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)

 

Friday the 11th

Today’s News (48):

1. Harris says US and Poland are united, despite fighter jets episode (CNN)

2. U.S. vice-president Harris says there should be investigation into Russia's conduct in war (Reuters)

3. On the front line: If Kharkiv falls, all of Ukraine falls (BBC)

4. U.K. calls Russian strike on Ukraine hospital a "war crime" as Moscow dismisses "pathetic outcries" over "so-called atrocities" (CBS)

5. Russia denies it bombed Ukrainian maternity hospital: 'fake news' (Fox)

6. After a Week of Siege, Bloodied Mariupol Plans Mass Graves (NYT)

7. Mariupol children's hospital bombing one of many attacks on medical facilities since Russian invasion, WHO says (CNN)

8. Russians keep pressure on Mariupol after hospital attack (AP)

9. Russia's war in Ukraine entered the third week with none of its stated objectives reached, despite thousands of people killed, more than two million made refugees and thousands cowering in besieged cities under relentless bombardment. (Reuters)

10. Russia Ramps Up Attacks in Bid to Seize Key Port City (WSJ)

11. Officials warn of fast-rising civilian toll (WP)

12. Russian economy in 'shock' from unprecedented economic war - Kremlin (Reuters)

13. Satellite images show flooding north of Kyiv in possible sign of ‘hydraulic warfare’ (WP)

14. McDonald's transformed Russia ... now it's abandoning the country (CNN)

15. The foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine met in Turkey, the highest level contact between the two countries since the war began on February 24, but in simultaneous dueling news conferences made clear they had made no progress. (Reuters)

16. Russia has destroyed $100 billion of Ukraine’s economic assets, says Zelensky adviser (Financial Times)

17. Putin: sanctions will 'rebound on West' (NHK)

18. Economic Blacklist of Russia Marks New Blow for Globalization (WSJ)

19. U.S., allies see no clear endgame in Ukraine (WP)

20. Russia and Belarus are edging close to default given the massive sanctions imposed against their economies, the World Bank's chief economist, Carmen Reinhart, told Reuters. It would be Russia's first major such default since the years following the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. (Reuters)

21. JPMorgan Actively Unwinding Russian Business (WSJ)

22. Crypto firms under attack for sticking with Russia (Politico)

23. U.S. colleges are cutting their partnerships and financial ties with Russia (NPR)

24. The 17 lawmakers who voted against the Russian oil ban (The Hill)

25. Russian energy sanctions unite the feuding parties — for now (Politico)

26. The 2020 census had big undercounts of Black people, Latinos and Native Americans (NPR)

27. ‘I Know the Government Fell, But I Never Fell’ — Women who served in the Afghan military are pleading for help, as Taliban fighters are hunting them down. (Atlantic)

28. Former Vice President Mike Pence met with two prominent Jewish extremists during a visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday, part of a political tour that some speculate may be preparation for a presidential run in 2024. Pence met with two men who represent violent and racist factions of the Jewish settler movement. A foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders compared the meeting to “a foreign leader coming to the U.S. and hanging out with the Proud Boys.” [HuffPost]

29. After Ottawa, Trucker Convoy Near Washington Is a Low-Key Protest (NYT)

30. U.S. local election officials are increasingly concerned about threats and political pressure fueled by baseless allegations of voter fraud in the last presidential race, and one in five say they are somewhat or very unlikely to stay in their jobs through the 2024 contest, a national survey showed. (Reuters)

31. House Passes $1.5 Trillion Omnibus Package That Includes Aid for Ukraine (WSJ)

32. Stocks slip, oil prices turn lower as uncertainty continues (AP)

33. A cluster of new studies show that about a third of children in the youngest grades are missing reading benchmarks. (Cal Today)

34. A Lion of the Civil Rights Era Is Still Preaching Optimism (NYT)

35. Key inflation measure jumps to highest level since January 1982 (CNN)

36. We Will Forget Much of the Pandemic. That’s a Good Thing. (NYT)

37. How will COVID end? Experts look to past epidemics for clues (AP)

38. Our Brains Want the Story of the Pandemic to Be Something It Isn’t — After two years of living with the coronavirus, we’re suffering from “narrative fatigue.” (Atlantic)

