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Russia-Ukraine live updates: Biden to announce $800M more in military aid, per source

March 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Biden to announce 0M more in military aid, per source

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”

Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance, coming within about 9 miles as of Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.

For previous coverage please click here.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Mar 15, 8:19 pm
Biden to announce $800M in new military assistance to Ukraine: Source

President Joe Biden is planning to announce $800 million in new military assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The new assistance includes anti-armor and anti-aircraft weapons, the source told ABC News.

-ABC Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega

Mar 15, 8:00 pm
EU leaders who came to Kyiv took a ‘courageous’ step: Zelenskyy

After meeting with the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia in Kyiv on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the European Union leaders took a “courageous, right” step.

“They are not afraid of anything. And they are more afraid for our fate. And they are here to support us,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted to Facebook.

“We absolutely trust these friendly countries,” he later said.

The leaders — Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, as well as Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski — traveled to the Ukrainian capital on a European Union mission to show support for the country.

In another video, Zelenskyy said their visit was a “strong sign of support.”

The meeting’s “top agenda” was “international assistance and reconstruction of Ukraine,” according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

The leaders are working together “to ensure that the funds & property of the Russian Federation will be paid to Ukraine to restore everything destroyed by [the Russian] aggressor,” he said on Twitter.

-ABC News’ Matt Foster

Mar 15, 6:23 pm
US providing another $186M in humanitarian aid for Ukraine

The U.S. will provide an additional $186 million in humanitarian assistance to support Ukrainians displaced by the war, including those in the country and refugees who have fled, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Tuesday.

The funding, which brings the total U.S. assistance since the invasion began to $293 million, will support “food, safe drinking water, protection, accessible shelter and emergency health care,” he said in a statement.

The U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development are not directly providing this assistance but are working through international and non-governmental partners.

Russian bombardment and shelling continue to damage roads, bridges and railroads in Ukraine, making it difficult for aid workers to reach people in need, according to a senior administration official, who warned the situation is “rapidly getting worse.”

-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan

Mar 15, 5:18 pm
Thousands of civilians evacuate Mariupol during pause in attacks

A pause in Russian attacks on the besieged city of Mariupol has allowed for around 20,000 people to evacuate after almost two weeks of continuous bombardment, Ukrainian authorities said.

About 4,000 private vehicles were able to get civilians out of the city on Tuesday, according to Kirilo Timoshenko, an official from Ukraine’s presidential office. Of those, around 570 have reached the safer city of Zaporizhzhia to the north.

This is in addition to the 160 private vehicles that evacuated residents during a lull on Monday.

Some 300,000 people had been estimated to be trapped in the city. Russian attacks impeded previous efforts to get civilians out and to allow for humanitarian supplies to be brought in.

The Mariupol City Council reported Sunday that 2,187 residents had been killed since the start of the invasion. Vereschuk said last week that the city was “beyond a humanitarian disaster,” with most roads destroyed, little communication with the outside and no power, gas or heat.

Mar 15, 4:47 pm
4th round of Ukraine-Russia talks to resume Wednesday

The fourth round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian leaders will resume on Wednesday, Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted.

Podolyak called it a “very difficult” process with “fundamental contradictions,” but added, “there is certainly room for compromise.”

State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Tuesday declined to say whether the department was optimistic about the talks, but said the U.S. hasn’t seen any action from the Kremlin to demonstrate “good faith.”

“We have yet to find a Russian interlocutor that is either able or willing to negotiate in good faith, and certainly not in the context of de-escalation,” he said.

-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan and Christine Theodorou

Mar 15, 3:50 pm
Food shortage ‘could be hell on Earth’

David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Programme, is sounding the alarm about a global food shortage for the world’s most vulnerable populations if the war in Ukraine doesn’t end soon.

“You’re talking about the breadbasket of the world where we buy 50% of our grain from Ukraine. And so with the farmers on the battlefront, when it’s harvest time and planting time, it’s going to wreak havoc not just inside Ukraine, but worldwide,” Beasley told ABC News.

Before the war broke out, Beasley said climate, the pandemic and supply chain issues had already increased costs by millions, reduced available food and forced the WFP to cut distribution around the world.

“In the next nine months, if we don’t end this war quickly, it could be hell on Earth,” Beasley said.

