Populations of countries 

Wednesday, April 6th, 2022 

‘It’s now or never’ to meet climate goals Keeping global heating to the critical level of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels will require preventing greenhouse gas emissions from increasing after 2025 at the latest, according to a report released Monday by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “It’s now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C,” IPCC Working Group III co-chair Jim Skea said in a statement accompanying the report. “Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.” The 1.5-degree goal set in the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change marks the point at which climate experts say the world will reach a tipping point where even small additional changes could trigger dramatic shifts in ecosystems. CNBC 

U.S., allies to impose new sanctions on Russia The United States and its allies on Wednesday plan to announce new sanctions against Russia to “impose significant costs” over its invasion of Ukraine, an administration official told CNN. The new package of penalties to be imposed by the U.S., the European Union, and the Group of Seven industrialized nations will ban new investment in Russia and increase sanctions against Russian financial institutions and state-owned companies. It also will target Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adult children. The U.S. also has been considering expanding sanctions on Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution, and another large lender, Alfa Bank, the official said. The move comes amid international outrage over revelations of atrocities allegedly committed by Russian forces in northern Ukraine. CNN 

Zelensky challenges U.N. to take forceful action against Russia Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the United Nations Security Council in a Tuesday videoconference that Russian forces had committed war crimes in parts of Ukraine they recently left, likening them to Islamic State terrorists. “They cut off limbs, cut their throats,” Zelensky said. “Women were raped and killed in front of their children.” Zelensky, citing gruesome images of alleged atrocities in the town of Bucha, challenged the U.N. to take forceful action and kick Russia off the Security Council. Diplomats called for investigating Bucha civilian deaths that have ignited global outrage, but Russia’s Security Council veto prevented them from doing anything. Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, told the council Ukraine’s evidence that Russian troops killed civilians in Bucha was “fake.” THE WASHINGTON POST 

Oklahoma lawmakers approve bill to make performing abortions a felony Oklahoma’s Republican-controlled legislature approved a near-total abortion ban on Tuesday. The bill seeks to make it a felony to perform an abortion “except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.” A violation would carry a prison term of up to 10 years and a $100,000 fine. Oklahoma is the latest Republican-led state to pass new abortion restrictions, setting up opportunities for the Supreme Court’s newly strengthened conservative majority to roll back abortion rights guaranteed by the Roe v. Wade decision. Oklahoma’s bill, which Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) is expected to sign, came after the state became a destination for women from Texas seeking legal abortions after their state banned the procedure after six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Ivanka Trump testifies to Jan. 6 committee Ivanka Trump, former President Donald Trump’s daughter and former White House adviser, testified virtually Tuesday before the select House committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The committee’s chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), said Ivanka Trump “came in on her own” without the need for a subpoena, and was helpful but not “chatty” during the interview. Ivanka Trump was one of the aides closest to her father as a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol trying to prevent lawmakers from certifying Trump’s loss to President Biden in the 2020 election. She is the first of Trump’s children to speak to the committee. Her husband and fellow former White House adviser Jared Kushner testified days before her. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Obama returns to White House to push health-care reform Former President Barack Obama returned to the White House for the first time in five years on Tuesday to join President Biden as he signed an executive order telling federal agencies to find ways to improve Medicare and the Affordable Care Act. Biden also called for lowering costs of the federal health insurance programs. Biden called the Affordable Care Act, Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement, the “most consequential piece of legislation” since the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. The Biden administration announced it would close the “family glitch,” which blocks Obamacare premium assistance to people getting health care through a relative’s work. Republicans accused Biden of trampling Congress’ authority. AXIOS 

Another GOP lawmaker who backed Trump impeachment announces retirement Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) announced Tuesday that he would retire instead of seeking re-election in this year’s midterms. Upton, one of the longest-serving GOP House members, is one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. He said in a statement that the nation cannot “tolerate any effort by any president to impede the peaceful transition of power.” Upton is now the fourth of the 10 Republicans who voted for impeachment to retire, after Reps. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), John Katko (R-N.Y.), and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.). Trump endorsed state Rep. Steve Carra, who was going to challenge Upton in the primary but dropped out, then backed Rep. Bill Huizenga, who Upton would have had to beat in a newly drawn district. POLITICO 

Biden to extend pause on student loan payments President Biden plans to extend a pause on federal student loan payments until Aug. 31, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing an administration official briefed on the matter. This will be the sixth delay on making people resume payments since the policy was enacted more than two years ago to help people manage the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Without another extension, payments are scheduled to resume in less than a month for tens of millions of borrowers. Seven million people have avoided collection steps, including paycheck garnishments, during the pause. The administration official said the latest delay will be announced this week. Progressive politicians and activists want the debt forgiven altogether. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Sacramento police make more arrests connected to mass shooting Sacramento police said Tuesday they had arrested two brothers and a third man in connection with a mass shooting that left six people dead and 12 injured on Monday night. The first of the men, 26-year-old Dandrae Martin, was arrested Monday. His brother Smiley Martin, 27, was arrested on Tuesday. Smiley Martin, who had been named as a person of interest in the mass shooting, was among the people injured in the violence outside two crowded nightclubs. He remained in a hospital under police custody, but once he’s well he will later be booked into Sacramento County jail for “possession of a firearm by a prohibitive person and possession of a machine gun.” The third suspect, Daviyonne Dawson, 31, also was arrested on a gun possession charge. LOS ANGELES TIMES 

‘I-65 Killer’ identified after 30 years The Indiana State Police said Tuesday they had identified the “I-65 Killer” more than 30 years after he sexually assaulted and murdered three women working at motels along the highway. The agency said investigators used investigative genealogy, which enters crime scene DNA to genealogy databases to find offenders’ genetic relatives, to identify the late Harry Edward Greenwell as the person they suspect with 99-percent certainty in the 1987 and 1989 murders of Vicki Heath, Margaret “Peggy” Gill, and Jeanne Gilbert at Days Inns in Kentucky and Indiana. Another woman survived a sexual assault at the Days Inn in Columbus, Indiana, and gave a description of the attacker to police. Greenwell died of cancer in 2013 at age 68. CNN 

Tiger Woods plans to play in Masters  Tiger Woods said Tuesday that “as of right now” he plans to play in this week’s Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. If he competes, it will be his first competition since he almost lost his right leg in a serious car accident 14 months ago. “My recovery has been good,” Woods said. Woods has won 15 majors, and he would be trying to tie Jack Nicklaus with his sixth Masters green jacket, the most ever. He said after a practice round with his son Charlie and good friend Justin Thomas that he isn’t worried from a “golf standpoint,” but walking the course will be a difficult challenge. “You know, 72 holes is a long road,” he said. ESPN 

Twitter adds Elon Musk to its board Twitter is appointing Tesla CEO Elon Musk to its board, the social media company announced Tuesday. Musk, the world’s richest person, has acquired a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, a regulatory filing revealed Monday. That makes him Twitter’s largest individual shareholder. Musk has agreed not to acquire more than 14.9 percent of Twitter shares or attempt a takeover, the Securities and Exchange Commission filing said. Musk said he was excited to work with the board to make “significant improvements” to Twitter. Like Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and CEO Parag Agrawal, he has suggested reshaping social networks by shifting power from companies to users, giving people more control over what they see in their feeds. CNN 

JetBlue offers to buy Spirit Airlines in $3.6 billion deal JetBlue Airways has offered to buy budget carrier Spirit Airlines in an unsolicited $3.6 billion deal, Spirit said Tuesday. JetBlue said merging the two companies would position it “as the most compelling national low-fare challenger to the four large dominant U.S. carriers by accelerating JetBlue’s growth,” which would encourage Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines to drop fares. JetBlue said the offer, which amounts to a 50 percent premium over Spirit’s recent closing price, was “superior” to the ongoing merger effort involving Spirit and low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines. Frontier said JetBlue’s offer “would lead to more expensive travel for consumers.” THE WASHINGTON POST 

Tuesday,  April 5th, 2022 

Astronomers announce the discovery of K2-2016-BLG-0005Lb, an exoplanet that is said to resemble Jupiter. The discovery was made using the now-retired Kepler space telescope. (ScienceAlert) 

Chinese authorities extend the lockdown in Shanghai after more than 13,000 people test positive for COVID-19. (NBC News) 

China expands Shanghai COVID lockdown China on Tuesday extended Shanghai’s coronavirus lockdown to cover the financial hub’s entire population of 26 million after city-wide testing found daily new cases surging to more than 13,000. The broadening restrictions came as residents of China’s largest city were already expressing anger over the lockdown. Outside experts warned the campaign’s economic cost would be huge. China has brought in at least 38,000 personnel from other regions in what state media called the country’s biggest medical operation since the Wuhan shutdown in early 2020. Thousands of Shanghai residents who have tested positive have been confined to “central quarantine” facilities whether they are symptomatic or not, with children sometimes separated from their parents. REUTERS 

Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden expel over 100 Russian diplomatic staff from their countries. Latvia closes the Russian consulates in Daugavpils and Liepāja, while Estonia closes the Russian diplomatic facilities in Narva and Tartu. These actions come as a reaction to the newly revealed Bucha massacre. (Politico)  