39. Americans' stress is spiking over inflation, war in Ukraine, survey finds (NPR)

40. An Earthlike planet may be orbiting in a dead star's 'habitable zone' (Space.com)

41. Huge Solar Eruption May 'Sideswipe' Earth on Thursday (Newsweek)

42. Massive Asteroid Impact Crater in Greenland Occurred a Few Million Years After Dinosaurs Went Extinct (SciTechDaily)

43. ‘Serious escalation’: US believes North Korea testing intercontinental missile (Guardian)

44. VIDEO: Australia Declares National Emergency Amid Severe Flooding (NYT)

45. Why Baghdad will be one of the cities hardest hit by global warming (NPR)

46. ‘It’s astonishing’: endangered bat not seen in 40 years found in Rwanda (Guardian)

47. MLB players vote to end lockout, salvaging 162-game season (AP)

48. Fuddruckers Pursues Market Opportunity By Opening 1,000 Locations In Russia (The Onion)

 

At the Precipice

One of the enormous risks of the Ukraine crisis is that the one of the opposing parties will accidentally trigger a nuclear war. Should that happen, an article in the Atlantic notes, it could trigger a planet-wide climate disaster.

This of course is not new(s).

But as author Robinson Meyer writes: “even a relatively ‘minor’ exchange of nuclear weapons would wreck the planet’s climate in enormous and long-lasting ways…if 100 small nuclear weapons were detonated, a number equal to only 0.03 percent of the planet’s total arsenal, the number of “direct fatalities due to fire and smoke would be comparable to those worldwide in World War II.”

Unfortunately, that would only be the the short term impact.

“Within months, the planet’s average temperature would fall by more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit; some amount of this cooling would persist for more than a decade. But far from reversing climate change, this cooling would be destabilizing. It would reduce global precipitation by about 10 percent, inducing global drought conditions. In parts of North America and Europe, the growing season would shorten by 10 to 20 days.”

The scenario envisioned by Meyer unfolds from there, with a global food crisis, massive radiation-related deaths and other impacts speeding up the long-term catastrophe already predicted by scientists without any nuclear war.

From any rational perspective we simply cannot allow this to happen — as a species. Human existence already is imperiled — this would likely seal our fate.

As unbelievable as it is that I am writing this, we are just a hair-trigger away right now from this becoming our reality.

TODAY’s NEWS (56)

1. Russia announced a new ceasefire in Ukraine to let civilians flee besieged cities, but there were only limited signs of progress providing escape routes for hundreds of thousands of people trapped without medicine or fresh water. (Reuters)

2. Suffering goes on in encircled Mariupol as evacuation fails (AP)

3. Ukraine says Russia bombed children's hospital in besieged Mariupol (Reuters)

4. Children buried under rubble at Mariupol hospital after Russian airstrike, Zelenskiy says (Guardian)

5. VIDEO: W.H.O. Condemns Russian Attacks on Ukrainian Medical Services

   (Reuters)

6. Pentagon says Russia appears to be hitting Ukrainian civilians with ‘dumb bombs’ (WP)

7. 'Surprise move': U.S. stunned by Poland's fighter jet offer (Politico)

8. Any supply of fighter jets to Ukraine must be done through NATO, top Polish officials said, after Washington rejected Poland's offer to fly all its MIG-29 jets to a U.S. airbase with a view to them being supplied to Kyiv. (Reuters)

9. Harris' trip to Poland and Romania turns fraught after US rejects Polish plan to get jets to Ukraine (CNN)

10. Blinken: U.S. focused on providing Ukraine jets ‘in the right way’ (Politico)

11. Ukraine sees risk of radiation leak at Chernobyl (Reuters)

12. IAEA: Cooling water 'sufficient' at Chernobyl (NHK)

13. Chernobyl nuclear plant disconnected from power grid; Ukraine calls for urgent repairs (WP)

14. Chernobyl fighting stokes Ukraine fears over safety of nuclear sites (Financial Times)

15. On Top of Everything Else, Nuclear War Would Be a Climate Problem — Even a “minor” skirmish would wreck the planet. (Atlantic)

