Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Zelenskyy Accuses Russia of War Crimes


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian forces of war crimes in a video address to the U.N. Security Council Tuesday, saying there was, quote, "not a single crime" that Russian troops hadn’t committed in the city of Bucha. Among them, he charged that Ukrainian civilians had been tortured, shot in the back of the head, thrown down wells, intentionally blown up with grenades, and crushed to death by tanks in their cars, additionally stating, "Women were raped and killed in front of their children." Zelenskyy declared that both those who carried out the atrocities and those who gave the orders should immediately be brought up on war crimes charges in front of a tribunal like the one in Nuremberg after World War Two.


His comments came amid global outrage as images have been seen in recent days of apparent intentional killings of civilians in Bucha and other communities on the ouskirts of Kyiv, discovered after Russian forces withdrew. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the images showed what was done weren't the actions of a "rogue unit," but, quote, "a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities." Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia repeated Russia's denial of any atrocities and its accusations that the bodies seen were staged by Ukraine. He said, "You only saw what they showed you. The only ones who would fall for this are Western dilettantes."

 
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy and others, including NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, warned that Russia is regrouping its forces for a new assault in eastern and southern Ukraine. Stoltenberg said, "Moscow not giving up its ambitions in Ukraine." Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to his country that Ukraine forces are so far holding back Russian forces attempts to push forward in the east, but they are outnumbered in troops and equipment. Russia has shifted its focus to the eastern Donbas region.

 
U.S., Allies to Impose New Sanctions: The U.S. and European allies will impose new sanctions on Russia today after the revelation of claimed war crimes in Ukraine, including a ban on new investments in Russia, AP cited a U.S. official as saying. The actions will also include even tougher sanctions on Russian financial institutions and government-owned enterprises, and more sanctions on Russian government officials and their family members.


Joint Chiefs Head Milley: Conflict Will Be 'Measured in Years': The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army General Mark Milley, said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday that Russia's aggression in Ukraine and its demands that the U.S. and NATO reduce their troops and arms in countries bordering Russia signal a lengthy conflict in the region that extends beyond Ukraine. Milley said, "I do think this is a very protracted conflict and I think it’s at least measured in years. . . . I think that NATO, the United States, Ukraine and all of the allies and partners that are supporting Ukraine are going to be involved in this for quite some time."

➤COVID BILL BLOCKED BY SENATE GOP, WANT VOTE ON IMMIGRATION: The $10 million Covid-19 funding package for treatments, vaccines and testing agreed to in a bipartisan compromise was blocked by Senate Republicans yesterday, who said they will hold it up unless Democrats agree to vote on an immigration amendment. All 50 Republicans voted together, leaving Democrats short of the 60 votes needed. The GOP wants a vote on an amendment that would prevent the administration from lifting restrictions imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2020 at the height of the pandemic that allowed asylum seekers and other migrants to be immediately expelled because of public health concerns. The ban is set to expire May 23rd, and it's expected that if it's allowed to do so, it will trigger a huge increase in people trying to cross the border. In addition to Republicans, there are also some moderate Democratic lawmakers concerned about the restriction being lifted.

➤TWO MORE SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN SACRAMENTO MASS SHOOTING: Two more suspects were arrested Tuesday in Sunday's early morning mass shooting in downtown Sacramento, California, that left six people dead and 12 wounded, four of them critically. One of them was arrested because, according to police, he was a "prohibited person in possession of a firearm." However, although police said he was seen carrying a gun in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, they don't believe that gun was fired in the shooting. The other person was 27-year Smiley Martin, the brother of 26-year-old Dandrae Martin, who was arrested Monday. Police Officer Chad Lewis said the brothers are believed to be responsible for firing into the crowd on the street. However, Lewis added, "There could be more than the two shooters we're already aware of." Smiley Martin was injured in the shooting and hospitalized, and police said once his treatment is done, he will be booked. There was a fight before the shooting, and police are working to see if it was related to what happened.


➤OKLAHOMA HOUSE APPROVES LEGISLATION THAT WOULD OUTLAW ABORTION: The Oklahoma state House approved legislation Tuesday that would outlaw abortion, making it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The measure, which was passed in the state Senate last year, was approved on a 70-14 vote with no debate yesterday, and now goes to Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, who has previously said he'd sign an anti-abortion legislation. The measure includes an exception only if the life of a pregnant woman is at stake. Similar legislation in Republican-led states in recent years has been ruled unconstitutional. However, the U.S. Supreme Court is ruling on a case this term that could potentially undo Roe v. Wade or otherwise significantly scale back abortion rights.

➤PROUD BOYS LEADER TARRIO PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO JANUARY 6TH CHARGES: Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, the leader of the far-right Proud Boys group, pled not guilty yesterday to charges that he led a plot to stop the certification of Joe Biden's presidential election victory on January 6th, 2021. Although Tarrio wasn't at the U.S. Capitol during the attack that day, prosecutors say he organized encrypted chats with Proud Boys members in the weeks before the attack, had a 42-second phone call with another member of the group in the Capitol during the attack, and took credit for what happened. Tarrio had been ordered by a judge on January 5th, 2021 to stay out of Washington, after he'd been arrested a day earlier and charged with vandalizing a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church during a December 2020 protest. But according to the indictment, instead of staying out of town, Tarrio met with the leader of another far-right group, the Oath Keepers, and others in an underground parking garage on January 5th.