A protester is seen recreating a photo of a dead man, captured during the massacre in Bucha, at the Kremlin Palace. (DNYUZ) 

Biden doubles down on Putin war-crime allegation President Biden on Monday called for putting Russian President Vladimir Putin on trial for war crimes over Ukraine’s report that it found mass graves and streets littered with dead civilians in areas where Russian troops had just withdrawn. “He is a war criminal,” Biden said of Putin. “But we have to gather information, we have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue to fight.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky toured the town of Bucha, where dead civilians were found face down in the streets, and urged the media to “show the world what happened here.” European leaders called for tougher sanctions against Russia. Moscow denied targeting civilians and accused Ukraine of “stage-managed anti-Russian provocation.”  LOS ANGELES TIMES 

U.S. seizes Putin ally’s superyacht The U.S. government on Monday seized a 254-foot superyacht owned by billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Members of Spain’s Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents took over the $120 million vessel in a marina in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Vekselberg heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate that handles metals, mining, tech, and other assets. The Justice Department got the warrant to take the yacht from a federal judge in Washington, arguing that it should be forfeited for bank fraud, money laundering, and sanctions violations. All of the Ukrainian-born Vekselberg’s assets in the U.S. have been frozen. POLITICO 

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker apparently ‘fake-eloped’ in Vegas Elvis has left the chapel, but not before officiating a (possibly fake) Kardashian wedding. On Tuesday, TMZ reported Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker tied the knot in Las Vegas after attending the Grammys. The report said the couple got married at a wedding chapel at about 1:30 a.m. on Monday, and the wedding was officiated by an Elvis impersonator. “It was important to them that an Elvis impersonator officiate,” TMZ wrote, without specifying why. Later on Tuesday, though, Page Six reported they’re actually “not legally married” because they never got a marriage license. “They had a ceremony, but on paper it’s not legal yet,” an insider told Page Six — so the report concluded they simply “fake-eloped in Vegas for fun.” As you do! TMZ‘s original report said they have “several” other celebrations planned after Vegas “with lots of fanfare.” We wish them the best with their fake wedding reception and fake honeymoon.  TMZ 

Hailey Bieber says she’s not pregnant: ‘Leave me alone’ Baby, baby, baby, no! Hailey Bieber is shutting down speculation she’s pregnant with her first child with Justin Bieber, as fans recently claimed following her appearance at the Grammys. The model walked the Grammys’ red carpet with her husband, and after the show, RadarOnline shared a headline on Instagram referencing speculation she’s expecting a child based on the ” flowing gown” she wore. But Bieber shot this down, commenting, “I’m not pregnant leave me alone.” Justin Bieber has said he wants to have as many kids “as Hailey is wishing to push out,” though she says she’s in no rush. Earlier this year, she told The Wall Street Journal she’s “still super, super young” and is focused on “all the things I want to accomplish in my business.” She added, “Definitely no kids this year; that would be a little bit hectic, I think.”  E! NEWS 

Daisy Ridley is ‘coming out of social media hibernation’ There has been an awakening on Daisy Ridley’s Instagram page. The Star Wars actress has returned to social media years after quitting at the height of sequel trilogy mania. “Coming out of social media hibernation refreshed, recharged, and ready for what I’m calling my ‘Year of Yes,’” she captioned a photo of herself drinking tea. Ridley, who played Rey in the new Star Wars movies, used to be relatively active on Instagram. But she deleted her account in 2016 after backlash over a post speaking out against gun violence, and she later swore she’d never return. Her co-star Kelly Marie Tran also quit social media due to online harassment. Years later, Ridley is giving Instagram another shot — though if she’s assuming the Star Wars fan community has gotten any less vitriolic since she left, we have some bad news.  PEOPLE 

A Dominica-flagged vessel is hit by artillery from the Russian Navy. One person is injured but all crew members are successfully evacuated. (Reuters) 

Human Rights Watch says that the Malian military and mercenaries from the Wagner Group massacred over 300 civilians in the town of Mourrah during a nine-day counter-insurgency operation in March. (The Guardian)  

Militants raid a community of nuns in Kaya, Sanmatenga Province, Burkina Faso, kidnapping an American. (Reuters)  

At least 15 people are killed and more than a dozen others are injured in an attack at a military base in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State, Nigeria. (Reuters) 

A UN peacekeeper from Nepal is killed in Djugu territory in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo by suspected militia members. (Reuters) 

The trial of Ali Kushayb, one of the suspects in the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, begins at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. Kushayb pleads not guilty. (Deutsche Welle) 

President Pedro Castillo imposes a curfew in Lima amid protests against inflation caused by rising fuel and fertiliser costs. (BBC News) 

The European Commission launches disciplinary proceedings against Hungary under the newly-upheld conditionality mechanism that could block funds over rule-of-law concerns if the shortcomings do not prevent misuse of EU funds. (Politico) 

Two Iranian clerics are stabbed to death at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad. Another cleric is injured. (Radio Free Europe) 

Senate breaks deadlock on Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation The Senate voted Monday night to break a deadlock and bring Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination to the full Senate. Three Republicans — Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Mitt Romney (Utah) — joined Democrats in the 53-47 vote, clearing Jackson to be confirmed later in the week as the first Black woman to serve on the high court. She also will be the first justice to have served as a public defender. Collins last week became the first Republican to say she would support Jackson’s confirmation. Murkowski and Romney said Monday they would support her, too. Romney said in a statement that he had “concluded that she is a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor.” THE HILL 

Lawmakers agree to deal on COVID funding Congressional negotiators reached a deal Monday on providing $10 billion in additional funding for the U.S. COVID-19 response, The Washington Post reported, citing four people familiar with the deal. A clash over global aid threatened to block an agreement, so it was excluded. The White House, which originally requested $22.5 billion, has warned that it needs lawmakers to approve more funding to protect Americans from new variants that could emerge anywhere in the world. Democrats had proposed $10 billion in U.S. funding and $5 billion for the global coronavirus response. The deal Democrats worked out with Republican Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) would use repurposed money allocated in previous stimulus packages. NPR 

Colorado governor signs law guaranteeing abortion rights Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) on Monday signed a bill affirming abortion rights in the state. “Colorado has been, is, and will be a pro-choice state,” he said. Colorado’s Reproductive Health Equity Act guarantees access to reproductive health care before and after pregnancy; declares that fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses have no independent rights; and prohibits local governments from enacting their own abortion restrictions, The Associated Press reported. The state approved the law as several Republican-run states were tightening abortion restrictions, setting up a challenge of abortion rights at the Supreme Court. “No matter what the Supreme Court does in the future,” Polis said, “people in Colorado will be able to choose when and if they have children.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

3 GOP states sue Biden administration over ending pandemic border policy Missouri, Arizona, and Louisiana filed a lawsuit Monday against the Biden administration over its decision to end the Title 42 policy that lets the government promptly expel migrants at the southern border in the name of fighting the spread of COVID-19. The three Republican-led states argued that lifting the policy, which was imposed by former President Donald Trump and continued by President Biden, would “create an unprecedented surge at the border” that will overwhelm immigration officials. The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly emphasized that Title 42 was always intended as a public health measure, not part of U.S. immigration policy. THE HILL 

Jury selection begins in Parkland school shooting sentencing trial Jury selection began Monday in the death-penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz, who is accused of killing 17 students and staff members at a Parkland, Florida, high school in 2018. Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October, so the jury will only determine whether he should receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Eighteen people in the first pool of 60 prospective jurors remained after they were asked whether they could serve in a trial expected to last from June to September. Two more groups also were set to be screened. The prospective jurors still under consideration will return in several weeks for questioning about their views on capital punishment, and whether they could judge Cruz fairly. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Kansas beats North Carolina in NCAA title game comeback The Kansas Jayhawks beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69 to win the NCAA men’s basketball national championship on Monday, storming back after trailing by 15 points at halftime in the biggest comeback in title game history. The Jayhawks took a 56-50 lead midway through the second half thanks to a 36-10 rally, but the Tar Heels never gave up. A tip-in by Brady Manek gave North Carolina a 69-68 lead with 1:41 left. Kansas big man David McCormack put his team ahead 70-69 with a put-back with a minute remaining, then scored again with 20 seconds left. Kansas got the ball back but turned it over with four seconds remaining, but Carolina’s Caleb Love missed a final three-pointer. USA TODAY 

Dimon says JPMorgan could lose $1 billion on Russia JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned Monday that the bank could lose $1 billion over time from its Russia exposure due to fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Dimon did not provide a timeframe, but said much of the damage could stem from the conflict’s secondary damage on companies and other countries. He said the United States should step up its military presence in Europe and work on an energy security plan for the U.S. and its allies who have long relied on Russian oil and gas. “America must be ready for the possibility of an extended war in Ukraine with unpredictable outcomes. We should prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” he wrote in an annual letter to shareholders. REUTERS 

