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https://www.koin.com/local/washington-county/wcso-man-arrested-after-crashing-stolen-truck-into-river-leaving-pregnant-woman-behind/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man accused of evading police Wednesday by crashing a stolen truck into the Tualatin River and allegedly leaving a six-month pregnant woman to fend for herself, has now been arrested.
Officers with the Hillsboro Police Department found 32-year-old Jonathan Michael Laura and arrested him for “unrelated crimes” Thursday, according to authorities.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office had been actively searching for Laura following Wednesday’s incident, during which police said he refused to pull over the stolen 1992 Nissan pickup before he drove the vehicle into the water and swam to shore.
Deputies quickly rescued the pregnant woman who was the passenger, as she had reportedly told them she could not swim.
After being arrested for unrelated crimes, Laura was then sent to the Washington County Jail where deputies also charged him with eight charges in connection to the incident yesterday.
In addition to his other crimes, Laura now faces the following charges:
- Unlawful use of a motor vehicle
- Possession of a stolen vehicle
- Attempt to elude – felony
- Attempt to elude – misdemeanor
- Reckless driving
- Driving while revoked – misdemeanor
- Reckless endangering
- Criminal mischief in the first degree
No other information was immediately available.
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https://www.koin.com/news/animals/dozens-of-dogs-have-been-at-oregon-humane-society-for-up-to-a-year/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Dozens of dogs requiring special or unique homes have been waiting at the Oregon Humane Society for up to a year, and the shelter hopes hosting public walk-throughs will create some love-at-first-sight moments for their future owners.
Oregon Humane Society is currently open for the public to walk through Monday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. People can also view pets and schedule an appointment online.
Adoptions are still by appointment only, but Oregon Humane Society’s Customer Care Manager Eleena Fikhman said they can typically schedule a same-day meeting if a client comes in.
Oregon Humane Society has more than 50 dogs available for adoption. Of those, dozens have been waiting up to a year to find a home. There is never a time limit for how long a pet can stay at Oregon Humane Society. However, the shelter says the interest in dogs requiring special or unique homes has diminished and not kept pace with the growing need from the community and shelter partners.
“We know Portland loves dogs and we are hoping that members of our community will step up to open their heart and homes to some of these special pets,” Fikhman said.
One of the dogs available for adoption is Lola, who was rescued as a stray after Hurricane Ida in September 2021.
Another is Luca, who’s been at OHS since March 2021 and is part of the Behavior Modification Program. He’s been working with trainers to learn new skills to be successful in a home.
Peanut is originally from Afghanistan and was brought to the U.S. in 2021. She’s looking for a special home that will provide patience and lots of activity.
For anyone who’s unable to adopt a dog at this time, OHS asks people to consider sponsoring a pet, making a tribute gift, or purchasing an item from the OHS Wish List.
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https://www.koin.com/news/crime/ppb-searching-for-suspect-involved-in-car-part-theft-assault-in-portland/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland Police Bureau (PPB) is searching for a man that allegedly assaulted another man after attempting to steal car parts on Thursday morning.
PPB says that the suspect is facing felony charges.
Just before 6:30 a.m., officers responded to a report of a disturbance outside a house in the 8900 block of North Kimbrell Ave., located in the Portsmouth Neighborhood. Upon arrival, they found a 64-year-old man injured, and multiple neighbors holding down a female suspect, later identified as 26-year-old Kaylynn M. Spencer, who was arrested on-scene.
According to police, when the victim saw someone trying to steal car parts from his vehicle, he went outside to confront the man, which led to an altercation. Spencer, who is believed to be an accomplice of the suspect, allegedly got involved and struck the victim with a metal file. Police say that Spencer was held down by a group of people in the neighborhood, including the victim’s wife, until officers arrived.
The victim suffered injuries to his head in the altercation according to police, but declined to go the hospital.
Spencer was booked into Multnomah County Jail on charges of second degree assault, second degree robbery and unlawful use of a weapon. Police are still attempting to locate the male suspect.