16. VIDEO: U.S. Intelligence Officials Say Putin Underestimated Ukraine’s Strength (AP)

17. Russia warned the West that it was working on a broad response to sanctions that would be swift and felt in the West's most sensitive areas. (Reuters)

18. Russia bars purchases of dollars by citizens in sign of hard-currency pinch (WP)

19. White House sweats over its growing entanglement in Ukraine (Politico)

20. Loss of Russian Oil Leaves a Void Not Easily Filled, Straining Market (NYT)

21. U.S. ban on Russian oil: What this means for Americans at the gas pump (NBC)

22. Saudi, Emirati Leaders Decline Calls With Biden During Ukraine Crisis (WSJ)

23. More than 200 major companies have withdrawn from Russia in response to the country's unprovoked war on Ukraine. You can see a list here, and it spans a range of industries. McDonald's in particular is "hugely symbolic" — the company arrived in Moscow in 1990 and became an iconic symbol of American capitalism as the Soviet Union collapsed. [HuffPost]

24. Kremlin: US is waging 'economic war' (NHK)

25. Russia soon unable to pay its debts, warns agency (BBC)

26. Young Ukrainian dancers, trapped abroad, get Paris residency (AP)

27. Putin’s always wanted to weaken the West. He’s done the exact opposite (CNBC)

28. West’s Response to Ukraine Invasion Likely Unsettled China, U.S. Spy Chief

29. s Say (WSJ)

30. 1 million children leave behind lives, friends in Ukraine (AP)

31. Russia is close to sabotaging the Iran nuclear deal (Financial Times)

32. Democrats embrace politically risky strategy on rising gas prices (WP)

33. It’s ‘Alarming’: Children Are Severely Behind in Reading (NYT)

34. The Coronavirus’s Next Move — Here are four shapes that the next variant might take—which will also dictate the shape of our response. (Atlantic)

35. First person to receive heart transplant from pig dies, says Maryland hospital (Guardian)

36. Why we need to keep protections for the news media (WP)

37. White House issues executive order on cryptocurrency (CNBC)

38. Bitcoin Price Surges on Biden’s Crypto Executive Order (WSJ)

39. Health tech leaders ponder the future of digital health (Politico)

40. Why LinkedIn's Career Break Feature Is So Needed Right Now — LinkedIn is being praised for adding a new feature to its website, enabling users to proudly list career breaks in their work history. (HuffPost)

41. Endurance, Ernest Shackleton’s Lost Ship, Found in Antarctica After 107 Years (WSJ)

42. The $100 billion Western rental car industry, flush with cash from a profitable pandemic, is gradually getting its electric show on the road, and Chinese-made vehicles are poised to play a starring role. (Reuters)

43. Researcher finds 'stunning' rate of COVID among deer. Here's what it means for humans (NPR)

44. Redlining means 45 million Americans are breathing dirtier air, 50 years after it ended (WP)

45. Biden officials signal they might extend student loan payment freeze (Politico)

46. Emerging Tech Scenes Bring Jobs to Cities Outside Silicon Valley (WSJ)

47. How Maori Stepped In to Save a Towering Tree Crucial to Their Identity (NYT)

48. Thousands to protest against Brazil’s ‘death combo’ of anti-environment bills (Guardian)

49. London Breed-Chesa Boudin spat in San Francisco takes a strange turn (SFGate)

50. Are the Bay Area’s wealthiest cities being hit by ‘burglary tourism’? An international crime ring out of South America is targeting the Peninsula’s wealthiest ZIP codes, smashing windows, grabbing designer bags and jewelry.(SFC)

51. The hidden billion-dollar cost of repeated police misconduct — More than $1.5 billion has been spent to settle claims of police misconduct on behalf of thousands of officers repeatedly accused of wrongdoing. Taxpayers are often in the dark. (WP)