Fortnite raises $144 million for Ukraine relief Epic Games announced Monday that it had raised $144 million for Ukraine relief through its wildly popular online game Fortnite. The company announced in March that it would donate all proceeds generated through the game from March 20 through April 3 to help provide relief to Ukrainians suffering due to Russia’s invasion of their country. The money will go to Direct Relief, UNICEF, UN World Food Program, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and World Central Kitchen. “They are on the ground providing emergency aid, including health support, food and clean water, essential supplies, legal aid, and shelter,” Epic Games said. Xbox pledged to donate all Fortnite proceeds generated via the Microsoft Store during this time to Ukraine relief, as well.  THE VERGE 

Monday,  April 4th, 2022 

China reports 13,146 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since the height of the pandemic in Wuhan in February 2020. (France 24) 

Zelensky accuses Russia of ‘genocide’ Ukraine’s prosecutor-general said Sunday that authorities had recovered the bodies of 410 civilians in Kyiv-area towns retaken from Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “genocide” after his government reported a massacre in the town of Bucha northwest of the capital, Kyiv. European leaders expressed outrage over photos of corpses, some with their hands bound behind their backs. Germany’s defense minister, Christine Lambrecht, said the European Union should consider responding to the atrocities by banning Russian gas imports. Human Rights Watch said it had documented “several cases” of war crimes by Russian soldiers. Russia’s defense ministry “categorically” denied Ukraine’s allegations, calling them “yet another provocation” by the Ukrainian government.  REUTERS

U.S. President Joe Biden calls for Russian President Vladimir Putin to face trials for war crimes after more images emerge of the Bucha massacre. (CNN) 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that peace talks will continue despite the Bucha massacre. (BBC News) 

Germany assumes control of Gazprom Germania, Gazprom’s German subsidiary, after the German economy ministry declines to approve the subsidiary’s acquisition by two entities with unclear beneficiaries. (Financial Times) 

Lithuania bans Russian IT companies from relocating to Lithuania. (LRT) 

Lithuania ends Russian gas imports Lithuania said over the weekend it had cut off Russian gas imports, which would make it the first country in the 27-member European Union to do so. “Seeking full energy independence from Russian gas, in response to Russia’s energy blackmail in Europe and the war in Ukraine, Lithuania has completely abandoned Russian gas,” Lithuania’s energy ministry said in a statement. The policy took effect at the start of April. On Saturday, Lithuania got its imports of Russian gas down to zero. In 2015, Lithuania got nearly all of its natural gas from Russia, but it has been drastically reducing its purchases from that country since starting operations at an off-shore LNG import terminal in the port city of Klaipeda in 2014. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Lithuania orders the closure of the Russian consulate in Klaipėda and downgrades diplomatic ties with Russia, ordering the Russian ambassador to leave the country. (LRT) 

Deputy PM Saadeh Al Shami says that Lebanon and its central bank are bankrupt. (Anadolu Agency) 

Lithuania lifts requirements for masks in indoor spaces, except in public transport and medical facilities, and reduces the COVID-19 isolation period to five days. (LRT) 

France, Germany and Latvia expel Russian diplomats in response to war crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, specifically the Bucha massacre. (Axios) 

Russia restricts diplomats, journalists and politicians from the European Union, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein from obtaining a visa by a simplified procedure. (Reuters) 

The third part of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report is released, studying methods to mitigate climate change. (Met Office) 

In basketball, the Kansas Jayhawks rally from a 15-point deficit to defeat the 8th-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels 72–69 in the National Championship Game. This is the 4th championship for the Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team, and their first since 2008. (The New York Times) 

South Carolina beats UConn in NCAA women’s basketball championship The South Carolina Gamecocks beat the UConn Huskies 64-49 on Sunday to win the NCAA women’s basketball championship. South Carolina senior point guard Destanni Henderson led her team’s offense, hitting early three-point shots and finishing with a career-high 26 points. South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston posted her 30th double-double of the season. It was South Carolina’s second national title under coach Dawn Staley, and UConn’s first loss in 12 national championship games. South Carolina, ranked No. 1 all season, burst out to an early 13-2 lead, and held UConn star Paige Bueckers to 14 points. “It was divinely ordered for us to be champions,” Staley said. “We weren’t going to be denied.” USA TODAY 

Carrie Lam won’t seek 2nd term as Hong Kong leader Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Monday she would not seek a second term. Lam had a rocky five-year term in which pro-democracy protesters called for her resignation and Beijing cracked down on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, exerting more direct control over the semi-autonomous former British colony. Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. Most recently, Lam struggled to contend with a COVID-19 wave that overwhelmed the healthcare system. Lam said the central government in Beijing accepted her decision with “respect and understanding.” Her successor will be chosen in May. The city’s No. 2 leader John Lee, who was head of security during the 2019 protests, is seen as a potential replacement. USA TODAY 

Pakistan opposition challenges dissolution of parliament Pakistan’s opposition politicians vowed to challenge Prime Minister Imran Khan’s dissolution of parliament at the country’s Supreme Court. The court said it would consider the case on Monday. Khan was facing a no-confidence vote he was expected to lose, but he dissolved parliament and called for early elections in an attempt to stay in power. “Absolutely unprecedented,” said Amber Rahim Shamsi, director of the Center of Excellence in Journalism at the International Business Administration. “This is a constitutional crisis… The opposition had the numbers, and it was pretty much a sure vote. Had it gone through, the prime minister would have been removed from office.” Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry accused opposition lawmakers of treason. NPR 

Orban declares victory in Hungary’s national elections Hungary’s hard-line nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared victory in the country’s Sunday elections after a partial vote count showed his right-wing party with a significant lead. “We won a victory so big that you can see it from the moon,” Orban told a cheering crowd. He said the vote sent a message to the European Union, which has condemned his government for eroding the country’s democracy and alleged corruption. With 91 percent of ballots counted, Orban’s Fidesz party and its coalition partners had won 53 percent. The pro-European opposition coalition United for Hungary had just over 34 percent, the National Election Office said.  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

6 killed in Sacramento mass shooting Six people were killed and 12 others injured in a mass shooting in near a strip of nightclubs in downtown Sacramento, California, early Sunday. Police Chief Kathy Lester said officers recovered “at least one firearm,” but there were no suspects in custody. Investigators could not immediately say whether the victims had been specifically targeted. The two-by-four-block area where the shootings occurred was littered with broken glass. Family members awaited news around cordoned-off streets. Police said a social media video appeared “to show an altercation that preceded the shooting.” THE SACRAMENTO BEE 

Jordan’s Prince Hamzah gives up his royal title in protest Prince Hamzah, the half-brother of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, relinquished his title on Sunday. The prince stopped short of directly criticizing the king and ruling elites as he did in a previous clash, but he said via Twitter that he had been made the decision because his convictions conflict with “current approaches, policies, and methods of our institutions.” Abdullah and Hamzah are sons of King Hussein, who died in 1999 after ruling the Wester-allied country for decades. Abdullah had appointed Hamzah as crown prince and successor but revoked the title in 2004. The king then put Hamzah under house arrest last April for an alleged plot to destabilize the kingdom, but last month Hamzah apologized, expressing a desire to “turn the page on this chapter in our country’s and our family’s history.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Grammys: Jon Batiste, Olivia Rodrigo, Foo Fighters win big  Pianist, singer, songwriter Jon Batiste won five Grammy Awards on Sunday, including Album of the Year for We Are. Batiste, the Late Show with Stephen Colbert bandleader, was nominated for eight awards for We Are and three for his score for the Pixar film Soul. Other winners include Olivia Rodrigo, who was named Best New Artist. She also won Best Pop Solo Performance for “Drivers License” and Best Pop Vocal Album for Sour. The Foo Fighters, whose drummer Taylor Hawkins died March 25, earned three Grammys: Best Rock Song (“Waiting on a War”), Best Rock Album (Medicine at Midnight), and Best Rock Performance (“Making a Fire”). The band did not attend the show. LOS ANGELES TIMES 

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Musk takes stake in Twitter, shares soar Twitter shares jumped by 26 percent in pre-market trading on Monday on the news that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had acquired a 9.2 percent stake in the social media company. Musk now owns 73,486,938 shares of Twitter, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. At Friday’s closing price, Musk’s stake was worth $2.89 billion. Musk’s stake is classified as passive, but some investors are betting it could lead to big changes. Musk is a frequent Twitter user, and a week ago he hinted about shaking up the company. “Musk could try to take a more aggressive stance here on Twitter,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said Monday on CNBC’s Squawk Box.  CNBC

Starbucks pauses buybacks to invest in cafes, employees Starbucks said Sunday it was suspending stock buybacks it started last fall, which interim Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz said would give the company money to invest in its cafes and workers. “We all have a stake in our future,” Schultz wrote in a letter to employees as he returns as the coffee giant’s CEO on Monday. “This serves as an invitation to come build it.” Schultz built the coffee chain over several decades, and he is returning to run it following Kevin Johnson’s announcement in March that he was stepping down as CEO, a job he had held since 2017. Schultz said he plans to reinvigorate the company as it contends with rising costs and increasing unionization of U.S. baristas. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Airlines cancel thousands of flights  Airlines canceled more than 3,400 flights and delayed 8,800 on Saturday and Sunday due to Florida storms and technology problems at Southwest Airlines, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Southwest canceled 520 flights on Saturday — about 14 percent of its operations — and another 398 on Sunday. Southwest, the nation’s largest domestic carrier, has said up to 50 percent of its flights travel over Florida. Budget airline Spirit, which has its biggest hub in Fort Lauderdale, lost a larger chunk of its schedule than any other carrier, canceling 27 percent of its flights on both Saturday and Sunday, FlightAware said. JetBlue canceled 25 percent of its Sunday flights, up from 15 percent on Saturday. USA TODAY 

