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Published by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate approved legislation Thursday to require students to participate in high school sports according to the sex that appears on their birth certificate. The Senate backed the measure on a party-line vote of 32-22, with Republicans voting in favor of the bill. Similar bills have been proposed in previous years, but this is the first time such a measure has had a vote by a full chamber. State Sen. Marty Harbin, a Republican, said the bill will create fairness for girls who play sports in Georgia schools. “It is our responsibility as legislators and as adults with common … Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jonathan Allen ST. PAUL, Minn. (Reuters) -Three former Minneapolis police officers were found guilty on Thursday of depriving George Floyd of his rights by failing to give aid to the handcuffed Black man pinned beneath a colleague’s knee. The jury’s verdict against Tou Thao, 36; J. Alexander Kueng, 28; and Thomas Lane, 38, came in a case that hinged on when an officer has a duty to intervene in another’s misconduct. It is a rare instance of police officers being held criminally responsible for a colleague’s excessive force. Federal prosecutors argued in the U.S. District Court in St. Paul that the men knew from their training and from “basic human decency” that they had a duty to help Floyd as he begged for his life before falling limp beneath the knee of the defendants’ former colleague, Derek Chauvin. Floyd’s killing sparked protests in cities around the world against police brutality and racism. Chauvin, who is white, was convicted of Floyd’s murder at a separate state trial last year and sentenced to 22-1/2 years in prison. Although race was not a part of the state or federal charges, Chauvin’s conviction was seen as a landmark rebuke of the disproportionate use of police force against Black Americans. In December, Chauvin pleaded guilty to the federal charge of violating Floyd’s rights during the arrest in a Minneapolis intersection on May 25, 2020. Under Chauvin’s plea agreement, federal prosecutors are expected to ask at an as-yet unscheduled hearing for a 25-year sentence to run concurrently with his state prison sentence. His three former colleagues face years in prison on the federal charges, and are also due to stand trial in Minneapolis in June on state charges of aiding and abetting Floyd’s murder. BYSTANDER VIDEO Widely seen cellphone video showed Chauvin, 45, grinding his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes as horrified onlookers yelled at him to get off. Thao could be seen steps away from Chauvin, telling onlookers to stay on the sidewalk and rebuffing their concerns. Kueng and Lane were to Chauvin’s right, pinning down Floyd’s buttocks and legs. All three testified in their own defense. Each acknowledged they knew they had a duty of care to people in their custody. But they and their lawyers told jurors they did not realize at the time that Floyd was in dire need of medical aid or that Chauvin’s use of force was excessive and so they could not have been acting with deliberate indifference. To rebuff this, prosecutors repeatedly played videos showing Floyd’s distress was plain to bystanders, including children and an off-duty firefighter, who shouted that Floyd was passing out and begging the police to check his pulse. The three defendants all described deferring to the authority of Chauvin, the most senior officer at the scene with 19 years at the Minneapolis Police Department. They said they assumed he must know what he was doing. Kueng and Lane, who first handcuffed Floyd on suspicion of using a fake $20 bill in a nearby store, also noted they were rookies only a few days out of training, which lasted more than a year. Thao had been on the force for eight years. In a closing argument before deliberations began, LeeAnn Bell, a federal prosecutor, said there were no “free passes” under the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees that people not face excessive force or be deprived of medical care when the government takes them into custody. “There’s no pass for, ‘I was a brand-new officer.’ There’s no pass for, ‘It would have been hard or uncomfortable to speak up,'” she said. “Our constitution weighs the risk and our constitution says you must act.” Medical experts have testified that Floyd almost certainly would have survived the arrest if he had been rolled onto his side once the officers restrained him, as the officers acknowledged they had been taught to do. (Reporting by Jonathan Allen in St. Paul, Minn.; Editing by Tim Ahmann, Mark Porter and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) – Florida’s House of Representatives on Thursday approved a Republican-backed bill that would prohibit classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, a measure Democrats denounced as being anti-LGBTQ. The legislation, referred to by its opponents as the “don’t say gay” bill, has stirred national controversy as the debate over what schools should teach children about race and gender has grown increasingly partisan. The Florida bill states that “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” While the language only specifically includes young children in those primary school grades, critics said it could be interpreted to extend to all grade levels depending on what is deemed “age appropriate.” The bill would allow parents to sue school districts in violation. The measure passed 69-47 on Thursday, with mostly Republican support. Ahead of the vote, state Democratic Representative Mike Grieco slammed the bill as an attack on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. “This is an anti-gay bill. And if you vote for this anti-gay bill, after today, you can never ever claim to be an ally of the LGBTQ community. In fact, you are voting to be an opponent,” he told fellow lawmakers. Republican state Representative Tom Fabricio voiced his support for the measure, saying it was necessary to limit what information schools could give to young students. “Little children do not have a fully developed prefrontal cortex. They don’t have that ability to understand things at a certain level,” Fabricio said. A companion bill also is being considered by the state Senate. If passed by both chambers, the legislation would need to receive Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature to become law and take effect in July. DeSantis, a Republican, seemed to signal his support for the bills formally titled “Parental Rights in Education” at a public event earlier this month. “Injecting these concepts about choosing your gender…that is just inappropriate for our schools,” he told reporters. The governor’s office did not immediately return a request for comment. (Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Reuters NEW YORK (Reuters) -Two prosecutors who had been leading the Manhattan district attorney’s criminal probe into former U.S. President Donald Trump and his business practices have resigned, the district attorney’s office said on Wednesday. The departures of Special Counsel Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz came less than two months after District Attorney Alvin Bragg assumed office, taking over a probe into Trump and his family business, the Trump Organization. “We are grateful for their service,” said Danielle Filson, a spokeswoman for Bragg, referring to Dunne and Pomerantz. She added that the investigation was ongoing. Bragg had indicated to the pair that he had doubts about pursuing a case against Trump, the New York Times said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Dunne and Pomerantz could not immediately be reached for comment. Pomerantz had been brought in from an outside law firm to work on the probe. Ron Fischetti, a lawyer for Trump, called the departures a sign that Bragg would not bring criminal charges against the former president, though nothing was official. “In my mind the case is over,” Fischetti said. “There’s no question in my mind that they did it because there wasn’t a case that they could prove, and there was no purpose in them staying there any longer.” Neither the Trump Organization nor its lawyer Alan Futerfas immediately responded to requests for comment. The resignations come as New York Attorney General Letitia James ramps up her civil probe into Trump and his namesake company. Last week, a state judge directed the former president and two of his adult children, Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, to answer questions in that probe under oath in depositions. The Trump family will appeal that ruling, Fischetti said. James joined Bragg’s criminal probe last May. Trump, a Republican, has previously denied wrongdoing and said the state and city investigations were politically motivated. James and Bragg are Democrats, as is Bragg’s predecessor Cyrus Vance, who began the criminal probe and did not seek reelection. In a statement referring to that probe, a James spokeswoman said: “The investigation is ongoing and there is a robust team in place that is working on it.” Both probes focus on whether Trump misrepresented the value of his real estate properties. Investigators are looking into whether values were inflated to obtain bank loans and reduced to lower tax bills. The criminal probe resulted last July in tax fraud charges against the Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. In what Dunne called at the time a “sweeping and audacious illegal payments scheme,” Weisselberg allegedly received millions in “off the books” payments from the company that were not disclosed to tax authorities. Weisselberg pleaded not guilty, as did the company. Both are seeking dismissals. Fischetti described the accusations against Weisselberg as “minimal charges.” A new grand jury was convened in September to examine how