Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Zelenskyy To Address U-N Security Council





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OUTRAGE OVER CIVILIAN KILLINGS IN UKRAINE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the U.N. Security Council today amid global outrage over growing evidence that Russian forces deliberately killed civilians in Ukraine. The bodies of civilians, some with their hands tied behind their backs and many shot at close range, have been found in the streets and elsewhere in the open in areas outside the capital of Kyiv that Russian forces have left in recent days. Ukraine officials have made accusations of torture as well, with the prosecutor-general's office calling a basement of a children's sanitorium in the town of Bucha a "torture chamber" where civilians were tortured and killed. The office said the bodies of five men with their hands tied were found there. 

Referring to Bucha, one of the towns where there have been these scenes, President Biden said yesterday that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be tried for war crimes, saying, "This guy is brutal, and what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone's seen it." Biden also said he'd seek to impose more sanctions on Russia. Zelenskyy visited Bucha yesterday, and said in a video addres that Ukraine would work with the European Union and the International Criminal Court to identify Russian fighters involved in any atrocities. Russia claims the scenes were fake and set up by Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calling the scenes a "stage-managed anti-Russian provocation." Despite Russia's denials, the New York Times reported that high-resolution satellite imagery showed many of the bodies had been lying in the open for weeks, during the time when Russian forces were occupying Bucha.
 


Meanwhile, AP cited a senior U.S. defense official as saying about two-thirds of the Russian forces that had been around Kyiv have left and are either in Belarus or are headed there. The official said the U.S. believes the Russian forces are being resupplied and reinforced in Belarus before going back to Ukraine, potentially to the Donbas region in the eastern part of the country, where Russia has shifted its focus.

U.S. Seizes Russian Oligarch's Yacht: The U.S. yesterday seized in Spain a yacht owned by an oligarch with close ties to Putin, billionaire Viktor Vekselberg. This is the first time the U.S. has done so under the sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The 254-foot yacht Tango was in the port of Palma de Mallorca in Spain's Balearic Islands, and both Spain's Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents seized it. The U.S. says the yacht should be forfeited for violating U.S. bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions statutes.

➤DEAL REACHED IN SENATE ON $10 BILLION COVID-19 PACKAGE: A deal was reached by Senate bargainers yesterday on a new $10 billion Covid-19 package, providing funding for treatments, vaccines, testing and more. The package is under half of the $22.5 billion the administration had initially asked for, and it eliminates all funding to help other countries, particularly poorer ones, fight the pandemic. The administration had warned that more funding was needed as the government was running out of money for combating Covid. Despite the deal reached, it wasn't yet certain if it would get the 10 Republican Senate votes needed to avoid a GOP filibuster.

➤SUSPECT ARRESTED IN SACRAMENTO SHOOTING, BUT SHOOTER STILL AT LARGE: Police said Monday that they'd arrested a 26-year-old suspect who's believed to be connected to the mass shooting on a crowded street in downtown Sacramento, California, early Sunday morning that left six people dead and wounded 12, four of them critically. However, the multiple shooters police believe are responsible are still at large. Police announced the arrest of Dandrae Martin as a "related suspect" on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun. The six victims were identified yesterday, and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg read their names during a vigil last night. The three men and three women were: Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and De’vazia Turner, 29.


➤TWO MORE REPUBLICANS SAY WILL VOTE FOR JACKSON FOR SUPREME COURT: Two more Republicans, Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah, announced yesterday that they will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine announced last week that she'd vote yes for Jackson, meaning that unless other GOP senators vote for her, she'll have three Republicans as part of her bipartisan support and is virtually assured of confirmation. The Senate voted 53-47 later Monday to "discharge" Jackson's nomination from the Senate Judiciary Committee after the panel deadlocked, 11-11, on whether to send the nomination to the Senate floor, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans opposed. Democrats are aiming to have Jackson confirmed by the end of the week.

➤TRUMP ENDORSES PALIN FOR HOUSE SEAT: After former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced that she's running for the state's lone U.S. House seat, she's been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Palin, the Republicans' 2008 vice presidential nominee, is one of more than 50 candidates who are running for the seat, which is open due to the death of Rep. Don Young, who held the seat for decades. The primary is on June 11th. Despite the endorsement from Trump, Palin may have some trouble in the race with Alaska voters, due to her having resigned as governor in July 2009 before her term was up.

