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Thursday, March 24, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Zelenskyy Calls For Worldwide Show of Support


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called in a video address late Wednesday for people around the world to gather in public today, the one-month anniversary of Russia's invasion, to show support for Ukraine. Speaking in English during the emotional video, Zelenskyy said, "Come to your squares, your streets. Make yourselves visible and heard. Say that people matter. Freedom matters. Peace matters. Ukraine matters."
 
Zelenskyy will today address via video NATO leaders gathered in Brussels, including President Biden, who arrived yesterday. He called on NATO to provide, quote, "effective and unrestricted" support to Ukraine, including any weapons the country needs. Biden will also meet with leaders of the G7 industrialized nations and the European Council today.

In Ukraine, near-constant shelling and gunfire was heard in the capital city of Kyiv as Ukraian and Russian forces battled for control of several suburbs. AP cited a senior U.S. defense official as saying Russian troops appear to be digging in and setting up defensive positions nine to 12 miles outside Kyiv, as they'd made little progress towards the city center. The official said Russian forces appear to now be prioritizing the fight in the separatist Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the east, saying it could be intended to cut off Ukrainian troops and prevent them from moving west to defend other cities.
 

NATO Estimates 7,000 to 15,000 Russian Casualties: NATO estimated yesterday that between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine. The higher figure would be about the same number of troops Russia lost in Afghanistan over a decade of its fighting there in the 1980s. The West hasn't estimated Ukraine's troop losses, and Ukraine has released little information about it. However, Zelenskyy said nearly two weeks ago that about 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed.


U.S. Formally Says Russia Committed War Crimes: The U.S. has made a formal determination that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine, and will work with others to prosecute offenders, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday. In the statement, released as Blinken was traveling with Biden to Brussels, Blinken said, "We’ve seen numerous credible reports of indiscriminate attacks and attacks deliberately targeting civilians, as well as other atrocities. Russia’s forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centers, and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded."

➤ONE BLACK BOX FOUND FROM CHINA PLANE CRASH: One of the two black boxes from the China Eastern plane that crashed Monday with 132 people on board was found Wednesday, and the search area was expanded Thursday to try to find the other. The black box that's believed to be the cockpit voice recorder was found, with investigators saying its outer casing was damaged, but the orange cylinder was relatively intact. The flight data recorder is still missing. Investigators have said it's too early to determine why the Boeing 737-800 suddenly nose-dived from a cruising altitude of 29,000 feet about an hour into the flight. No survivors have been found from the crash.

➤SUPREME COURT NOMINEE JACKSON QUESTIONED FOR SECOND DAY: Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson underwent a second day of questioning by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday as part of her confirmation hearings. She again faced a barrage of questions from some Republicans over her sentencing of criminal defendants, particularly child pornography defendants, as well as her legal advocacy for Guantanamo Bay detainees as a public defender. Jackson said Republicans were mischaracterizing her decisions. In an emotional moment, Democratic Senator Cory Booker, who, like Jackson, is Black, said he sees, quote, "my ancestors and yours" when he looks at her and said, "I know what it’s taken for you to sit here in this seat. You have earned this spot." Tears rolled down Jackson's face as he spoke. Jackson would be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. The hearings will end today with testimony from legal experts and interest groups about Jackson’s suitability for the court.

 

➤MODERNA SAYS LOW-DOSE COVID VACCINE EFFECTIVE FOR CHILDREN UNDER SIX: Moderna said yesterday that a low dose of its Covid-19 vaccine is effective in children under six, and that it will ask U.S. and European regulators to authorize two small-dose shots for children in that age group. Children under five are the only age group that is still not yet eligible for Covid vaccination. Moderna's president, Dr. Stephen Hoge, told AP, "The vaccine provides the same level of protection against Covid in young kids as it does in adults."

➤IDAHO GOV. SIGNS SIX-WEEK ABORTION BAN MODELED ON TEXAS LAW: Idaho Republican Governor Brad Little signed a six-week abortion ban into law yesterday modeled on the one that went into effect in Texas last fall, becoming the first state to do so. It follows Texas not only with a six-week ban, but by enforcing the law via lawsuits filed by other citizens. While he did sign the law, Little also expressed concerns about its constitutionality, writing in a letter to Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin, "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." Idaho's law allows the father, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles of what it calls a "preborn child" to each sue an abortion provider for a minimum of $20,000 within four years of an abortion. While rapists can’t file a lawsuit under the law, a rapist’s relatives could.

🛬AIRLINES ASK TO END MASK MANDATE, COVID TESTING:  The CEOs of the nation's largest airlines have sent a letter to President Biden asking that the administration drop the federal mask mandate on airplanes, as well as the pre-departure Covid-19 testing requirement for international travelers, saying the requirements are, quote, "no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended its mass transit mask mandate by 30 days earlier this month to mid-April. The letter cited the, quote, "persistent and steady decline of hospitalization and death rates" as for why the requirements are no longer needed, and also cited the planes' air filtration systems, the country's high level of immunity due to vaccines and prior infection, and the CDC's most recent guidance that 99 percent of the population now are in areas where masks are no longer needed indoors. As for the pre-testing requirement for international travelers, they argued it's ineffective, and noted, "The United Kingdom, the European Union and Canada have recognized this reality and lifted travel restrictions. The U.S. inconsistency . . . creates a competitive disadvantage for U.S. travel and tourism[.]"