Kanye West drops out of Coachella With less than two weeks to go until Coachella, Kanye West has abruptly dropped out. The rapper canceled his performance after he was previously scheduled to headline on April 17 and April 24. It wasn’t immediately clear why, but Page Six recently reported West told his ex-wife Kim Kardashian “he’s going away to get help.” A source close to the Kardashians told the outlet, “Kanye has told Kim he’s not making any public appearances or inflammatory social media statements, and he will go away somewhere to get better.” West also didn’t attend the Grammys after his performance was pulled from the lineup due to “concerning online behavior” following his repeated attacks on Kardashian’s new boyfriend, Pete Davidson. Despite this, he still won two awards. In February, West threatened to pull out of Coachella unless Billie Eilish apologized for slamming Travis Scott at a concert, even though she never actually did so.  VARIETYTMZ 

Jared Leto was taken to the bathroom in a wheelchair while method acting on ‘Morbius’ Another Jared Leto movie, another series of bizarre method acting stories. Morbius director Daniel Espinosa confirmed to Uproxx that Leto was so committed to getting into character as Michael Morbius, who suffers from a blood disorder, for the new Marvel film that he actually used crutches and slowly limped his way to the bathroom between takes. Journalist Mike Ryan asked Espinosa about rumors that it “was taking so long between for pee breaks, that a deal was made with him to get him a wheelchair so someone could wheel him there quicker,” and the director confirmed this is true. “Hey, man, it’s people’s processes,” he declared. When Ryan suggested this level of commitment, which might actually slow down filming, could be frustrating, Espinosa said, “If you want a completely normal person that does only things that you understand, then you’re in the wrong business.” Leto is well known for his method acting process, which controversially saw him send disturbing gifts to his co-stars while in character as the Joker for Suicide Squad. Hey, at least the end result is always a truly great film … right?  UPROXX 

Selena Gomez hasn’t been on the internet in over 4 years Selena Gomez is living the dream: She logged off and never looked back. The pop star told Good Morning America she hasn’t “been on the internet in four-and-a-half years,” and she doesn’t feel like she’s missing out. “It has changed my life completely,” Gomez said. “I am happier. I am more present. I connect more with people.” Gomez announced a social media break in 2018, telling fans she planned to “step back and live my life present to the moment I have been given.” It sounds like her break has essentially become permanent — though her Twitter and Instagram accounts have remained updated, and GMA reported she “helps her team curate her content.” As an extremely offline person, though, Gomez told GMA she now gets the news “that is actually important” through “people in my life.” We’re hoping this means she has no idea what an NFT is and none of her friends plan to tell her. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.  ABC NEWS 

Sunday, April 3rd, 2022 

Large explosions are reported in the port city of Odessa as residents are urged to seek shelter. Ukrainian officials say that the Russian Air Force has fired missiles at the city, and that some missiles have been intercepted. (BBC News)

Human Rights Watch, an independent human rights group, says that it has documented allegations of war crimes perpetrated by Russian forces in Ukraine against civilians, including rape, summary execution, and looting of civilian properties. (CNN) 

Around 25 million residents in Shanghai are ordered to undergo COVID-19 testing in an effort to contain the current COVID-19 outbreak. (South China Morning Post) 

Six people are killed and 12 others are injured during a mass shooting at a popular nightlife area in Sacramento, California, United States. (ABC News) 

Fidesz, the party of current Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, wins most of the seats and retains its parliamentary supermajority, while opposition leader Péter Márki-Zay loses his home district of Hódmezővásárhely. (CNN) 

Voters in Serbia head to the polls to vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections. (DW) 

Rodrigo Chaves Robles is elected President of Costa Rica. (Reuters) 

Former Crown Prince of Jordan Hamzah bin Hussein announces on Twitter that he is renouncing his “Prince” title, saying that his “personal convictions” are not in line with the “modern methods of our institutions”. Hamzah has been under house arrest since last March after he accused Jordanian leaders of corruption and incompetence. (BBC News) 

Qatar bans LGBT symbols at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. (Euronews)

The End

Sunday, April 3rd, 2022 

Hundreds of civilians are found dead on a street in Bucha after the city is recaptured by Ukrainian forces. Journalists and Ukrainian forces say that they have uncovered evidence of war crimes by the Russian military. (Times of Israel) (The Guardian) (The Kyiv Independent) 

Streets found strewn with corpses as Ukrainian troops reclaim Kyiv suburbs Ukrainian troops re-occupying the Kyiv region after Russian forces pulled back during the weekend found the streets strewn with the bodies of civilians, 280 of whom were buried in a mass grave in the suburb of Bucha. One photo circulating online shows the body of a man with his hands bound and an open Ukrainian passport on the ground beside him. The Russian Defense Ministry dismissed the photos and videos as “fake” while also attempting to blame the civilian deaths on Ukrainian air strikes. Ukrainian government sources have accused Russia of war crimes. THE NEW YORK POST 

Withdrawing Russian troops left mines near homes and corpses, Zelensky says Russian forces placed land mines around homes, abandoned equipment, and even corpses as they pulled back from around Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday. Zelensky said these mines are creating a “catastrophic” situation for civilians who might want to return to their homes. “There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers,” he added. Russia is a signatory to the international Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which prohibits placing mines or booby traps on or near “sick, wounded, or dead persons.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Large explosions are reported in the port city of Odessa as residents are urged to seek shelter. Ukrainian officials say the Russian Air Force has fired missiles at the city, and that some missiles have been intercepted. (BBC News)  

Human Rights Watch, an independent human rights group, says that it has documented allegations of war crimes perpetrated by Russian forces in Ukraine against civilians, including rape, summary execution, and looting of civilian properties. (CNN) 

United States, European Union, and NATO leaders react to emerging reports of the massacre in Bucha, accusing the Russian Armed Forces of war crimes and calling for more sanctions against Russia. (BBC News) 

Russia threatens to pull out of International Space Station unless ‘illegal sanctions’ are lifted Dmitry Rogozin, the director of Russian space agency Roscosmos, tweeted Saturday that Russian cosmonauts cannot cooperate in operating the International Space Station until sanctions against Russia are removed. “I believe that the restoration of normal relations between partners in the International Space Station and other joint projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions,” Rogozin wrote. The ISS is a joint project of Roscosmos, NASA, and the space agencies of Japan, Canada, and the European Union. Russia operates one section of the station, while the remaining partners operate the other. The station cannot function without the cooperation of both sections. REUTERS 

Hungarians head to polls as opposition alliance seeks to unseat Orbán Hungarian voters cast their ballots on Sunday to determine whether controversial leader Viktor Orban will serve a fourth consecutive term as prime minister. Ahead of the election, Orban’s Fidesz party held a slight lead in the polls over United for Hungary, a six-party coalition created to oppose Fidesz that includes liberals, greens, and even the far-right Jobbik party. Orban has centralized power in the hands of his government, refused to join in European Union sanctions against Russia, and pursued a socially conservative nationalist agenda. REUTERS 

Prime Minister Sanna Marin says a decision on Finland joining the NATO military alliance must be made before summer this year, saying “Russia is not the neighbour we thought it was”. (Yle) 

Voters in Hungary head to polls to elect a new National Assembly. (The Guardian) 

Voters in Serbia head to polls to vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections. (DW) 

Six people are killed and ten others injured during a mass shooting at a popular nightlife area in Sacramento, California, United States. No suspects are in custody. (ABC News) 

Pakistani President Arif Alvi dissolves the National Assembly after Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri refused to hold a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was widely expected to lose. Khan previously accused the United States of conspiring with the opposition to remove him due to his opposition towards US foreign policy, which the US denies. (BBC News) 

Qatar bans gay symbols in its events for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. (Euronews)  

Trump stumps for candidates who accept his stolen election claims at Michigan rally Former President Donald Trump hosted a rally outside Detroit on Saturday in which he endorsed Republican candidates for attorney general and secretary of state who accept his claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. For attorney general, Trump endorsed political neophyte Matt DePerno, who pushed for an audit of the 2020 vote in Michigan’s Antrim County. For secretary of state, Trump backed Kristina Karamo, who also lacks political experience and who claimed to have witnessed ballot fraud on election night. Trump said his endorsements were “about making sure Michigan is not rigged and stolen in 2024.” THE GUARDIAN 

Around 25 million residents in Shanghai are ordered to undergo COVID-19 testing in a effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. (South China Morning Post) 