the Trump Organization valued its assets. Fischetti said that grand jury’s term would expire in April. Donald Trump faces multiple criminal and civil probes, including in Georgia where a prosecutor won permission to convene a grand jury to look into the then-president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results there. Dunne, Vance’s former general counsel, led the office’s successful push to obtain Trump’s tax returns. Pomerantz, a former federal prosecutor, had been on leave from the law firm Paul Weiss while working on the Trump probe. Trump is also among those being investigated by a U.S. House of Representatives select committee looking into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. (Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting and writing by Luc CohenEditing by Jonathan Oatis and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Tyler Clifford NEW YORK (Reuters) -The former head of one of New York City’s police unions was charged with fraud, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, saying that he schemed to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the union. Ed Mullins, who was first elected president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) in 2002, surrendered to authorities in New York and appeared before a judge at the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Prosecutors charged him with one count of wire fraud, alleging that his scheme covered a period from 2017 until his resignation as union chief in October 2021 in the face of a federal probe into the labor organization he led, according to a news release. He later left the force. Mullins used a personal credit card to dine at expensive restaurants and shop at luxury stores. He sought to be reimbursed by the SBA for more than $1 million in expenses, much of which was fraudulent, prosecutors say. Mullins “abused his position of trust and authority to fund a lavish lifestyle that was paid for by the monthly dues of the thousands of hard-working sergeants of the NYPD,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. A lawyer for Mullins, Marc Mukasey, declined to comment on the matter. The union could not be reached immediately for comment after the Justice Department statement. The SBA represents 12,000 current and retired members of the largest U.S. police force, according to its Facebook profile. His resignation was applauded at the time by former New York Mayor de Blasio. The union chief frequently used the SBA’s Twitter account to air grievances with the mayor and his administration. Mullins often accused de Blasio of being soft on crime and turning his back on the NYPD. (Reporting by Tyler Clifford; Editing by Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Joseph Ax (Reuters) -Courts in North Carolina and Pennsylvania on Wednesday approved new congressional districts that could bolster Democrats’ chances of holding onto the U.S. House of Representatives in November, after Republican efforts to install more advantageous maps for their party failed in both states. A panel of North Carolina judges rejected the latest map produced by the Republican-controlled General Assembly, ruling that it did not meet the standards of partisan fairness that the state’s Supreme Court set earlier this month. Instead, the judges adopted a map drawn by several court-appointed experts. The new map includes seven likely Republican districts, six likely Democratic districts and one competitive seat, Dave Wasserman, a redistricting analyst at Cook Political Report, said on Twitter. The state Supreme Court had previously tossed out an initial Republican-backed plan as unconstitutionally partisan, finding that Republicans would win a strong majority of the state’s 14 seats under almost any circumstance. The Republican speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Tim Moore, said he would immediately appeal the “egregious” ruling. In Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court accepted a map backed by Democrats, weeks after Democratic Governor Tom Wolf vetoed a plan that was passed by the majority-Republican state legislature. The map approved on Wednesday largely eschews major changes, while eliminating one Republican-held district due to the state’s slower population growth. Republicans and Democrats currently hold nine seats each. Both decisions drew immediate criticism from Republicans that the state Supreme Courts – both majority Democratic – acted out of partisan interest rather than judicial impartiality. “These are nothing but partisan rubber-stamps today,” said former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the co-chair of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, which coordinates Republican mapping efforts nationwide. Democrats, by contrast, said the rulings ensured fair maps and protected voters’ rights. “This is a substantial win for Pennsylvanians who now get to vote for the candidate of their choosing in fair, lawful districts for the next decade,” Eric Holder, the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said in a statement after the Pennsylvania decision. Republicans need to flip only a handful of seats in November’s midterm elections to recapture control of the U.S. House and stymie much of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. States must redraw their congressional maps every 10 years under federal law to account for population shifts. In most cases, lawmakers control redistricting, leading to partisan gerrymandering, the process by which one party manipulates district lines to increase its power. With more than three dozen states having completed new maps, neither Republicans nor Democrats have gained a significant advantage. Republican gerrymanders in states such as Texas, Tennessee and Georgia have been countered by Democratic ones in Maryland, Illinois and New York. Instead, the biggest change has been the elimination of competitive districts, a shift that is likely to increase polarization and lead to more ideologically extreme candidates, electoral experts say. (Reporting by Joseph Ax;Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by AFP Users on Donald Trump's new social media network are fixated on some of the ex-president's favorite subjects Washington (AFP) – US President Joe Biden in Taliban fighter garb or stumbling over his words or bungling efforts to avert war in Ukraine –- posts on Donald Trump’s new social media network “Truth Social” have a go-to target. For the users who make it past the waitlist to join and then the ubiquitous tech glitches on the freshly launched app, a first scan reveals that the platform calling itself a “big tent” of ideas has a tight focus on Trump’s favorite fixations. “Truth Social is like one big 2016 Trump rally. Come on over,” Arizona state Senator Wendy Rogers appealed on Twitter, with a picture of her Truth profile. “I am dropping Truth bombs.” After Facebook, Twitter and YouTube barred Trump last year, he is seeking a new direct-to-voter megaphone ahead of a key legislative election this year –- and what his backers hope will be another run for the White House in 2024. The tech giants booted Trump following his supporters’ deadly assault on the US Capitol and accusations he had used the platforms to incite the violent bid to overturn his 2020 election loss. Before being banned, the ex-reality TV star had gained an audience of some 89 million followers on Twitter and used the massive platform to lead, attack and speak his mind. Two days after going live on Apple’s App Store, the waitlist to join Truth had grown to some half-a-million would-be users by Wednesday -– a rapid increase that nonetheless represents a fraction of his defunct Twitter account. ‘Not safe for work’ Still, the internet infrastructure company RightForge, which is hosting Trump’s venture, says it expects the network to eventually grow to more than 75 million users. Users scrolling through the Twitter and Instagram-inspired interface could see a large number of “truths,” as posts on the platform are called, focusing heavily on the former president’s favorite topics. There were broadsides on the “fake news” mainstream media, though in this case it was for their decision to not relay false claims about the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. Among the Biden rebukes was a meme showing the president in a turban and holding a rocket-propelled grenade launcher on his shoulder with a caption of “Making the Taliban great again!”, echoing Trump’s attacks after the end of America’s longest war. Messages and user names also repeatedly incorporated the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon” — a coded insult against Biden that has become a rallying cry for Trump’s supporters. “Truth Social allows the posting of ‘not safe for work’ and ‘trolling’ content,” the platform says in its community guidelines. A few of the platform’s features however would be welcomed by some social media critics, including Truth’s minimum user age of 18 and a chronological content feed. A 13-year-old age limit at most platforms has been attacked for treating children like adults, and the black box algorithms on services like Facebook have been accused of stoking hate, division and violence in the name of keeping users online. ‘Free thinking’ vs ‘family friendly’ In presenting itself as a “big tent” forum “for free thinking and the ability to share ideas freely”, Truth aligns with right-wing accusations that social media has been inhospitable to conservative points of view. However, Truth’s terms of service say user contributions must not be “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, violent, harassing, libelous, slanderous, or otherwise objectionable”. Twitter, one of the platforms that conservatives accuse of being unfair, takes aim at harmful misinformation notably in specific contexts like Covid-19 hoaxes or misleading information that could influence an election. “We want to be very family-friendly,” Trump Media & Technology Group CEO and ex-congressman Devin Nunes told Fox Business in an interview aired in January. The finer points of the moderation system and its potential capacity to enforce strict limits remain unclear, but Nunes noted the company is working with Hive, a startup that provides automated content moderation. Trump himself was repeatedly accused of making false or misleading statements online, so his future posts could offer some complex test cases for the platform. Yet in an indication of the challenges of using the app so far, an AFP journalist’s Truth account was not able to access Trump’s page and TMTG did not reply to a query about its status. Donald Trump Jr. though has said his father is already online, tweeting an image of the elder Trump’s first “truth”: “Get ready! Your favorite president will see you soon!” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Emma Farge GENEVA (Reuters) – Negotiations on new rules for dealing with pandemics will begin at the World Health Organization on Thursday, with a target date of May 2024 for a treaty to be adopted by the U.N. health agency’s 194 member countries. A new pact is among more than 200 recommendations for shoring up the world’s defences against new pathogens made by various reviewers following the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 6.2 million people in two years. The WHO itself is facing calls for reform after an independent panel described it as “underpowered” when COVID-19 struck, with limited powers to investigate outbreaks and coordinate containment measures. A Washington-led effort to build a global pandemic prevention fund hosted by the World Bank is among initiatives that could determine the future of the 74-year old body. WHAT IS THE PANDEMIC TREATY? The WHO already has binding rules known as the International Health Regulations (2005) which set out countries’ obligations where public health events have the potential to cross borders. These include advising the WHO immediately of a health emergency and measures on trade and travel. Adopted after the 2002/3 SARS outbreak, these regulations are still seen as functional for regional epidemics like Ebola but inadequate for a global pandemic. Suggested proposals for the pact include the sharing of data and genome sequences of emerging viruses and rules on equitable vaccine distribution. The European Union is pushing for a ban on wildlife markets and incentives for reporting of new viruses or variants, an EU official told Reuters. Member states have an August deadline to decide on an initial version of the pact, which is backed by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He is likely to be elected unopposed for a second term in May. It would be only the second such health accord after the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a legally-binding treaty which aims to reduce smoking via taxation and rules on labelling and advertising. HOW DO COUNTRIES VIEW THE PACT? The EU proposed the treaty and is its biggest backer, with support from Britain, Indonesia, Kenya and others. The United States will take part in the talks but has opposed a binding treaty. India and Brazil have also voiced reservations. With so many member countries involved, securing agreement is likely to be tricky. HOW WOULD IT WORK? Because its legal nature remains to be defined, in WHO jargon the pact is an “instrument”, of which there are three types — recommendations, regulations and conventions. Of those, regulations are automatically legally binding for members unless they explicitly object. It is not yet clear how the 2005 regulations and the new pandemic treaty might fit together. One suggestion is that they should be complementary, so that existing rules apply to local outbreaks with the treaty response only kicking in if the WHO declares a pandemic — something it does not currently have a mandate to do. It remains to be determined whether negotiators will include compliance measures such as sanctions. WHAT OTHER REFORMS ARE IN THE WORKS? Separate talks on a U.S. initiative to overhaul the 2005 rules are taking place this week. Washington’s proposals aim to boost transparency and grant the WHO quicker access to outbreak sites. Several diplomats said they are likely to prove too ambitious, with opposition from China and others expected on national sovereignty grounds. China did allow WHO-led expert teams to visit the COVID-19 epicentre in Wuhan, but the WHO says it is still withholding clinical data from early cases that may hold clues about the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Reforms to the WHO funding structure to make it more sustainable and flexible in the event of a pandemic are being discussed by WHO member states in another working group. So far the United States, which until the pandemic was the WHO’s top donor, has opposed plans to increase member countries’ annual contributions. (Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Stephanie Nebehay and Catherine Evans) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) -The trial of a white former Kentucky police officer charged with wanton endangerment during the 2020 shooting death of Breonna Taylor began on Wednesday, casting a spotlight on another case in the United States that sparked a summer of protests against racial injustice two years ago. Detective Brett Hankison, 45, whose stray bullets hit a neighboring apartment in the city of Louisville during a botched execution of a search warrant in March 2020, was the only officer charged in the case. Kentucky Assistant Attorney General Barbara Whaley reminded the jury in her opening argument on Wednesday that the case was not about Taylor. Rather, she said it concerned whether Hankison exhibited “extreme indifference to human life” when firing the bullets that endangered Taylor’s neighbors, shattered their glass patio door, and caused drywall to fall on one of them, Cody Etherton. Etherton testified on Wednesday that he awoke that March night to a boom, then heard several shots and felt debris falling on him after he left his room. When his glass patio door shattered, Etherton said he went to check it out, whereupon officers pointed guns at him and told him to put his hands out through the broken glass. “It was just reckless,” he said. “There’s not going to be any dispute about the evidence,” said Hankison’s attorney, Stew Mathews, in his opening argument. “The issue is, what was the reasoning behind his firing those shots?” The death of Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician who was unarmed, along with the killings of two Black men – George Floyd in Minneapolis and Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia – captured international attention and sparked weeks of protests over police violence against Blacks and other minority groups. Calls to ban no-knock warrants also intensified after the death of Taylor, who was not the subject of the search warrant. Hankison’s trial in Jefferson County Circuit Court has failed to satisfy activists who believe police got off too easily after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the lead investigator, said police were justified in using deadly force. The charge against Hankison, who pleaded not guilty, is a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Jury selection began on Feb. 3. A grand jury cleared the two white officers who actually shot Taylor but found reason to charge Hankison for endangering neighbors in the adjacent apartment. When police burst into Taylor’s home while serving a search warrant, her boyfriend Kenneth Walker, who was with her, fired one round from a 9 mm handgun that he was licensed to carry, wounding one officer in the leg. Police responded by firing 32 rounds, hitting Taylor six times. Hankison fired 10 of those shots from outside the apartment and through a sliding glass patio door that had the blinds drawn. Some of his shots pierced the wall and entered the next-door home occupied by a child, a pregnant woman and a man. Hankison told a grand jury he opened fire once the shooting started. As he saw flashes light up the room, he said he mistakenly believed one of the occupants was holding an AR-15 or other long gun as his colleagues came under assault. “I thought they were just being executed,” Hankison said of his fellow officers. Instead, mostly what he heard was other police firing their weapons. Police Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly, who was wounded by Walker’s single shot, fired six times and Detective Myles Cosgrove fired 16 shots, the investigation found. Police wanted to search the home in connection with a drug investigation in which Taylor’s ex-boyfriend was a suspect. Taylor’s family won a $12 million wrongful death settlement from the city of Louisville. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Additional reporting by Julia Harte; Editing by Mark Porter and Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Matthias Williams KYIV (Reuters) – Volodymyr Zelenskiy swept to power three years ago promising to end a war with Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. He now faces a Russian invasion that could result in the overthrow of his government and the end of Ukrainian democracy. As Russia rained missiles down on Ukrainian cities including Kyiv on Thursday, Zelenskiy appealed to all citizens to defend Ukraine, saying weapons would be given to all who wanted them. “Russia treacherously attacked our state this morning, as Nazi Germany did during World War Two, ” Zelenskiy told Ukrainians in a national address. “Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won’t give up its freedom, no matter what Moscow thinks.” It is a disastrous outcome for Zelenskiy, a 44-year-old former comic actor whose increasingly insistent calls over the past two years for NATO to admit Ukraine, an ex-Soviet republic, have infuriated Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow had demanded that NATO promise never to take in Ukraine, a country of huge geopolitical, historic and cultural importance to Russia, a demand rebuffed by the West. Putin on Monday rejected Ukraine’s right to exist as an independent state, saying it is effectively part of Russia. In recent weeks, Zelenskiy has drawn praise from Western leaders for his composure and his appeals to Ukrainians not to panic as Russia massed up to 150,000 troops near the border. He also criticised foreign embassies and Ukrainian businessmen for leaving Ukraine for security reasons, and renewed his call for companies to stay put, saying they risked inadvertently helping Putin’s efforts to destabilise Ukraine. SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE But Zelenskiy is an unlikely wartime leader. He shot to fame in a popular television series “Servant of the People” in which he played an honest school teacher who is elected president and outwits crooked lawmakers and shadowy businessmen. Winning the presidency by a landslide in April 2019, he pledged to tackle the corruption that has blighted Ukraine’s transition from communism to democracy. But Russia has always posed the biggest challenge to his aspirations to build a modern, democratic and stable European country. His Servant of the People party – named after the TV series – won a big majority in a July 2019 parliamentary election and Zelenskiy initially pursued confidence-building measures with Russia in eastern Ukraine, including prisoner exchanges. But that minor thaw did not last long. Russia, which in 2014 seized Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, continued to back armed separatists battling Kyiv’s forces in the mainly Russian-speaking Donbass region of eastern Ukraine in a conflict that Zelenskiy says has claimed at least 15,000 lives to date. Risking Moscow’s ire, Zelenskiy courted Western leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden at talks in the White House on Sept. 1, 2021. “Everyone should understand…that we are at war, that we are defending democracy in Europe and defending our country, and therefore you cannot just talk to us with phrases about reforms,” Zelenskiy said a June 2021 interview. “Every day we prove that we are ready to be in the (NATO) alliance more than most of the countries of the European Union.” ‘A NEW FACE’ Zelenskiy rode a wave of public discontent with Ukraine’s corrupt political elite to victory over wealthy businessman Petro Poroshenko in 2019. Asked by Reuters ahead of that election how he differed from other presidential hopefuls, Zelenskiy pointed to his face, saying: “This is a new face. I have never been in politics.” “I have not deceived people. They identify with me because I am open, I get hurt, I get angry, I get upset… If I’m inexperienced in something, I’m inexperienced. If I don’t know something, I honestly admit it.” But despite his promises to curb the influence of tycoons in politics, Zelenskiy has had to fend off suspicion that he is a puppet of Ihor Kolomoisky, an oligarch whose TV channel aired “Servant of the People”. Zelenskiy was also drawn unwittingly into U.S. politics after a phone call in which then-President Donald Trump tried to get him to investigate his Democratic rival Biden over business deals in Ukraine. The Democrat-led U.S. House of Representatives impeached Trump after an inquiry concluded he had withheld military aid from Ukraine in order to influence Kyiv. Trump denied wrongdoing and the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate later acquitted him. (Reporting by Kyiv bureau, Writing by Gareth Jones, Editing by Angus MacSwan) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Lawrence Hurley and Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s climate-related agenda, already under threat due to congressional failure to pass key legislation, now faces the prospect of a hostile reception at the U.S. Supreme Court that could have lasting consequences on the use of federal power to tackle environmental issues. The court’s 6-3 conservative majority, suspicious of broad federal agency power, will weigh at oral arguments next Monday the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal- and gas-fired power plants under the landmark Clean Air Act. An eventual ruling restricting EPA authority could hobble the administration’s ability to curb the power sector’s emissions – representing about a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gases. “Could it be damaging? If it’s an adverse decision, of course it could be,” John Kerry, the Biden administration’s special envoy on climate change, told Reuters. The United States, trailing only China in greenhouse gas emissions, is a crucial player in global efforts to combat climate change. The case before the Supreme Court was brought by Republican-led states led by coal producer West Virginia. Other challengers include coal companies and coal-friendly industry groups. Coal is among the most greenhouse gas-intensive fuels. Democratic-led states and major power companies https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/us-utilities-side-with-environment-agency-supreme-court-climate-case-2022-01-27 including Consolidated Edison Inc, Exelon Corp and PG&E Corp sided with Biden’s administration, as did the Edison Electric Institute, an investor-owned utility trade group. The utility industry believes regulatory certainty will help companies devise investment plans. The justices will review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s 2021 ruling striking down Republican former President Donald Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy rule. That regulation would have imposed limits on a Clean Air Act provision called Section 111 that gives the EPA authority to regulate emissions from existing power plants. The rule proposed by Trump, a supporter of the U.S. coal industry who also questioned climate change science, was meant to replace Democratic former President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan requiring big cuts in carbon emissions from the power industry. The Supreme Court blocked implementation https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-carbon/supreme-court-blocks-obama-carbon-emissions-plan-idUSKCN0VI2A0 of the Clean Power Plan in 2016 without ruling on its lawfulness. Coal-aligned groups now want the justices to rule that Biden’s administration cannot take a sweeping approach to regulating carbon emissions under Section 111. Such a decision would prevent the EPA from enforcing industry-wide changes, confining it to measures targeting individual plants. That would be a huge blow for Biden’s administration, which has a goal of decarbonizing the U.S. power sector by 2035. The White House’s incentive-base proposal to achieve that goal was rejected in Congress during budget and infrastructure legislation negotiations. INDIRECT CURBS? The Supreme Court already has shown hostility to broad agency actions, most recently on Jan. 13 by blocking Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine-or-test mandate https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-supreme-court-blocks-biden-vaccine-or-test-policy-large-businesses-2022-01-13 for large employers. The court said congressional authorization was required for any policy imposing “a significant encroachment on the lives – and health – of a vast number of employees.” The court previously has cited what is called the “major questions” doctrine in blocking other government actions, including a 2014 ruling limiting an earlier EPA regulation aimed at reducing carbon emissions from new plants. The challengers in the latest case are making similar arguments that Congress did not explicitly empower the EPA to issue sweeping regulations under Section 111. “Major policy choices affecting the national economy should not be made by unelected agency officials,” lawyers for the North American Coal Corporation, one of the challengers, wrote in court papers. The court could stop short of a “serious check” on the power of the EPA and other federal agencies while reaching “a more technical result that says something along the lines of ‘you can’t do ambitious climate policy under Section 111,'” said University of South Carolina law professor Nathan Richardson. The justices also could dismiss the appeal altogether if they conclude the challengers lack proper legal standing considering there is no regulation currently on the books. If Biden’s administration loses the case, Congress would need to pass new legislation for the government to impose sweeping climate-related regulations – an unlikely prospect in the near-term given the deep divisions among lawmakers. Climate experts have said the EPA meanwhile could attempt to regulate carbon emissions from power plants indirectly by ramping up efforts to curb other air pollutants like soot that tend to rise and fall with carbon dioxide, or by requiring efficiency upgrades. Biden’s administration also could seek action from other agencies and departments like fast-tracking electric transmission projects that could connect far-flung solar and wind farms to consumers. “A number of different agencies have pieces of the decarbonization puzzle,” said Kyle Danish, a lawyer who represents companies on environmental issues. Such efforts on their own are insufficient to reach the administration’s emission-reduction targets, which is why broad EPA authority to regulate power plants remains important, said David Doniger, a lawyer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the environmental groups that challenged Trump’s rule. “The target that they set is not going to be achieved by a silver bullet,” Doniger said. “It’s going to be a lot of silver buckshot.” (This story corrects date of arguments, Monday instead of