If anyone has information about this case or the identity of the suspect, please e-mail crimetips@portlandoregon.gov and reference case number 22-85658.
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https://www.koin.com/news/crime/woman-found-guilty-of-murdering-two-men-in-clackamas-county-last-year/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An Oregon woman has been found guilty of killing two men in unincorporated Clackamas County last year.
Forty-year-old Amanda Kate Gregson shot and killed 56-year-old Jerry Dale Burns of Milwaukie, and 25-year-old Connor James Gaines of Happy Valley at the Reflections apartment complex on SE Causey Loop during a late-night encounter on March 20, 2021.
Court documents show Gregson fled the crime scene before police could arrive, though she was later arrested at the nearby Monarch Hotel where she was reportedly knocking on doors and saying, “people were after her.”
Although Gregson and her lawyer argued that her actions were in self-defense, and she went on record stating she “did not kill those people in cold blood,” during her original arraignment – court documents suggest Gregson’s story was inconsistent and changed many times.
In a February motion, Clackamas County Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Owen wrote, “Additional investigation revealed that the defendant had been acting paranoid in the months leading up to the murders, had been consistently using methamphetamine, and frequently carried a firearm.”
Court documents show Gregson’s mother Deedee Guyette owned the apartment, and later told investigators her daughter did not have a permanent residence and had been staying there when Burns and Gains came over to visit.
According to her mother’s account, Gregson walked in and shot both victims “without warning.”
An investigation determined Gregson’s paranoid behaviors and mental state were worsened by her methamphetamine use.
After the four-day trial, Gregson was found guilty on all charges, including two counts of first-degree murder in the first-degree and two counts of second-degree murder.
Gregson’s sentencing hearing is April 12.
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https://www.koin.com/news/florida-gop-considers-revoking-disney-worlds-right-to-self-rule-over-dont-say-gay-opposition/
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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Gov. Ron DeSantis floated the idea Thursday of changing Florida law to revoke the Walt Disney Company’s right of self-rule in the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the Florida-based seat of the Magic Kingdom.
In the days since DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law, which opponents call the “Don’t Say Gay” law, opposition to the legislation by Disney has provoked talk of using state legislation to take away the company’s ability to self-govern its lands. Disney first got the right of legal self-control in 1967, with passage of the Reedy Creek Improvement Act.
According to historical documents from the Reedy Creek Improvement District, then-Florida Gov. Claude Kirk signed the RCID Act into law in May 1967, creating two municipalities: Bay Lake and Reedy Creek, which was later renamed Lake Buena Vista. The location, nestled between Orange and Osceola counties, would later become the site where Walt Disney World was built.
The RCID Charter created a 25,000-acre of land as a special taxing district. At the time, it was considered remote and uninhabitable, but now is the site of one of the busiest theme parks in the United States.
To make Disney’s plan happen, the area had to get special privileges from the state of Florida to essentially run itself.
“In 1967, the Florida State legislature, working with Walt Disney World Company, created a special taxing district – called the Reedy Creek Improvement District – that would act with the same authority and responsibility as a county government,” RCID says on its website.
Enter an era of the Magic Kingdom living a life of self-determination and self-rule.
Now, following the company’s public opposition to HB 1557, DeSantis and other state lawmakers have said they’re considering revoking that charter through a repeal of the RCIA, potentially ending Disney’s right to rule in Central Florida.
State Representative Spencer Roach, R-Fort Myers, tweeted on March 30 that he met with colleagues for a second time to discuss repeal of the decades-old law. In Ponte Vedra Beach on Thursday, DeSantis said he wanted to repeal it but not just over the current political fight, and not just the privilege that Disney currently enjoys.
The governor’s words are reminiscent of the state’s 2021 “Big Tech Censorship Crackdown,” in which a law was passed to allow lawsuits against companies like Facebook and Twitter over banning political candidates and equating it to a fight over free speech.
In his speech in Ponte Vedra Beach, DeSantis said the point was to take away the power of “woke” corporations from interfering in Florida politics.