Sarah Palin announced run for Congress after meeting with Trump Before announcing her bid for Alaska’s sole seat in the House of Representatives, former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin reportedly met with former President Donald Trump, who encouraged her to run. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) called for the special election after Rep. Don Young (R), who had held Alaska’s at-large House seat since 1973, died last month. Palin barely filed her paperwork in time for the Friday deadline, joining a field of more than 40 candidates competing in the June nonpartisan primary. The top four vote getters will advance to the general election, which will be held on Aug. 16. FOX NEWS 

Pakistani prime minister calls early elections after deputy speaker blocks no-confidence vote Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan narrowly survived an attempt to remove him from power on Sunday after the deputy speaker of Pakistan’s parliament blocked a no-confidence vote, declaring it unconstitutional. Khan said Saturday, when his ouster seemed like a foregone conclusion, that he would not accept the results of vote. He also told reporters the vote was an American attempt to implement “regime change” in Pakistan. After the vote was blocked, Khan called for early elections in an attempt to shore up his power. No Pakistani prime minister has completed a full five-year term since the country gained independence in 1947. CNN 

McConnell pressuring GOP senators to oppose Jackson confirmation Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is urging his fellow Senate Republicans to vote against confirming Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. According to a report published Saturday, McConnell said his opposition is not based on “race or gender,” but on concerns about Jackson’s judicial philosophy and her history of being soft on crime. Despite McConnell’s vote whipping, it is unlikely Republicans will be able to block Jackson’s confirmation. Even if all 50 Republican senators vote against Jackson, Vice President Kamala Harris can still break the tie in the nominee’s favor. THE HILL 

UNC and Kansas advance to NCAA championship as Coach K ends storied career The University of North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Duke Blue Devils 81-77 on Saturday. Duke’s loss marked the end of the 47-year career of beloved Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, also known as “Coach K.” In a press conference after the game, Krzyzewski congratulated UNC on their victory and said his own players were “crying on the court” as they realized the game would be his last. Also on Saturday, the Kansas Jayhawks beat the Villanova Wildcats 81-65. The championship game between college basketball powerhouses Kansas and UNC will take place Monday night in New Orleans. NPR 

‘Ginni Thomas’ calls herself ‘the Yoko Ono of the Supreme Court’ in new SNL cold open Saturday Night Live began its latest episode with another Fox News parody, this time featuring Fox & Friends hosts Steve Doocy (Alex Moffat), Ainsley Earhardt (Heidi Gardner) and Brian Kilmeade (Mikey Day) interviewing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (Kenan Thompson) and his wife, Ginni Thomas (Kate McKinnon). In response to questions about her involvement in the campaign to overturn the 2020 election, McKinnon-as-Ginni said, “I take my duty as the Yoko Ono of the Supreme Court very seriously. All I want is a tidal wave of biblical vengeance to wash away the Biden crime family all the way to Gitmo, and then we release the Kraken.” NBC NEWS 

The Ukrainian flag is raised over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant following its recapture from Russian forces. A ceremony is held to honour the staff at the former plant who continued to work under Russian occupation. (CNN) 

Fighting erupts near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, leading to four Palestinians being arrested by Israel Police for rioting. (Times of Israel) 

Australia and India sign a A$12.6 billion trade deal aimed at strengthening India’s manufacturing sector by allowing access to more raw materials, and to also reduce Australia’s dependence on China after China placed sanctions on some Australian goods following several political disputes. (South China Morning Post) 

Saturday, April 2nd, 2022 

Ukraine retakes full control of the Kyiv Oblast as the last Russian troops return to Belarus. (Reuters) 

Ukrainian forces recapture the city of Irpin after driving out the last Russian troops. Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn confirms that the city has been fully liberated. (BBC News) 

Russia accuses Ukraine of daring airstrikes on fuel depot in Belgorod, Russia  Officials in Belgorod, a Russian city near Kharkiv, Ukraine, say Ukrainian military helicopters were responsible for explosions and subsequent fires at a fuel depot early Friday. “The fire at the oil depot occurred as a result of an airstrike coming from two helicopters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which entered the territory of the Russian Federation flying at a low altitude,” Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram. “There are no victims,” though two workers were injured. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the explosions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the strikes on the fuel depot can’t “be perceived as creating conditions comfortable for the continuation of negotiations.” CNN 

Russia claims that the Ukrainian Air Force conducted an airstrike on Belgorod, hitting several fuel facilities. Videos on social media show low-flying attack helicopters firing rockets at a fuel depot in the city. (AP) 

Residents say that Russian authorities have violently dispersed a pro-Ukrainian demonstration in Enerhodar. Several protesters are arrested and Russian troops are alleged to have used explosions to disperse the crowd. (Reuters) 

Defense Department announces $300 million in military aid to Ukraine The U.S. will send Ukraine up to $300 million worth of military supplies, including armed drones, laser-guided rocket systems, machine guns, armored off-road vehicles, night vision and thermal imaging devices, and more, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby announced late Friday. “This decision underscores the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in support of its heroic efforts to repel Russia’s war of choice,” Kirby said in a statement. Since the beginning of the Biden administration, the U.S. has provided over $2.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine, and a spending bill signed last month includes an additional $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for the embattled country. NBC NEWS 

Twenty civilians are found dead on a street in Bucha after the city is recaptured by Ukrainian forces. (Times of Israel) 

Ceasefire talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations resume via video link. (Times of Israel) 

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola travels to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, and subsequently addresses the Verkhovna Rada. Metsola becomes the first EU official to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. (Times of Malta) 

The Ukrainian flag is raised over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant following its recapture from Russian forces. A ceremony is held to honour the staff at the former plant who continued to work under Russian occupation. (CNN) 

More than 170 people are detained in anti-war protests across Russia. (The Moscow Times) 

Three Palestinian Islamic Jihad members are killed and four Israeli soldiers are wounded during a gunfight near Jenin in the West Bank. (BBC News) 

Staten Island Amazon workers vote to unionize In a historic and stunning win for workers (and a first for Amazon), employees at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island on Friday voted 2,654 to 2,131 to unionize. Employees will be represented by Amazon Labor Union, which won the tally by roughly 10 percentage points. Over 8,300 workers at the fulfillment center were eligible to vote. Organizers’ demands include longer breaks, paid sick leave, paid time off for injuries sustained at work, and higher wages. When the results of the vote were official, workers and organizers celebrated on the streets of downtown Brooklyn by screaming, jumping, hugging, and even popping champagne. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Red Cross to attempt Mariupol evacuation after failed attempt Friday A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross will launch a new effort on Saturday to lead a convoy of civilians out of Russian-encircled Mariupol after failing to do so on Friday due to “impossible” conditions, the group said. Another Red Cross attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol failed in early March. Mariupol, which had over 400,000 inhabitants before the war began in late February, is strategically located on a “land bridge” that would connect the Donbas, which is controlled by Russian-backed separatists, with Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. After failing to quickly capture major cities, Russia has made taking Mariupol a major focus of its “special military operation” against Ukraine. REUTERS

Jen Psaki reportedly to leave the White House and join MSNBC White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki plans to leave the White House around May for a job at MSNBC. The report published Friday says a deal hasn’t been closed but is nearly final. Psaki would reportedly appear on various MSNBC shows and host a show on NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock. She would not be replacing host Rachel Maddow, as some initially speculated. Psaki would be the latest White House press secretary to get a cable news gig after Kayleigh McEnany, who was hired by Fox News as a commentator. Symone Sanders, Vice President Kamala Harris’ former spokesperson, was also recently tapped to host her own show on MSNBC and Peacock. AXIOS

U.S. economy adds 431,000 jobs as unemployment rate declines to 3.6 percent  The U.S. economy added a solid 431,000 jobs in March as the unemployment rate dipped, the Labor Department said Friday. The number of job gains came in a bit below expectations, as economists forecasted 490,000 additions. The unemployment rate also declined to 3.6 percent. This comes after a strong report last month showed the economy added 678,000 jobs in February, although Friday’s report revised this number up to 750,000. Glassdoor Senior Economist Daniel Zhao said the “healthy” March report showed the “job market is still red hot,” adding, “If 2022’s pace of jobs growth continues, we would reach the pre-pandemic jobs benchmark as early as June.” CNBC 

DeSantis wants to strip Disney of ‘special privileges’ over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ opposition Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has expressed his support for stripping Disney of its “special privileges in the law” following the company’s opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill DeSantis signed Monday. “Disney has alienated a lot of people now,” DeSantis said. “And so the political influence they’re used to wielding, I think has dissipated. And so the question is, why would you want to have special privileges in the law at all? And I don’t think that we should.” Some Republican legislators in Florida have discussed repealing a 1967 law establishing the Reedy Creek Improvement District, allowing Disney to operate as its own government around Walt Disney World.  CNN

U.S. to lift COVID-era border policy restricting asylum The Biden administration announced Friday it would be lifting a COVID-era border policy originally enacted under former President Donald Trump on May 23. The measure, known as Title 42, has allowed the U.S. to expeditiously expel migrants at the southern border without permitting them to seek asylum for reasons of public health. The CDC has governed both the measure and how long it’s remained in place. Though critics of the policy have welcomed its rollback, others are worried about a resulting influx of migrants at the border. In some scenarios, officials have estimated 12,000 to 18,000 migrants entering U.S. custody daily. CNBC 