52. Australia declared a national emergency in response to devastating floods along its east coast, and designated catastrophe zones in towns swept away by swollen rivers. (Reuters)

53. Senate passes $107 billion overhaul of USPS, lauding mail agency’s role in pandemic response (WP)

54. Sex abuse lawsuit against Prince Andrew formally dismissed (AP)

55. Taiwan's military strategists have been studying Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the country's resistance, for the island's own battle strategy in the event its giant neighbour China ever makes good on its threat to take them by force. (Reuters)

56. Nuanced Political Opinion Whispered To Trusted Friend (The Onion)

When the News Makes You Cry

 The New Yorker has a story about what it is like for Ukrainian ex-pats to watch the destruction of their country from afar, unable to do anything to stop it.

Yesterday, I published a piece from my friend in Afghanistan, who has been watching the destruction of his ethnic minority, the Hazara, by the Taliban right in front of him but is powerless to do anything about it.

In both cases, the reality feels overwhelming to those directly affected, but the truth is that all of the rest of us — no matter how distant — are affected as well.

Events in Afghanistan and Ukraine may feel remote from our every day lives, but they really aren’t. In this age of digital technology, the world has shrunk to the extent that those two conflicts are essentially happening right next door.

In addition, our interlocking globalized economy binds every citizen on earth to every other. There is no escaping this truth, though many still will try to deny it.

The existential threats of climate change, nuclear war, and planetary destruction from a random cosmic event are still new enough to our consciousness that we are just learning how to cope with them.

My way of coping, I suppose, is to sort through the headlines every day, gathering them here into one of the largest non-algorithmic collections you will find anywhere online. Why do I do this?

Sorting the news is my method of trying to make sense of it. In the process, the human tragedies in Ukraine and Afghanistan and elsewhere naturally make me sad. But, given the choice of avoiding the news or confronting it directly, I don’t have any real choice.

My hope is that somehow by sharing a perspective on what is going on, I’m part of a process that may ultimately help our species solve some of the problems that are overwhelming us at present.

But of course there is still that old saying, “what you don’t know can’t hurt you.”

I fundamentally disagree with that concept. When it comes to the world beyond your home, what you don’t know about it can hurt you and sooner or later it almost certainly will.

TODAY’s NEWS (56)

1. Biden announces ban on US imports of Russian oil, warns gas prices will 'go up further' (Fox)

2. Wall St bounces in choppy session as U.S. bans Russian oil imports (Reuters)

3. Why Oil Prices Will Stay High -- and It's Not All About Russia (Motley Fool)

4. Western countries could face oil prices of over $300 per barrel and the possible closure of the main Russia-Germany gas pipeline if governments follow through on threats to cut energy supplies from Russia, a senior minister said. (Reuters)

5. Zelensky says Ukraine "will not give up" and receives standing ovation from UK House of Commons (CNN)

6. Zelensky vows to fight Russia in 'forests, fields and shores' (BBC)

7. Russian Shelling Halts Ukrainian Evacuation Effort — Heavy fighting continues across Ukraine; humanitarian crisis deepens in Mariupol as relief efforts fail (WSJ)

8. Humanitarian Crisis Worsens for Ukrainians Trapped in Russia’s Onslaught (NYT)

9. Russian general killed near Kharkiv, say defenders (BBC)

10. U.S. says up to 4,000 of Putin’s soldiers have been killed (CNBC)

11. NATO Members Mount Huge Operation to Resupply Ukrainian Fighters (WSJ)

12. Russia is recruiting Syrians to fight on its behalf in the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, a senior Pentagon official said. The Pentagon found it “noteworthy” that President Vladimir Putin “believes he needs to rely on foreign fighters to supplement what is a very significant commitment of combat power inside Ukraine as it is,” the official said. [HuffPost]

13. VIDEO: I.A.E.A. Officials Raise Concerns Over Ukrainian Nuclear Facilities (Reuters)

14. McDonald’s temporarily closes 850 restaurants in Russia, nearly 2 weeks after Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine (CNBC)