“I would not say that would be retaliatory. The way I view it is there are certain entities that have exerted a lot of influence through corporate means to generate special privileges in the law. I don’t think we should have special privileges in the law at all,” DeSantis said. “Some of these things have developed over the years. I had to deal with this last year, when we passed a law last year to protect Floridians from big tech censorship. The idea was to let them be able to sue under the ‘Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act,’ protect political candidates from being de-platformed, stuff that was good. And it’s being litigated in the courts, which we knew it would. But at the 11th hour, the Legislature slips in a provision in that law that said ‘If you operate a theme park, it doesn’t apply to you.’ And that was meant solely to protect Disney.”
DeSantis said when the provision was added, he had to decide whether to veto the bill and “throw the baby out with the bath water” or allow it to become law as-is, with the protection for theme parks. To be clear, Disney is not the only theme park in Florida. Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Legoland, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove are all in the state, to name a few.
DeSantis claims he isn’t just targeting Disney over his administration’s current disagreements with the company.
“I don’t think it’s retaliatory, I just think that Disney’s posturing has alienated a lot of people now. And so, the political influence they’re used to wielding, I think has dissipated, so the question is ‘Why would you want to have special privileges in the law, at all?'” DeSantis said. “And I don’t think that we should. But it’s not a matter of acting like those were really great policies. I think that those were policies over decades that were embedded in Florida’s law, largely because they wielded a lot of influence. I think because they’ve been able to do that over the years, I think that’s why they’ve gotten so, that’s one of the reasons they’ve got so far over their skis on this parental rights stuff.”
He said he thinks Disney is used to getting their way, and not having lawmakers stop them. DeSantis said he thinks that’s different now.
“They’re not used to having people that will stand in their way and say ‘Actually, the state of Florida’s going to be governed by the best interests of its people in Florida,” DeSantis said. “We’re certainly not going to bend a knee to woke executives in California. That is not the way the state is going to be run.”
Other than the “big tech carve-out” from 2021, he said he’s never given Disney anything while he’s been governor. DeSantis said he wanted to “reevaluate any special privileges of the law,” not just Disney’s.
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https://www.koin.com/news/health/coronavirus/hhs-regional-director-examines-oregons-covid-response-salem/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon is getting a closer look from federal government leaders when it comes to how well the state did with the COVID vaccine roll-out.
On Thursday, the regional director of Health and Human Services, Ingrid Ulrey, met with Salem Health about efforts at the state fairgrounds. Ulrey’s also in Salem to thank the hundreds of providers and workers who were on the front lines.
The Salem fairgrounds was the first mass clinic for COVID shots that was up and running quickly.
On January 7, 2021, Salem Health and the National Guard, provided help to get it running on a large scale — as people drove from the Portland metro area, and other places a couple hours away in the rush to get their first vaccine shots at the start of the pandemic.
KOIN 6 News found out hundreds of thousands of COVID vaccines were given at the fairgrounds, which is still offering shots, boosters and testing.
On Friday, Ulrey will head to Oregon Health and Science University in Portland to learn more about the COVID research underway there.
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https://www.koin.com/news/health/coronavirus/oha-reports-dip-in-covid-19-cases-deaths-in-thursdays-report/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) announced 320 new COVID cases along with five COVID-related deaths in Thursday’s report.
This brings Oregon’s total case count to 704,152 and the state’s death toll to 7,144.
OHA also announced Thursday is the last day the Healthcare Surge Unified Command team will be in operation after starting in August 2021 to help with the delta and omicron surges in the state.
The agency noted the team began to demobilize in February after hospitalizations decreased and some team members will continue to work through June.
Across Oregon, there are 108 hospitalized patients with COIVD-19 — an increase by four from Wednesday’s report. OHA also noted there are 17 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit beds, an increase by two from yesterday’s report.
According to OHA, 3,176,337 people have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, and 2,884,888 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series.
The seven-day running average is now 1,929 doses per day.
