Ukraine: Attack on Kyiv was Putin’s ‘middle finger’ to UN – The Associated Press
Ukraine: Attack on Kyiv was Putin’s ‘middle finger’ to UN – The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to humiliate the United Nations by raining missiles on Kyiv during a visit to the city by the U.N. chief, a deadly attack that shattered weeks of relative calm in the capital.

Ukraine’s forces, meanwhile, fought to hold off Russian attempts to advance in the south and east, Zelenskyy reported. And U.N.-backed efforts to arrange safe passage for residents trapped in the ruins of Mariupol continued. Numerous previous attempts to evacuate civilians have fallen through.

Russia pounded targets all over Ukraine on Thursday, hitting a residential high-rise and another building in Kyiv just as life seemed to be getting a little closer to normal. U.S.-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said one of its journalists was killed.

Separately, a former U.S. Marine was killed while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, relatives said in what would be the war’s first known death of an American in combat. The U.S. has not confirmed the report. At least two other foreigners fighting on the Ukrainian side, one from Britain and the other from Denmark, have also been killed.

In an apparent reference to the attack in Kyiv, Russia’s military said it had destroyed “production buildings” at the Artem defense factory.

The bombardment came barely an hour after Zelenskyy held a news conference with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who toured some of the destruction in and around Kyiv and condemned attacks on civilians.

“This says a lot about Russia’s true attitude toward global institutions, about attempts of the Russian leadership to humiliate the U.N. and everything the organization represents,” Zelenskyy said late Thursday in his nightly video address to the nation. “Therefore, it requires a correspondingly powerful response.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s way of giving “his middle finger” to Guterres.

The strikes were the boldest Russian attack on the capital since Moscow’s forces retreated weeks ago following their failure to take the city. Russia is now pushing into the Donbas, the country’s eastern industrial region, which the Kremlin says is its main objective.

Volodymyr Fesenko, a Ukrainian political analyst and head of the Kyiv-based Penta Center think tank, said the Kyiv attack carried a message: “Russia is sending a clear signal about its intention to continue the war despite the international pressure.”

Getting a full picture of the unfolding battle in the east has been difficult because airstrikes and artillery barrages have made it extremely dangerous for reporters to move around. Both Ukraine and the Moscow-backed rebels fighting in the east also have introduced tight restrictions on reporting from the combat zone.

But so far, Russia’s troops and the separatist forces appear to have made only minor gains, and Britain’s Defense Ministry said those have been achieved at significant cost to the Kremlin’s forces.

One aim of Guterres’ visit was to secure the evacuation of people from the gutted southern port of Mariupol, including a shattered steelworks where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian defenders and 1,000 civilians were holed up in the last major stronghold of resistance in the city.

The Soviet-era steel plant has a vast underground network of bunkers able to withstand airstrikes. But the situation has grown more dire after the Russians dropped “bunker busters” and other bombs.

“Locals who manage to leave Mariupol say it is hell, but when they leave this fortress, they say it is worse,” said Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko. “They are begging to get saved,” he said, adding: “There, it’s not a matter of days, it’s a matter of hours.”

About 100,000 people are believed trapped in the city with little water, food, heat or electricity. Ukraine has blamed the failure of previous evacuation attempts on continued Russian shelling.

This time, “we hope there’s a slight touch of humanity in the enemy,” Boichenko said.

Two towns in central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region were hit by Russian rockets on Friday, the regional governor said. There was no immediate word on casualties or damage.

Sirens, artillery fire and explosions could be heard from Kramatorsk to Sloviansk, two cities about 18 kilometers (11 miles) apart in the Donbas. Columns of smoke rose from the Sloviansk area and neighboring cities. At least one person was reported wounded in the shelling.

The governor of Russia’s Kursk region said that a border post came under mortar fire from Ukraine and that Russian border forces returned fire. He said there were no casualties on the Russian side.

Former U.S. Marine Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, was killed Monday while working for a military contracting company that sent him to Ukraine, his mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN.

“He wanted to go over because he believed in what Ukraine was fighting for,” she said, “and he wanted to be a part of it to contain it there so it didn’t come here, and that maybe our American soldiers wouldn’t have to be involved in it.”

The Marine Corps said Cancel served four years but was given a bad-conduct discharge and sentenced to five months’ confinement for violating orders. No details on the offense were given.

In the wake of Thursday’s missile attack in Kyiv, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said the body of Vira Hyrych, a journalist who lived in one of the buildings, was found in the rubble. Ten people were wounded, at least one who lost a leg, according to emergency officials.

Radio Free Europe President Jamie Fly said the organization was “shocked and angered by the senseless nature of her death at home in a country and city she loved.”

Kyiv had been relatively unscathed in recent weeks, and cafes and other businesses have started to reopen, while a growing numbers of people have been out and about, enjoying the spring weather.

The terrible human cost of the war, which has driven more than 11 million Ukrainians from their homes, continues to climb.

In Lyman, a town in the Donbas, shells rained on Tatiana Matsegora’s home this week. Matsegora’s 14-year-old grandson, Igor, was pronounced dead after rescue workers drove him to the hospital. Her daughter was in serious condition, and her son-in-law was also killed.

″‘Grandma, will I live?’” she said Igor asked her when they were in the basement, waiting for help. “I said that he would live. But look what happened: I betrayed him.”

Meanwhile, the international sanctions imposed on Russia over the invasion are squeezing the country. The Russian Central Bank said Russia’s economy is expected to contract by up to 10% this year, and the outlook is “extremely uncertain.”

___

This story has been updated to correct that Thursday’s strike on Kyiv was the boldest attack since Moscow’s retreat, not necessarily the first, and also to correct the spelling of the last name of the woman who lost her grandson to Matsegora.

___

Associated Press journalists Jon Gambrell and Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Mstyslav Chernov in Kharkiv, Yesica Fisch in Sloviansk, and AP staff around the world contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Source Article from https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-zelenskyy-kyiv-business-antonio-guterres-978fb92a44aad8f4fc297b9454ed7c0f

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Biden ‘may have saved Trevor’s life’: Former Marine’s family speaks out – ABC News
Biden ‘may have saved Trevor’s life’: Former Marine’s family speaks out – ABC News

Trevor Reed’s family said President Joe Biden may have saved their son’s life, doing everything he could to bring Reed home, in their first interview since seeing their son on U.S. soil.

“Ultimately it was President Biden,” Joey Reed, Trevor Reed’s father, said in an interview Friday on “Good Morning America.” “We’ve said all along if we could just speak to the man, we think he would make this happen and that’s exactly what happened. He did everything that we had said he would do and it’s amazing and we can’t thank him enough.”

He added, “We believe he may have saved Trevor’s life.”

Reed, a former Marine from Texas, was released from Russian prison on Wednesday as part of an international prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia. He had been held in Russia since 2019.

Trevor Reed’s family said they met with him on Thursday for a few hours. His mother, Paula Reed, said it was the first time they got to hug him, saying “it was heaven.”

The Reeds said they received a phone call early Thursday morning from Roger Carsten, the presidential envoy on hostage affairs, who handed the phone to Trevor Reed, who was on a plane headed to the U.S.

Reed was arrested in Russia, while on a trip visiting his girlfriend, after Russian authorities alleged he grabbed the wheel of a police car and assaulted a police officer while drunk.

Reed denied the allegations and maintained his innocence. A year later he was sentenced to nine years in prison. After several appeals he was moved from a Moscow prison to a remote prison colony.

Reed was exchanged for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, a convicted drug trafficker.

Reed’s parents said their son has a long road to recovery, in an interview with ABC News’ David Muir on Wednesday.

He is currently in a medical facility receiving care, but his family did not have a complete update on his health on Friday.

“We don’t really have a whole lot of answers yet. He’s getting testing done. He is at a top-notch medical facility and getting great care so we’re excited about that but we won’t really know more for a few days,” Paula Reed said.

The Reeds lobbied for years for the U.S. to negotiate for their son’s release, even personally pleading with Biden.

Other Americans, including Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, are still being held in Russia.

“Our hearts go out to them and we can only imagine how disappointed they are that their loved ones didn’t get to come home,” Paula Reed said.

She added that Whelan’s release was the first thing her son brought up when the family spoke.

“He said he didn’t feel well and we said, ‘Do you mean physically?’ He said, ‘No, mom. I feel terrible that Paul still there and I’m here.’ And he said when I get better, I’m going to start advocating for them to bring Paul home right away,'” Paula Reed said.