💒BIDEN'S GRANDDAUGHTER'S WEDDING RECEPTION TO BE HELD AT WHITE HOUSE: The wedding reception for President Biden's eldest grandchild, 28-year-old Naomi Biden, will be held at the White House, the first time there's been a wedding reception at the White House for a presidential family member in 14 years. The wedding reception date for Naomi Biden and fiance Peter Neal is November 19th. Naomi Biden, who is an attorney, is the oldest of the Bidens' son Hunter Biden's five children. Neal, who's 24, is finishing his final semester at law school. They live in Washington, D.C., and become engaged last year. The last wedding reception at the White House was in June 2008 for President George W. Bush's daughter Jenna Bush, who had married Henry Hager.

💰BUSINESSES BEGGING PEOPLE TO PUT SPARE CHANGE INTO CIRCULATION AMID SHORTAGE: Time to empty out your piggy bank when you go shopping. A group of trade associations that represent individual businesses is asking the Treasury Department for more help convincing Americans to get coins back in circulation. They say the shortage of change in circulation hits people who do not have an ability to pay for items electronically the hardest. The American Bankers Association, National Association of Convenience Stores, and National Grocers Association all want a new public campaign encouraging an increase in coin circulation. One such campaign was already launched in response to the lack of coins circulating earlier in the pandemic, as the health crisis changed consumers’ buying habits and shifted purchases to largely plastic cards.

🏀KANSAS TOPS NORTH CAROLINA 72-69 IN COMEBACK WIN FOR MEN'S NCAA TITLE: Kansas topped North Carolina 72-69 in the biggest comeback ever in the men's NCAA basketball tournament to win the championship last night at the Superdome in New Orleans, the fourth NCAA title for the school. Number 1 Kansas outscored Number 8 North Carolina by 47-29 in the second half and came back from being 16 points down, surpassing the 15-point deficit Loyola overcame to beat Cincinnati for the title in 1963, the previous record. David McCormack and Jalen Wilson led Kansas with 15 points each, and North Carolina's Armando Bacot had 15 points and 15 rebounds to become the first player to record double-doubles in all six tournament games.


🏈EAGLES AND SAINTS TRADE EIGHT DRAFT PICKS: The Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints traded eight draft picks yesterday, just over three weeks before the start of the NFL draft. The Saints received two 2022 first-round picks, Numbers 16 and 19, and a 2022 sixth-round pick, while the Eagles received a 2022 first-round pick, Number 18, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick, and 2022 third-round and seventh-round selections. The Eagles will still have two picks in the 2022 first round, as they also have the Number 15 pick.

🏒TORONTO'S MATTHEWS HAS HAT TRICK, TIES FRANCHISE SEASON GOAL RECORD: Toronto's Auston Matthews had a hat trick in the Maple Leafs' 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night, the seventh of his career and fourth this season. The three goals tied Matthews for the franchise single-season goals record, giving him 54, matching Rick Vaive’s 54 goals in the 1981-82 season.

🏀CAVALIERS HEAD COACH BICKERSTAFF FINED $15K FOR REFEREE CRITICISM: Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was fined $15,000 by the NBA Monday for his criticism of the referees after Sunday night’s 112-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Bickerstaff was upset by what he saw as inconsistency in calls and by the 76ers getting 42 free throws, and said the game, quote, "was taken" from the Cavaliers. He also was upset a foul wasn’t called on Philly star Joel Embiid in the closing seconds of the game when Clevelad's Darius Garland was bumped on a layup.

⚾MLB'S SANTANA, RODRIGUEZ, RONDON SUSPENDED 80 GAMES FOR DRUG VIOLATIONS: MLB free agents Danny Santana, an outfielder and first baseman, pitcher Richard Rodríguez and infielder José Rondón were each suspended for 80 games Monday for drug violations after they tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Santana, 31, is an eight-year veteran who was with the Boston Red Sox last season. Rodriguez was with the Atlanta Braves last year, but wasn't on the postseason roster for the World Series champions. Rondón was with the St. Louis Cardinals last season.



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