Cases by county
Benton (15), Clackamas (32), Clatsop (2), Columbia (1), Coos (5), Crook (1), Deschutes (17), Douglas (2), Grant (2), Harney (1), Hood River (1), Jackson (16), Josephine (7), Klamath (2), Lake (1), Lane (38), Linn (9), Marion (17), Multnomah (88), Polk (8), Sherman (1), Umatilla (3), Wasco (1), Washington (44) and Yamhill (6).
Oregon’s 7,140th COVID-19-related death is a 35-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive on Feb. 12 and died Feb. 15 at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 7,141st COVID-19-related death is a 44-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive on Feb. 2 and died Feb. 6 at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 7,142nd COVID-19-related death is a 57-year-old man from Linn County who died Oct. 5, 2021, at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. The death certificate listed COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 7,143rd COVID-19-related death is a 45-year-old woman from Josephine County who died Sept. 18, 2021, at Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco, Wash. The death certificate listed COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 7,144th COVID-19-related death is a 75-year-old man from Jackson County who died Jan. 15 at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix, Ariz. The death certificate listed COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death. He had underlying conditions.
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https://www.koin.com/news/ikea-will-pay-you-to-return-old-furniture-at-select-stores/
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(ABC4) – If you’re tired of looking at old furniture that you bought last year from IKEA, the retailer has announced that it will now pay customers to bring back old furniture.
The IKEA buyback and resell option has now been made available for 37 of its U.S. stores, including Portland. As a way to help pave a path toward sustainable living, the company has brought back the initiative that was launched late last year.
How does it work?
You start by filling out a form on IKEA’s website in order to receive an emailed quote of the buyback value for your furniture. Customers are asked to bring a copy of their quote, buyback number, and fully assembled furniture to your participating IKEA store where an employee will assess the furniture’s buyback value.
When you buyback, you will get store credit and your furniture gets a second life in the As-Is department.
What are the buyback requirements?
According to IKEA, the following categories of products are not currently eligible for the furniture buy-back service:
- Non-IKEA products
- Home furnishing accessories including lighting and textiles
- Add-on units and componentry
- Products that have been used outside including outdoor furniture
- Mattresses and bad textiles (such as blankets and mattress toppers)
- Kitchens including bench tops, cabinets, and fronts
- Modular wardrobes and accessories
- Electrical appliances and products
- Chests of drawers
- “Hacked,” modified or painted products
- Non-assembled products
- Market Hall products (including small kitchen goods, art, rugs, and picture frames)
- Upholstered or leather products
- Sofas or armchairs
- Plants
- Items containing glass (including mirrors)
- Children’s and baby products (such as cribs, mattresses, and change tables)
- Beds and bed frames
The retailer said on its website that large quantities and commercially used items are exempt.
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https://www.koin.com/news/map-heres-where-marijuana-is-and-isnt-legal/
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(NEXSTAR) – While the House is expected to pass legislation this week to legalize marijuana, dozens of states already allow residents to access marijuana in various forms.
Thirty-seven states have already approved marijuana for medical use. Among those, nearly 20 have also cleared it for recreational use among adults.
Colorado and Washington were the first to approve adult-use recreational marijuana measures in 2012, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Two years later, Alaska, Oregon, and the District of Columbia followed suit.
For 10 states, CBD and products low in THC are available despite marijuana not being legalized for medical or recreational use. And in just three states – Idaho, Nebraska, and Kansas – marijuana isn’t legal in any form.
The below map shows where states stand on the legalization of marijuana based on data from the NCSL.
In January, Idaho lawmakers moved forward with a proposed constitutional amendment that would bar the legalization of marijuana in the state, despite all of its neighbors already having some sort of policy allowing residents to possess marijuana or products low in THC.
In Kansas, lawmakers are still mulling a bill that would legalize medical marijuana. According to Nexstar's KSNT, the bill awaits a committee's approval but has bipartisan support in the legislature. Next door in Nebraska, the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana organization is working to collect enough signatures to put medical cannabis on the November ballot, local news outlet KETV reports.