15. Hundreds of Ships Trapped by Ukraine War, Endangering Sailors and Global Supply Chain (WSJ)

16. “We Watch the News and We’re Crying” (New Yorker)

17. The World Health Organization said that attacks on hospitals, ambulances and other health care facilities in Ukraine have increased rapidly in recent days and warned the country is running short of vital medical supplies. Children with cancer are among patients needing urgent care. (Reuters)

18. As Russia’s Military Stumbles, Its Adversaries Take Note (NYT)

19. The European Commission has prepared a new package of sanctionsagainst Russia and Belarus that will hit additional Russian oligarchs and politicians and three Belarusian banks. (Reuters)

20. Safe passage from cities under attack still elusive (WP)

21. The United Nations said the number of refugees who have fled Ukraine had surged past 2 million, describing the flight as one of the fastest exoduses in modern times. (Reuters)

22. What Democracy’s Advocates Can Learn From Ukrainians (Atlantic)

23. What the war in Syria tells us about Russia's use of humanitarian corridors (NPR)

24. Effort to relieve encircled Ukrainian port put in jeopardy (AP)

25. Ukrainians boarded buses to flee the besieged eastern city of Sumy, the first evacuation from a Ukrainian city through a humanitarian corridor agreed with Russia. (Reuters)

26. Ukraine war highlights internal divides in Mideast nations (AP)

27. NHK World broadcasts unavailable in Russia (NHK)

28. BBC News journalists resume broadcasts from Russia (BBC)

29. Why the Ukraine crisis is so bad for western populists (Financial Times)

30. The Information War Isn’t Over Yet — The online fight between Russia and Ukraine has already surprised propaganda experts. It may only get more chaotic. (Atlantic)

31. Ukraine said a separate convoy of 30 buses was also headed to Mariupol to evacuate residents from that southern port, which has been encircled without food, water, power or heat and subjected to relentless bombardment for a week. (Reuters)

32. Japan sending bullet-proof vests to Ukraine (NHK)

33. Russia’s AI industry faces collapse (Politico)

34. CIA director: Putin is 'angry and frustrated,' likely to 'double-down' (NPR)

35. The Smugglers’ Paradise of Afghanistan — For decades, the smuggling trade — of people, drugs and money — has dominated Nimruz Province. Now, as hundreds of thousands of Afghans try to flee, business has further boomed for those who hold the keys to the gate. (NYT)

36. Researchers Discover How the Human Brain Separates, Stores, and Retrieves Memories (SciTechDaily)

37. WHO says COVID boosters needed, reversing previous call (AP)

38. CDC director expects COVID-19 to become a 'seasonal virus' (Fox)

39. Congress to spend $15B on Covid, less than half of what administration originally wanted (Politico)

40. ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill passes in Florida, goes to governor (AP)

41. Florida legislature passes bill to restrict LGBTQ topics in elementary schools (WP)

42. Florida students participate in massive walkout to protest the 'Don't Say Gay' bill (CNN)

43. Disney employees furious the company won't denounce Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill (NPR)

44. The Idaho House voted 51-14 to approve legislation with the potential to fine librarians $1,000 and send them to jail for a year for checking out material to a minor that could harm them. Opponents say the law is so undefined and subjective as to be unconstitutional. The bill's Republican sponsor refused to answer whether a classic young adult novel by Judy Blume that included masturbation could land a librarian in jail. [AP]

45. VIDEO: Florida Wildfires Burn Thousands of Acres and Force Evacuations (AP)

46. Flood warnings stretched across Australia's east coast and tens of thousands of Sydney residents fled their homes as torrential rains again pummeled the country's largest city, flooding several big suburbs. (Reuters)

47. Farmers’ report warns climate crisis puts Australia’s food supply at increasing risk (Guardian)

48. Islam has a rich tradition around finance. Crypto is prompting new questions. (WP)

49. Biden to issue executive order on cryptocurrency (AP)

50. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio charged with conspiracy in US Capitol attack (CNN)

