THE HIGH WINDOW: Russian mercenary army leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed in the manifest as one of 10 people on board a private jet that went down about 180 miles north of Moscow yesterday, killing everyone on board.

  Some of Prigozhin’s senior mercenary leaders also were reported to be on the plane.

  So far, there’s no confirmation that Prigozhin is among the dead, but Russian authorities confirmed he was on the passenger list. Prigozhin was behind the brief rebellious march on Moscow two months ago yesterday, but afterwards he was allowed to freely move around.

  Russian President Vladimir Putin has not commented on the incident.

  A video released online shows the Embraer business jet smoking, missing a wing, and spiraling to the ground. The wreckage appeared to be allowed to burn even after the police and firefighters arrived and put up barrier tape. Aviation experts say a jet like that spontaneously losing a wing virtually never happens.

  Putin’s enemies and opponents of the Ukraine war have had a tendency in the past couple of years to fall out of windows in high rise buildings. The world was waiting to see whether he would eliminate Prigozhin.

  Prigozhin’s private army and business interests stretch around the world, including troops on the Ukraine front and in Africa, a gold mine in the Central African Republic, as well as oil and gas operations off the coast of Syria.

  While visiting lake Tahoe in California, President Biden was asked whether he thought Putin was behind this air crash and he said he didn’t know but, “There’s not much in Russia that happens that Putin isn’t behind.”

DEBATABLE: The unknown tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy jumped out to prominence in last night’s Republican candidate debate. The smiling and smarmy, climate-denying 38-year-old put on a show. He said he would cut military aid to Ukraine and pre-emptively pardon Donald Trump. While insulting his opponents, he said he was the only candidate not bought and paid for by special interests.

  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the candidate on stage with the highest polling numbers, failed to stand out.

  President Joe Biden, of course, was a popular target. Mike Pence: “Joe Biden has weakened America at home and abroad.” DeSantis: “We need to send Joe Biden back to his basement and reverse American decline.”

  One of the dividing issues was US support for Ukraine. Nikki Haley and Mike Pence support it, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ramaswamy spoke out against it. 

  Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stood out in denouncing the absent Donald Trump saying, “Whether or not you believe that the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of president of the United States.”

BOOK ‘EM: Former US Attorney and New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani surrendered yesterday for arrest, booking, and a mugshot at the Fulton County jail in Georgia. He is charged in a Georgia indictment along with Donald Trump and 17 other defendants with making illegal attempts to overturn Joe Biden’s Georgia victory in the 2020 election.

  Giuliani arrived at the jail in a black limousine and greeted uniformed officers with a handshake. The former prosecutor was released on a $150,000 bond.    

  “I get photographed, isn’t that nice?” Giuliani said to reporters before departing New York in the morning. Referring to his days as a tough prosecutor, he said, “A mugshot for the man who probably put the worst criminals of the 20^th century in jail.” 

  After booking in Atlanta, he said, “If this can happen to me, who was probably the most prolific prosecutor maybe in American history, and the most effective mayor, for sure, it can happen to you.”

TO THE MOON: India yesterday achieved a successful soft landing of its Vikram space craft and rover Pragyan, making that country only the fourth to achieve a moon landing.  The two robots are the first to reach the southern polar region of the moon. 

  The event comes as India is moving to be recognized as a world power and this makes for great image building.

THE SPIN RACK: The number of gender-transition surgeries to match a patients’ physical appearance with their gender identity, nearly tripled in the US between 2016 and 2019, according to a new analysis put out by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The number of procedures rose from about 4,550 in 2016 to about 13,000 in 2019. Gender affirming care has become a big issue among conservatives … they’re against it. — Three people were killed and five others wounded when a gunman believed to be a retired cop opened fire last night inside a popular biker bar in Orange County, California. The shooter was killed by sheriff deputies. — The trial has opened for three men accused of conducting surveillance on the home of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a plot to kidnap her. They face up to 20 years if convicted. — With the bear population growing, and incidents of human contact increasing, the State of Connecticut has given homeowners permission to shoot a threatening bear under certain circumstances.

BELOW THE FOLD: Look out, Lee Greenwood. His song “God Bless the USA” could be in danger of being replaced as the Republican anthem. Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond,” a hillbilly elegy to the working class, made a debut at the Republican debate last night. Like the candidates themselves, the song rails against taxes, government, and people on welfare. “Cause your dollar ain’t shit and it’s taxed to no end / ‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond.”

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