-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, Sam Sweeney

Mar 15, 3:30 pm
Fox News cameraman killed in Ukraine

Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski has been killed in Ukraine, according to Fox News.

Zakrzewski, 55, was newsgathering with correspondent Benjamin Hall on Monday in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, when their vehicle was hit by incoming fire, the network said.

Hall was injured and hospitalized in unknown condition.

“Pierre jumped in to help out with all sorts of roles in the field – photographer, engineer, editor and producer and he did it all under immense pressure and with tremendous skill,” a statement from Fox News PR said. “He was a professional, he was a journalist, and he was a friend. We here at the Fox News Channel want to offer our deepest condolences to Pierre’s wife, Michelle, and his entire family.”

Ukrainian producer and fixer, 24-year-old Oleksandra Kuvshynova, who was working for Fox News during the war, was also killed in the shelling, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Mar 15, 1:42 pm
Refugee numbers reach 3 million

Over 3 million refugees have now fled Ukraine, according to Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Over 1.5 million of those refugees are children, according to UNICEF spokesperson James Elder.

Mar 15, 1:26 pm
Thousands of civilians evacuate Mariupol during pause in attacks

A pause in Russian attacks on the besieged city of Mariupol has allowed for about 2,000 private vehicles to evacuate civilians on Tuesday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk said.

This is in addition to the 160 private vehicles that evacuated residents during a lull on Monday.

Russian attacks impeded previous efforts to get civilians out and to allow for humanitarian supplies to be brought in. The Mariupol City Council reported Sunday that 2,187 residents had been killed since the start of the invasion. Vereschuk said last week that the city was “beyond a humanitarian disaster,” with most roads destroyed, little communication with the outside and no power, gas or heat.

Mar 15, 1:14 pm
NATO leaders to meet March 24

NATO leaders will meet on March 24 to address the Russian invasion, NATO’s “strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defence,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted.

-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan

Mar 15, 1:06 pm
Russian TV anti-war protester fined and released

Anti-war protester Marina Ovsyannikova has been fined and released after crashing a Russian state news broadcast.

She told reporters she was interrogated for more than 14 hours and said she’d provide more comments on Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell

Mar 15, 12:16 pm
Fox News cameraman killed in Ukraine

Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski has been killed in Ukraine, according to Fox News.

Zakrzewski, 55, was newsgathering with correspondent Benjamin Hall on Monday in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, when their vehicle was hit by incoming fire, the network said.

Hall was injured and hospitalized in unknown condition.

Mar 15, 11:34 am
US, EU, UK expand sanctions targeting Russia

The European Union Council on Tuesday imposed a fourth package of economic and individual sanctions, including restricting the export of luxury goods to Russia and banning new investments in Russia’s energy sector.

Sanctions also target “key oligarchs, lobbyist and propagandists pushing the Kremlin’s narrative on the situation in Ukraine,” the Council said in a statement.

“The aim of the sanctions is that President Putin stops this inhuman and senseless war,” Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement.

The United Kingdom is expanding sanctions targeting over 300 people including former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and oligarchs with an estimated worth of more than $94 billion.

The U.S. is also expanding sanctions, including against Russian Ministry of Defense officials.

The State Department is also implementing a new visa ban policy against Russian officials who have “cracked down on Russian citizens who have taken to the streets to protest their government’s brutal campaign in Ukraine” and “are responsible for suppressing dissent in occupied areas of Ukraine.”

In retaliation for sanctions from the U.S., Russia’s foreign ministry has announced personal sanctions against President Joe Biden and many top administration officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The sanctions also target Biden’s son, Hunter, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou, Tanya Stukalova, Patrick Reevell and Conor Finnegan

Mar 15, 7:51 am
Two killed in strike on Kyiv neighborhood

Two people were killed on Tuesday morning after Russian forces shelled residential areas in Kyiv, officials said.

The sound of large explosions echoed across Kyiv before dawn from what Ukrainian authorities said were artillery strikes. The shelling ignited a huge fire and a frantic rescue effort in the Svyatoshyn neighborhood.

Shockwaves from an explosion also damaged the entry to a downtown subway station that has been used as a bomb shelter. City authorities tweeted an image of the blown-out facade, saying trains would no longer stop at the station.