A 2021 Pew Research study found the vast majority of American adults - 91% - believe in legalizing marijuana in some capacity. Sixty percent support making marijuana legal for medical and recreational use while 31% support legalization for medical use only.
The House could pass its bill to legalize marijuana as early as Thursday. The bill would then go to the Senate, which recently passed a separate bill unanimously that expands scientific and medical research on marijuana and its compounds, according to The Hill.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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https://www.koin.com/news/never-got-the-3rd-1400-stimulus-payment-heres-what-to-do-when-filing-taxes/
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(KTLA) – The IRS on Wednesday reminded tax filers to claim any missing third-round stimulus payment on their 2021 income tax return.
The tax season gives eligible people who never got the $1,400 payment the chance to claim it.
Since the IRS is no longer issuing the Economic Impact Payments, people who are missing a stimulus payment, or got less than the amount they’re eligible for, will have to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2020 or 2021 federal tax returns, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
Most eligible people have already received their stimulus payments and won’t need to include anything about the payment when they file their 2021 tax return.
The IRS says it has issued more than 175 million third-round payments worth more than $400 billion to people across the country. Most of those payments were sent out in the spring and early summer of 2021.
Still, there are many who haven’t gotten their payments.
Authorities have identified 644,705 potentially eligible people who had not received payments totaling $1.6 billion, according to a report issued last week by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
What to do if you never received the third payment
The IRS encourages residents to double check their bank accounts first to make sure they never got the third payment, especially in early spring and summer of 2021.
People can also access their IRS Online Account to view the total amount of the third-round Economic Impact Payment issued to them. For married couples filing jointly, each person will need to log into their own online account.
Once people confirm they never got the payment, and their IRS online accounts show a payment amount greater than $0, or if they got a Notice 1444-C or Letter 6475, they should contact the IRS as soon as possible to see if a payment trace is needed.
But they do not need to wait until their trace is complete to file their 2021 tax return, officials said.
When completing the Recovery Rebate Credit worksheet, taxpayers have two options: either use the amount on the Letter 6475 (or EIP 3 amount from the online account) to calculate the recovery rebate credit amount on line 30, or use the amount of stimulus payment the taxpayer believes they received to calculate the rebate credit amount on line 30. (Details on that can be found here.)
Those who contact the IRS to trace the stimulus payment amount will receive notification of the results. If it is found that the taxpayer didn’t get the money, the IRS will adjust the recovery rebate credit amount on the tax return and issue any refund.
If people make a mistake calculating the recovery rebate credit and claim an amount on line 30 for the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, the IRS will have to correct the amount and send a notice about the changes made. If that happens, there may be a delay in processing the return, officials said.
What if I already filed my taxes?
An amended return may be needed to claim the credit if IRS records show no payment was issued.
For eligible people who didn’t claim a recovery rebate credit on their 2021 tax return (so line 30 is blank or $0), they will need to file a Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return to claim the remaining amount of stimulus money — if IRS records don’t show that they were issued a payment.
This includes people who think they didn’t get the full amount of their third-round Economic Impact Payment because their circumstances in 2021 were different than they were in 2020.
People trying to figure out if they should amend their original tax return can use this online tool.
More details on claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit can be found here.
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https://www.koin.com/news/washington-dc/bill-seeks-to-put-cap-on-overdraft-fees/
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – For some people, overdraft fees are a frustrating inconvenience. For others, they pose crippling costs. Some lawmakers now want to change how they’re charged altogether.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced legislation called the “Overdraft Protection Act.” The bill includes provisions to cap the amount and number of fees a bank can charge.
“My bill tries to cut down on these unfair and deceptive practices,” the New York Democrat said.
Advocates like Elyse Crawford-Hicks with Americans for Financial Reform say overdraft fees hit low-income families and people of color the hardest.
“Overdraft fees are paid the most by people who can least afford them,” Crawford-Hicks said.
Others say over-drafting is a useful service because it can function like a short-term loan. Paul Kundert is the CEO of UW Credit Union, which recently reduced their overdraft fees and put more limits on how they charge them.