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/US/biden-saved-trevors-life-marines-family-speaks/story?id=84377215

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Former U.S. Marine killed fighting in Ukraine; Russian missile strikes hit Kyiv amid UN chief’s visit – CNBC
Former U.S. Marine killed fighting in Ukraine; Russian missile strikes hit Kyiv amid UN chief’s visit – CNBC

American citizen Willy Joseph Cancel was killed while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in Ukraine, CNN has reported.

Cancel, a former U.S. Marine, was 22 years old and working for a private military contractor when he was sent by his company to fight in Ukraine, his mother Rebecca Cabrera said.

“He wanted to go over because he believed in what Ukraine was fighting for, and he wanted to be a part of it to contain it there so it didn’t come here, and that maybe our American soldiers wouldn’t have to be involved in it,” Cabrera told CNN in a phone interview.

Cancel entered Ukraine via Poland in mid-March and was killed on Monday, his mother said.

NBC has reached out to Cancel’s family and the State Department. Quoted by CNN, a State Department official said they are “aware of these reports and are closely monitoring the situation.”

“Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment,” the official added. “We once again reiterate U.S. citizens should not travel to Ukraine due to the active armed conflict and the singling out of U.S. citizens in Ukraine by Russian government security officials, and that U.S. citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so, using any commercial or other privately available ground transportation options.”

More than 20,000 foreign fighters from 52 countries, many of whom are military veterans, have volunteered to fight against the Russian invasion in Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, which created the International Legion to serve that purpose.

— Natasha Turak

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/29/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html

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‘They never expected Mariupol to resist.’ Locals horrified by Russia’s relentless attack on the vast steel plant shielding Ukrainians – CNN
‘They never expected Mariupol to resist.’ Locals horrified by Russia’s relentless attack on the vast steel plant shielding Ukrainians – CNN

By Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Isa Soares, Madalena Araujo and Oleksandra Ochman, CNN

Updated 6:06 AM ET, Fri April 29, 2022

    CNN’s Tim Lister contributed to this report from Lviv, Ukraine and Kostan Nechyporenko contributed from Kyiv.

    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/28/europe/mariupol-azovstal-steel-plant-intl-cmd/index.html

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    Biden says he’s considering student loan debt forgiveness, but not $50,000 per borrower – CBS News
    Biden says he’s considering student loan debt forgiveness, but not $50,000 per borrower – CBS News

    Washington — President Biden said he is “taking a hard look” into forgiving some federal student loan debt on Thursday, but the amount he is considering is less than $50,000 per borrower, lower than some top Democrats have been seeking since he took office. 

    “I am considering dealing with some debt reduction,” Mr. Biden said in response to a question at the White House. “I am not considering $50,000 debt reduction. But I’m in the process of taking a hard look at whether or not there will be additional debt forgiveness.” 

    The president said he would have an answer on forgiving additional debt in the “next couple of weeks.”

    Mr. Biden’s comments came days after he gave one of his strongest signals yet that he’s looking to cancel student loan debt during a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Monday.

    Democratic Rep. Tony Cardenas of California, who attended the meeting, said the president never mentioned a specific amount he was looking to cancel, but said he was open to forgiving debt for borrowers regardless of whether they attended private or public institutions. When the lawmaker reiterated that the caucus supports canceling $10,000 in student loan debt, the president said, “You’re going to like what I do,” according to Cardenas.

    In response to the president’s meeting on Monday, some Republican lawmakers blasted Mr. Biden for looking at forgiving student loan debt. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah tweeted that “Desperate polls call for desperate measures,” and mockingly suggested Mr. Biden was trying to “bribe” voters.

    During his presidential campaign, Mr. Biden said he would cancel $10,000 in student loan debt and called for Congress to act. He has extended the pandemic-related pause on federal student loan repayment several times, most recently through August 31. The White House has previously raised concerns that widespread federal student debt cancellation could face legal challenges if done through executive action, and the president last year asked his team to evaluate his legal options.

    Pressure on Mr. Biden to act has been mounting as the midterm elections approach. Some Democrats, like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, have reiterated their calls for the president to cancel $50,000 in student loan debt, an amount that appears to be off the table for now.

    White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said a decision on canceling student loan debt would be made between now and August 31, when loan payments are set to resume. Some Republican lawmakers and organizations oppose extending the pandemic-era pause, which saves some 41 million borrowers an estimated $5 billion a month in student loan interest payments. The pause was previously set to expire at the beginning of May.

    In the meantime, the Education Department has made some changes to existing loan forgiveness programs. Since taking office, the Biden administration has forgiven more than $17 billion in student loan debt, including for borrowers who were defrauded by their schools, those with permanent disabilities and those in income-driven repayment plans or the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

    Sarah Ewall-Wice

    CBS News reporter covering economic policy.

    Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/student-loan-debt-forgiveness-biden-considering/

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    Murdered Lily Peters’ autopsy reveals 10-year-old was strangled and ‘suffered blunt force trauma’ – Daily Mail
    Murdered Lily Peters’ autopsy reveals 10-year-old was strangled and ‘suffered blunt force trauma’ – Daily Mail

    Murdered 10-year-old Lily Peters died from blunt force trauma and was strangled, her autopsy showed.

    The girl’s remains were found in woodland near Chippewa Falls, northeast of Eau Claire, Wisconsin on April 25 after she went missing during a bike ride the day before. 

    Preliminary autopsy results confirmed Lily died of strangulation and blunt force trauma, Chippewa County Coroner Ronald Patten said Thursday. 

    He added the autopsy on Lily showed the manner of death was homicide and said he expected the results of toxicology tests, which will include DNA samples and more evidence on her alleged rape, within four to six weeks.

    Lily’s cousin, Carson Peters-Berger, 14, was arrested on suspicion of murdering and raping the 10-year-old fourth-grader and was held on a $1million cash bond.

    Peters-Berger is facing a possible life sentence after being charged with three counts over Lily’s death: first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child.

    Lily Peters, 10, visited her aunt’s home in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and her body was found in woodland close to a walking trail in the town on Monday morning

    Police arrested Carson Peters-Berger, 14, in connection with the murder of Lily Peters, 10

    Fourth-grader had gone missing on Sunday night after being at an aunt’s house. Her body was found along with her bike close to a walking trail in the small town

    In court, prosecutors said Peters-Berger planned to ‘rape and kill the victim from the get-go when he left the house with the victim to go down the trail’.

    Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell said: ‘He punched the victim in the stomach, knocked her to the ground, essentially strangled her, hit her with a stick, before strangling her to the point of death – before he then sexually assaulted her.’

    Peters-Berger is now incarcerated at the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and is due to appear again in court next week. 

    Lily’s father, Alex Peters, 43, reported his daughter missing at 9pm on Sunday when she failed to return home from visiting her aunt.

    Lily, who lived less than half a mile from her aunt’s home, was discovered lying a little way off a bike trail on Monday morning.

    Locals in Chippewa Falls said she was often seen cycling down the path on her bike which was found close to her body.

    The spot where she was discovered is close to the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, which sits on the bank of Star Lake. The location is within view of a row of houses on the other side of the 23-acre lake.

    Murdered 10-year-old Lily Peters died after she was strangled and suffered blunt force trauma, her autopsy showed 

    Preliminary autopsy results confirmed Lily died of strangulation and blunt force trauma, Chippewa County Coroner Ronald Patten said Thursday 

    Police tape at the entrance to the wooded area where her body was discovered on Monday morning

    It came as DailyMail.com revealed 14-year-old Peters-Berger is the son of a convicted pedophile. 

    Adam Berger, 37, spent three years in jail after being caught with a stash of pornographic images of prepubescent girls on his phone.

    According to charging documents for Adam Berger, 10 pornographic photos showing very young girls in spread-legged positions were found on his phone. Some of them had been doctored to include comments such as ‘first in ur little girls a**hole and then in ur mouth mom.’

    Berger’s own face was superimposed on some of them. 

    Other pictures showed the children semi-dressed – among them one showing a girl in a green feather boa and black high heels and another girl wearing a pink tutu skirt.

    All of the revolting pictures focused on the children’s genitalia according to court papers.

    He also had drug paraphernalia including four crack pipes in his home. 

    Adam Berger’s son Carson Peters-Berger, 14, is now facing a possible life sentence after being charged with three counts over Lily’s death. The father and son are pictured together 

    DailyMail.com can reveal that Adam Berger is currently living in a halfway house in Eau Claire after being released from Oshkosh Correctional Institution in April 2021.