51. 1st trial in Capitol riot ends with conviction all counts (AP)

52. It seemed like the most dangerous asteroid in a decade, but it definitely won't hit Earth (Space.com)

53. Cellular 'Rejuvenation' Experiment in Mice Reverses Signs of Aging, Scientists Say (ScienceAlert)

54. Aaron Rodgers, Packers agree to four-year deal as QB becomes highest-paid player in NFL history (CBS)

55. Oldest-known octopus relative lived 328 million years ago and had 10 arms (CNN)

56. Nation Could Really Use A Few Days Where It Isn’t Gripped By Something (The Onion)

Afghan Conversation 26

 NOTE: This is the latest in a series of conversations with a friend trapped inside Afghanistan about conditions there since the Taliban takeover last August. I am concealing his identity.

Dear David:

While the rest of the world is occupied with the war in Ukraine, the Taliban is making life difficult for people in Afghanistan. They are discriminating against ethnic minorities, searching the homes of those they susoect are disloyal, and selectively killing people. 

Recently, the Taliban have started searching homes for guns and other weapons. Although it is illegal to own guns in Afghanistan, these searches are clear violations of those individuals' privacy and human rights. 

When the Taliban enter a home, according to news reports, they break furniture, tear up pillows and mattresses and even search through children's bags. 

The Taliban, who are primarily Pashtuns, appear to be seeking to implement a form of ethnic cleansing from government jobs.  A number of friends of mine who are Hazara and who work in government agencies have told me that the Taliban have fired many of their colleagues and appointed their own people to replace them. 

Meanwhile, our local newspapers report three or four targeted killings a week. Hasht-e-Sobh reports two killings in Balkh province two days ago, and two morer in Kabul in the past four days.

Life for most Afghans remains extremely  difficult. Since the Taliban took power, many people have been trying to leave the country. My two brothers have tried to leave Afghanistan several times. One managed to reach Iran but the other was captured and sent back by the Iranian police. 

As for myself, I think of escaping every day. I want to get out of this hell.  That is my greatest wish.

TODAY’s NEWS (90):

1. Russia Pummels Ukrainian Civilian Targets Ahead of Talks — Russian forces conducting airstrikes on cities and military locations in the north and south, disrupting plans to evacuate civilians, Ukrainian officials said (WSJ)

2. Arming Ukraine: 17,000 Anti-Tank Weapons in 6 Days and a Clandestine Cybercorps (NYT)

3. Crisis deepens, Ukraine accuses Moscow of ‘medieval’ tactics (AP)

4. Explosions from military strikes and large plume of smoke seen in Mykolaiv (CNN)

5. Ukraine denounces Moscow's offer for civilians to flee to Russia or Belarus (Reuters)

6. Ukraine denounces proposed evacuation corridors (WP)

7. Ukraine pours scorn on Putin proposal to evacuate citizens to Russia (Financial Times)

8. Putin sends ‘nearly 100 percent’ of Russian forces at border into Ukraine (Politico)

9. Russia set up similar evacuation routes in Syrian civil war (NHK)

10. Chernobyl workers' 12-day ordeal under Russian guard (BBC)

11. Macron: Negotiated end to war weeks away (AP)

12. Strikes on Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv are occurring on a greater scale, US defense official says (CNN)

13. Putin puts world on alert with high-stakes nuclear posturing (Financial Times)

14. Proud Band of Ukrainian Troops Holds Russian Assault at Bay — for Now (NYT)

15. Russian forces launch attacks in Kyiv and Mariupol as civilians try to evacuate (CBS)

16. Russian forces attack airfields as Zelensky pleads for fighter jets (WP)

17. VIDEO: Russian Police Arrest Antiwar Protesters (Reuters)

18. Third round of Ukraine-Russia talks has started, Russian state media reports (CNN)

19. Third round of peace talks ends with no major breakthroughs (Axios)

20. Russia’s onslaught is brutal, but it is not ‘shock and awe’ (Financial Times)

21. Russia spent three decades integrating itself into the global economy. The repercussions of Putin’s invasion of Ukraineare winding the clock back in a matter of weeks. It’s a real-time test of how a nation copes when Western technology, capital and consumer goods are suddenly cut off. (Reuters)