➤IVANKA TRUMP TESTIFIES BEFORE JANUARY 6TH COMMITTEE: Ivanka Trump, former President Donald Trump's oldest daughter who was also a White House adviser to him during his administration, testified yesterday before the House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson said she testified via video and appeared voluntarily, and while she wasn't, quote, "chatty," she had been helpful to the investigation. Ivanka, the first of Trump's children known to have spoken to the committee, was with her father at the White House on the day of the Capitol attack. Her husband, Jared Kushner, who was also a top White House adviser to Trump, testified to the committee last week.



➤ADMINISTRSATION TO EXTEND STUDENT LOAN PAYMENT FREEZE: The administration plans to again extend the freeze on federal student loan payments, this time through August 31st, Bloomberg first reported yesterday. The payments had been set to resume on May 1st, after being suspended since early in the the pandemic. The freeze was extended twice by the Trump administration and twice more during President Biden's administration. Congressional Democrats on education committees have urged Biden to extend the freeze through the end of the year, citing ongoing economic disruption. It's still not known if Biden will carry out widespread student loan debt forgiveness. Some Democratic lawmakers have called for him to use executive action to cancel $50,000 for all student loan borrowers. Biden said during his campaign that he supports canceling up to $10,000 in student debut, but believes it should be done via congressional action. Biden asked the Departments of Education and Justice last year to review the legality of widespread debt cancellation, but no decision has been announced.

➤OBAMA RETURNS TO WHITE HOUSE: Former President Barack Obama was back at the White House yesterday for the first time since he left office in January 2017, returning during his former vice president's administration for an event marking the 12th anniversary of his signature health care law, the Affordable Care Act. Obama was also there to help give a boost to President Biden's efforts to expand the law to even more people. After being introduced by Vice President Kamala Harris, Obama opened by jokingly referring to Biden as "vice president," and during his remarks said that nothing had made him prouder during his presidency than the passage of the ACA. At the event, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to look for ways to continue to expand the availability and quality of affordable health care.

➤TWITTER TESTING AN 'EDIT' FEATURE: Twitter said Tuesday that it's testing an "edit" feature, something many users have long asked for, including Elon Musk, who it was just revealed has bought a nine-percent stake in the company to become its biggest shareholder, and who yesterday it was disclosed is now also a member of Twitter's board. However, Twitter claimed that it had nothing to do with Musk, and said they'd been working on it since last year. The edit feature will be tested in Twitter's paid service, Twitter Blue, in the coming months. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who stepped down last November, had said they'd probably never have an edit feature because of the problems that could come from users making changes to a tweet that had already been circulated, particularly high-profile users. Twitter says that issue is part of their considerations.

➤THERES NOW A THIRD DAILY PEAK FOR WORKER PRODUCTIVITY: It used to be that there were two daily peaks in productivity for white-collar workers, just before lunch and just after lunch. But as technology has advanced, and particularly over the last two years of the pandemic when people who were able to work from home did, Microsoft has detected a third daily productivity peak, and it's at night. Microsoft said some workers now have what they called a "triple peak day," while noting the third peak is nowhere near as strong as the first two, and applies to about 30 percent of workers. The third peak is most prominent between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., but it continues through the night. While this information suggests workers are being given more flexibility, which is a good thing, Derek Thompson has a more negative view in The Atlantic. He writes that managers need to do a better job of figuring out the balance between workers needing to be together at certain times for things like Zoom meetings and being able to work independently. He said, "Our late-night mini workdays are not just an expression of benign flexibility. They’re also the consequence of inflexible managers filling the day with so many meetings that we have to add a 'worknight' to do our job."

🏌TIGER WOODS PLANS TO PLAY IN THE MASTERS: Tiger Woods said Tuesday that he plans to play in the Masters, which gets underway tomorrow, and that he thinks he can win. The 46-year-old hasn't played in a regular PGA tournament since November 2020, in that year's pandemic-delayed Masters, three months before a February 2021 car crash in which his right leg was severely damaged. Woods has been playing practice rounds at Augusta National for days, and the big question is how his leg will hold up walking 18 holes for four straight days.

 
🏀LAKERS ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION WITH 121-110 LOSS TO SUNS: The L.A. Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention last night with a 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers were without LeBron James for a second straight game and the fourth time in the last five games due to a sprained ankle, the latest of the injuries that plagued the Lakers this season. This is the second time in James' four years with L.A. that the team hasn’t made the playoffs, and just the fourth time he's missed the post-season in his 19-year career.

🏀EMBIID SCORES 45 POINTS IN 76ERS' 131-122 WIN OVER PACERS: Philadelphia star Joel Embiid scored 45 points and had 13 rebounds in the 76ers' 131-122 win over the Indiana Pacers last night. Embiid is now the first player since Russell Westbrook in the 2016-2017 season to have 12 games with 40 or more points and 10 or more rebounds. As well as being a frontrunner to win the MVP, he could potentially also be the first center since Shaquille O'Neal to win the league scoring title.

📺KANSAS' NCAA WIN MOST-VIEWED MEN'S TITLE GAME ON CABLE: Kansas' comeback win over North Carolina Monday night (April 4th) for the NCAA basketball championship was the most-viewed men's title game on cable TV. The game averaged 18.1 million viewers on TBS, TNT and truTV, and was also a four percent increase over last year's title game between Baylor and Gonzaga, which was on broadcast TV on CBS. The entire tournament on CBS and Turner also had a 13 percent increase in viewership over last year.





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