Deutsche Welle
Zelenskyy calls for global protests one month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged citizens around the world to protest against Russia one month into the invasion, as Russian forces reportedly stall outside Kyiv. […]
"Come with Ukrainian symbols to support Ukraine, to support freedom, to support life," Zelenskyy said. "Come to your squares, to your streets, make yourselves visible and heard."
"Show your standing, come from your offices, your homes, your schools and your universities, come in the name of peace," he added. "The world must stop the war."
The call to action comes one month after Russia's invasion, which has sparked condemnation around the world.
Los Angeles Times
U.S. formally accuses Russia of war crimes as humanitarian crisis in Ukraine deepens
As President Biden headed Wednesday to a Europe with large-scale battles raging at its edge, his government formally declared that Russian forces have committed war crimes in their brutal attacks on civilians and others in Ukraine.
The besieged port of Mariupol was cited as one of the main pieces of evidence. On Wednesday, Ukraine said Russian forces hijacked aid missions headed to the devastated city, where one of the worst humanitarian crises of the escalating conflict has unfolded with hundreds of civilians killed and scarce supplies of food, water and medicine.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed unrelenting violence that has caused death and destruction across Ukraine,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in announcing the U.S. government’s determination in a statement released as he flew to NATO headquarters in Brussels with Biden.
The Washington Post
Top Russian military leaders repeatedly decline calls from U.S., prompting fears of ‘sleepwalking into war’
Repeated attempts by the United States’ top defense and military leaders to speak with their Russian counterparts have been rejected by Moscow for the last month, leaving the world’s two largest nuclear powers in the dark about explanations for military movements and raising fears of a major miscalculation or battlefield accident.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have tried to set up phone calls with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov but the Russians “have so far declined to engage,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby in a statement Wednesday.
EuroNews
NATO says 7—15,000 Russian troops killed, as Putin's forces meet Ukrainian resistance
NATO estimated on Wednesday that 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in four weeks of fighting in Ukraine. […]
A senior NATO military official said the estimate was based on information from Ukrainian officials, what Russia has released — intentionally or not — and intelligence gathered from open sources. […]
Russia has not given an official update since it said on March 2 that 498 soldiers had been killed in action in Ukraine.
Globe and Mail
NATO expects to increase battlegroups in Eastern Europe
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join other world leaders at NATO headquarters in Brussels Thursday for an emergency summit where delegates will discuss plans to strengthen the Western military alliance, particularly along its eastern flank, and contingencies in case Russia uses nuclear or chemical weapons in its invasion of Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday afternoon, in the first of two days of meetings in the Belgian capital, that the leaders were expected to agree to deploy four new battlegroups to Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, announce new sanctions against Russia and tighten those that already exist.
Mr. Stoltenberg demanded that Russia “stop its nuclear sabre-rattling.” While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has plans in place in case of nuclear and chemical strikes, he said such attacks would threaten not just Ukraine but also the country’s neighbours, who would be hit by the fallout.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Minnesota congressional candidate withdraws from politics to go fight in Ukraine
The only Democrat running for Congress in Minnesota's Seventh District is putting his political aspirations on hold in an attempt to join the foreign legion fighting Russian forces in Ukraine.
For the past eight months, U.S. Air Force veteran Mark Lindquist has been focused on his campaign for Congress in Minnesota's Seventh District. But in recent days, the Democrat has been captivated by another potential calling: "Am I willing to die for Ukraine's freedom?"
The answer, Lindquist said, has been a resounding yes - prompting him to put his political aspirations on hold to heed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's call to action.
Now the former Air Force staff sergeant, who served as an intelligence analyst, says he will join the newly formed international legion to fight Russian forces in Ukraine.
South China Morning Post
How war in Ukraine fuels a food crisis in Africa
Bread is a staple food for tens of millions of Egyptians. So much so that any shortage of it can be a major political issue and cause social upheaval. […]
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine… may be happening far from Africa, but the impact of the war is being felt across the continent, from Cairo to Nairobi.
Egypt had been getting the vast majority of its wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine, but the flow of commodities has been disrupted by the chaos of the war – both the conflict itself and sanctions against Russia that prevent cargo containing its exports passing through ports as it normally would.