    Adam Berger, 37, spent three years in jail after being caught with a stash of pornographic images of prepubescent girls and four crack pipes. Berger is seen in his mugshot

    He remains on supervised probation and is on the sex offender registry. He and his lawyers had opposed extended probation because he would not have had unsupervised visits with his son – who he described in a letter as being ‘the best of me’.

    Other letters filed in support of his bid to regain unsupervised contact with his son describe an unhappy child who never smiled and looked miserable in the company of his mother Lauri Davis, 45.

    When Berger was sent to jail in May 2018, Peters-Berger’s life was shattered according to his grandmother Mary and family friend Katie Weathers.

    His grandmother said: ‘Carson has not been very happy with his father being gone.’

    Weathers accused Davis of being a bad mother, saying: ‘We have seen him out and about with his mom and he never looks happy.

    ‘He doesn’t smile, he’s always quiet and just looks at the ground and doesn’t talk.’

    She also accused Davis of trying to limit his contact with Berger’s friends and family.

    The 14-year-old is the product of a brief relationship between Berger and Davis, who is the sister of Lily’s father Alex Peters.

    Adam Berger wrote a letter from prison to a judge begging to be allowed unsupervised visits with his son, who he described as ‘the best part of me’

    Berger was charged with a total of ten counts of child pornography

    According to charging documents, pictures showed the children semi-dressed – among them one showing a girl in a green feather boa and black high heels and another girl wearing a pink tutu skirt

    Davis, who is now in a relationship with convicted fraudster John Repetto, 50, lives in the Chippewa Falls home where Lily was last seen with Peters-Berger.

    According to charging documents, 10 pornographic photos showing very young girls in spread-legged positions were found on Berger’s phone

    The white clapperboard property was sealed off with crime scene tape when DailyMail.com visited on Wednesday and was protected by two police vehicles.

    Davis and Berger split when their son was two and appeared to have had an acrimonious relationship, with Davis suing for child support in 2010.

    In 2017, before Berger was convicted of child porn offenses but after he had been arrested and charged, Davis called the police over an incident where he drove his car at her.

    Although not allowed solo contact with his son, who was then aged eight, the charging papers say they were in the vehicle together.

    Davis said she first noticed a suspicious car lurking in the alleyway behind her home and followed the vehicle before it pulled over into a random driveway.

    After Peters-Berger got out, Berger then reversed into Davis who then attempted to stop him leaving.

    She said he then drove the car at her, leaving her injured when she rolled off the hood and ended up on the ground.

    When Berger was sent to jail, all physical contact ceased but in a jailhouse letter, Berger said he emailed with his son daily, spoke to him regularly while he was with his grandmother and mailed him a crochet blanket he had made in prison.

    When Berger was sent to jail, all physical contact ceased. In a jailhouse letter, Berger said he emailed with his son daily, spoke to him regularly while he was with his grandmother and mailed him a crochet blanket he had made in prison

    The child’s body was found on a hiking trail less than a mile from her aunt’s house, near where her bike was discovered 

    The house where Lily’s aunt lives has been taped off and is currently guarded by police. Toys can be seen in the yard

    When Berger was sent to jail in May 2018, Peters-Berger’s life was shattered according to his grandmother Mary and family friend Katie Weathers. His grandmother said: ‘Carson has not been very happy with his father being gone’ 

    The white clapperboard property was sealed off with crime scene tape when DailyMail.com visited on Wednesday and was protected by two police vehicles

    ‘Justice for Lily’ signs were seen in the neighborhood near her home. Like her cousin, 10-year-old Lily was the product of a broken home. She lived with her father Alex who has a string of convictions for drug and alcohol offenses including several DUIs

    He said he dreamed of a future with his son, adding that he wanted unsupervised contact with his son because ‘he is not a victim of my offense’. He added: ‘My son is the best part of me.’

    The motion was denied and it is unclear whether Berger has seen his son since his release on extended supervision in April last year.

    Lily’s mother Jennifer Eyerly, 38, is currently on probation after being convicted of multiple counts of theft including for swiping four of her mother’s credit cards and racking up a bill totaling $7,788.31

    Like her cousin, 10-year-old Lily was the product of a broken home and lived with her father Alex who has a string of convictions for drug and alcohol offenses including several DUIs.

    Davis also has multiple convictions for drug offenses, all dating from at least two years before her son was born, and was also arrested for domestic battery in December 2005 following an altercation with her then-husband John Davis.

    Meanwhile, Lily’s mother Jennifer Eyerly, 38, is currently on probation after being convicted of multiple counts of theft including for swiping four of her mother’s credit cards and racking up a bill totaling $7,788.31.

    She also cheated her aunt and uncle out of $10,000 by inventing fake jobs for them – even conducting false interviews – in a bid to get hold of their banking details.

    Eyerly, who remains on probation, split from Peters in 2018 and, in January, moved more than 60 miles away to the tiny village of Balsam Lake.

    Lily Peters murder timeline 

    Sunday April 24

    Lily Peters, 10, leaves her aunt’s house on a bike to cycle in woods near Chippewa Falls, northeast of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

    Lily’s father becomes worried when she doesn’t return at 9pm and reports her as missing.

    Police searching for the ten-year-old find her bike in woodland near a walking trail between the end of N Grove Street and the Leinenkugel’s brewery parking lot, four block’s from her aunt’s house.

    Police use dog units and drones as the search for Lily continues.

    Monday April 25

    Police find Lily’s remains in woodland near Chippewa Falls, northeast of Eau Claire. 

    Lily Peters, 10, (pictured) was allegedly strangled to death and sexually assaulted by her 14-year-old cousin

    Tuesday April 26

    An anonymous Reddit user posts: ‘What’s scary is I was playing Pokemon Go in the park that day walking along that very same trail, my stomach turns when I think I saw that girl in a pink/purple hoodie on her bike with another kid on my way out. I have a suspicion that it could be another kid that did it.’

    Police announce they have arrested a suspect for Lily’s murder.

    Wednesday April 27

    Police say the suspect is the 14-year-old eighth-grader cousin of Lily.

    He appeared in adult court named only by his initials of CP-B and is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child under age 13, resulting in great bodily harm. Bond is set at $1million.

    Thursday April 28 

    Carson Peters-Berger, 14, is revealed as Lily’s cousin accused of her murder and sexual assault.

    DailyMail.com reveals 14-year-old Peters-Berger is the son of convicted pedophile Adam Berger, 37, who spent three years in jail after being caught with a stash of pornographic images of prepubescent girls on his phone.

    Lily’s autopsy shows she died of strangulation and blunt force trauma, Chippewa County Coroner Ronald Patten says.

    He adds the autopsy showed the manner of death was homicide and says he expects the results of toxicology tests within four to six weeks.

    Source Article from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10766753/Murdered-Lily-Peters-autopsy-reveals-10-year-old-strangled-suffered-blunt-force-trauma.html

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    Elon Musk’s uneasy relationship with the left explodes over Twitter takeover – NBC News
    Elon Musk’s uneasy relationship with the left explodes over Twitter takeover – NBC News
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    Trevor Reed arrives back in the U.S. after prisoner exchange with Russia – NBC News
    Trevor Reed arrives back in the U.S. after prisoner exchange with Russia – NBC News
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    California blames ExxonMobil for plastic pollution crisis – Los Angeles Times
    California blames ExxonMobil for plastic pollution crisis – Los Angeles Times

    California’s attorney general has announced a first-of-its kind investigation into the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries for their alleged role in causing and exacerbating a global crisis in plastic waste pollution.

    Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said Thursday that his office has subpoenaed Exxon Mobil Corp. seeking information related to the company’s “historic and ongoing efforts” to minimize the public’s understanding of the harmful consequences of plastic.

    “For more than half a century, the plastics industry has engaged in an aggressive campaign to deceive the public, perpetuating a myth that recycling can solve the plastics crisis,” Bonta said.

    Fossil fuels such as oil and gas are the raw material of most plastics. In recent decades, the accumulation of plastic waste has overwhelmed waterways and oceans, sickening marine life and threatening human health.

    Climate & Environment

    Big fight brewing over California ballot measure to reduce single-use plastics

    Environmentalists and industry are at odds over a November ballot initiative that would reduce single-use plastics and polystyrene food containers.

    In a statement released late Thursday, Exxon Mobil denied the accusations.

