RUSSIA BOMBARDS LAST UKRAINIAN STRONGHOLD IN MARIUPOL: Russia continued to relentlessly bombard a sprawling steel plant in Mariupol Wednesday, the last Ukrainian stronghold in the devastated city, where Russia estimates a few thousands Ukrainian troops remain and where Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy said some 1,000 civilians were also trapped. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said an attempt to open a safe corridor for women, children and the elderly to evacuate failed because Russians didn't observe a cease-fire. Meanwhile, the U.N. refugee agency estimated yesterday that more than five million people have now fled Ukraine since the Russia invasion on February 24th.
Ukraine said Russia was continuing to launch attacks in the eastern part of the country, with Zelenskyy saying in his nightly video address yesterday, "the occupiers aren’t abandoning their attempts to score at least some victory by launching a new, large-scale offensive." Russia said it had given Ukraine a draft document with its demands for ending the war, just days after President Vladimir Putin said the talks were at a, quote, "dead end," Zelenskyy said he hadn't seen or heard of the proposal, even though one of his top advisers said Ukraine was reviewing it.
President Biden is set to announce plans today to send Ukraine more military aid, with AP saying the new package is expected to be around the same size as the $800 million package he announced last week. It includes heavy artillery and ammunition needed for the fight in the eastern Donbas region, and is part of a stepped-up commitment of heavier military material from Western nations. Zelensky said that Ukraine's allies have, quote, "come to understand our needs better," and they are receiving new shipments of Western weapons now, "not in weeks or in a month."
Source: Ukraine Government |
One infectious disease expert said the virus is "mutating very rapidly": "The idea of stripping ourselves of an essential tool and toolbox is a really bad idea" https://t.co/4SBZaKXK6s
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 21, 2022
➤EXCHANGE OF FIRE BETWEEN ISRAEL, PALESTINIAN MILITANTS IN GAZA: There was an exchange of fire between Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and Israel early Thursday, with the militants firing several rockets into southern Israel and Israeli aircraft firing on and hitting militant targets in Gaza. The strikes across the border escalated tensions that have been heightened in recent weeks after a series of deadly attacks by Palestinian gunmen on civilians in Israel and Israeli military operations in the West Bank in response, as well as clashes between Israelis and Palestinians at the Al Aqsa compound. In the latest incident before the cross-border fire, there was a march of Israeli ultra-nationalists Wednesday toward predominantly Palestinian areas around Jerusalem’s Old City.
➤SECRET SERVICE KILLS INTRUDER AT PERUVIAN AMBASSADOR'S RESIDENCE: U.S. Secret Service officers fatally shot an intruder who was smashing windows at the residence of the Peruvian ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C., yesterday. Authorities said the ambassador and his family were inside the residence when they heard windows being smashed just before 8 a.m. and called the Secret Service. Officers responded and found a man with a metal stake in the rear yard and used a Taser to try to stop him, but it didn't appear to have any effect on him, according to Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee. The officers then shot the man, who died at the scene. His identity has not been released. Investigators are still trying to find out why the man was at the home and why he was smashing the windows.
📲STUDY..CUTTING YOUR SMARTPHONE USE BY JUST ONE HOUR A DAY MAKES YOU LESS ANXIOUS: Could you bear to cut your smartphone use down? Researchers from Germany found cutting smartphone use by just one hour per day left people feeling less anxious, more satisfied with life, and made them more likely to exercise. Participants who used their phones for one hour less a day for the week-long experiment also reported reduced symptoms of depression, and lowered nicotine consumption. Participants who abstained from using their phones completely for the duration of the experiment reported they used their smartphones an average of 38 minutes less per day even four months after the experiment ended. Study leader Dr. Julia Brailovskaia says, “It’s not necessary to completely give up the smartphone to feel better.”HALT DISNEY: Florida lawmakers voted to dissolve special self-governing status given to Disney decades ago as the company feuds with Republicans over controversial parental rights bill. https://t.co/uW2DcWildt pic.twitter.com/ooKleAEvZf
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 20, 2022
Rapper A$AP Rocky was taken into custody in LA in connection to a November 2021 shooting, NBC News reported https://t.co/Mbgg7OiSUb pic.twitter.com/qDaUKIrG5V
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 21, 2022
➤BIDEN TO ATTACH WH CORRESPONDENCE DINNER: President Biden will attend the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner later this month, the first time the sitting president will be there since 2016 in then-President Barack Obama's final year in office. Donald Trump chose not to go when he was president, and it was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. The organization tweeted the news that Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will be at the April 30th dinner, which will honor the First Amendment. The Daily Show host Trevor Noah will be the event's entertainer. For the 2019 dinner, an historian was chosen to speak, breaking the tradition of having a comedian perform and roast the president, members of his administration and the media, and joke about current events, after there'd been criticism of some of the sharp jabs by comics who'd recently hosted. For this year's dinner, the association is requiring that all attendees be fully vaccinated and show a negative result from a rapid Covid-19 test taken earlier in the day.
Sooo…quite a nice show by the @USArmy #GoldenKnights before tonight’s @Nationals game. Except someone forgot to alert the Capitol Police about the low-flying plane from which they jumped. Capitol complex evacuated. Oy. pic.twitter.com/nC3X9pptrL
— Sue Kopen Katcef (@UMNewsie) April 20, 2022
🗣️ SIXERS WIN GAME THREE. pic.twitter.com/1IcPit6yh0
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 21, 2022
🏀NBA PLAYOFFS: Results from first-round games yesterday:
- Boston Celtics 114, Brooklyn Nets 107 - Boston leads series 2-0
- Philadelphia 76ers 104, Toronto Raptors 101 (OT) - Philly star Joel Embiid made a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left in overtime for the win. - Philadelphia leads series 3-0
- Chicago Bulls 114, Milwaukee Bucks 110 - Series tied 1-1
🏒CAPITALS' OVECHKIN OLDEST WITH 50 GOALS IN A SEASON: Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scored his 49th and 50th goals of the season last night in a 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, becoming, at age 36, the oldest NHL player ever with 50 goals in a season. It was also the ninth time in his career that Ovechkin scored 50 goals, tying Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy for the most in NHL history.
⚾MARINERS MANAGER SERVAIS OUT WITH COVID-19: Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais will be away from the team after taking positive for Covid-19, as will be third base coach Manny Acta. Both were out starting with yesterday's game against the Texas Rangers, which Seattle won 4-2. First base coach Kristopher Negrón is filling in as acting manager. Also put on the Covid list from Seattle yesterday was pitcher Paul Sewald, joining outfielder Mitch Haniger and catcher/designated hitter Luis Torrens.
🏀WRIGHT RETIRES AS VILLANOVA BASKEBALL COACH: Hall of Fame Villanova basketball head coach Jay Wright announced last night that he's retiring after 21 seasons with the school, the shocking news coming after he'd just led the team to the Final Four in the NCAA basketball tournament. Villanova had two national championships under Wright, in 2016 and 2018, and went to four Final Fours. Wright had a 520-197 record at Villanova and a 642-282 record overall, including his years coaching Hofstra from 1994 to 2001. Kyle Neptune, who was on the Villanova coaching staff before accepting the head coach position at Fordham in 2021, is returning to replace Wright.
The circumstances of WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner's detention in Russia are extraordinary, but much remains a mystery as a crucial court date approaches next month. https://t.co/aeJ6PViPgR
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 21, 2022
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