The Atlantic
America Is About to Test How Long ‘Normal’ Can Hold
At this very moment, the United States, as a whole, remains in its legit pandemic lull. Coronavirus case counts and hospitalizations are lower than they’ve been since last summer. There’s now a nice, chonky gap between us and January’s Omicron peak.
And yet. Outbreaks have erupted across Asia. Massive swaths of Europe, including the United Kingdom—America’s best pandemic bellwether for much of 2021—are firmly in the grip of a more transmissible Omicron subvariant called BA.2 that’s been simmering stateside for months. Already, scattered spots throughout the U.S. look a shade foreboding. Several states’ wastewater-surveillance sites are witnessing a rise in viral particles, which, in previous waves, has preceded increases in documented infections by several days. Many states’ case rates have now hit a plateau, and a handful are even beginning a slow march back up. The other COVID shoe seems poised to drop in the U.S. at some point, perhaps quite soon. When it does, it won’t be pretty. “With policies, with supply, with vaccination rates, we are not prepared,” says Julia Raifman, a COVID-policy expert at Boston University.
The Seattle Times
Omicron’s subvariant found in 25% of cases tested at UW virology lab
The subvariant of omicron known as BA.2 accounts for about one-fourth of COVID-19 cases sequenced in Washington, according to the state’s largest genomic sequencing lab.
The subvariant has steadily spread in the state, and across the country and Europe, but researchers are hopeful any potential wave of the new strain won’t cause as many infections, hospitalizations and deaths as the original version of the variant did. […]
“It’s been sort of slowly creeping up over the last six weeks,” Alex Greninger, assistant director of UW Medicine’s virology lab and an assistant professor of lab medicine and pathology, said in a Tuesday statement. “It’s going to be interesting to see what the end of April, beginning of May, what that time period will look like.”
The New York Times
Madeleine Albright, First Woman to Serve as Secretary of State, Dies at 84
Madeleine K. Albright, a child of Czech refugees who fled from Nazi invaders and Communist oppressors and then landed in the United States, where she flourished as a diplomat and the first woman to serve as secretary of state, died on Wednesday in Washington. She was 84.
The cause was cancer, her daughter Anne said.
Enveloped by a veil of family secrets hidden from her for most of her life, Ms. Albright rose to power and fame as a brilliant analyst of world affairs and a White House counselor on national security. Under President Bill Clinton, she became the country’s representative to the United Nations (1993-97) and secretary of state (1997-2001), making her the highest-ranking woman in the history of American government at the time.
New York Daily News
Ex-Trump aide Paul Manafort hauled off plane after trying to fly on revoked passport
He couldn’t pass this one off. Paul Manafort was removed from a plane at Miami International Airport on Sunday after trying to fly to Dubai on a revoked passport. Manafort, 72, had boarded the Emirates Airlines flight but was flagged by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. […]
Manafort’s conviction in May 2019 was the highest profile consequence of special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Manafort ran that campaign for a few months in 2016 before resigning. He stepped down because his lobbying firm ran an operation for Ukraine’s former pro-Russian government.
NPR News
A Jan. 6 Capitol riot suspect wanted by the FBI was granted refugee status in Belarus
Evan Neumann is under federal indictment in the U.S. for more than a dozen charges related to last year's Capitol insurrection. But Belarus, a Russian ally and neighbor to Ukraine, has granted him asylum, saying he is under its protection indefinitely.
"I am very grateful, and it is bittersweet," like eating cranberries, Neumann said in a video posted by state media Belta. "So, very happy and very sad at the same time."
Neumann is currently wanted by the FBI on multiple charges of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, including using a metal barricade as a battering ram. But he fled the U.S. one month after the insurrection, traveling to Ukraine before winding up in Belarus. And now Belarus, which is aiding Russia's attacks on Ukraine, has granted Neumann refugee status.
CBS News
Former prosecutor says Trump "guilty of numerous felony violations"
One of the prosecutors who had been leading the fraud investigation into the Trump Organization wrote in his resignation letter that he believes … Donald Trump is "guilty of numerous felony violations." The letter… was first published by the New York Times.
In the letter to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Pomerantz expressed frustration with Bragg's handling of the case, writing "I believe that your decision not to prosecute Donald Trump now, and on the existing record, is misguided and completely contrary to the public interest. I therefore cannot continue in my current position."