22. Putin’s isolation leaves few world leaders to convince him to reach a peace deal (WP)

23. Turkish FM to meet with Russian, Ukrainian counterparts (NHK)

24. Ukraine's president seeks international trade embargo on Russia (Reuters)

25. More than 1.5 million flee Ukraine, creating Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since WWII (NPR)

26. Dow slides 800 points in global sell-off as Russia-Ukraine war rattles investors (WP)

27. US gasoline prices rise again on talk of banning Russian oil (AP)

28. Russia sticks to demands for Crimea, other territory (WP)

29. Ukraine rejects Russian claims that it is developing nuclear weapon (NHK)

30. Japanese firms are under deepening pressure over their ties to Russia and are scrambling to assess their operations, company and government insiders say, after Western rivals halted businesses and condemned Moscow for invading Ukraine. (Reuters)

31. ‘Falling Into Emptiness’: Ukrainian Families Feel the Pain of Separation (NYT)

32. Hearings began at the International Court of Justice without legal representation for Russia. Moscow boycotted hearings during which Ukraine is seeking an emergency order to halt hostilities, arguing that Russia has falsely applied genocide law in justifying its invasion. (Reuters)

33. Russia sets cease-fire for evacuations but battles continue (AP)

34. Canada sanctions 10 Putin allies from Navalny's list (Politico)

35. Singapore trims Vladimir Putin’s fallback options (Reuters)

36. Ukraine war 'catastrophic for global food' (BBC)

37. Russia reveals harsh demands for ending war as talks begin; Russia recruiting Syrian mercenaries. (USA Today)

38. US accused of hypocrisy for supporting sanctions against Russia but not Israel (Guardian)

39. Russian invasion sends ripples across Asia (NHK)

40. In Ukraine, World War II Memories Echo as Russia Attacks Its Cities (WSJ)

41. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met on Ukraine's border with Poland to discuss Western efforts to support Ukraine and isolate Russia as Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda warned Blinken that a failure to stop Russia’s aggression in Ukraine would lead to a global conflict.(Reuters)

42. Russian oligarchs have donated millions to U.S. charities, museums and universities, analysis shows (WP)

43. A ban on Russian ships could be coming (Politico)

44. Democrats, Republicans reach deal to ban Russian energy imports, suspend normal trade relations (WP)

45. Netflix quits Russia and TikTok won't allow new posts (CNN)

46. Oil Industry Contemplates World Without Russian Crude (WSJ)

47. Western allies’ sanctions against Russia have started to blow back in the form of large potential losses for their own banks, companies and investors, often in unexpected ways. But some market participants say they aren’t seeing panic in the market, at least not yet. (Reuters)

48. U.S. cloud providers pressed to dump Russia (Politico)

49. Boeing’s Big Bet on Russian Titanium Includes Ties to Sanctioned Oligarch (WSJ)

50. China praises ties to Russia, sending aid to Ukraine (The Hill)

51. Putin’s Party Urges Nationalization of Operations of Western Firms Leaving Russia (WSJ)

52. France warned Russia not to resort to blackmail over efforts to revive a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, after Moscow demanded a U.S. guarantee that sanctions it faces over Ukraine would not hurt its trade with Tehran. (Reuters)

53. Putin’s war in Ukraine boosts anti-corruption crusaders (Politico)

54. How Oil Giants’ Bets on Russia, Years in the Making, Crumbled in Days (WSJ)

55. After Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Moldova worries it might be next (WP)

56. Occupied Ukrainian Towns Want Russian Troops to ‘Go Home’ (WSJ)

57. U.S. lawmakers say they are largely opposed to a no-fly zone over Ukraine. (NYT)

58. China's Red Cross will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine "as soon as possible," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, as he praised his country's friendship with Russia as "rock solid". (Reuters)