    “We reject the allegations made by the attorney general’s office in its press release,” said Julie L. King, a spokeswoman for the corporation. “We are focused on solutions and meritless allegations like these distract from the important collaborative work that is underway to enhance waste management and improve circularity.”

    King said Exxon Mobil has been collaborating with governments including the state of California, communities and other industries to support commercial-scale advanced recycling.

    The announcement of the investigation comes amid an urgent and growing movement across California to curb plastic pollution by reducing it at its source. In the last two weeks, the city and county of Los Angeles have announced ordinances and directives to reduce plastic waste, while state legislators, lobbyists and negotiators debate a bill that could ban several forms of single-use plastics. Also, in November, Californians will have the opportunity to vote on a ballot initiative designed to curb plastic pollution.

    Speaking at Dockweiler State Beach — an area of Los Angeles County coast sandwiched between a Chevron oil refinery and a major sewage outflow — Bonta said that despite the public’s perception that plastics are heavily recycled, more than 90% of them end up either buried in landfills, burned or flushed into the ocean.

    Internal documents from the 1970s warned industry executives that recycling was “infeasible,” he noted, and that there was “serious doubt” that plastic recycling “can ever be made viable on an economic basis.” Indeed, despite the industry’s decades-long recycling campaign, the vast majority of plastic products, by design, cannot be recycled and the U.S. plastic recycling rate has never broken 9%.

    “In California and across the globe, we are seeing the catastrophic results of the fossil fuel industry’s decades-long campaign of deception. Plastic pollution is seeping into our waterways, poisoning our environment and blighting our landscapes,” Bonta said. “Enough is enough.”

    California

    California officials approve plan to crack down on microplastics polluting the ocean

    State officials have moved to limit single-use plastics and filter out the toxic pollutants from waterways before they reach the sea.

    No other state or country has undertaken such an investigation into the oil and plastics industry. However, California’s probe does mirror other climate change investigations and lawsuits that governments across the nation have launched against the fossil fuel industry, accusing it of deception and seeking compensation for the risks and dangers caused by its products.

    “This is connecting the dots at a higher level than we have ever seen before, in a way that could hold fossil fuel companies accountable for one of the greatest environmental crises of our time,” said Jennifer Savage, who leads Surfrider Foundation’s national efforts to stop plastic pollution.

    “Most people don’t realize how tightly plastic production is tied to the fossil fuel industry,” she said. “People don’t think of plastic pollution as a fossil fuel or climate change issue, but they’re truly two sides of the same coin. … The only way that we are going to solve the plastic pollution crisis is to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable. And this is a major step in that direction.”

    The attorney general’s investigation is aimed at determining if any of Exxon Mobil’s actions violated state law and were based on “good faith” understanding of open-source materials about the industry. The subpoena, Bonta noted, is just the beginning. He said his legal team was starting with Exxon Mobil because it is “one of the, if not the biggest producer of plastics in the world, as well as one of the leaders when it comes to deception. They have distinguished themselves because of the amount of plastic they have produced and put into the world.”

    The plastics industry began an aggressive campaign in the 1980s to sway public opinion when state legislatures and local governments tried to consider restricting or banning plastic products, Bonta said. “We will be as comprehensive, as thorough, as broad, as is necessary, to get to the bottom of this issue of the harm that plastics has caused — and the deception — both past and ongoing,” he said of the investigation.

    Responding to the probe’s announcement, Matthew Kastner, spokesman for the American Chemistry Council, a trade group representing Exxon Mobil and the petrochemical industry, said in a statement that “plastics belong in our economy, not our environment.” He said his organization is committed to a more “sustainable future” that includes “bold” government actions, as well as increasing recycling and waste management infrastructure.

    He did not specifically respond to questions about the subpoena or investigation.

    Jay Ziegler, director of policy and external affairs for the Nature Conservancy in California, said that Thursday’s action by the state reminded him of the major investigations that had exposed the tobacco industry.

    “Wow, it’s like ‘Thank You For Smoking’ all over again,” Ziegler said, referring to the satirical novel by Christopher Buckley that follows a tobacco lobbyist who promotes the benefits of cigarette smoking.

    Nick Lapis, director of advocacy for Californians Against Waste, agreed.

    “This is no different than the tactics used by the tobacco industry to promote smoking and by these same oil companies to prevent action on climate change,” he said. “They know that what they are doing is destroying the planet and affecting pubic health, but instead of investing in sustainable alternatives they spend their money to lobby against reform and to deceive the public.”

    Sean Hecht, co-executive director of UCLA School of Law’s Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, noted similarities to the ongoing challenges against opioid manufacturers, as well as the recent climate disinformation cases making their way through court.

    He also pointed to a lawsuit led by Santa Clara County against former lead paint manufacturers. The case, which was settled in 2019 after 20 years of litigation, “was seen as quite significant in establishing that there could be liability in a case like this,” he said.

    Plastics never fully degrade. They just break down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. These particles often contain harmful chemical additives such as flame retardants or plasticizers, and a widely cited scientific review of 52 studies concluded that humans on average consume a credit card’s worth of microplastic each week.

    In just the last few months, research has shown the presence of plastic particles in human blood, healthy lung tissue and meconium — the first bowel movement of a newborn. They are also found in marine organisms, ocean water, air and soil.

    Some researchers project that by 2050, there may be more plastic by weight in the world’s oceans than there are fish. UC Davis researchers once sampled seafood sold at markets in Half Moon Bay and found that one-quarter of fish and one-third of shellfish contained plastic debris.

    Nevertheless, plastic production has continued to grow, and records show that the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries are still expanding their plastics infrastructure and capabilities. In the U.S. alone, companies from across the globe have invested $208 billion since 2010 in new facilities, expansions and factory restarts.

    State Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), who has championed this issue for years, said that all the momentum now coming together across the state speaks to how pressing the plastics issue has become.

    “We all recognize what an urgent issue this is,” he said, “and that’s why we’re so deeply committed.”

    Source Article from https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-04-28/california-blames-exxonmobil-for-plastic-pollution-crisis

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    Biden Seeks New Aid for Ukraine as Russia Makes Slow Progress in Seizing East – The Wall Street Journal
    Biden Seeks New Aid for Ukraine as Russia Makes Slow Progress in Seizing East – The Wall Street Journal
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    A dog’s breed isn’t the main reason it acts the way it does – NPR
    A dog’s breed isn’t the main reason it acts the way it does – NPR

    A border collie in northern England chases after a flock of sheep to herd them. A new study finds that only about 9% of the variation in an individual dog’s behavior can be explained by its breed.

    Edwin Remsberg/Getty Images


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    Edwin Remsberg/Getty Images

    A border collie in northern England chases after a flock of sheep to herd them. A new study finds that only about 9% of the variation in an individual dog’s behavior can be explained by its breed.

    Edwin Remsberg/Getty Images

    Labrador retrievers fetch, border collies herd, huskies howl: It’s conventional wisdom that many dog breeds act in certain ways because they’ve been bred to do so over the course of many generations.

    But a new study to be published Friday in the journal Science finds that though some dog behaviors are indeed associated with particular breeds, breed plays less of a role overall than that conventional wisdom holds.

    “We found things like German shorthaired pointers were slightly more likely to point, or golden retrievers were slightly more likely to retrieve, or huskies more likely to howl, than the general dog population,” says Kathryn Lord, a researcher at the UMass Chan Medical School and an author of the study.

    Researchers surveyed the owners of more than 18,000 dogs and analyzed the DNA of about 2,100 animals to see if physical traits and behaviors can be correlated with dog breeds.

    Overall, the study found that about 9% of the variation in an individual dog’s behavior can be explained by its breed.

    Border collies, for instance, were more likely to be responsive to human direction, a trait called “biddability.” Owners of beagles, bloodhounds, coonhounds and Siberian huskies will not be surprised to learn that those breeds had a tendency to howl.

    The same was true of mixed-breed dogs, the researchers found — the higher the percentage of border collie in a mutt, the more responsive it was to human commands.

    “From a genetic standpoint, that’s fantastic. That means there are real behavioral differences that are connected to breeds that we can go and study,” says Elinor Karlsson, a professor at UMass Chan Medical School and another author of the study.

    Why dogs may not behave like others of the same breed

    Across individual dogs of the same breed, the researchers found huge variations in behavior.

    For instance, although golden retrievers are, on the whole, more likely to fetch than many other dogs, there are plenty of lazy goldens that sit and watch as their owners fruitlessly toss tennis balls.

    And no behavior is unique to any single breed, the researchers said. German shorthaired pointers are not the only dogs that point.