Mar 15, 5:51 am
Residents protest in Russian-occupied cities: UK military

Residents of Kherson, Melitopol and Berdyansk, cities occupied by Russian forces, have held “multiple” demonstrations protesting the occupation, the U.K. Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

Protests in Kherson came as Russia may be making plans for a “referendum” to legitimize the region as a Russian-backed “breakaway republic,” similar to Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, the Ministry said.

“Further protests were reported in the city yesterday with Russian forces reportedly firing warning shots in an attempt to disperse peaceful protesters,” the Ministry said.

Russia is likely to “make further attempts to subvert Ukrainian democracy,” the update said.

“Russia has reportedly installed its own mayor in Melitopol following the alleged abduction of his predecessor on Friday 11 March,” the update said. “Subsequently, the Mayor of Dniprorudne has also reportedly been abducted by Russian forces.”

Mar 14, 9:56 pm
Latest talks with Russia went ‘pretty good,’ will continue tomorrow, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy updated the status of negotiations with Russia in his latest address Monday, saying the latest talks went “pretty good” and will continue tomorrow.

Zelenskyy also addressed Russian troops, telling them they would be treated “decently” should they surrender.

“On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance — chance to survive,” Zelenskyy said. “You surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently.”

Zelenskyy also thanked the producer at a Russian state news channel who appeared on camera behind an anchor and held up an anti-war sign. She was later arrested.

“I am grateful to those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth,” he said. “To those who fight disinformation and tell the truth, real facts to their friends and loved ones. And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war.”

Jan. 6 committee not planning to subpoena members of Congress, sources say

March 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is not planning to issue subpoenas to members of Congress who are alleged to have information regarding the events leading up to and surrounding the attack, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.

While the panel had requested information from Republicans including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Reps. Scott Perry and Jim Jordan — all of whom swiftly rejected the requests — there have been no follow-up discussions with them about their cooperation, according to sources familiar with the panel’s work.

For a committee that’s been aggressive in its investigative efforts, moving ahead without compelling lawmakers to cooperate through a subpoena reflects a self-imposed limitation as committee members work to balance the legal, political and practical considerations.

In some cases, investigators don’t believe subpoenas are necessary, given information they have already obtained through other means, like witness testimony and evidence provided by other third parties, according to sources.

While such a move has not been formalized and sources caution that the committee’s plans could change, the emerging consensus is to proceed without taking this step.

Investigators have privately acknowledged that any efforts to try to enforce subpoenas would run into time constraints should Republicans take control of the House following the November midterm elections. Any potential subpoena to a lawmaker would likely face a complex and lengthy legal battle.

“The Select Committee is determined to get all relevant information and all options remain on the table,” a spokesperson for the committee told ABC News. “The committee’s investigation is uncovering new facts every day and we want to hear from all witnesses.”

The committee’s chairperson, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the committee was studying whether it had the ability to issue subpoenas to their colleagues. Thompson told ABC News in December that he wasn’t sure if they would be able to force members to cooperate.

“If we subpoena them and they choose not to come, I’m not aware of a real vehicle that we can force compliance,” Thompson said.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a member of the committee, said on ABC News’ “This Week” in December that he “absolutely” thinks his colleagues should be subpoenaed to testify before the committee if necessary.

The committee has disclosed that several GOP lawmakers communicated with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows before and during the Capitol attack, according to thousands of pages of emails and text messages Meadows turned over to the committee before he reversed course and refused to cooperate with the investigation.

Perry, a leader of the House Freedom Caucus who communicated with Meadows ahead of the attack, was the target of the committee’s first known request to a sitting Republican lawmaker.

The committee also said Perry played an “important role” in efforts to install former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as attorney general in the days before the Jan. 6 attack, as Clark was pushing unproven claims of election fraud.

Some Republicans have also made it clear that if they regain power in the House following the upcoming midterms, they would seek retribution against Democrats and associates of President Joe Biden over the committee’s investigation.

“Joe Biden has eviscerated Executive Privilege,” Rep. Jordan wrote on Twitter after former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon was charged in November with criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena.

“There are a lot of Republicans eager to hear testimony from Ron Klain and Jake Sullivan when we take back the House,” Jordan wrote, referencing Biden’s chief of staff and national security adviser.

Keith Richards sings praises of ‘Main Offender’ reissue, drummer Steve Jordan in new Apple Music interview

March 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

In a new interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, Keith Richards reflects on his soon-to-be-reissued 1992 solo album, Main Offender, and working with his solo backing band The X-Pensive Winos, including drummer Steve Jordan, who now also keeps the beat for The Rolling Stones.