“When prices are fair, we believe consumers do benefit from access to the credit provided by overdraft fees,” Kundert said.
Recently, major banks like Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Bank of America have made changes themselves, by reducing their overdraft fees or eliminating them altogether.
Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, says that demonstrates the legislation is unnecessary.
“The market is naturally, naturally taking care of the issue without government intervention. And we do not need more rules from Washington,” Williams said.
Because banks make billions of dollars in revenue from overdraft fees, George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law Todd Zywicki argues the proposed changes would cost consumers.
“We’ll see higher bank fees, we’ll see higher minimum monthly deposits as basically insurance against over-drafting and we will see a loss of access to free checking,” Zywicki said.
Lawmakers like Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., are promising to continue pushing for the reforms.
“How can we perform such an abusive and predatory practice that punishes people simply for being poor?” Pressley said.
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https://www.koin.com/northwest-grown/northwest-grown-chef-earl-ninsom-a-force-in-portlands-food-scene/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland is home to different types of Thai food and Chef Earl Ninsom is a big part of why the city has so many unique options.
Ninsom has opened several restaurants in the Rose City and is now being considered for a James Beard Award. From collaborations with other chefs to creating different concepts of his own, he’s quite the force in the Portland food scene.
“The food in this kitchen is similar to what you’d find in the southern Thailand city of Hat Yai, which is also the name of this restaurant,” Ninsom said.
The menu includes fried chicken, roti, curry, Southern Pad Thai and brisket curry. Ninsom said these are influenced by where his dad’s side of the family lived.
“So this is something that I grew up seeing every year… every time I go visit my families,” he said.
That personal connection to food is something you can taste in each of his several Portland restaurants — and now the chef and businessman is up for the “Outstanding Restaurateur” James Beard Award.
His impact on the city’s food scene started back in 2008 at a Thai restaurant in the St. John’s area. The next year saw a shift in Ninsom’s focus.
“I just feel like with what’s going on in Portland, as far as like Thai cuisine, we [were] doing the same thing everywhere back then,” he explained. “It’s not something that Thai people wanted to eat.”
Motivated to make more creative dishes, he opened Mee-sen Thai Eatery. Top chefs dined there, which created lots of culinary connections for Ninsom.
Then came Paadee and eventually Langbaan, which opened inside Paadee. “Langbaan” actually means “back of house” in Thai.
As the years went on, Ninsom’s presence in Portland continued to grow. Now in 2022 — the chef is still expanding. Phuket Cafe just opened in Northwest Portland — and while Langbaan closed in February, Ninsom plans to re-open it inside this spot later on.
With all these delicious spots, some are wondering if he’s trying to build some kind of empire.
“Sort of, sort of — but I didn’t think of it that way,” he explained. “[It’s] sort of like a place that people can come to work and not be not getting [a] sort of torture, are not happy.”
He says that’s because it’s about more than just serving food and drinks. Ninsom stresses the importance of having a healthy work environment where people are treated with kindness and respect.
“We wanna make sure people feel safe coming to work,” Ninsom said. “And eventually, your happiness is why you doing what you do.”
Of course, having all these businesses under his belt is very demanding. Ninsom told KOIN 6 News he may take a big step back to spend more time with his family and kids in the next several years — which is why he created a program where he’s empowering his employees to grow, even work on a path to potential ownership.
We’ll find out on June 13 if Ninsom wins the James Beard Award, once the winners are announced in Chicago. That will be a big night for two other Portland chefs as well — Carlo Lamagna and Thomas Pisha-Duffy are both up for Best Chef in our region.
For more information about the James Beard Awards, visit this website.
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/community-members-hold-vigil-for-man-killed-in-ne-portland-shooting/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Community members held a vigil for a man who was killed in a shooting Monday night in northeast Portland.
39-year-old Shaani Mohamed was found shot several times near his car at northeast Milton and 82nd.