    “Genetics matter, but genetics are a nudge in a given direction. They’re not a destiny,” Evan MacLean, the director of the Arizona Canine Cognition Center at the University of Arizona, who was not involved in the research, tells NPR. “We’ve known that for a long time in human studies, and this paper really suggests that the same is true for dogs.”

    The most likely explanation for the relatively low correlation between behavior and breed, the authors of the paper said, is that many modern dog breeds are relatively new, in the evolutionary scope of things.

    Organized dog breeding, with kennel clubs and other groups that regulate physical traits and track lineage, has existed in its current form only since the mid-19th century.

    By contrast, humans have been helping to shape dog behaviors for thousands of years, the researchers said — first by giving helpful dogs food and shelter, thus allowing them to more easily have puppies, and then later by intentionally breeding.

    “The thing about complex traits is that selecting on them takes time,” Karlsson says. “And so the idea that they’ve been created in the last 160 years when these breeds came up didn’t make any sense.”

    Dog owners were a big help in the study

    To create their data set, the researchers set up a website called Darwin’s Ark that allows dog owners to upload data about their dogs and answer questions, both about physical traits — how tall their dog is, how long its fur is — and about their dogs’ behavior: Do they shake toys? Do they avoid getting wet? Do they howl?

    The study’s reliance on owner surveys is both good and bad, says MacLean of the University of Arizona.

    On the one hand, owner surveys allow for massive sample sizes — well over 18,000 survey responses in this case — but on the other, the information gathered from surveys is almost always less reliable than results from a laboratory environment, he says.

    “We like to put dogs in a situation that we can control and we can administer in the same way to every dog, and be a little bit more objective about the behavior that we see,” MacLean says.

    The researchers say they hope the paper can help aspiring dog owners shift their mindsets about how to choose a dog.

    “I don’t think that we should really be deciding that breeds are the things that will tell us whether we will be happy with a dog or whether a dog will be happy with us,” says Marjie Alonso, another of the study’s authors and executive director of the IAABC Foundation, an animal training organization.

    Instead, she suggests that potential owners make a list of what they’d like to do with a dog and then try to find a dog that meets those needs.

    “We do have to accept that our dogs are individuals. Each dog is a study of one,” she says. “We want to accept our dogs for who they are.”

    Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2022/04/28/1095390872/dog-breeds-behavior-study

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    FDLE: 3 prison officers charged in death of inmate at Miami-Dade prison – WPLG Local 10
    FDLE: 3 prison officers charged in death of inmate at Miami-Dade prison – WPLG Local 10

    MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Three prison workers have been arrested following the February beating death of an inmate at the Dade Correctional Institution, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

    Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle is scheduled to hold a news conference Friday afternoon to discuss the arrests.

    “A joint press conference will be held at the Office of the State Attorney to announce the filing of criminal charges in the February 14, 2022 death of a prison inmate who was being transferred to another Florida correctional facility,” Rundle’s office confirmed in a news release.

    Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky D. Dixon and FDLE Miami Special Agent in Charge Troy Walker are also expected to attend the news conference.

    The Herald identified the officers as Ronald Connor, 24, Christopher Rolon, 29, and Kirk Walton, 34.

    Jail records show all three were taken into custody Thursday on charges of second-degree murder, aggravated abuse of an elderly or disabled adult and battery/cruel treatment of a detainee.

    According to the Herald’s report, the officers are charged in connection with the Feb. 14 fatal beating of Ronald Gene Ingram, 60, inside the Dade Correctional Institution.

    Ingram was supposed to be transported to another prison upstate before he died.

    Ten officers from the Florida Department of Corrections were initially placed on administrative leave following the inmate’s death. It’s unclear whether more officers will be charged.

    5 p.m. report

    (WPLG)

    Read FDLE’s statement:

    Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested three correctional officers accused of murdering an inmate at Dade Correctional Institution (CI) on February 14, 2022. The officers, Christopher Rolon, 29, Kirk Walton, 34, and Ronald Connor, 24, are each charged with murder. FDLE agents from Jacksonville and Miami, with assistance from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, began the investigation at the request of the Florida Department of Corrections.

    FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said, “In the past two and a half months, FDLE agents and analysts have worked more than 1,700 hours on this investigation, conducting more than 45 interviews and writing 77 investigative reports so far. I am proud of the work our members have done on this case and our partnership with State Attorney Rundle to ensure justice on behalf of the victim and his family.”

    Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said, “Staff misconduct, abuse or criminal behavior have no place in Florida’s correctional system. Individuals who are sentenced to incarceration by our criminal courts have lost their freedom but not their basic rights. Inmates should not be subject to forms of ‘back alley’ justice which are actions in violation of Florida law.”

    Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon said, “What happened in this case is completely unacceptable and is not a representation of our system, or of Dade Correctional Institution as a whole. The staff involved in this case failed, and as an agency we will not stand for this. FDC is committed to providing a safe and professional environment for inmates and offenders. All inmates, regardless of their crimes have a right to serve their time free from victimization and abuse.”

    In the early morning of February 14, a Dade CI inmate was scheduled to be transferred to Lake CI. Prior to being removed from his cell in the mental health unit, the inmate reportedly threw urine on one officer. Correctional officers were able to place handcuffs on him and remove him from his single cell.

    After the inmate was removed, even though he was in handcuffs and compliant with officer commands, agents say the officers began to beat him. The inmate was beaten so badly he had to be carried to the transport van. Once inside, he was placed in a secure compartment by himself.

    On the way to Lake CI, the van made a stop in Ocala where the inmate was found deceased, laying on a bench inside the van. The Medical Examiner determined the death was caused by a punctured lung leading to internal bleeding. In addition, the inmate had injuries to his face and torso consistent with a beating.

    Rolon, Walton and Connor were arrested this morning and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. One correctional officer remains at large. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office will prosecute this case.

    State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle will hold a press conference tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. at the State Attorney’s Office at 1350 NW 12th Avenue in Miami.

    Source Article from https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/04/28/3-miami-dade-prison-officers-charged-in-fatal-beating-of-inmate/

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    California tax rebates, small business subsidies proposed – Los Angeles Times
    California tax rebates, small business subsidies proposed – Los Angeles Times
    SACRAMENTO — 

    Millions of California families would receive cash rebates of $200 per person under a plan unveiled Thursday by state Senate Democrats, with additional boosts to those enrolled in government assistance programs and subsidies provided to small businesses that could be extended for a decade.

    The effort to divvy up the state’s towering tax surplus would be more far-reaching than recent proposals by Gov. Gavin Newsom and others to provide one-time cash payments in response to the recent spike in gas prices — ideas that have largely fallen flat at the state Capitol, even as a state gas tax increase looms on the horizon in July.

    California

    Newsom, lawmakers haggle over plan for relief from California’s high gas prices

    More than a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to give Californians money to offset rising gas prices, he and state lawmakers have yet to find common ground on the plan.

    Instead, legislative leaders have insisted on a more broad-based approach in response to the impacts of inflation on Californians.

    “With the new revenue available for this year’s state budget, the Senate is doubling down on our priorities,” said Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) in a written statement.

    In all, Democrats said Thursday they believe the state will have some $68 billion in surplus tax revenues over the next 14 months that can be used in a variety of ways to boost government services as well as the state’s cash reserves. The estimate relies on preliminary data from April tax collections and a more detailed projection is expected in two weeks when Newsom unveils a revised state budget plan.

    But all indications are that the state’s tally of tax dollars is historic, even after almost a decade of record-shattering windfalls that have helped remake California’s once broken state budget.

    Atkins said Thursday the large surplus would allow the state to “help even more people, bolster their ability to achieve their dreams, and ensure there will be both resources and a more equitable system in place” for the future.

    Senate Democrats proposed spending $8 billion on one-time cash rebates for families with adjusted annual incomes of less than $250,000 — $200 per taxpayer and another $200 for each child. For a family of four that meets the income requirements, the state would provide an $800 tax rebate.

    By comparison, the gas price relief plan touted last month by Newsom would cost $9 billion and is limited to vehicle owners with additional subsidies for public transit. The governor also sought to pause this summer’s scheduled increase in gas taxes, an effort that was subject to a deadline this week for state officials to begin preparing for the policy change.

    California

    What you need to know about getting Newsom’s $400 gas rebate for California drivers

    Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan would offer $400 to Californians for each vehicle registered in their name, including motorcycles and electric cars.