Richards says he thinks the remastered version of Main Offender, which will be released this Friday, March 18, sounds great.

“I hadn’t heard it for a long time, and that was one of the first things that struck me,” he notes, adding, “Yeah, I love that band.”

Main Offender was Richards’ second solo album, following 1988’s Talk Is Cheap. Keith says he was glad to work again with The X-Pensive Winos, because after the experience of recording and touring behind Talk Is Cheap, he felt “it was only just a beginning…and I felt the band feeling that way.”

Richards explains that it was late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts who suggested he play with Jordan when he was forming a solo group during The Stones’ 1980s hiatus. Keith had wanted Charlie in his band, but he notes that Watts had said, “[N]o, you don’t want me…It’d just be like half the Stones. And that’s not what you should be.”

Richards wound up really connecting with Jordan, who also became his main songwriting partner for his solo releases. Then, last year, when Watts knew he’d be too ill to tour with The Stones, he again nominated Jordan as his replacement.

“[Charlie] thought that [Steve] was going to maybe just replace for a bit, but as it turned out, well…,” Keith laments, adding, “[I]t felt very comfortable to have my old friend solid there on the seat. It’s like, at least I know the man.”

Russia ramps up missile strikes on Kyiv as ground forces stall: Pentagon Day 20 update

March 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has been providing daily updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s efforts to resist.

Here are highlights of what a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Tuesday on Day 20:

Russians step up missile strikes on Kyiv as ground forces stall

Russian forces have gained little ground in Ukraine over recent days, according to the Pentagon. The closest invaders to Kyiv have been stalled roughly 9 to 12 miles northwest of the city’s center for nearly a week. Other troops advancing on the capital from the northeast are still 12 to 19 miles out, where they’ve been for at least four days.

But while its ground effort on Kyiv has been largely halted, Russia has ramped up its bombardment of the city, hitting residential areas with long-range missiles more frequently.

The pattern is similar across the country, including in the port city of Mariupol, which is being isolated by Russian forces and is suffering heavy bombardment.

Russia has now launched more than 950 missiles against Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, according to the official. This is up from an estimated 900 on Monday.

A war with many fronts

Russian troops remain on the outskirts of Kharkiv, where they continue to meet strong Ukrainian resistance, according to the senior U.S. defense official.

Last week the official said Russian forces were ” just outside the city” of Mykolayiv. In Monday’s update the official said the U.S. has seen no new movement toward or past the city.

Pentagon officials have speculated that Russian troops might intend to take Mykolayiv to put themselves in position for a ground attack on the key port city of Odessa while other troops launch an amphibious assault from the Black Sea.

While the U.S. has observed several Russian landing craft operating in the northern Black Sea, so far there are no signs of an imminent amphibious movement toward Odessa, the official said.

Military power mostly intact

Despite 20 days of heavy fighting and losses on the Russian and Ukrainian sides, both countries have roughly 90% of their combat power still intact, according to the official. For Russia, that’s counting only the forces Russian President Vladimir Putin committed to the invasion.

“We have seen no movement of Russian forces stationed elsewhere in Russia being deployed to the west to reinforce the [battalion tactical groups] the Russians already have in Ukraine,” the official said. “And we’ve seen no evidence of Russian efforts to flow in additional supplies from inside Russia or from elsewhere, but we have reason to believe the Russians are considering their resupply and manning options.”

There are also no indications at this point that Belarus is preparing to send troops of its own to join the invasion, the official added.

US weapons to Ukraine

Weapons from the United States and other nations continues to flow into Ukraine, including over the last 24 hours, the official said.

Anti-war protester who crashed Russian TV broadcast appears in Moscow court

March 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(MOSCOW) — Marina Ovsyannikova, the woman who crashed Russia’s state news broadcast Monday night to protest the war, was fined 30 thousand roubles, or around $280, and released on Tuesday.

Ovsyannikova ran onto the set of Russia’s main state news broadcast with an anti-war sign. She stood behind the anchor on the Channel One show with a sign that said “Stop the war” and “Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here,” in English and Russian.

Ovsyannikova worked as an editor for Channel One, according to Russian human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov, who said he is now representing her.

Ovsyannikova appeared in a court in Moscow after her lawyers said they had been unable to locate her since she disappeared at the TV station.