World Cup drawing pits U.S. against England and Iran The United States is officially set for a clash against England and Iran in this year’s World Cup. The drawing for the 2022 World Cup was held on Friday, and the U.S. was placed into Group B along with England and Iran, as well as either Scotland, Wales, or Ukraine, depending on the result of a playoff game. This will mark a return to the World Cup for the U.S. men’s national soccer team, which failed to make the cut in 2018. The United States secured a spot in the 2022 World Cup after a match with Costa Rica on Wednesday. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Will Smith resigns from Academy over Oscars slap Actor Will Smith announced Friday he’s stepping down from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group that hands out the Oscars, after he slapped comedian Chris Rock at Sunday’s ceremony. “My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable,” Smith said. Smith slapped Rock at the Academy Awards after the comedian made a joke about his wife. Later in the ceremony, Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor. The Academy’s board of governors on Wednesday initiated disciplinary proceedings against Smith and said it would consider taking action against him, including suspending or expelling him from the organization.  VARIETY

Ukrainian forces recapture Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, from Russian troops. (Ukrinform) 

The body of Reuters journalist Maks Levin is found in the town of Huta Mezhyhirska, near Kyiv. Levin had already disappeared several days before and is the sixth journalist to be killed in the country since Russia invaded. (The Guardian) 

Mali says that it has killed 203 insurgents in a major nine-day military operation from 23 March to April 1. (The Guardian) 

A Palestinian man is shot dead by Israeli security forces in Hebron after attacking them with a molotov cocktail. (Jerusalem Post) 

The Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis agree to a UN-brokered nationwide truce, the first in years, for two months to mark the start of Ramadan. As part of the deal, fuel shipments will be allowed to enter the Houthi-controlled port of Al Hudaydah and commercial flights will resume in the capital of Sanaa. (Reuters) 

Four pilots are killed after two South Korean Air Force KAI KT-1 Woongbis crash into each other over a mountain northeast of Sacheon, South Korea. (Deutsche Welle) 

The Russian Health Ministry announces that Russia has registered the nasal spray form of the Sputnik V vaccine, making Russia the first country to register a nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine. (TASS) 

The U.S. CDC announces that the Biden administration will end the usage of Title 42, a series of COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Trump administration in order to prevent migrants from entering the United States. The measure will take effect on May 23. (CNBC) 

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declares a state of emergency as civil unrest spreads across the country. Dozens of Sri Lanka Police officers have been injured in clashes with protesters and 52 people have been arrested. (Reuters) 

The End

Friday,  April 1st, 2022 

Russia, Ukraine agree to Mariupol cease-fire Russian and Ukrainian officials on Thursday announced a temporary cease-fire in the battered southern port city of Mariupol to let civilians out and humanitarian aid in. About 100,000 residents are believed trapped in the besieged city, which was home to 450,000 before Russia invaded Ukraine. Both sides have accused the other of violating local cease-fires intended to let civilians leave through humanitarian corridors. The International Committee of the Red Cross is hoping that the temporary cease-fire will let the convoy of 45 buses reach trapped civilians. “Time is running out to help these people,” said ICRC spokesperson Alyona Synenko. THE GUARDIAN 

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says that Ukraine has sent buses to Mariupol in an effort to evacuate citizens from the city. (BBC News) 

Biden orders oil release  President Biden on Thursday ordered the release of one million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve over 180 days to help bring down crude oil prices driven up by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Oil prices fell slightly in anticipation of the announcement. The release — the largest since the emergency stockpile was established in the 1970s — will help offset the loss of about three million barrels per day of Russian oil. “It is still a Band-Aid on a significant shortfall of supply,” said Scott Sheffield, chief executive of Pioneer Natural Resources, a major Texas oil company. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Putin tells foreign buyers to pay for Russian gas in rubles  Russian President Vladimir Putin told foreign buyers of Russian natural gas to pay in rubles starting Friday or face supply cuts. Putin said buyers would have to open ruble accounts in Russian banks and use them to pay for their gas. “Nobody sells us anything for free, and we are not going to do charity either,” he said. The decree renewed a demand European countries, who get a third of their gas from Russia, have already rejected. Germany, which has already activated an emergency plan that could include rationing, called Moscow’s move “blackmail.” Energy exports offer Putin his most powerful tool for countering sanctions Western nations have imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  REUTERS 

Russian media censorship agency Roskomnadzor threatens to fine Wikipedia up to 4 million rubles (about US$49,000) if it does not delete information that goes against the Kremlin’s official narrative on the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Forbes) 

The city of Bucha, located in the Kyiv Oblast, is recaptured from Russian troops. (Ukrinform) 

Russian sources claim the Ukrainian Air Force hit the city of Belgorod with airstrikes for the second time, hitting several fuel facilities. (AP News) 

Ceasefire talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations resume via video link. (Times of Israel) 

Eight people are killed and 20 more injured during a coal mine collapse in Aleksinac, Serbia. (Al Jazeera) 

Four pilots are killed after a pair of KAI KT-1 Woongbis belonging to the South Korean Air Force crash into each other over a mountain northeast of Sacheon, South Korea. (Deutsche Welle) 

The U.S. CDC announces that the Biden administration have ended Title 42, a series of COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Trump administration to prevent migrants from entering the United States. The measure will take effect on May 23. (CNBC) 

Following a meeting with Indigenous delegates Pope Francis apologizes for the “deplorable conduct” by members of the Catholic Church for actions in the church-run residential school system. (CBC News) 

Inflation gauge jumps to 40-year high The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 6.4 percent in February compared to a year earlier. It was the biggest increase in 40 years. The change reflected sharply higher prices for necessities, including food and gasoline. So-called core inflation, which leaves out volatile food and energy costs, increased by 5.4 percent. The data didn’t cover the full impact of Russia’s Ukraine invasion, which sent oil and gasoline prices soaring. Consumers increased their spending 0.2 percent in February, down from a 2.7 percent increase in January. Adjusted for inflation, consumer spending fell 0.4 percent in February. CNBC 

Russians return Chernobyl to Ukrainians Russian troops left the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant and returned control to Ukrainians on Friday. The move came after Russian soldiers got “significant” radiation doses while digging trenches around the restricted site, Ukraine state power company Energoatom said. Energoatom, which operates the site, did not provide details on how many Russians were exposed to contamination near the plant, which has been closed since suffering the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986. Russian forces seized the site early in their invasion of Ukraine, which started Feb. 24. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is withdrawing from the north and center of the country to regroup and prepare for new powerful attacks in the southeast. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Kushner interviewed by Jan. 6 committee Jared Kushner appeared virtually on Thursday before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Kushner is former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the first known close Trump relative to speak with the panel. Kushner served as one of Trump’s senior White House advisers. During an interview with MSNBC, committee member Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) said the interview was “really valuable” to the committee. Luria said Kushner was asked about published reports regarding the days leading up to the Capitol attack. Kushner, who was traveling on Jan. 6, “was able to voluntarily provide information to us to verify, substantiate, provide his own take on this different reporting,” Luria said. MSNBC 

Turkish prosecutor calls for moving Khashoggi trial to Saudi Arabia A Turkish prosecutor on Thursday called for moving the Istanbul trial of the Saudi suspects in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Khashoggi, a frequent critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, appeared to have been killed and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on orders from the “highest levels” of the Saudi government. A U.S. intelligence report released a year ago also said the crown prince approved the operation, which the Saudi government denies. The case increased tensions between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which sharply cut its imports of Turkish goods. REUTERS 

U.S. to let citizens pick ‘X’ gender marker on passports The United States will officially allow citizens to select “X” as a gender marker on their passports beginning next month, Jessica Stern, U.S. diplomatic envoy for LGBTQ rights, announced on Thursday. Stern called addition of the third, gender-neutral marker a “momentous step” that would recognize “that there is a wider spectrum of humanity than is represented by a binary sex designation on passports.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in June 2021 the U.S. would add a “gender marker for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons.” He said Thursday the X gender marker being made available to U.S. citizens is a “historic moment” and a “meaningful step towards LGBTQI+ inclusivity.” NBC NEWS 

A Palestinian man throws a Molotov cocktail at Israeli security forces in Hebron, who shoot him dead. (Jerusalem Post) 

Fox News hires Caitlyn Jenner as contributor Fox News Media announced Thursday it had hired former Olympic decathlon champion and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner as a contributor. “Caitlyn’s story is an inspiration to us all,” Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott said. “She is a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community.” Jenner came out as transgender and started publicly identifying as a woman in 2015. She ran for California governor last year in a failed attempt to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). She has appeared on Fox News numerous times, and said she was “humbled by this unique opportunity to speak directly to FOX News Media’s millions of viewers.” FOX NEWS 

U.S. hits Russian tech companies with sanctions The Biden administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on tech companies and individuals suspected of helping Russia and its military evade economic penalties over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The new sanctions target nearly three dozen people and companies, including supercomputer company T-Platforms, leading Russian microchip maker Mikron, and Serniya Engineering, which the Treasury Department says helped get international technology and goods for Russian military and intelligence services. Treasury said the list included shell companies set up to evade earlier sanctions. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. would “continue to target Putin’s war machine with sanctions from every angle until this senseless war of choice is over.” THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