Tuesday) (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Valerie Volcovici in Washington; Additional reporting by Aidan Lewis in Cairo; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) – Medication abortion accounted for more than half of all abortions in the United States as of 2020, a new survey found, a significant increase from prior years as the pills became more widely available and surgical abortions harder to obtain. Fifty-four percent of abortions administered in 2020 involved the two-pill method as opposed to a surgical procedure, according to a survey published on Thursday by the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy research group. The data showed a jump from 2017, when Guttmacher found that 39% of abortions were done by medication. The research group collects data from U.S. abortion providers every three years. Abortion rights advocates consider medication abortion essential to the future of abortion access in the United States, allowing women who live far from clinics to end their pregnancies without significant travel and financial hurdles. The U.S. Supreme Court could overhaul abortion rights as soon as this spring, when it is expected to rule on a Mississippi law that bans abortion at 15 weeks. The court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has signaled its willingness to let that ban stand. Such a ruling would undercut the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that established the right to end pregnancy before the fetus is viable, at around 24 weeks. If Roe is overturned, some two dozen states would move quickly to ban abortion. “Particularly if patients are living in states where abortion is banned, patients may be able to access medication abortion through the internet,” said Elizabeth Nash, a state policy expert at Guttmacher. “For many people, it may be easier to access abortion care through the internet rather than travel hundreds of miles to get to a facility.” Abortion opponents see limiting access to the pills as a new front in their fight to end abortion. So far this year, at least 16 state legislatures have introduced bills that would restrict the administration of abortion pills or ban their use altogether, according to Guttmacher. The use of medication to terminate a pregnancy up to 10 weeks was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000. The method involves two drugs, taken over a day or two. The first, mifepristone, blocks the pregnancy-sustaining hormone progesterone. The second, misoprostol, induces uterine contractions. For years, the FDA restricted the use of medication abortion with measures like requiring mifepristone to be dispensed in person, rather than allowing it to be prescribed remotely and sent by mail. The FDA eased its restrictions in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic posed a barrier to in-person healthcare. The agency then permanently relaxed its prior restrictions on the pill in December 2021, allowing the drug to be prescribed by certified providers via telemedicine and sent by mail. However, laws in some states further limit the accessibility of medication abortion. In 19 states, the physician prescribing the pills must be present for their administration, meaning telemedicine is not allowed. (Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Richard Pullin) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Rosie O’Donnell has become a grandmother for the third time. The 59-year-old comic “loves” being a “nana” so is delighted that her daughter Chelsea and boyfriend Jacob Bourassa, welcomed daughter Avery Lynn – a sibling for Skylar and Riley – into the world on Wednesday (23.02.22). She said in a video shared to TikTok: “Okay, big news. Congratulations to my daughter, Chelsea, who had her third daughter this morning. Three girls under three, oh my gosh! “The baby’s name is Avery Lynn. And Chelsea and Jake and Skylar and Riley and baby Avery are all doing fine. Just call me ‘Nana 3’ – three grandkids. I’m a nana. I love it.(sic)” Rosie – who adopted 24-year-old Chelsea with her former partner Kelli Carpenter-O’Donnell – also shared a photo of the new arrival on Instagram. She captioned the picture: “avery lynn – look! we have the same tummy #grandbabies.(sic)” Rosie previously opened up about how “beautiful” becoming a grandparent had been. Speaking in 2019 after Skylar, her first grandchild, was born, she said: “It was something really beautiful. It’s very trite, but it’s what everyone says — when you’re a grandparent, it’s like [having] a baby times a million. And that’s what it felt like.” Rosie and Chelsea were previously estranged but their relationship has grown much stronger in recent years. Rosie previously reflected: “I think with my relationship with my daughter, Chelsea, it really has because we went through some really public troubled times. “She’s doing better now and we’re both communicating with each other. “When somebody does something unforgivable to you and you can forgive them and they can forgive you, there’s a kind of grace that descends upon the both of you, within that.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Karin Strohecker (Reuters) – The United States and its allies have vowed to hit Russia with harsh sanctions after Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday in a massed assault by land, sea and air – the biggest by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. Western capitals introduced an initial round of sanctions after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine on Monday. U.S. President Joe Biden said Washington and its allies will announce “severe sanctions” with further measures later on Thursday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to outline a new package of measures to parliament at 1700 GMT. The European Union, also set to announce fresh curbs later in the day, said the sanctions package will hit Russia’s economy severely, increase capital outflow, raise inflation and gradually erode the country’s industrial base. South Korea, Norway and other countries have also pledged to join measures. Below are details on the curbs proposed so far and what other sanctions could target Russia: BANKS & FINANCIAL FIRMS Britain has already announced sanctions on five banks – Bank Rossiya, Black Sea Bank, Genbank, IS Bank and Promsvyazbank. All are smaller lenders, with only Promsvyazbank on the central bank’s list of systematically important lenders. President Biden has already announced sanctions on VEB bank and Russia’s military bank, referring to Promsvyazbank, which does defence deals. The U.S. Treasury Department said: “All assets under U.S. jurisdiction will be immediately frozen and U.S. individuals and entities are prohibited from doing business.” A senior U.S. administration official added that Sberbank, and VTB Bank would face sanctions if the Russian invasion proceeds. Bank Rossiya is already under U.S. sanctions from 2014 for its close ties to Kremlin officials. The European Union has agreed to blacklist banks involved in financing separatist activities in eastern Ukraine. Russia’s large banks are deeply integrated into the global financial system, meaning sanctions could be felt far beyond its borders. Data from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) shows European lenders hold the lion’s share of the nearly $30 billion in foreign banks’ exposure to Russia. According to data from Russia’s central bank, total Russian banking foreign assets and liabilities stood at $200.6 billion and $134.5 billion respectively with the U.S. dollar share amounting to around 53% of both, down from 76%-81% two decades ago. SOVEREIGN DEBT & CAPITAL MARKETS The coming package of measures from the EU will “target the ability of the Russian state and government to access the EU’s capital and financial markets and services, to limit the financing of escalatory and aggressive policies,” the bloc said. It will ban EU investors from trading in Russian state bonds. Washington announced fresh restrictions on dealings in Russia sovereign debt this week. Americans, who were already barred from investing in Russian sovereign debt directly, will be banned from purchasing it in the secondary market after March 1. Britain threatened last week to block Russian companies from raising capital in London, Europe’s financial centre for such transactions, though stopped short of doing so in its announcements on Tuesday. Even before the latest events, access to Russian bonds had become increasingly restricted. U.S. sanctions imposed in 2015 made future Russian dollar debt ineligible for many investors and key indexes. In April 2021, Biden barred U.S. investors from buying new Russian rouble bonds over accusations of Russian meddling in the U.S. election. The curbs have cut Russia’s external debt by 33% since early 2014 – from $733 billion to $489 billion in the third quarter of 2021. Lower debt improves a country’s balance sheet on the surface, but deprives it of financing sources that could contribute to economic growth and development. INDIVIDUALS The United States, the EU and Britain have already imposed asset freezes, travel bans and other curbs on a number of Russian individuals. The EU on Monday imposed sanctions on five people who were involved in a Russian parliamentary election in annexed Crimea in September 2021. On Tuesday, the bloc said it would blacklist all lawmakers in the lower house of the Russian parliament who voted in favour of the recognition of the breakaway regions, freeze any assets they have in the EU and ban them from travelling to the bloc. Meanwhile Britain has imposed sanctions on three men, Gennady Timchenko and billionaires Igor and Boris Rotenberg – all of whom are allies of President Vladimir Putin from St. Petersburg whose personal fortunes grew precipitously following Putin’s rise to the presidency. All three men are already sanctioned by the United States. The United