➤BOB SAGET FELT SICK BEFORE HIS LAST SHOW: Bob Saget allegedly didn’t feel well before performing a comedy set on the night of his death. According to audio of an Orange County police interview obtained by Page Six, the comedian was having trouble with his hearing and was suffering with a sore throat before he took the stage at the Ponte Verde Concert Hall on January 8th. Rosali Cocci, who runs errands for talent and staff at the venue told police, “I did hear him say, ‘I don’t feel good but I’m ready to do the show. This is what I do this for.’ He seemed to be talking himself up.” She added that he also “stated” that he was suffering from “long-term COVID.”

👼STUDY..IVF CHILDREN SHOWN TO HAVE BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE AS ADULTS:  Children conceived via assisted reproductive technology (ART), such as IVF, may have some advantages in terms of quality of life in adulthood. Researchers in Australia found that being ART-conceived was strongly linked with higher scores (better quality of life) in social relationships. In addition, these individuals reported having less psychological distress, more positive relationships with parents, a better financial situation, and perceptions of being about the right weight. Lead study author Karin Hammarberg adds, “Children conceived via ART are nowadays a substantial part of the population—and it’s important to continue to evaluate the long-term effects of ART on their physical health and well-being as they progress through adolescence into adulthood.”


➤A BIRTH CONTROL PILL FOR MEN COULD START HUMAN TRIALS THIS YEAR:  A new male contraceptive is on the horizon. University of Minnesota researchers say they’ve created a non-hormonal form of male birth control, but the research is only preliminary. They say it works by targeting how our bodies interact with vitamin A, which is known to be essential to fertility in mammals. The hope is their finding would be enough to induce long-lasting but reversible sterility with few side effects elsewhere in the body. They say the research looks promising so far in trials with mice, but that “clinical trials are the definitive test for the safety of any drug candidate.” If things go according to plan, researchers hope to start early-stage clinical trials in people by the later half of this year.  

➤NYC TO LET UNVACCINATED ATHLETES PLAY HOME GAMES: New York City will be allowing athletes who aren't vaccinated against Covid-19 to play home games, with Mayor Eric Adams set to announce the policy change this morning, which will be effective immediately, according to media reports. That will allow the Brookyn Nets' Kyrie Irving to once again play home games, and unvaccinated players on the New York Yankees and New York Mets to play once the season begins. New York City's vaccine mandate for workers will remain for people with other jobs, including government employees.

🏈CHIEFS TRADE TYREEK HILL TO DOLPHINS, WHO GETS $120 MILLION EXTENSION: The Kansas City Chiefs traded wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for a package of draft picks yesterday, including the Dolphins' first- and second-round picks this year. Miami is giving Hill a $120 million, four-year contract extension, making him the highest-paid player at his position in NFL history. Hill has spent all six of his NFL seasons with the Chiefs, including helping them win the Super Bowl after the 2019 season.

➤U.S. OFFICIAL MEETS WITH GRINER, SAID TO BE IN 'GOOD CONDITION': State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday that the U.S. was finally given consular access by Russia to detained WNBA star Brittney Griner, and that the U.S. official who met with her found her to be in, quote, "good condition." However, Price couldn't give further details about her status. Griner, who plays in Russia during the off-season, was detained in February when Russian airport officials allegedly found vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in her luggage. A Russian court ruled last week that her detention would be extended through at least May 19th.

📺MARCH MADNESS TV RATINGS UP: With the Sweet 16 of the men's NCAA basketball tournament getting underway today (March 24th) and the women's Sweet 16 starting tomorrow, data shows that TV viewership is up this year by double digits for both tournaments over last year. Viewership of the men's tournament is up 12 percent, and is also having its best start in five years. The women's tournament is up 15 percent overall through the first two rounds. Both tournaments are back to normal this year after being canceled in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, and then played in a bubble last year.
 

➤UFC'S MASVIDAL ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED BATTERY OF COVINGTON: UFC star Jorge Masvidal was arrested in Miami Beach last night (March 23rd) on charges of aggravated battery with bodily harm and criminal mischief, ESPN reported. Masvidal allegedly punched a man twice in the face Monday night outside a Miami Beach restaurant, breaking the man's tooth. ESPN said the man's name was redacted in the police report, but Masvidal tagged UFC rival and former friend Colby Covington in a tweet after the incident, saying, "You talk that s***, you got to back it up." The police report says the man said Masvidal told him, "You shouldn't have been talking about my kids." Masvidal reportedly got upset about Covington talking about his relationship with his children during the lead-up to their March 5th fight, which Covington won.

➤FIRST FEMALE SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT DEAD AT 84: Madeleine Albright, who was the first U.S. secretary of state, appointed in 1996 by President Bill Clinton, died Wednesday (March 23rd) of cancer. She was 84. President Biden ordered flags at the White House and other federal buildings and grounds to be flown at half-staff until March 27th. Born in Czechoslovakia, Albright and her family fled in 1939 to London as the Nazis took over the country. When the Soviet Union took over parts of Eastern Europe after the war, her family emigrated to the U.S. As secretary of state, Albright played a key role in persuading Clinton to go to war against the Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic over his treatment of Kosovar Albanians in 1999.



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