“These were really difficult days in my life. I spent two days without sleep. The interrogation lasted more than 14 hours. I was not allowed to contact my friends and relatives. I was not provided with any legal assistance,” Ovsyannikova told reporters outside the courthouse. “I will give more comments tomorrow. Today I want to rest.”

Ovsyannikova is charged with an “administrative offense,” essentially a misdemeanor, that carries a fine but not a jail sentence, according to a reporter from the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

In English, Ovsyannikova answered a question outside the courtroom and said it wasn’t a surprise she was released since she has two children. Russian law means that, in general, mothers with dependent children should not be placed in detention for minor offenses.

Chikov wrote on Twitter that Ovsyannikova was detained after the protest and taken to a police station in Moscow. He said she has been charged with “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.”

Novaya Gazeta said the court has told it Ovsyannikova is charged under Part 2 Article 20.2 — “organizing unauthorized public events” — which means she would face at most 15 days in jail and a fine.

She is not charged under Russia’s new “fake news” law that carries up to 15 years prison for spreading “false” information about Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Ovsyannikova also published a video online before her protest in which she explained her motivations for protesting. She said she has worked for the last few years for Channel One and that she is now “very ashamed” of working for “Kremlin propaganda.”

“I am ashamed that I allowed lies to be spoken from the TV screen. I am ashamed that I allowed the zombification of Russian people. Now ten generations of our descendants won’t wash off the disgrace of this fratricidal war. We’re Russian people, thinking, intelligent. It’s only in our power to stop this insanity,” she said.

Saudi Arabia’s human rights record may be overlooked over need for cheap oil, groups say

March 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — The mass execution of 81 people in one day by Saudi Arabia, condemned by activist groups as a “massacre,” has prompted fresh fears that the kingdom’s human rights record will once again be overlooked amid the global energy crisis.

Saudi Arabia’s ministry of interior said the men had been convicted of a wide range of crimes, from murder to membership of foreign terrorist organizations.

“Criminal groups have strayed from the path of truth, replaced it by desires, and followed the footsteps of Satan,” the interior ministry said in a statement. “This country … will not fail to deter anyone who threatens its security and the security of its citizens and residents.”

Amnesty International has led the calls for Saudi Arabia to abolish the death penalty in the wake of the mass execution, with some of the men executed for allegedly taking part in anti-government protests.

“This execution spree is all the more chilling in light of Saudi Arabia’s deeply flawed justice system, which metes out death sentences following trials that are grossly and blatantly unfair, including basing verdicts on “confessions” extracted under torture or other ill-treatment,” Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Saturday’s executions brought the country’s tally of executions to 92 this year, according to Amnesty International. The mass execution alone surpassed the total number of 67 executions that reportedly took place in 2021, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Legal charity Reprieve said all those executed “were tried, convicted, sentenced and executed in complete secrecy.”

“Of the dozen cases we do know about, at least a quarter were tortured into making false confessions to terrorism offenses after taking part in pro-democracy demonstrations,” Reprieve director Maya Foa told ABC News.

The Saudi ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Just days after the mass execution, which prompted international condemnation, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is traveling to Saudi Arabia amid concerns about the global energy supply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Johnson will meet with leaders in the UAE before traveling to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on Wednesday.

“The U.K. is building an international coalition to deal with the new reality we face,” the prime minister said in advance of the visit. “The world must wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons and starve Putin’s addiction to oil and gas. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are key international partners in that effort. We will work with them to ensure regional security, support the humanitarian relief effort and stabilize global energy markets for the longer term.”

Asked about the executions ahead of Johnson’s trip on Tuesday, a Downing Street spokesperson told ABC News: “The U.K. is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country as a matter of principle. The government will be raising this with the authorities in Saudi Arabia.”

Reprieve, however, warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could cause world leaders to turn a blind eye at Saudi Arabia’s latest human rights violations for the sake of securing lower fuel prices.

“Mohammed Bin Salman is betting that the West will look away because it would rather fund his blood-soaked petro-state than Putin’s war machine,” Reprieve’s Foa said.

Michelle Bachelet of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said investigations of the execution “indicate that some of those executed were sentenced to death following trials that did not meet fair trial and due process guarantees, and for crimes that did not appear to meet the most serious crimes threshold, as required under international law.”