Community members at Wednesday night’s vigil said he fled violence to come live peacefully in America. Mohamed was the father of eight children and was working as an Uber driver.
During the vigil, his community also called for information from police to comfort his family.
A GoFundMe account has been created for those who want to help Mohamed’s family.
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https://www.koin.com/news/how-much-oil-will-be-left-in-the-us-strategic-reserve-after-bidens-release/
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(NEXSTAR) – President Joe Biden is ordering the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve for six months in a bid to control energy prices that have spiked amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While gas prices were already on the rise at the start of 2022, they jumped dramatically following Russia’s invasion, AAA shows. They’ve since stabilized, but the national average remains well above $4 (AAA is reporting the average for a gallon of regular gas sits at $4.22 as of Thursday). Energy prices have also spiked as the U.S. and its allies rolled out a plethora of sanctions against the Russian government and oligarchs.
The planned release from the strategic reserve is a way to increase supplies as a bridge until oil companies ramp up their own production, with administration officials estimating that domestic production will grow by 1 million barrels daily this year and an additional 700,000 barrels daily in 2023.
What is the strategic reserve?
It’s the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil, according to the Department of Energy. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, was created after the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s, according to Bloomberg, and is stored in deep and heavily guarded underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast.
The strategic reserve can house up to 713.5 million barrels of crude oil but previously had a capacity of 727 million barrels. The most it has ever held was 726.6 million barrels. As of March 25, it’s holding more than 568 million barrels.
Tapping the reserve is among the few things a president can do alone to try to control inflation. According to the Department of Energy, the reserve is always “drawdown ready,” meaning it can release crude oil to the market within 13 days of the president’s direction.
Biden’s six-month timeframe will begin in May, according to a Bloomberg report, meaning as many as 180 million barrels will be released from the strategic reserve. That means that even if the U.S. doesn’t add any barrels to the reserve, and no additional releases are ordered, there would still be roughly 388 million barrels in the emergency stock.
This release of oil reserves is the largest the world has ever seen, a statement from the White House reads. The Department of Energy will use the revenue from this release to restock the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in future years, once prices have fallen sufficiently.
Ultimately, officials hope the release of reserves will create pressures that may lead to reduced oil prices, though Biden has already twice ordered releases from the strategic reserves without causing a meaningful shift in oil markets. During a Thursday press conference, Biden said the price at the pump could come down anywhere between 10 cents and 35 cents per gallon.
The Associated Press and NewsNation’s Sydney Kalich contributed to this report.
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https://www.koin.com/news/civic-affairs/portland-charter-commission-advances-proposal-to-reform-city-government/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Portland’s Charter Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to advance a proposal on a new form of government for the city.
The new system would have four districts that would each have three elected leaders – bringing a city council to twelve members.
Those votes would be done with ranked choice voting and the mayor would no longer be a vote on city council.
This new system would also have a city manager nominated by the mayor and approved by the council. That manager would hire and fire bureau directors.
Additionally, the mayor would have executive authority but would not have veto authority.
This plan will now be sent to the city attorney to be written up. Then, in May, there will be more time for changes and public comment before it’s finalized in June.
In July, they and the city council will decide whether to send it to the ballot where the city will vote whether to approve those changes in November.
“This proposal will make Portland’s government more accountable, transparent and effective,” Charter Commission member Candace Avalos said in a press release.
Avalos, who co-chaired the Form of Government Committee continued, “it positions us to get Portland moving in the right direction and address our most pressing challenges – expanding affordable housing, mitigating gun violence, building climate resilience and improving the city’s infrastructure.”
Charter Commission member Becca Uherbelau, who chairs the Community Engagement Committee, noted “the Charter Commission proposal was truly created by – and for – Portlanders.” Uherbelau added “I’m proud that these recommendations are responsive to Portlanders’ calls for change.”
Debbie Kitchin, current co-chair of the Commission, said “Portlanders recognize we are at an inflection point – this is the moment for change.” She added “a decade from now, Portlanders can look back on 2022 and feel proud that we made positive change happen.”