Pomerantz and fellow prosecutor Carey Dunne both resigned in February amid the investigation in to the former president's company. The probe has led to fraud and tax evasion charges against the company and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.
Bloomberg
White House to Seek $813.3 Billion National Security Budget
President Joe Biden plans to request $813.3 billion in national security spending -- including $773 billion for the Pentagon -- in the federal budget he will send to Congress on Monday, according to officials familiar with the plan.
It’s an increase of $31 billion, or 4%, from approved spending for the current fiscal year and about $43 billion more than the White House budget office had projected a year ago for fiscal 2023.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
U.S. Supreme Court throws out Wisconsin's redistricting plan for legislative maps
The U.S. Supreme Court threw out Wisconsin's legislative maps Wednesday, less than three weeks after a narrowly divided state Supreme Court put them in place.
Wednesday's ruling leaves uncertain what maps will be used for the fall elections for the state Senate and Assembly. The Wisconsin high court will now have to revisit the case to decide where to put the lines.
Republicans praised the decision over the state legislative districts but faced a separate setback Wednesday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the state's congressional maps.
Vox
Black voters suffer another significant loss in the Supreme Court
[…] The Court’s decision in Wisconsin Legislature v. Wisconsin Elections Commission strikes down state legislative maps selected by the Wisconsin Supreme Court after the state’s Republican legislature and Democratic governor were unable to agree upon which maps the state should use. The maps that the state court adopted were proposed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, but Evers was also constrained by criteria, laid out by the GOP-controlled state supreme court, that favor Republicans.
These maps apply to the state legislature. The Court’s decision does not touch the state’s congressional maps. […]
The majority opinion in Wisconsin Legislature, which is unsigned, faults Evers and the state supreme court for potentially doing too much to protect the voting rights of African Americans.
The Denver Post
Colorado bill to guarantee abortion rights headed to the governor’s desk after final vote in the legislature
All that’s left for Colorado to guarantee abortion access in the state is Gov. Jared Polis’ signature after the legislation received its final stamp of approval from the General Assembly on Wednesday.
State senators approved HB22-1279, dubbed the “Reproductive Health Equity Act,” on a party-line vote of 20-15. Democrats brought forward the measure, aimed at proactively protecting abortion rights amid the impending threat of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that made abortion access without excessive government interference a constitutional right.
All Republican senators voted against the bill as did all Republican representatives last week. A spokesman for Polis confirmed on Wednesday that the governor intends to sign the measure.
The Dallas Morning News
Idaho becomes first state to enact abortion restrictions modeled after Texas’ Senate Bill 8
Idaho became the first state to enact an abortion law modeled after Texas’ Senate Bill 8 restrictions as the governor signed the bill Wednesday, a day after the Oklahoma state House passed a near total ban that would outlaw abortion except to save the life of the mother.
But Idaho Gov. Brad Little raised concerns about whether the law is constitutional, specifically noting the civil enforcement approach taken by the law, which in Texas has been a major issue in court challenges to SB 8. […]
“While I support the pro-life policy in this legislation, I fear the novel civil enforcement mechanism will in short order be proven both unconstitutional and unwise.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ossoff questions give Supreme Court nominee Jackson a chance to tell more of her story
Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s questioning of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson stood in stark contrast to some of the combative interactions she had with Republican members.
Ossoff used his time to allow Jackson to explain her philosophy on aspects of the Constitution, such as searches and seizures, press freedoms and the role of public defenders. He also encouraged Jackson to share more of her personal story and the law enforcement and military background of members of her family, including two uncles and a brother who served as police officers.
“I understand the need for law enforcement, the importance of having people who are willing to do that important work, the importance of holding people accountable for their criminal behavior,” Jackson said. “I also, as a lawyer and a citizen, believe very strongly in our Constitution and the rights that make us free. And what that means to me is an understanding that although we need accountability — although there is crime — we also have a society that ensures that people who have been accused of criminal behavior are treated fairly.”
Yahoo! News
Booker brings Jackson to tears with impassioned speech: 'You're my star'
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., brought Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to tears Wednesday with an impassioned speech hearkening to the plight of Black Americans and the efforts of their forebears that led Booker and Jackson to be sitting together in the same Senate hearing room.