‘Morbius’ predictably slammed with absolutely terrible reviews Leave it to Sony to squander any goodwill gained through Spider-Man: No Way Home within four months. The reviews are in for Morbius, the new Spider-Man spinoff movie from Sony starring Jared Leto, and as you might have expected, they’re absolutely awful. USA Today‘s Brian Truitt declared it the “worst superhero movie since” the infamous disaster Fantastic Four (2015), while Rolling Stone said it’s possibly the “single most anemic Marvel movie ever made,” Mashable called it a “toothless and tedious chore,” and The Playlist said it’s so bad it’s “just kind of depressing.” The film currently holds an unbelievably low 16 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For comparison, 2016’s Suicide Squad has 26 percent. Morbius is one of Sony’s Spider-Man spinoffs like Venom, but it’s not a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — even though the marketing appears entirely built around tricking people into thinking it is. How does Marvel boss Kevin Feige feel about the idea of people walking out of Morbius thinking it’s the latest MCU entry? Probably not great!  ROTTEN TOMATOES 

Bruce Willis’ health raised concerns on set for years, report says Directors who worked with Bruce Willis were concerned about his health for years before he stepped away from acting due to aphasia, an upsetting new report from the Los Angeles Times says. Willis reportedly “has been exhibiting signs of decline in recent years,” and those who worked with him on some of his recent films were unsure if he “was fully aware of his surroundings on set.” Apparently, Willis’ film shoots had to be limited to two days, his dialogue scenes needed to be trimmed, and he had to have his lines fed to him in an earpiece. “Someone would give him a line and he didn’t understand what it meant,” a crew member said. The actor would reportedly sometimes question where he was. “We are all Bruce Willis fans, and the arrangement felt wrong and ultimately a rather sad end to an incredible career, one that none of us felt comfortable with,” director Jesse V. Johnson said. Critic Matt Zoller Seitz suggested the reporting revealed the “financial exploitation of an actor with a debilitating health condition.”  LOS ANGELES TIMESTHE WEEK 

Ashley Tisdale made her husband buy 400 books to fill bookshelves before a video shoot Ashley Tisdale may not be as voracious a reader as her house would lead you to believe. Tisdale gave Architectural Digest a tour of her new home in Los Angeles, and at one point, she showed off some bookshelves. But she couldn’t help admitting they weren’t so full until pretty recently. “These bookshelves, I have to be honest, actually did not have books in it a couple of days ago,” she said. “I had my husband go to a bookstore, and I was like, ‘You need to get 400 books!’” Tisdale says he suggested they should simply be “collecting books over time,” but she wasn’t about to show bare shelves to the world. “I was like, ‘No, no no no, not when AD comes.’” After the moment went viral on Twitter, Tisdale sought to “clear this up,” writing, “There are some of my books from over the years in there but … any interior designer would have done the same.” Well hey, we appreciate the honesty, and shoutout to whichever bookstore made an absolute killing that day. INSIDERARCHITECTURAL DIGEST 

Michael Bay admits he ‘should have stopped’ making ‘Transformers’ movies Steven Spielberg almost saved all of us from a whole lot of pain. Director Michael Bay admitted to Unilad UK he “made too many” Transformers movies, despite advice from Spielberg, who produced the franchise. “Steven Spielberg said, ‘Just stop at three,” Bay said. “And I said I’d stop. The studio begged me to do a fourth, and then that made a billion too. And then I said I’m gonna stop here. And they begged me again.” Bay ended up making five Transformers movies, the most recent of which was 2017’s The Last Knight, and critics widely hated every installment after the first. The franchise is set to return with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in 2023, though Bay won’t be directing this time, having finally taken Spielberg’s advice years too late. “I should have stopped,” Bay said. “[But] they were fun to do.” Well, at least someone had fun. UNILADVARIETY 

Thursday, March 31st, 2022 

The International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that Russian forces have handed over control of the former nuclear power plant back to Ukraine. Russian troops also withdraw from the city of Slavutych, returning to Belarus. (CNBC) 

Two people are killed and 14 more injured as the Israeli Defense Forces raid the city of Jenin in the West Bank in order to capture a suspect linked to Tuesday’s shooting in Bnei Brak. (Times of Israel) (Haaretz) 

The world expo in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which was delayed to October 1, 2021, closes after six months. (AP) 

U.S. President Joe Biden orders the release of up to one million barrels of crude oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months in an attempt to contain inflation. (The Guardian) 

Pakistan disbands ll the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), which was overseeing the COVID-19 response in the country, as the infection’s numbers were at the lowest since the start of the outbreak early in 2020. (Reuters) 

Georgia says plans by the breakaway state of South Ossetia, which is internationally recognized as occupied Georgian territory, to hold a referendum on becoming a part of Russia are “unacceptable”. (Reuters) 

Sri Lanka Police impose an indefinite curfew in the city of Colombo after protesters attempted to storm president Gotabaya Rajapaksa‘s private residence amid anger over worsening economic conditions and power outages in the country. (Al Jazeera) 

Scientists sequence the complete human genome for the first time, more than three decades after the Human Genome Project was first commenced. (CNN) 

The End Friday 

Thursday, March 31st, 2022 

Biden to order massive oil-reserve release President Biden is preparing to announce the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve for up to 180 days to help bring down high gasoline prices. The order could come as soon as Thursday when Biden addresses his plans to fight high pump prices, The Washington Post reported. Oil and gasoline prices have jumped since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, and the United States and its allies hit Moscow with harsh sanctions. Crude oil traded at nearly $105 per barrel on Wednesday, up from $60 a year ago, but fell 4 percent after the plan was reported. The average U.S. price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.24 on Wednesday, according to AAA, up from $3.60 last month and $2.90 last year. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Germany launches emergency measures in case Russia cuts energy supplies Germany activated a national gas emergency plan on Wednesday to start preparing for possible shortages due to the possibility that Moscow could halt deliveries unless the country pays for Russian natural gas in rubles. Under the “early warning stage,” Germany is warning of possible rationing and setting up a crisis team with federal and state officials, as well as regulators and corporate executives, said Robert Habeck, the economy minister and vice chancellor. The emergency efforts highlight the risk European countries face due to their reliance on Russian oil and gas as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine escalates tensions between Moscow and the West. Group of 7 energy ministers on Monday rejected Russia’s demand for payment in rubles, although Moscow said a workaround would let Germany and other European countries continue paying in euros for now. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

China’s manufacturing, service sectors contract  China manufacturing data released Thursday suggested that lockdowns in areas affected by the country’s latest coronavirus outbreaks had put a dent in factory activity. China’s official purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector fell to 49.5 in March from 50.2 in February, according to the National Statistics Bureau. The result was in line with the expectations of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. The service sector took a similar hit as people avoided malls and restaurants. China’s jump in COVID-19 cases due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant has prompted restrictions in industrial districts, including Changchun in northeastern China and the southern technology hub of Shenzhen, as well as lockdowns in Shanghai, China’s most populous city. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Energoatom confirms that the Russian forces who occupied the former nuclear power plant in Chernobyl have left the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. (Ukrinform) 

NASA astronaut returns with Russians after longest spaceflight for an American Two Russian cosmonauts and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday after a historic mission to the International Space Station amid soaring tensions between Russia and the United States over Ukraine. Vande Hei spent 355 days in space, setting a record for the longest single spaceflight for an American. The Soyuz spacecraft touched down under a parachute in a remote area at 7:28 a.m. Eastern, and rescue crews rushed to the capsule, setting up a medical tent to quickly check the astronauts’ health. Rob Navias, a NASA public affairs official, said on a space-agency broadcast that it was “a perfect landing, a bull’s eye touchdown,” with “the crew feeling fine, everything going by the book.” THE WASHINGTON POST 

Russia dismisses talk of progress in Ukraine negotiations Russia on Wednesday downplayed reports of progress at this week’s peace talks with Ukraine as Russian forces intensified their offensive in eastern Ukraine. “No one said that the sides have made headway,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. “We can’t point to anything particularly promising.” On Tuesday, Moscow negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to discuss peace once a draft deal was ready. Russia promised to reduce operations around the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to “increase mutual trust,” but renewed shelling in those areas made Ukrainian and Western leaders skeptical. With Russia, Zelensky said, “you can trust only concrete results.” THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Biden tells Zelensky U.S. to give Ukraine another $500 million in aid President Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday and told him during the call that the United States would give Ukraine an additional $500 million in “direct budgetary aid” as it battles Russia’s invasion. That would bring total U.S. aid to $2.5 billion, according to Fox News. The two leaders also discussed U.S. efforts to provide security assistance requested by Ukraine, and other ways to help Ukraine’s military, the White House said. Zelensky tweeted that he and Biden “shared assessment of the situation on the battlefield and at the negotiating table,” and “talked about specific defensive support, a new package of enhanced sanctions, macro-financial and humanitarian aid.” The White House also said it would take in up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. NBC NEWS 

