, the company had cash and cash equivalents totaling $122.4 million, which does not include the gross proceeds of $141.1 million from the Company’s IPO.

Research and development (R&D) expenses for the second quarter of 2021 were $11.2 million, compared with $4.9 million for the second quarter of 2020.

The $6.3 million increase in R&D expenses was primarily due to an increase in discovery and preclinical development costs, related laboratory materials and supplies, and personnel and related expenses as the Company continues to advance its development pipeline.

Vista Outdoor To Acquire Foresight Sports – Quick Facts

Vista Outdoor Inc. (VSTO) has agreed to acquire Foresight Sports, a designer and manufacturer of golf performance analysis, entertainment, and game enhancement technologies, for $474 million. Vista Outdoor said the acquisition immediately positions it as one of the top technology players in the golf industry.

For calendar year 2021, Foresight Sports’ net sales and adjusted EBITDA are expected to be approximately $100 million and $50 million, respectively.

Vista Outdoor expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings, excluding transaction and transition costs.

Pre-market Movers: APOP, FBRX, ANY, AGIL, ADXS…

The following are some of the stocks making big moves in Friday’s pre-market trading (as of 6.30 A.M. EDT).

In the Green

Cellect Biotechnology Ltd. (APOP) is up over 54% at $8.51

Advaxis, Inc. (ADXS) is up over 16% at $0.54

MongoDB, Inc. (MDB) is up over 13% at $455.51

Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited (SHI) is up over 12% at $24.65

Innate Pharma S.A. (IPHA) is up over 12% at $4.69

The OLB Group, Inc. (OLB) is up over 11% at $5.45

Meta Materials Inc. (MMAT) is up over 10% at $5.95

Salarius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SLRX) is up over 8% at $1.13

In the Red

Forte Biosciences, Inc. (FBRX) is down over 81% at $5.40

Sphere 3D Corp. (ANY) is down over 26% at $6.90

AgileThought, Inc. (AGIL) is down over 19% at $18.95

Yext, Inc. (YEXT) is down over 11% at $12.25

Joby Aviation, Inc. (JOBY) is down over 9% at $10.85

TSR, Inc. (TSRI) is down over 7% at $12.14