“It’s hard for me not to look at you and not see my mom. Not to see my cousins, one of them who had to come here and sit behind you. She had to have your back. I see my ancestors and yours,” Booker said. “But don’t worry, my sister. Don’t worry. God has got you. And how do I know that? You’re here, and I know what it’s taken for you to sit in that seat.
“You have earned this spot,” Booker said. “You are worthy. You are a great American.”
AP News
UN sets 5-year goal to broaden climate early warning systems
The chief of the United Nations announced a project Wednesday to put every person on Earth in range of early weather-warning systems within five years as natural disasters have grown more powerful and frequent due to climate change.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the project with the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization aims to make the alert systems already used by many rich countries available to the developing world.
“Today, one-third of the world’s people, mainly in least-developed countries and small island developing states, are still not covered by early warning systems,” Guterres said. “In Africa, it is even worse: 60% of people lack coverage.”
Al Jazeera
The Taliban closes Afghan girls’ schools hours after reopening
The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has announced that girls’ high schools will be closed, hours after they reopened for the first time in nearly seven months.
The backtracking by the Taliban means female students above the sixth grade will not be able to attend school.
A Ministry of Education notice said on Wednesday that schools for girls would be closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture, according to Bakhtar News Agency, a government news agency.
“We inform all girls high schools and those schools that are having female students above class six that they are off until the next order,” said the notice.
CNBC
Black box from crashed Boeing jet is on its way to Beijing for analysis, state media says
Search and rescue teams have found a black box and human remains at the China Eastern Airlines crash site, state media said, citing Chinese officials late Wednesday.
An airplane’s black boxes are two sets of technical equipment — one that captures flight data, and another that records cockpit communications with air traffic controllers. Analyzing that data could reveal reasons for the crash.
The black box found Wednesday is likely the cockpit voice recorder, while the search continues for the other, Zhu Tao, director of the aviation safety office at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said at a press conference Wednesday night.
San Francisco Chronicle
Newsom proposes $400 debit cards to offset soaring gas prices for car owners
Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a proposal Wednesday to blunt California’s highest-in-the-nation gas prices by giving every vehicle owner in the state a $400 tax refund in the form of a debit card.
Newsom’s announcement is part of an $11 billion package his office said would help residents deal with the high price of gasoline, which has soared to a statewide average of $5.87 per gallon.
The debit cards would be mailed to the registered owners of vehicles, with a maximum of $800 per person for those who own more than one vehicle. In addition, Newsom wants to provide relief to non-drivers by making rail and mass transit service free for three months.
Reuters
Putin wants 'unfriendly' countries to pay for Russian gas in roubles
Russia will seek payment in roubles for gas sold to "unfriendly" countries, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, and European gas prices soared on concerns the move would exacerbate the region's energy crunch. […]
Putin's message was clear: If you want our gas, buy our currency. It remained unclear whether Russia has the power to unilaterally change existing contracts agreed upon in euros.
The Guardian
Inca site ‘has gone by wrong name for over 100 years’
Machu Picchu is one of the world’s best-known archaeological sites, a wonder of pre-Columbian architecture that has been closely studied for decades and a tourist attraction that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
But a new academic paper argues that since its rediscovery more than a century ago, the site has been known by the wrong name.
A Peruvian historian and a leading US archaeologist argue that the Unesco world heritage site was known by its Inca inhabitants as Huayna Picchu – the name of a peak overlooking the ruins – or simply Picchu.
Ars Technica
SEC will require companies to list greenhouse emissions, climate risks
On Monday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced new rules about disclosing climate risks for companies listed on US-based stock exchanges. The rules are meant to give investors a clearer sense of how companies manage present and future challenges posed by climate change and by attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The rules will be published in the Federal Register for public comment shortly. A final version is expected later this year, and the lawsuits are likely to begin afterward.
In the announcement, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said the new rules adhere to the organization's mission. "Our core bargain from the 1930s is that investors get to decide which risks to take," he said, "as long as public companies provide full and fair disclosure and are truthful in those disclosures." Typically, risk disclosure occurs in required formal filings that companies make with the SEC, like quarterly financial statements.