    Absent an 11th-hour agreement, California’s fuel excise taxes will go up on July 1 by an estimated three cents for a gallon of gasoline and two cents for a gallon of diesel. Those numbers are subject to final calculations of the state’s consumer price index.

    The plan proposed Thursday goes far beyond consumer cash rebates.

    Democrats also proposed subsidies to California small businesses that will soon be required to make new payments to cover the cost of COVID-19 jobless claims. Unemployment benefits paid during the height of the pandemic were covered by a loan from the federal government that’s scheduled to be repaid, in part, by higher payroll taxes for employers.

    Last month, a legislative analysis estimated a typical employer will pay $21 a year more per employee in 2023 and up to $189 per employee by 2031. Democrats said Thursday they would commit to a $10-billion subsidy for businesses of up to 250 employees, paid out over the coming decade.

    In broad strokes, the Senate Democrats’ plan would use most of the state’s discretionary tax surplus on one-time items. Families enrolled in the state’s welfare assistance program, CalWORKS, would be eligible for an additional subsidy. Low-income Californians with disabilities would also receive a supplement to their benefits. And grants would be made available to low-income residents whose immigration status keeps them out of the traditional tax filing process.

    Billions more would be added to the state’s cash reserves, including “rainy day” funds that were created after California’s last recession for schools and social services programs.

    Source Article from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-04-28/billions-in-california-tax-rebates-not-just-for-drivers-proposed-by-lawmakers

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    Live updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine – CNN
    Live updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine – CNN

    John Sullivan, US ambassador to Moscow, speaks with Alisyn Camerota in an interview on CNN Newsroom, on Thursday, April 28. (CNN)

    The Russian war on Ukraine has “driven US-Russia relations into the depths,” US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan told CNN on Thursday. 

    Although the top envoy did not say that the relationship between Washington and Moscow was at its absolute lowest point, Sullivan noted that it was “about as bad as it could be.”

    In an interview from Moscow with Alisyn Camerota on CNN Newsroom, Sullivan said there is “very little engagement with the Russian government,” and his communications have focused on the detained US citizens and “the functioning of our embassy,” which is under sharp restrictions imposed by the Russian government.

    On Wednesday, American Trevor Reed was released from Russian custody in a prisoner swap — a major development with which Sullivan was a key player. However, other Americans remain detained, including Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, the latter of whom has asked why he was “left behind.”

    “Why was I left behind? While I am pleased Trevor is home with his family, I have been held on a fictitious charge of espionage for 40 months,” Whelan said in a statement to his parents and shared with CNN. “The world knows this charge was fabricated. Why hasn’t more been done to secure my release?”

    Sullivan told CNN that he “couldn’t agree with Whelan more in the sense that he has been convicted of a fabricated charge. 

    “I’ve been advocating for his release both publicly in negotiations with the Russian government since before I got here as ambassador, when I was deputy secretary of state when Paul was originally arrested back in December of 2018,” he said.

    “I’ve never relented in my advocacy for Paul in engagement with the Russian government, for Paul’s release,” Sullivan added, noting that “this case, Trevor’s case is just one step.”

    On the Russian war in Ukraine, Sullivan suggested it is up to one man — Russian President Vladimir Putin — to bring the brutal conflict to an end.

    The US ambassador said the rhetoric about Russia potentially using nuclear weapons has escalated in “a dramatically irresponsible way recently,” but noted it “isn’t new.” He recalled that in past conversations with the Russian government related to issues that were in the past related to Ukraine, the discussion would begin normally and then would “spiral” to warnings about nuclear confrontation if the US and NATO continued to support Ukraine.

    “And my reaction on the other side of the table is astonishment,” Sullivan said. “And unfortunately, what we’ve seen most recently, is at the most senior levels of the US government, an escalation of that rhetoric.”

    Sullivan said the US has ratcheted down in response, noting that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had paused and then canceled a missile test despite pre-planning and notifying the Russian government.

    “We do not engage in irresponsible rhetoric with respect to nuclear weapons,” he told CNN. 

    The US is “prepared to deter nuclear aggression against the United States,” Sullivan added.

    “We won’t succumb to nuclear blackmail, but we won’t tolerate nuclear saber rattling and nuclear brinksmanship,” he said.

    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-04-28-22/h_eb11f7ada69f4f85897cfca1b2b9d725

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    DeSantis officials say Florida won’t pay Disney’s debt — but there’s no plan yet – POLITICO
    DeSantis officials say Florida won’t pay Disney’s debt — but there’s no plan yet – POLITICO

    It took the GOP-led Florida Legislature roughly three days to approve nixing Disney’s special status from the time the measure was announced, in keeping with the short time frame of last week’s special legislative session. Throughout debate over the bill, GOP lawmakers emphasized that it was giving the company and state a year to figure out complex tax and debt issues.

    The latest twist in the Florida versus Disney saga came when Reedy Creek called into question the legality behind the Legislature’s move to dissolve the special district, which granted the entertainment giant the ability to build its own structures without seeking approval from a local planning commission and to collect taxes and issue bonds. The district was created in the 1960s.

    In a note to investors first reported this week by WESH 2 in Orlando, Reedy Creek officials pointed to a previous agreement between Florida and the special district that seemingly could prohibit the state from altering its status until bond debts are paid.

    Reedy Creek is currently carrying approximately $1 billion in outstanding debt, according to Fitch Ratings, burdens that Democrats and the special district said could be unloaded on Orange and Osceola Counties nearby Disney World. After the Legislature approved the measure punishing Disney, Fitch Ratings placed Reedy Creek on a “rating watch negative,” which is essentially a warning to investors.

    On Thursday, Fitch released an additional cautionary note, saying that Florida’s move to dismantle Reedy Creek “heightens bondholder uncertainty” and if the state doesn’t find a way to resolve the debt issue it “could alter our view of Florida’s commitment to preserve bondholder rights and weaken our view of the operating environment for Florida governments.”

    Reedy Creek’s board of supervisors, meanwhile, met Wednesday for the first time since the repeal and had few, if any, answers about what comes next.

    “There’s nothing I can do about it and I don’t think there’s anybody here that knows what to do about it,” said board member Don Greer, per local media. “The governor of the state of Florida will have to decide that.”

    DeSantis and his administration are dismissing any claims that local governments and residents could see tax increases as a result of the move, insisting the idea is a “partisan political lie being amplified by media.”

    “If it’s true that the repeal of the special district would hand Disney a tax break, and the local taxpayers would be on the hook for this bail-out to benefit Disney … why would Disney oppose the idea of repealing their special district?” Pushaw wrote. “Indeed, if that was true, why wouldn’t Disney have lobbied to get rid of the special district long ago?”

    To that end, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), a top Democratic challenger for DeSantis in 2022, is attempting to campaign off DeSantis’ fight against Disney. Crist’s campaign announced Thursday a new ad airing in Orange and Osceola blasting the Republican governor for a move Crist says could raise property taxes. Crist in the ad cites Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph, a Democrat who previously served in the state House who said that his county will absorb Reedy Creek’s debt.

    “I thought Republicans were supposed to be against tax increases,” Crist said at an event this week.

    Florida Republicans, led by DeSantis, eliminated Disney’s special status as a punishment for opposing the recently signed Parental Rights in Education bill that prohibits educators from leading classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade. LGBTQ advocates say the measure, which has been labeled the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, could lead to increased bullying or even suicide among youth while GOP lawmakers argued it was necessary to give more power to parents in the state.

    The moves against Disney are part of DeSantis’ fight against “woke” culture in schools and companies, efforts spelled out in several new laws passed in 2022 targeting how students are learning about race and gender identity.

    Aside from the “Don’t Say Gay” criticisms, DeSantis has taken issue with recent statements by Disney executives discussing efforts to include more diverse characters in their content, which were detailed in company Zoom calls reported by conservative activist Christopher Rufo. DeSantis has also maintained that the special status afforded Disney gave the company an unfair advantage. Disney is one of the state’s biggest employers, with more than 75,000 employees.

    “Basically, that arrangement, it was corporate welfare — no question,” DeSantis said Wednesday at a Las Vegas campaign event for Nevada Senate hopeful Adam Laxalt.

    “It was totally unfair to every other company in Florida. But it also represented my state being joined at the hip with this one corporation. And if you’re admitting that your intention is to inject sexuality into the programming for these young kids, I can’t have that relationship.”

    Gary Fineout contributed to this report.

    Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/28/desantis-florida-disney-world-debt-00028619

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    Georgia just became the latest state to require personal finance education – CNBC
    Georgia just became the latest state to require personal finance education – CNBC

    High school students in Georgia will soon have guaranteed access to a personal finance course before they graduate.

    On Thursday, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law SB 220, a bill requiring personal finance classes for high school students. Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, all 11th- and 12th-grade students will need to take at least a half-credit course in financial literacy before graduation.

    The measure “will ensure that [students] learn financial literacy in our schools, like the importance of good credit and how to budget properly so that they can be better prepared for the world beyond the classroom,” said Kemp during the signing event.

    More from Invest in You:
    16 U.S. cities where women under 30 earn more than their male peers
    Great Resignation is spurring employers to offer financial-wellness benefits
    A four-day workweek pilot program is now underway in the U.S. and Canada

    A growing trend

    Georgia is the 13th state to mandate personal finance education for its students, according to nonprofit Next Gen Personal Finance, which tracks such bills.

    It’s the latest in a growing trend of states adding personal finance education. In the last 12 months, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio and Rhode Island have passed similar laws and are in the process of implementing them for all students.

    Once Georgia’s bill is implemented, it will mean that more than 35% of students in the U.S. will have access to a financial literacy class. That’s more than double the share of students that had access to such coursework in 2018, according to Next Gen Personal Finance.

    Having laws requiring personal finance education are important to ensure students have equal opportunities. There are high schools that offer personal finance courses in states without mandates, but access is not equal, according to a recent report from the nonprofit.

    Only 10% of students in states without guaranteed access to personal finance can take such a course. That share drops to 1 in 20 in schools where 75% of students are nonwhite or receive free and reduced lunch.

    What state may be next

    There are still a few states with pending legislation that may be passed later in the year.

    South Carolina, for example, has a bill currently in conference committee. Now that Georgia’s legislation has become law, South Carolina is the only state in the Southeast that does not have mandated personal finance coursework, according to Tim Ranzetta, co-founder of Next Gen Personal Finance.

    Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/28/georgia-is-now-the-latest-state-to-mandate-personal-finance-education.html

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    Biden seeks $33 billion war chest to support Ukraine, Zelenskiy wants quick approval – Reuters.com
    Biden seeks $33 billion war chest to support Ukraine, Zelenskiy wants quick approval – Reuters.com

    WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden asked Congress for $33 billion to support Ukraine – a dramatic escalation of U.S. funding for the war with Russia – and the Ukrainian president pleaded with lawmakers to give the request a swift approval.

    The funding request includes over $20 billion for weapons, ammunition and other military assistance, as well as $8.5 billion in direct economic assistance to the Ukrainian government and $3 billion in humanitarian aid. It is intended to cover the war effort’s needs through September, the end of the fiscal year.

    “We need this bill to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom,” Biden said at the White House after signing the request on Thursday. “The cost of this fight – it’s not cheap – but caving to aggression is going to be more costly.”

    The United States has ruled out sending its own or NATO forces to Ukraine but Washington and its European allies have supplied weapons to Kyiv such as drones, Howitzer heavy artillery, anti-aircraft Stinger and anti-tank Javelin missiles.

    Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed what he called “a very important step” by the United States.

    “I am thankful to the American people and personally to President Biden for it. I hope that Congress will quickly approve this request for help to our state,” he said in a late night video address.

    Biden’s proposal would also let U.S. officials seize more Russian oligarchs’ assets, give the cash from those seizures to Ukraine, and further criminalize sanctions dodging, the White House said.

    That would include letting the Justice Department use the strict U.S. racketeering law once deployed against the mafia, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, to build cases against people who evade sanctions.

    Biden also wants to give prosecutors more time to build such cases by extending the statute of limitations on money laundering prosecutions to 10 years, instead of five. He would also make it a criminal act to hold money knowingly taken from corrupt dealings with Russia, according to a summary of the legislative proposals.

    U.S. President Joe Biden during a speech in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

    The measures are part of U.S. efforts to isolate and punish Russia for its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, as well as to help Kyiv recover from a war that has reduced cities to rubble and forced more than 5 million people to flee abroad.

    Biden has already asked for record peacetime sums to fund Pentagon research and development, and efforts to counter perceived threats from countries including Russia.

    The full package represents a fifth of pre-war Ukrainian annual economic output, and the $20 billion U.S. military assistance alone is about a third of what the Russian military spent overall last year, before the war began.

    A package would include food security assistance, economic stimulus for Ukraine and funding to use the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to expand domestic production of key minerals in short supply due to the war. read more

    But the funding measure may face issues on Capitol Hill. Biden asked for $22.5 billion in money for the COVID-19 response in March and Democrats with narrow control of the Senate and House of Representatives may push to have that passed at the same time as the Ukraine measure.

    While lawmakers are broadly supportive of spending on Ukraine, Republican congressional aides said on Thursday that efforts to combine the war funding with the pandemic response could make it difficult to pass.

    “I don’t care how they do it,” Biden said. “They can do it separately or together, but we need them both.”

    U.S. military aid to Ukraine has topped $3 billion since Russia launched what it calls a “special military operation” to demilitarize Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Kyiv and its Western allies reject that as a false pretext.

    The United States and its European allies have frozen $30 billion of assets held by wealthy individuals with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, including yachts, helicopters, real estate and art, the Biden administration has said.

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-looks-congress-oligarchs-more-cash-help-ukraine-2022-04-28/

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    Disney says Florida would have to pay nearly $1 billion to dissolve special district – NPR
    Disney says Florida would have to pay nearly $1 billion to dissolve special district – NPR

    Florida is set to dissolve Walt Disney World’s special district next summer — but many questions are unanswered about what will happen to the resort’s nearly $1 billion in debt.

    Octavio Jones/Getty Images


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    Octavio Jones/Getty Images

    Florida is set to dissolve Walt Disney World’s special district next summer — but many questions are unanswered about what will happen to the resort’s nearly $1 billion in debt.

    Octavio Jones/Getty Images

    Florida faces a big obstacle as it moves to strip Walt Disney World of its semi-autonomous status in the state: what to do with the special district’s nearly $1 billion in bond debt.

    The resort complex’s governing board says that when Florida created the Reedy Creek Improvement District decades ago, the state pledged to protect the district’s debt holders — and not to alter its status unless all debts are paid off.

    The Disney district pulled out receipts from the 1960s

    The debt pledge is in the Reedy Creek Act the state enacted in May 1967, the district said in a statement filed with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

    Reedy Creek says the state made several promises to bondholders when it adopted the act, including:

    • Not to limit the district’s ability to “fulfill the terms of any agreement made with the holders of any bonds or other obligations”;
    • Not to impair bondholders’ rights, or modify the arrangement until all bonds, costs and expenses “are fully met and discharged”

    Because of those pledges, the district said, it will “explore its options while continuing its present operations,” despite the plan to revoke its standing.

    Moody’s Investors Service also cited the pledges as it affirmed its solid investment-grade ratings for Reedy Creek on Tuesday — although the agency did also change its outlook from “stable” to “developing.”

    An Orange County attorney who specializes in local government and property litigation says the state’s move wouldn’t hold up under a lawsuit, as member station WMFE reports.

    Attorney Jacob Schumer said the state has several options to address the situation “and maybe make the case not so clear cut. But as the law stands, I can’t see any way it holds up against a challenge.”

    The dissolution bill quickly triggered cascading questions

    Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill on Friday to dissolve Disney’s “independent special district” in June 2023, widely seen as retaliation for Disney and its CEO, Bob Chapek, taking a public stance against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act — or as it’s called by critics, “Don’t Say Gay.”

    Florida’s Legislature introduced and approved the dissolution bill in just three days last week, abruptly opening a new phase in the relationship between Florida’s politicians and the state’s most famous tourist attraction.

    The issue was a hot topic when the district’s board of supervisors met on Wednesday: The Associated Press reports that numerous concerns were raised about the state plan’s impact on Reedy Creek, from financing a solar project to potential changes in benefits and security for its current and retired firefighters.

    Reedy Creek operates as its own county government

    For almost 55 years, the Reedy Creek arrangement has given Disney near-total control over nearly 40 square miles of land in Central Florida. It operates as a de facto county government, issuing bonds and levying taxes to provide necessities such as water and roads, as well as fire and emergency services.

    As the state moved against Disney, the district’s bond debt quickly became a worry— particularly in Orange and Osceola counties, which the district straddles. That’s because the Florida Senate’s own financial impact analysis of the bill found that in most cases when a county takes over a special district, it “shall also assume all indebtedness of the preexisting special district.”