She expressed concerns that Saudi Arabia’s “extremely broad definition of terrorism, including non-violent acts” leads to “criminalizing people exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

The 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul, as well as theongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen, exacerbated by the war between the kingdom and Iran-backed Houthi rebels, have prompted renewed calls from human rights groups to reconsider the West’s historic alliance with Saudi Arabia.

“We must not show our revulsion for Vladimir Putin’s atrocities by rewarding those of Mohammed Bin Salman,” Foa said. “Striking a deal with Saudi Arabia now, despite this mass execution, would virtually guarantee that more people whose only crime was to challenge the status quo will be executed.”

Democrats push to close gender gap on Equal Pay Day

March 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Democratic Women’s Caucus gathered Tuesday morning to highlight the gender pay gap on Equal Pay Day.

“They call this Equal Pay Day, but I like to call it ‘Unequal Pay Day’ because that’s the message that we are conveying today,” said Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif.

Formerly known as National Pay Inequity Awareness Day, the day — which fluctuates year to year — was first recognized in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity. It is the date by which women’s average full-time wages catch up to men’s from the previous year. This year, it falls right in the middle of Women’s History Month.

“It’s not acceptable for me to see my sisters in the workplace, and getting paid less,” said House Democratic Women’s Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich. “So I want you to know, I will talk about this every year, but hopefully next year — I keep hope alive — next year, we’ll be saying we finally got it right.”

“And I will end with a statement that I know my speaker is going to say again, but when women succeed, America succeeds,” Lawrence added.

Women on average currently make 83 cents for every dollar earned by men — but that figure differs based on race.

Speier noted that “African American women are making 58 cents on the dollar and Latina women are making 49 cents on the dollar.”

“The pay gap reflects outright discrimination as well as barriers that women face in accessing good-paying jobs and meeting caregiving responsibilities — including a lack of affordable child care, paid family and medical leave and fair and predictable scheduling — which often prevent women from joining and staying in the workforce,” President Joe Biden wrote in a proclamation recognizing the day.

The Office of Personnel Management will also propose a regulation to “address the use of prior salary history in the hiring and pay-setting process for Federal employees,” according to a fact sheet released Tuesday by the Biden administration.

Ahead of an event Tuesday evening with the Bidens, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the White House at the Equal Pay Day Summit.

“Our economy just has not been working as it should for the women of our nation,” she said.

“If we are going to continue to grow our economy and to be competitive and lead the world in the 21st century, we simply cannot afford to leave half of our workforce behind,” Harris said. “To build an economy that works for all of us, we must build an economy that works for women. That is one of our administration’s central missions.”

In addition to the summit, Harris met with current and former members of the U.S. Women’s Soccer team to talk about equal pay,after they settled their equal pay lawsuit with U.S. Soccer.

Harris praised the women for their work on the field and also for raising awareness of the fight for equal pay.

“Obviously, you all have been champions in terms of your skills and your dominance in terms of women’s soccer. But we are here today because you also have been leaders on an issue that affects most women and has affected most women in the workforce and it’s the issue of pay equity,” Harris said.

Harris and the players spoke about their fight, and the things they fought for beyond just compensation including playing surfaces, massage therapists and even things as simple as bagels after practice.

While the vice president tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday, she did not attend the evening Equal Pay Day event “out of an abundance of caution” after her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, tested positive, according to the vice president’s office.

The wage gap is an immediate problem that leads to less money in women’s pockets but that it also has cumulative effects, according to Sarah Jane Glynn, a senior adviser with the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau.

She noted that women are less likely to have retirement savings and more likely to solely rely on Social Security and end up living in poverty in their old age.

The Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau released a report Tuesday titled, “Bearing the Cost: How Overrepresentation in Undervalued Jobs Disadvantaged Women During the Pandemic,” which discusses the impacts of COVID-19 on women’s place in the workforce.

“The industries that women were in had the most significant job losses,” Glynn said. “So that’s a big part of the reason why we saw much higher unemployment numbers for women and why women experienced the majority of job losses during 2020.”

During the morning press conference, Speier brought up the need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which addresses wage inequity based on gender. The bill passed in the House but has stalled in the Senate.

And the speakers expressed hope that the fight for equal pay will soon be a thing of the past.

“We, as women in this country, we know we add value to our economy, to our communities, to the overall safety of this country,” Lawrence said. “And we demand the respect and to be valued by paying us a wage that is equal.”