States also imposed sanctions on Tuesday on Russian elites close to Putin, including Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the Federal Security Service, Russia’s powerful domestic security and counterintelligence service. His son, Denis Bortnikov, the deputy president of Russian-state owned financial institution VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company and a chairman of the bank’s management company, was also targeted in Tuesday’s move. Also designated was Putin’s first deputy chief of staff and former Russian Prime Minister, Sergei Kiriyenko. He was previously targeted by the United States, EU and Britain in response to the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. His son, Vladimir Kiriyenko, was also designated on Tuesday. The chairman and chief executive of Promsvyazbank was also targeted. The Treasury accused Petr Fradkov of working to transform the bank into one that serves the defence industry. The United States has used the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) tool – which effectively kicks individuals and companies out of the U.S. banking system, bans their trade with Americans and freezes their U.S. assets – in the past to sanction oligarchs. However, it has become more cautious in recent years after 2018 sanctions on the owner of Rusal saw aluminium prices skyrocket and forced Washington to backtrack. A bill unveiled by U.S. Senate Democrats in January aimed for sweeping sanctions against top Russian government and military officials, including Putin, and President Biden has said he would be ready to consider personal sanctions on the Russian president. Moscow has said any move to impose sanctions on Putin himself would not harm him personally but would prove “politically destructive”. ENERGY CORPORATES & NORD STREAM 2 The United States and the EU already have sanctions in place on Russia’s energy and defence sectors, with state-owned gas company Gazprom, its oil arm Gazpromneft and oil producers Lukoil, Rosneft and Surgutneftegaz facing various types of curbs on exports/imports and debt-raising. Sanctions could be widened and deepened, with one possible option being to prevent companies settling in U.S. dollars. Nord Stream 2, a recently completed pipeline from Russia to Germany, was awaiting regulatory approval by EU and German authorities before Berlin put its certification on ice. The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on the company in charge of building Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. CURBING CHIPS The EU has vowed to introduce measures to crimp Russia’s technological position in key areas – from high-tech components to cutting-edge software. The White House has told the U.S. chip industry to be ready for new restrictions on exports to Russia if Moscow attacks Ukraine, including potentially blocking Russia’s access to global electronics supplies. Similar measures were deployed during the Cold War, when sanctions kept the Soviet Union technologically backward and crimped economic growth. SWITCHING OFF SWIFT One of the harshest measures would be to disconnect the Russian financial system from SWIFT, which handles international financial transfers and is used by more than 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries. A senior U.S. official said they are not taking SWIFT sanctions off the table. In 2012, SWIFT disconnected Iranian banks as international sanctions tightened against Tehran over its nuclear programme. Iran lost half its oil export revenue and 30% of its foreign trade, the Carnegie Moscow Center think tank said. Among Western countries, the United States and Germany would stand to lose the most from such a move, as their banks are the most frequent SWIFT users with Russian banks, said Maria Shagina at the Carnegie Moscow Center. Calls to cut Russia’s SWIFT access were mooted in 2014 when Moscow annexed Crimea, prompting Moscow to develop an alternative messaging system, SPFS. The number of messages sent via SPFS was about one-fifth of Russian internal traffic in 2020, according to the central bank, which aims to increase this to 30% in 2023. However, SPFS has struggled to establish itself in international transactions. (Reporting by Karin Strohecker and Catherine Belton in London, Katya Golubkova and Andrey Ostroukh in Moscow; Editing by Jason Neely, Mark Potter, Lisa Shumaker and Andrew Heavens) View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the Ukraine crisis right now: HEADLINES * Ukrainian forces battled Russian invaders around nearly the whole perimeter of the country after Moscow mounted a massed assault by land, sea and air in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. * Missiles rained down on Ukrainian targets. Kyiv reported troops pouring across the borders with Russia and Belarus from the north and east, and landing on the coasts from the Black Sea in the southwest and Azov Sea in the southeast. * Russian President Vladimir Putin said his aim was to demilitarise and “denazify” Ukraine. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine was listening to the sound of a new iron curtain falling as Russian troops advanced across his country, and he warned that other European countries may be next. * U.S. President Joe Biden met his Group of Seven counterparts virtually to map out more severe measures against Russia. * Biden will speak on Ukraine at 12:30pm Eastern Time/1730 GMT. * NATO put warplanes on alert. It will reinforce troops on its eastern flank but has no plans to deploy any in Ukraine, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. * European Union leaders will agree a second package of sanctions on Russia on Thursday evening, a senior official said. * Russia would respond with “tit-for-tat” measures, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said. * European countries began preparing to receive people fleeing Ukraine. * A mood of defiance gripped Kyiv, though the city echoed to the sound of gunfire, sirens and explosions. The mayor said he would impose a curfew. * Stock markets tumbled. Russia’s rouble hit an all-time low.[FRX/] * The global finance sector was struggling to respond to the invasion, with share prices suffering heavy falls. * Major buyers of Russian oil were struggling with bank guarantees, according to sources. * Ukraine has shut its ports. QUOTES – “I have decided to conduct a special military operation… to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide,” Putin said. “We will strive for the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine.” – “Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself & won’t give up its freedom,” Zelenskiy said. – “Russia is using force to try to rewrite history… We have no plans to send NATO troops in Ukraine. What we do is defensive,” said Stoltenberg. – “President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering,” Joe Biden said. COMING EVENTS * Biden also convened his National Security Council. * EU leaders were discussing further sanctions. * NATO will hold an emergency summit on Friday. * The U.N. Security Council will discuss a resolution condemning the invasion. (Editing by Jon Boyle, John Stonestreet and Hugh Lawson) View the full article

Published by Reuters By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought no pause to partisan squabbling in the U.S. Congress on Thursday, as some Republicans blasted Democratic President Joe Biden’s handling of the crisis and called on him to “change course” in his response. Some Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives blamed Biden for failing to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from sending forces into Ukraine and called on the U.S. president to take a stronger position on the largest conflict in Europe since World War Two. “There’s no doubt that weakness leads to war,” Representative Brian Mast, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a Thursday morning tweet. “Putin once said the collapse of the Soviet empire was the ‘greatest geopolitical catastrophe’ of the past century for Russia. For America, President Biden may be the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of this century.” The invasion of Ukraine followed months of Russian military buildup along the country’s borders, leading to frantic diplomacy and sanctions from the United States and NATO that failed to prevent the incursion. Biden plans an address to the nation at 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT). “Almost 12 hours since Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine and the only response we’ve gotten from Biden is a Zoom call. Where’s Biden? He’s the leader of the free world. It’s time to start acting like it,” Representative Carlos Gimenez wrote on Twitter. Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as the invasion began late on Wednesday, convened his National Security Council on Thursday, and met with his counterparts from the Group of Seven allies to map out more severe responses. “The president must change course or our deterrent posture will continue to collapse, chaos will continue to spread and eventually no one will trust America’s promises or fear America’s power,” said Representative Mike Gallagher, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Former President Donald Trump — who even out of office remains the most powerful voice in the Republican Party — had threatened during his four years in office to leave NATO, calling the military alliance “obsolete.” He withdrew the United States from international agreements — including the Paris Climate Accord, which it has since rejoined — and pulled out of a pact in which Iran had curbed its uranium enrichment program, a possible pathway to nuclear arms, which is now being renegotiated. Trump, who has expressed admiration for Putin, described the Russian leader’s actions leading up to invasion as “genius,” “smart” and “pretty savvy.” ELECTIONS LOOMING The response among congressional Republicans — blaming Biden, calling for stronger sanctions and warning against any use of U.S. troops in Ukraine — largely mirrored the sentiments of Republican voters, as lawmakers approach the Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine the balance of power in Congress ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Only 34% of Americans — including just 12% of Republicans — approved of the way Biden was handling the crisis in the run-up to the invasion, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Tuesday and Wednesday. Twenty-five percent of Republicans polled said Biden was primarily to blame for the conflict, with 46% saying Putin was primarily to blame. Nearly one in five was unsure who to blame. Senator Mitt Romney, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a moderate voice in his party, offered broader criticism that also blamed U.S. responses to Russia by former Presidents Barack Obama and Trump while evoking the Reagan era’s tough posture against the former Soviet Union. “Putin’s impunity predictably follows our tepid response to his previous horrors in Georgia and Crimea, our naive efforts at a one-sided ‘reset,’ and the shortsightedness of ‘America First.’ The ’80s called’ and we didn’t answer,” Romney said in a statement. Senator Dan Sullivan, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned that Putin’s action had changed the global landscape for the Americans and their Western allies. “We must wake up to the fact that this new era of authoritarian aggression will likely be with us for decades. We need to face it with strategic resolve and confidence,” the Alaska Republican said. (Reporting by David Morgan, additional reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Harvey Fierstein is “confused” about his gender. The 67-year-old Broadway legend – who is known for originating the drag role of Edna Turnblad in the musical ‘Hairspray’ – admitted he “didn’t feel like” a boy when he was a child until he learned about homosexuality, but still “doesn’t have the answers” now. He said: “I’m still confused as to whether I’m a man or a woman. I don’t have answers for anybody else ’cause I don’t have answers for myself. When I was a kid, I was attracted to men. I didn’t feel like a boy was supposed to feel. Then I found out about gay. So that was enough for me for then.” The ‘Mrs Doubtfire’ actor then went on to explain that after a lifetime of playing characters both in and out of drag, he is unsure of who he is but is “bothered” by gender neutral terminology. He said: “No one has ever been happier walking around with a beard and five daughters and having everyone call me papa [in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’] or as Edna [in ‘Hairspray’]. I don’t know who I am. You wanna tell me who I am?. I think about whether I am non-binary a lot but it’s the term that bothers me.” However, the Tony Award winner then explained that despite his confusion, he doesn’t feel as if he has “missed out” on anything as he insisted that the “everything” is possible. He told PEOPLE: “But let’s put it this way. I don’t think I’ve missed anything by not making up my mind! No two of us are the same, not any of us. I’m 67 years old, and still everything’s possible. I can get up tomorrow if I wanted to, and shave really close and put on a bunch of makeup and walk around my town and see what that’s like. Having done drag as many years as I’ve done drag, I know it’s a lot of f****** work to be pretty.” View the full article

Published by AFP Truckers and their supporters gather in Adelanto, California ahead of a 'People's Convoy' across the United States to Washington DC Barstow (United States) (AFP) – Hundreds of truckers and their supporters set off from southern California on Wednesday on a convoy headed across the United States towards the capital Washington to protest against pandemic restrictions. Inspired by the demonstrations that crippled Canada’s cities for weeks, organizers of “The People’s Convoy” want an end to mask mandates, vaccination requirements and business shutdowns that are intended to slow the march of Covid-19. “Let’s get back to normal,” said Bryan Brase, whose rig was near the front of the caravan that had gathered in the small town of Adelanto, northeast of Los Angeles. “I think everybody’s here for different reasons, but it all boils down to the same thing: Freedom and liberty,” said Shane Class, who had travelled from Idaho to join the rally. “It’s time for our government to start understanding that people want that freedom in the Constitution back.” The caravan, which began Wednesday as a few dozen vehicles, was expected to take 11 days to get to the Washington, DC area, arriving on March 5, though organizers say they do not intend to enter the city itself. That assurance has not prevented the mobilisation of 700 National Guard to provide added security around the nation’s capital, as authorities fret over a possible repeat of the January 6, 2021, invasion of Congress by supporters of former president Donald Trump. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Guardsmen would not be armed and would not be empowered to arrest people, but would be reporting wrongdoing to local police. A number of large vehicles, including snow-ploughs and garbage trucks have been deployed on the streets of the capital to prevent access to sensitive sites. Debunked theories Convoy organizers stress on their website that it is a non-partisan movement that includes both Republicans and Democrats, though there were plenty of flags signifying support for Trump among participants in Adelanto and along the route. Paul Alexander, a health adviser under Trump who suggested letting the coronavirus spread unchecked in the population to prompt “herd immunity,” was among those who revved up the crowd, claiming that vaccines do not work. Scientists say the extensively tested shots are safe and effective, and represent the single best protection against death or serious illness from Covid-19. Vaccine adoption is uneven across the United States, with some on the political right distrustful of the science and holding to debunked conspiracy theories pushed on the internet. Crowds gathered on bridges along the route to cheer the convoy on, with some holding banners calling for the arrest of government health experts. Donations Many of those AFP spoke to in the flag-waving crowd voiced arguments common on the right. “I can no longer work at my facility, a major health organization, without submitting a religious exemption,” said one Los Angeles-based nurse, who did not wish to give her name. “So in order for me to earn a living for my family, I have to call on the holy and righteous name of Jesus.” The movement has attracted more than $450,000 of donations, according to thepeoplesconvoy.org, which organizers say will be used to reimburse fuel and other costs borne by participating truckers. The convoy starting from Adelanto is just one of a number of planned truckers’ events beginning in various parts of the country. Others are due to depart from Texas, North Dakota, Washington state and Ohio over the coming days, according to greatamericanpatriotproject.org. View the full article

Published by AFP This illustration photo shows Washington (AFP) – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday authorized the first condom for use during anal intercourse, in what was hailed as a victory for sexual health by experts. Although people already use condoms for anal sex — as is recommended by health agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — regulators across the world had only previously allowed companies to officially market their products as “safe and effective” for vaginal use. Sexual health advocates considered this an unmet public health need since unprotected anal intercourse carries the greatest risk of HIV transmission via sexual exposure, with one study finding that 69 percent of men who have sex with men would use condoms more frequently if they were FDA-indicated. Wednesday’s authorization of Global Protection Corp’s One Male Condom follows a clinical trial involving more than 500 people, carried out by Emory University. “The FDA’s authorization of a condom that is specifically indicated, evaluated and labeled for anal intercourse may improve the likelihood of condom use during anal intercourse,” said agency scientist Courtney Lias in a statement. The condom is also indicated to prevent sexually transmitted infections — and as a contraceptive — during vaginal sex. “We want people to have lots of sex — but we also want them to be empowered and informed,” said Davin Wedel, president of Global Protection Corp, which makes the condom brand that is available in 54 sizes, and incorporates a paper template to help each user find the right size. The clinical trial involved 252 men who have sex with men and 252 men who have sex with women, aged between 18 and 54. The FDA had said it would accept a five percent failure rate, which previous trials had failed to accomplish. The limit was easily surpassed in the new study, with the failure rate 0.68 percent for anal and 1.89 percent for vaginal intercourse. The researchers behind the study, which was published in The Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine, said one of the reasons the trial succeeded where others failed in the past was likely due to the provision of lubricant and inclusion of instructions on how to use the product. Lubricant reduces friction, which in turn causes condom failure from slippage and breakage. Another reason could be that participants were asked to keep mobile phone-based daily diaries, whereas past trials had asked volunteers to recall failure events up to several months later. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease doctor and medical director of an HIV clinic in San Francisco, welcomed the finding. “The important thing about condoms is they don’t just prevent HIV, but they prevent gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis,” she told AFP, adding it was surprising that such an authorization had taken so long to achieve. In its statement, the FDA said the green light could pave the way for more makers to apply for similar authorization if they show equivalent results. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Elton John‘s private plane was forced to make a scary emergency landing after experiencing hydraulic failure 10,000 feet in the sky. Fire trucks and medical personnel rushed to Farnborough Airport in the United Kingdom on Monday in response to the mid-air drama. In photos obtained by The Sun, a raddled Rocketman can be seen eagerly climbing out of the plane once it touched down on its third attempt. Mega An eyewitness described the terrifying incident, telling the outlet, “The jet was being buffeted and couldn’t land. It was horrible to see.” Elton’s private jet — worth $89 million — had already left the airport and was heading to New York City when the incident occurred. An hour after wheels went up, the pilot was forced to turn back around when the small plane began suffering hydraulic failure. According to The Sun, the pilot used his radio to declare the emergency landing to air traffic control — but the severe winds hitting 80 MPH made it difficult to control the plane. Plumber Philip Thomson was at the scene working when the emergency landing happened. He described the scary ordeal, stating, “The terrible weather and epic gusts made it almost impossible to land. Two attempts to touch down failed.” “The plane was being buffeted and couldn’t make it. The aircraft’s nose was far too vertical. The plane was descending and was halfway along the runway when it gave up trying to hit the tarmac. It soared back in the air.” Mega Revealing the storm made their second attempt worse, he continued, “The airport’s windsock was horizontal and the aircraft was being rocked from side to side by the wind.” “The pilot made a valiant attempt to get down with the jet ‘crabbing’ into the storm. But it didn’t make it and had to head back upwards.” The third time’s a charm because the pilot finally got the plane to land. According to another source, Elton was visibly shaken. “It was a white-knuckle ride and Elton was shaken. But he put aside any personal anguish to get back on a plane. For Elton, quite literally, the show must go on,” they said. Elton ended up getting on a different plane later that day and making it to NYC. His Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour kicks off at Madison Square Garden tonight. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge signaled on Tuesday he may not let Donald Trump countersue E. Jean Carroll, a writer who accused the former president of raping her in the mid-1990s and is suing him for defamation. At a hearing in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan suggested it might be futile for Trump to claim that Carroll’s lawsuit violated a New York “anti-SLAPP” law protecting free speech, citing several courts that found similar laws did not apply in federal court. “I question whether you have the right to do what you are seeking to do, because it seems to me it’s entirely inconsistent with the notion of futility,” Kaplan told Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba. “It may not be the way I resolve this matter.” Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, accused Trump in a June 2019 book excerpt of having raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Midtown Manhattan. She sued five months later, claiming that Trump defamed her when he told a reporter he did not know Carroll, said “she’s not my type,” and accused her of concocting the rape claim to sell her book. New York’s anti-SLAPP law, short for “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” was enacted in Nov. 2020. It was meant to protect journalists and others from wealthy companies and people who file frivolous lawsuits to silence critics. How the law might apply to public officials, or former public officials like Trump, remains unclear. Kaplan questioned why Trump waited until January, 14 months after New York’s law took effect, to invoke it, which Carroll’s lawyers said reflected Trump’s pattern of delaying the case. “This is about giving us the right to litigate these issues,” Habba said. “That is all I’m asking.” Kaplan did not say when he will rule. Both sides are awaiting a decision from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on whether Carroll’s lawsuit should be dismissed because Trump was immune from being sued. In that appeal, the Biden administration essentially adopted an argument by Trump’s Justice Department that the government should be substituted for Trump as the defendant, which could doom Carroll’s case. Carroll’s lawyers want to question Trump under oath and compare his DNA with a dress Carroll said she wore during the alleged rape. The case is Carroll v Trump, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 20-07311. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sir Elton John was left “shaken” after his private jet suffered hydraulic failure. The 74-year-old singer was on his way to New York on Monday (21.02.22) morning when his personal aircraft got into difficulty at 10,000 feet about an hour into the trip, with the pilot having to make a U-turn close to the coast of southern Ireland but attempts to land the plane were aborted twice because of the strong winds. The pilot radioed air traffic control to declare an emergency landing, with emergency services alerted and firefighters from six stations called to Farnborough Airport, Hants, ready for the plane. Plumber Philip Thomson, who was working when the twin-jet Bombardier Global Express came into view, told The Sun newspaper: “The terrible weather and epic gusts made it almost impossible to land. Two attempts to touch down failed. “The plane was being buffeted and couldn’t make it. The aircraft’s nose was far too vertical. The plane was descending and was halfway along the runway when it gave up trying to hit the tarmac. It soared back in the air. “A crowd had gathered after word went around that Elton was in difficulty. And as the plane came around again for a second attempt to land, the storm was doing its worst. “The airport’s windsock was horizontal and the aircraft was being rocked from side to side by the wind. “The pilot made a valiant attempt to get down with the jet ‘crabbing’ into the storm. But it didn’t make it and had to head back upwards. “It was only at the third attempt to land that the plane got down. The pilot made a flatter approach and the wind had dropped slightly. Everyone watching was mightily relieved. “It was a horrible thing to see, and you wouldn’t have swapped places with Elton on that small plane for anything. I bet he said a few prayers of thanks… “It was so serious that I counted at least six fire engines that attended, along with the airport’s own incident team. The police and ambulance services were there, too.” Despite the terrifying ordeal, Elton caught a later flight to the US and still made it on stage for his ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ show at Madison Square Garden. A source said: “It was a white-knuckle ride and Elton was shaken. But he put aside any personal anguish to get back on a plane. For Elton, quite literally, the show must go on.” Local fire fighters confirmed they were asked to attend the scene. A spokesperson for Hampshire Isle of Wight Fire Rescue Service said of the private jet drama: “Firefighters from Rushmoor, Hartley Wintney, Basingstoke, Fleet, Yateley and Surrey FRS were called at 11.16 on Monday morning to an incident at Farnborough Airport. “No action was taken by HIWFRS with the incident dealt with by the airport fire service.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Daniel Radcliffe says portraying ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic is “a huge responsibility”. The ‘Weird: The ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Story’ star is “honoured” to be playin the parody song legend in his upcoming bio-pic. The 32-year-old actor told PEOPLE: “Wearing the Hawaiian shirt is a huge responsibility that I don’t take lightly, and I’m honored to finally share with the world the absolutely 100 percent unassailably true story of Weird Al’s depraved and scandalous life.” The ‘Ebay’ hitmaker has injected his signature sense of humour during the production of the movie, jokingly tweeting ‘a spoiler’ Al shared a page from the scripton the social media site that read: “Cut to Black. Credits Crawl.” The tweet’s caption read: “SHOOT DAY #7: Oh man, I am really, REALLY going to get in trouble with @TheRokuChannel over this, but I’m just so proud of this script, and I wanted to leak part of it. So…[siren emoji}SPOILER ALERT [siren emoji]… This is the ACTUAL ENDING of #WEIRDTheAlYankovicStory.” The movie – which is written by Al and Eric Appel – is the ‘Eat It’ funny man’s first go at executive producing a movie since 1987’s ‘UHF’ and will be available for streaming on Roku, after the company purchased the back catalogue of Quibi, the now-bust service. In a statement, Al said: “When my last movie UHF came out in 1989, I made a solemn vow to my fans that I would release a major motion picture every 33 years, like clockwork. I’m very happy to say we’re on schedule. “I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.” The ‘Harry Potter’ star has found it “liberating” to do more creative roles after shooting to fame as a kid on the wizarding franchise. Daniel said: “I’ve actually found it’s an incredibly liberating thing, to do the biggest thing you’re ever gonna do really f***** early. The financial success thing, that’s done. So just do things that make you happy.” View the full article