    County officials have been airing their own concerns about suddenly becoming responsible for providing essential and emergencies services to the area.

    “If Reedy Creek goes away, the $105 million it collects to operate services goes away,” as Scott Randolph, a Democrat who is the Orange County tax collector, said via Twitter.

    Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2022/04/28/1095225258/disney-world-florida-debt

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    Live updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine – CNN
    Live updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine – CNN

    US President Joe Biden announced Thursday he has signed a $33 billion request for supplemental funding for Ukraine from Congress as Russia’s invasion takes on a new, critical phase. 

    The funding request is expected to support Ukraine through this fiscal year, or about five months, and includes $20.4 billion in military assistance.

    Biden framed the massive request as critical for global stability.

    He called on Congress to approve the funding “as quickly as possible.”

    He reiterated that he would not send US troops to Ukraine and said that the US is “not attacking Russia,” but is instead, “helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression,” casting blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

    “Russia is the aggressor, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Russia is the aggressor, and the world must and will hold Russia accountable,” he said.

    Biden ticked through some of the provisions in the $33 billion request, including:

    He also detailed new proposed legislation to hold Russian oligarchs to account.

    While members have agreed that more money for Ukraine is necessary, it’s still not clear how the supplemental would move swiftly through Congress nor is it clear how quickly this proposal on oligarchs could move. A likely path would be to tie the two pieces of legislation together, but Republican and Democratic leaders are in the early stages of talks on how to pass the broader funding for Ukraine. 

    The President also reacted to news earlier this week that Russia halted gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after both countries refused to pay in rubles, injecting more uncertainty into the already-unstable global oil markets rocked by the war.

    “Let me be clear, we will not let Russia intimidate or blackmail their way out of these sanctions. We will not allow them to use their oil and gas to avoid consequences. We are working with other nations like Korea, Japan, Qatar and others to support our effort to help European allies threatened by Russia with gas blackmail, and their energy needs in other ways,” he said.

    Read more about the proposal here.

    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-04-28-22/h_a51374a5859cef424e392132a34dd353

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    Biden’s disinformation director referred to Hunter’s laptop as a ‘Trump campaign product’ – Fox News
    Biden’s disinformation director referred to Hunter’s laptop as a ‘Trump campaign product’ – Fox News
    Video

    Fox News Flash top headlines for April 28

    Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

    The woman tapped to be executive director of the Biden administration’s new ‘Disinformation Governance Board’ is facing criticism for her political ideology and dismissing the legitimacy of Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop in the past.

    Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified Wednesday that a “Disinformation Governance Board” had recently been created to combat online disinformation and Politico reported that Nina Jankowicz, who previously served as a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, will head the board as executive director. 

    WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 27: U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas  (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

    CRITICS SLAM TIMING OF BIDEN’S ‘MINISTRY OF TRUTH’ TO POLICE INTERNET FOR ‘DISINFORMATION’

    Jankowicz has previously referred to Hunter Biden’s laptop, which has been authenticated by multiple news outlets, as a “Trump campaign product” and suggested it was a  “Russian influence op.”

    Jankowicz attempted to clarify her October 2020 tweet this week saying that she was simply live tweeting a presidential debate.

    BIDEN RAMPING UP FOR THE MIDTERMS: ‘EXPECT MORE POTUS’

    Critics on social media have blasted the decision to appoint Jankowicz and expressed concern she would not be an impartial director of the board.

    ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight,” CBS’ “CBS Mornings” and “Evening News,” and NBC’s “Today” and “Nightly News” all ignored then-Vice President Biden’s meeting with Eric Schwerin. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
    (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik))

    “Rather than police our border, Homeland Security has decided to make policing Americans’ speech its top priority,” Republican Sen. Josh Hawley tweeted. “They’re creating a Disinformation Board. No, really. And take a look at the views of the leftist radical running it.”

    “Apparently this person is the new head of Homeland Security’s Disinformation  Governance Board,” Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross tweeted. “Republicans did not fund the Steele dossier.”

    CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

    “CAN’T MAKE THIS UP!!!” Conservative radio host Larry Elder tweeted. “Biden sets up ‘Disinformation Board’ headed by 8-months-pregnant Russia expert who called Hunter’s laptop a ‘Trump campaign product’ and said she ‘shudders to think’ about @elonmusk taking over @Twitter.”

    President Biden was beloved by the liberal media throughout his campaign and largely through the first year of his presidency.  (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
    (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

    Jankowicz did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.

    Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/head-of-bidens-disinformation-board-referred-to-hunters-laptop-as-a-trump-campaign-product

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    Europe faces recession if Putin fully shuts off the gas taps – CNBC
    Europe faces recession if Putin fully shuts off the gas taps – CNBC

    Europe could be pushed into recession if Russia’s gas squeeze widens, economists have suggested, after Gazprom cut off flows to Poland and Bulgaria.

    The state-owned energy giant on Wednesday announced that gas supplies to the two Eastern European countries had ceased after they refused Moscow’s demand to pay for gas in rubles. Gazprom said that supplies would resume once these payments were made, prompting accusations of “blackmail” from Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.

    With deadlines approaching in the coming weeks for payment from a host of other European countries that are unlikely to acquiesce to the Kremlin’s demands for ruble payment, concerns over President Vladimir Putin’s previous threats of a broad blockage of gas supplies to “unfriendly” nations have returned to the fore.

    In a research note Wednesday, Berenberg Chief Economist Holger Schmieding and Senior Economist Kallum Pickering said the switch-off appeared to be a warning from Moscow that it could make good on this threat.

    Gas accounts for around a quarter of the European Union’s energy generation, and Russia typically supplies around 40% of the bloc’s natural gas imports.

    Europe faces concurrent economic shocks from the war in Ukraine and a surge in food and energy prices exacerbated by the conflict, which has prompted concerns about “stagflation” — an environment of low economic growth and high inflation.

    Berenberg suggested that the current headwinds will likely maintain stagflationary pressures in the second quarter of 2022.

    “A sudden stop of Russian gas supplies to Europe could push Europe into a recession. The precise impact of such an immediate gas embargo is hard to predict,” Schmieding and Pickering said.

    “Calculations that it would lower the level of euro zone GDP in 2023 by 3 percentage points relative to a baseline call … seem to be slightly too pessimistic, in our view, but it would certainly be a major hit to activity until the end of the next cold season in the spring of 2023.”

    However, such a move would also be costly for Russia and tricky to implement, and although the decision to stop flows to Poland and Bulgaria may strengthen the EU’s resolve to end its dependency on Russian gas, many member states oppose an immediate embargo of imports.

    While Poland had announced plans to phase out all Russian fuel imports by the end of this year, the EU plans to drastically reduce gas purchases by the end of 2022 while working toward a total phase-out by 2030.

    As such, Berenberg’s base case is that the EU will reduce gas imports as quickly as is feasible without risking a physical shortage, likely resulting in an end to imports in 2024.

    “In such a case, energy prices would remain high but would likely not rise further. Europe could gradually digest the energy price shock, likely returning to significant growth over the summer unless Chinese COVID-19-related lockdowns and the resulting supply shortages were to get much worse beyond Q2,” the economists added.

    However, they noted that the cessation of Russian gas flows remains a tail risk that would probably force some European countries to ration gas supplies to certain areas of industry in late 2022 or early 2023.

    Euro zone inflation surged to a record-high 7.5% in March as the war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions against Russia drove up energy prices. Russia’s move increases the upside risks to the inflation forecast, but Capital Economics Commodities Economist Edward Gardner noted on Thursday that any further rise would likely be small in comparison to those that have already occurred since the Russian invasion.

    “We are currently forecasting euro-zone inflation of 7% and 3% this year and next. If European natural gas prices rose to €150 per MWh and remained there, rather than falling to €75 by the end of next year as we currently forecast, headline inflation would be 0.2ppts higher than in our forecasts,” Gardner said.

    He added that Wednesday’s announcement from Gazprom increased the risk of outright gas shortages, which would “exacerbate the recession” that Capital Economics is already projecting for the euro zone in 2022.

    “If Russia cut off gas exports to Germany, the government would probably ration gas consumption. Households would probably be protected, so industry (especially chemical and metallurgy) would be worst hit, causing a deep recession,” Gardner said.

    Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/28/europe-faces-recession-if-putin-fully-shuts-off-the-gas-taps.html

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