Saturday 49

Top news stories from all over

Today’s News (49):

1. Russian Airstrikes Intensify in Western Ukraine (WSJ)

2. Biden warns US intervention in Ukraine would mean World War 3 (BBC)

3. Russian warplanes, artillery widen attack, hit industry hub (AP)

4. Stalled 40-mile-long Russian convoy near Kyiv now largely dispersed, satellite images show (CNN)

5. Kyiv prepares for Russian attack (BBC)

6. Russian forces bearing down on Kyiv are regrouping northwest of the Ukrainian capital, satellite pictures showed, and Britain said on Friday Moscow could now be planning an assault on the city within days. (Reuters)

7. Russia could use chemical and biological weapons, US warns (Guardian)

8. Biden warns Russia will pay 'severe price' if it uses chemical weapons in Ukraine (Politico)

9. Battle for Mykolaiv: 'We are winning this fight, but not this war' (BBC)

10. Russian strikes hit near airports in western Ukraine on Friday as the military offensive widened, and invading troops kept up pressure on the capital Kyiv and the besieged port city of Mariupol. A 40-mile convoy of Russian vehicles and tanks appears to have fanned out into towns and forests near Kyiv, perhaps representing a new direction in the war. [AP]

11. he Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens millions of tiny spring-time sprouts that should emerge from stalks of dormant winter wheat in the coming weeks. If the farmers can't feed those crops soon it will jeopardize a national wheat harvest on which millions in the developing world depend. (Reuters)

12. More US soldiers deploy to support NATO allies (AP)

13. Russia lays siege to another Ukrainian city (WP)

14. Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the green light to bring in thousands of fighters from the Middle East to fight against Ukraine. (Reuters)

15. Russia Batters and Encircles Ukrainian Cities, as Diplomacy Falters (NYT)

16. VIDEO: ‘I Don’t Have a Home Anymore,’ Mariupol Resident Says (AP)

17. The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country's public health laboratories to prevent "any potential spills" that would spread disease among the population, the agency (Reuters)

18. WHO condemns Russian attacks on medical facilities, says 12 killed (NHK)

19. Biden calls for suspending normal trade relations with Russia and will ban imports of vodka and seafood (CNN)

20. Warsaw overwhelmed as it becomes key refugee destination (AP)

21. Republicans are lining up to support military aid to Ukraine just two years after backing former President Donald Trump's attempt to coerce Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into smearing Joe Biden by withholding military aid. “You can see by the mad scramble to support Zelenskyy and Ukraine that they are afraid of the consequences of their past miscreance,” said Norm Ornstein, a scholar at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. [HuffPost]

22. U.S. Battles Russia and China on Ukraine War Disinformation (NYT)

23. Oil price shock jolts global recovery as economic impact of Russia’s invasion spreads (WP)

24. Russia opens criminal investigation of Meta over death calls on Facebook (Reuters)

25. In Putin’s Russia, ‘fake news’ now means real news (WP)

26. Since it was spotted painted on tanks crossing into Ukraine, the final letter of the Latin alphabet has swiftly become a symbol of Russian nationalism. It serves the practical purpose of identifying Russian vehicles, but may have a slew of other meanings. [AP]

27. What’s at risk in Chernobyl (WP)

28. Pressure to end pandemic restrictions mounts as Ukrainians reach the U.S. border (NPR)

29. Russia widens social media crackdown by blocking Instagram (AP)

30. How Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine Upended Germany (New Yorker)

31. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine marks the beginning of a post-American era (Fareed Zakaria/WP)

32. We Need to Relearn What We’d Hoped to Forget — Here we are again, trying to make our way around nuclear terms and concepts as war rages in the middle of Europe. (Atlantic)

33. Surging U.S. Inflation Raises Stakes as War Pushes Up Prices (NYT)

34. Stocks Fall as Dow Posts Fifth Straight Weekly Loss (WSJ)

35. Biden will seek to end normal trade relations between U.S. and Russia (WP)

36. How will the COVID-19 crisis end? While the ends of epidemics are not as thoroughly researched as their beginnings, experts are looking for recurring themes that could offer lessons for the months ahead. [AP]

37. Asia passed the grim milestone of 1 million coronavirus-linked deaths, a Reuters tally showed, as a spike in Omicron variant infections spreads across the region after starting in nations such as Japan and South Korea. Mainland China reported over 1,000 new infections in dozens of cities, the highest daily count in about two years. (Reuters)

38. How the Pandemic Has Shaped Babies’ Development — The first two years of life are a time of astonishing brain growth. What has that meant for the toddlers who have only known a world with COVID? (Atlantic)

39. There may be a new COVID variant, Deltacron. (USA Today)

40. Why you shouldn’t worry about the deltacron variant (SFC)

41. China locks down a city of 9 million amid a new spike in COVID-19 cases (AP)

42. India says it accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan (NBC)

43. New clues emerge about the money that might have helped fund the Jan. 6 insurrection (NPR)

44. Liberal US cities change course, now clearing homeless camps (AP)

45. Berkeley vs. Berkeley Is a Fight Over the California Dream (NYT)

46. Meteor streaks through Jupiter's atmosphere as NASA spacecraft watches (Space.com)

47. State Farm said it paid over $23 million in 2021 for over 9,000 catalytic converter theft claims in California, almost 10 times the amount from 2019 (KTLA )

48. 'Squat lobster' photobombs Shackleton's Endurance ship (BBC)

49. Drunkenly Wearing Lampshade On Head Less Fun When Alone (The Onion)