Russia investigation origins counter-narrative  The Federal Election Commission fines the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign for violating rules with the funding of the Steele dossier, a dossier which made accusations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Both the DNC and the Clinton campaign have agreed not to contest the fines and pay a civil penalty of US$105,000 and US$8,000 respectively. (Business Insider) 

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says that Ukraine has sent buses to Mariupol in an effort to evacuate citizens from the city. (BBC News) 

Australia revokes the most favoured nation status for Russia and Belarus, and will impose 35% tariffs on produce coming from these countries starting on 25 April. (The Guardian) 

A crowd of 91,553 attends the second leg of the quarterfinal between archrivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou in Barcelona. This set a new record for documented attendance at a women’s sporting event, surpassing the 90,185 attendance at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final. Barça won 5–2 on the day and 8–3 on aggregate. (ESPN) 

Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters announces that two firefighters are injured, and five firetrucks were damaged during the wildfire that broke out near the Wears Valley community. (WATE-TV) 

A chartered helicopter heading for Ulupna Island in Victoria, Australia, crashes into Mount Disappointment, killing all five people onboard. (ABC News Australia) 

Micronesian president David Panuelo urges Solomon Islands to not sign a security pact with China, citing “grave security concerns” and arguing that the Pacific islands would be “the epicenter of major confrontation between these major powers”. (Reuters) 

Rock throwing causes a bus to crash into a car in Halhul, West Bank. Two people are injured. (Times of Israel) 

The acting Australian Information Commissioner orders the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to comply with a request by The Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 which the PMO had previously rejected and search the mobile phone of Prime Minister Scott Morrison for correspondence with Morrison’s friend and QAnon conspiracy theorist Tim Stewart, who the Australian Broadcasting Corporation alleged influenced Morrison’s use of the term “ritual abuse” in a speech to survivors of child sexual abuse in 2019. (The Guardian) 

Aides afraid to tell Putin about Ukraine failures Declassified U.S. intelligence indicates that aides misinformed Russian President Vladimir Putin about setbacks in his invasion of Ukraine because they were afraid to tell him the truth, the White House said Wednesday. “One of the Achilles’ heel of autocracies is that you don’t have people in those systems who speak truth to power or who have the ability to speak truth to power,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. “And I think that is something that we’re seeing in Russia.” Putin’s isolation due to the pandemic and his public scolding of advisers who disagree with him have contributed to the problem, leaving Putin without accurate information about his army’s failures and the use of conscripts on the front lines in Ukraine. CNN 

Governors in 2 more states sign transgender sports bans  Oklahoma and Arizona on Wednesday became the latest states to ban transgender women and girls from competing as females in state school athletics, from kindergarten to college. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, both Republicans, signed the bans into law. “When it comes to sports and athletics, girls should compete against girls. Boys should compete against boys. And let’s be very clear: That’s all this bill says,” Stitt said to justify the exclusion of trans girls. Arizona’s ban applied to trans girls at both public schools and private institutions that compete against them. Ducey also signed another bill banning gender-affirming care for trans youth. Critics say these bans harm transgender youth who already often struggle with being isolated and excluded at schools. ABC NEWS 

U.S. plans to end Title 42 border policy in May The Biden administration is preparing to lift an emergency public health order imposed early in the coronavirus pandemic to curb immigration over land borders, The New York Times and CBS News reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the plan. Federal officials are expected to announce the change as early as this week. It would take effect in May, making it possible again for asylum seekers to enter the United States without being promptly sent back in the name of fighting coronavirus infections. Federal authorities are bracing for the possibility that the lifting of the order, known as Title 42, will spark a new surge of migrants from Central America and other areas to the southwest border. CBS NEWS 

An Israeli civilian is stabbed with a screwdriver and seriously injured on a bus in Neve Daniel, West Bank. The attacker is killed by another passenger. (Haaretz) 

Meta reportedly paying consultants to turn public against TikTok Meta, the parent company to Facebook, is paying one of the “biggest Republican consulting firms” in the U.S. to try and “turn the public against” online video app TikTok, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The firm Targeted Victory has been working to “undermine” TikTok by implementing a national media and lobbying campaign that places “op-eds and letters to the editor in major regional news outlets, promoting dubious stories about alleged TikTok trends that actually originated on Facebook,” according to the Post. The firm has also been pushing political reporters and local politicians to move against TikTok, Facebook’s biggest competitor. Operatives were “encouraged to use TikTok’s prominence as a way to deflect from Meta’s own privacy and antitrust concerns,” the Post reported. THE WASHINGTON POST 

The Israeli Defense Forces raid the city of Jenin in the West Bank, killing two people and wounding 14 more. The purpose of the raid is to capture a suspect linked to the Bnei Brak shooting two days prior. (Haaretz) 

Bruce Willis, diagnosed with aphasia, retires from acting Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with aphasia and will retire from acting, his family said in an Instagram post Wednesday. The family said his illness was “impacting his cognitive abilities.” According to Mayo Clinic, aphasia “robs you of the ability to communicate.” It can come on abruptly due to stroke or head injury, or slowly from a slow-growing brain tumor or a disease. “We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him,” said the statement from Willis’ daughters Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel, and Evelyn Willis, his wife Emma Heming Willis, and his ex-wife Demi Moore. PEOPLE 

‘Game of Thrones’ prequel ‘House of the Dragon’ to premiere in August Winter is coming … this summer. HBO has finally revealed when the highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon will debut: August 21. That’s less than two weeks before Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which premieres on Sept. 2 — meaning the competing fantasy shows will be debuting new episodes at the same time. Set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon is centered around House Targaryen, and it’s based on George R.R. Martin’s book about the history of the Targaryens, Fire & Blood. Martin is involved in the show, and earlier this month, he said that “what I have seen” from the series, “I have loved.” Any bets on how many more pages of The Winds of Winter he’ll have written between now and House of the Dragon‘s premiere? We’ll be optimistic and guess … 20.   VARIETY 

Ezra Miller allegedly threatened couple in their bedroom after bar incident Things just went from disturbing to even more disturbing in the world of Ezra Miller. The Flash actor this week was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and harassment over an incident at a bar in Hawaii after allegedly “yelling obscenities” and grabbing a microphone from a woman singing karaoke and lunging at a man playing darts. Now, a couple has requested a restraining order against the actor, claiming that after being released on bail, the Fantastic Beasts star burst into their bedroom and said, “I will burn you and your slut wife.” Police reportedly escorted Miller, who allegedly also stole a passport and wallet, off the property. As if that wasn’t enough, The Associated Press reports Miller “has been the source of police calls in Hilo 10 times since March 7.” In case you were wondering, the song the woman was singing that apparently set off Miller was … “Shallow” from A Star Is Born. Maybe Miller just got really mad after remembering Bradley Cooper was snubbed at the Oscars that year, in which case, same.  ROLLING STONE 

Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes says Will Smith should have been kicked out Two out of three 2022 Oscars hosts have now shared their Slap takes. Amy Schumer said Wednesday she’s “still triggered and traumatized” over Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars over a joke about his wife. “The whole thing was so disturbing,” Schumer said, adding, “Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed.” Co-host Wanda Sykes used similar language on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “I just felt so awful for my friend Chris,” Sykes said. “It was sickening. I physically felt ill, and I’m still a little traumatized by it.” Sykes went further by slamming the Academy for not immediately removing Smith. “For them to let him stay in that room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award, I was like, ‘How gross is this?’” Sykes said. “‘This is just the wrong message.’ You assault somebody, you get escorted out the building, and that’s it.” Sykes also revealed what she would have done in that scenario: got up on stage after Smith won Best Actor and joked, “Unfortunately, Will couldn’t be here tonight.”  PAGE SIX 

Wednesday, March 30th, 2022 

A U.S. official says that Russian forces have begun withdrawing from the Chernobyl area and have moved into Belarus. (France 24) 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says more than four million Ukrainians have fled the country since the invasion began on February 24. (France 24) 

U.S. President Joe Biden receives his second booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. (CBS News) 

The U.S. CDC removes their travel warnings for cruise ships, which were imposed during the beginning of the pandemic. However, passengers will still be required to be vaccinated and to test negative for COVID-19. (The Washington Post) 

According to a new study, the antiparasitic drug ivermectin does not prevent hospitalizations from COVID-19. (New England Journal of Medicine) 

Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia says that the Russian and Ukrainian delegations will resume their peace talks online on April 1 after the latest round of negotiations in Turkey has ended. (Reuters) 

The South Korean military says that last week, North Korea tested Hwasong-15 from November 2017, instead of a Hwasong-17. This comes a day after the defense ministry and lawmakers also confirmed this. (DW) 

The United States sanctions the Iranian ballistic missile program. (CNN) 

Tunisian President Kais Saied orders the Assembly of the Representatives of the People to be dissolved, after 116 of the 124 MPs who convened online voted earlier in the day to strip Saied of the “exceptional measures” he had taken on since last July. (Reuters) 

Russia announces that it will ban all usage of software from other countries in government agencies beginning in 2025. Additionally, beginning on March 31, all foreign software purchases for government agencies must be pre-approved by the government. (Reuters) 

It is reported that Russian government hackers have attacked and compromised the servers of Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs since late 2021. (Direkt36) 

The End