ABC News’ Molly Nagle contributed to this report.

Doug Emhoff, husband of Kamala Harris, tests positive for COVID-19

March 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Kamala Harris, has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the vice president’s office.

“Earlier today, the Second Gentleman tested positive for COVID-19,” Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary for the vice president, said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, the Vice President will not participate in tonight’s event [on Equal Pay Day]. The Vice President tested negative for COVID-19 today and will continue to test.”

Asked if Biden is being tested again this evening given his proximity to Harris earlier, the White House pointed out that isn’t required by COVID protocols.

Biden, as far as we know, was last tested on Sunday, and was negative.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Music notes: Shawn Mendes, Lil Nas X, Demi Lovato and more

March 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Shawn Mendes is presenting at this year’s Academy Awards. The “Summer of Love” singer is one of a variety of celebrities who were announced Tuesday as additional presenters at the March 27 ceremony, along with Sean “Diddy” Combs, Halle Bailey, Tyler Perry and others.

Lil Nas X has made his first public appearance since vanishing from the public eye nearly four ago. The “That’s What I Want” singer showed off a brand-new hairstyle that a fan managed to snag a picture of, which sees his hair twisted up and dyed white at the roots. It is still unknown what caused his months-long hiatus.

Demi Lovato is headlining the Illinois State Fair along with Sam Hunt and a variety of other acts. The “Confident” singer will take over the Grandstand stage on August 13, while Sam will perform on the 12th. The lineup also includes TLC and Shaggy, who both are on the August 17 bill. Tickets for the event are now on sale on Ticketmaster.

Calvin Harris, Lorde, Jack Harlow, KYGO, Oliver Tree, Charli XCX, Alessia Cara, Shaggy and Tai Verdes are part of the 2022 Life Is Beautiful music festival’s star-studded lineup. Tickets for the Las Vegas event go on sale this Friday, March 18, at 10 a.m. PT.

Victims of Seattle crane collapse to receive more than $112 million

March 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Victims of Seattle crane collapse to receive more than 2 million

(SEATTLE) — Three people who were injured and the families of two people killed after a crane collapsed on a Seattle construction site in 2019, will receive $112 million in a settlement, David Beninger, a lawyer for one of the victims told ABC News Tuesday.

The crane fell from the construction site which included a Google office building in the South Lake Union neighborhood in April 2019 as it was being dismantled, killing four people.

Lawsuits filed by families of two of the victims killed in the collapse and three who were injured, were consolidated into one case in the King County Superior Court, involving multiple firms involved in the construction site where the crane collapsed.

In the Monday verdict, a jury found four of the construction companies negligent, but only three of the companies’ negligence resulted in the death of Sarah Wong and Alan Justad, and injury of Brittany Cadelina, Ali Edriss and Sally Beaven.

While the jury found GLY Construction, the company that leased the crane, negligent, it was not found responsible for the deaths and injuries.

The other companies named in the lawsuit are Morrow Equipment, which owned and leased the crane to the construction project and provided expertise for the building and dismantling of the crane; Northwest Tower Crane Service, which was in charge of setting up and dismantling the crane; and Omega Morgan, a mobile crane subcontractor.

The jury attributed 45% of the negligence to Northwest Tower Crane, 30% to Omega Morgan and 25% to Morrow Equipment.

The jury awarded the victims more than $150 million in damages, but Morrow Equipment Company did not participate in the trial as it is in discussions regarding other agreements with the victims, according to Beninger.

Wong’s estate, her parents and sibling are to receive a combined $54.15 million. Nineteen-year-old Wong, a student at Seattle Pacific University, was a passenger in a car when parts of the crane struck it causing her fatal injuries.

Justad’s estate and his three daughters will receive a combined $39.15 million. Seventy-one-year-old Justad was in his car when parts of the crane landed on top of the vehicle.

Cadelina and Edriss will each receive $9.2 million and Beaven will receive $975,000, according to Beninger and amounts awarded by the jury.

“Northwest Tower Crane Service respects the verdict of the jury and thanks them for their service in this trial. Northwest Tower Crane changed its practices immediately after this tragic accident and continues to strive to make safety its top priority,” an attorney for Northwest Tower Crane Services said to ABC News in a statement, declining to comment any further.

Attorneys for the Wongs, Cadelina and Omega did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

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