59. Australian missiles “on the ground” in Ukraine (AP)

60. How the Letter Z Became a Russian Pro-War Symbol (WSJ)

61. K Street was fine taking Russian cash — until it couldn't (Politico)

62. Why don’t we treat all refugees as if they were Ukrainian? — Masses of refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and elsewhere have faced racially motivated hostility in Europe. Now, Ukraine’s refugee crisis is revealing Western double standards. (48 Hills)

63. Levi's halts sales in Russia, evoking Cold War scrambles for blue jeans (NPR)

64. Ukrainian Refugees Say Goodbye to Home and Family Members (Atlantic)

65. Even a mild case of COVID-19 can cause brain changes. It's too soon to know if the damage lasts. (USA Today)

66. VIDEO: Convoy Protesting Covid Mandates Reaches Washington Beltway (Reuters)

67. Global Covid-19 deaths surpass 6 million (CNN)

68. Many parents are angry over COVID policies. They could be key to GOP 2022 gains (NPR)

69. Scientists find 16 'Covid genes' that raise your risk of falling critically ill (Daily Mail)

70. As people are shedding masks, travel is resuming and businesses are reopening around the globe, the official global death toll from COVID-19 has eclipsed 6 million. Death rates are still highest among people unvaccinated against the virus. And despite its wealth and vaccine availability, the United States is nearing 1 million reported deaths on its own. [AP]

71. As COVID spread in federal prisons, many at-risk inmates tried and failed to get out (NPR)

72. Is Covid Over? No, But Global Health Funders Are Moving On (Politico)

73. ‘Aseismic’ creeping part of California fault once hosted huge earthquakes (WP)

74. Gas prices top $4 a gallon nationwide, all-time record could be broken this week (Yahoo News)

75. US crude briefly tops $130 per barrel as oil prices surge to highest since 2008 (WION)

76. Wall Street tumbles after oil prices touch $130 per barrel (AP)

77. U.S. and Venezuelan officials discussed the possibility of easing oil sanctions on Venezuela but made scant progress toward a deal in their first high-level bilateral talks in years, sources familiar with the matter said. (Reuters)

78. Biden administration moves to cut smog-forming pollution from heavy trucks (WP)

79. Of Course Journalists Should Interview Autocrats — Anyone who tells you otherwise does not understand the purpose of journalism. (Atlantic)

80. China wants its new rocket for astronaut launches to be reusable (Space.com)

81. Armed Intruder Prompts Lockdown at Joint Base Andrews as Vice President Lands (NYT)

82. Sandy Hook took place as 'alternative facts' muscled out objective truth (NPR)

83. How far-right militia groups found a foothold in deep-blue California (WP)

84. Tiny laser-propelled spaceships could travel to the far reaches of the solar system and beyond (Space.com)

85. Reasons to be cheerful: optimists live longer, says study (Guardian)

86. Satellite images show the Amazon rainforest is hurtling toward a ‘tipping point’ (WP)

87. Amazon rainforest is losing its ability to recover from destruction (Financial Times)

88. Trial next for 4 accused in Michigan governor kidnap plot (AP)

89. Canada’s wild pigs risk ‘absolute destruction’ if left unchecked (Guardian)

90. Woman On Sidewalk Can’t Even Summon Kernel Of Whimsy Required To Skip Along Hopscotch (The Onion)

LYRICS

“Pick Me Up On Your Way Down”

Song by Martina McBride

Songwriter: Harlan Howard

You were mine for just a while,
Now you're puttin' on the style
And you've never once looked back
At your home across the track.
You're the gossip of the town
But my heart can still be found
Where you tossed it to the ground.
Pick me up on your way down.

Pick me up on your way down,
When you're blue and all alone
When their glamor starts to bore you,
Come on back where you belong.
You may be their pride and joy,
But they'll find another toy
And they'll take away your crown,
Pick me up on your way down.

They have changed your attitude,
Made you haughty and so rude,
Your new friends can take the blame,
Underneath you're still the same.
When you learn these things are true
I'll be waiting here for you,
As you tumble to the ground
Pick me up on your way down.