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https://www.koin.com/news/crime/2-teens-arrested-after-shooting-in-se-portland/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Two teenagers were arrested on Thursday when police say they began shooting out of a vehicle in SE Portland before being pursued by officers.
Police also confiscated two guns after making the arrest.
According to police, the two teenagers were spotted shooting from a vehicle near 115th and Powell. The Portland Police Bureau’s plane was able to track the vehicle and suspects to the area of SE 28th and Steele near Reed College.
There have been 360 reported shootings in Portland since the start of the year, of those, at least 100 people have been injured and 22 have been killed.
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/ne-gresham-roads-blocked-as-police-search-for-1-at-large-3-in-custody/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Portland police, assisted by Gresham police, have blocked off 172nd from Multnomah Drive to Northeast Glisan in Gresham while they search for a person who ran away from police.
On the scene, police told KOIN 6 News three people are in custody but they are still searching for another person.
Authorities have not said what led up to the incident.
This is a developing story.
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https://www.koin.com/news/portlanders-march-in-honor-of-trans-day-of-visibility/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The transgender pride flag was raised in front of Vancouver City hall on Thursday, as Mayor Ann McEnerny-Ogle recognized Transgender Day of Visibility, while activists in Portland held a march.
Members of Portland’s Democratic Socialists’ of America gathered at Shemanski Park to lead a peaceful march through downtown. The groups was calling for equity, especially after Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed state agencies to investigate cases of transgender children receiving gender affirming healthcare as child abuse last month.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown and Washington Governor Jay Inslee both offered statements of support for the transgender community.
“To trans people everywhere — especially trans kids, never forget that you are seen, you are loved, and you matter,” Brown said.
“In our consistent pursuit of equality and inclusion, Washington should always be a safe space for people to live freely. To our transgender community, we see you, we hear you and we value you,” Inslee added.
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https://www.koin.com/news/bruce-willis-health-issues-affected-work-for-years-report-says/
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(NewsNation) — Bruce Willis’ aphasia diagnosis was made public by his family Wednesday, but new reporting suggests the 67-year-old actor’s health decline, which caused him to step away from acting, was affecting his work on set for years.
Actress Lala Kent, who played Willis’ daughter in the 2020 film “Hard Kill,” told the Los Angeles Times in one scene they had together, Willis’ character had to protect her from villains.
Her back was to Willis in the scene, and the actor was supposed to deliver a line serving as Kent’s cue to duck before he fired the weapon at a movie “bad guy.”
But Willis ended up shooting the gun, which was filled with a blank, before delivering his line, and Kent didn’t duck.
The same thing happened on the second take. A crew member on set confirmed Kent’s claims, telling the Los Angeles Times that Willis “did fire the gun on the wrong line.”
The film’s armorer denied this happened, but other filmmakers who worked with Willis on his latest projects also said they were alarmed by his condition.
Aphasia can cause varying degrees of impairment in speech or understanding language. It currently affects more than 2 million Americans, the National Aphasia Association estimates.
Concerns about Willis’ health didn’t translate to him making fewer movies, though — he just had less work on set.
“Out of Death” director Mike Burns wrote an email to his screenwriter, asking him to cut down the movie stars’ part, and they filmed all of Willis’ scenes in one day.
Burns made another movie with Willis the next year, after being assured the actor was in better health.
But Burns told the Times that he didn’t end up thinking Willis did bitter.
“I thought he was worse,” he told the newspaper.
Another filmmaker said in the Los Angeles Times that he was so concerned about Willis’ mental state he approached the actor’s team. They told him it would be best to finish filming early.
Two crewmembers said Willis, while on set, asked them, “Why am I here?”
Many are wondering if Willis was using a body double, being fed lines through an earpiece or had scenes shortened. They also want to know why no one from his team stepped in earlier.
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https://www.koin.com/news/health/coronavirus/cases-dropping-after-three-weeks-with-no-masks-in-oregon/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — It’s been three weeks since the masks have come off, and cases have gone down everywhere in Oregon.
Dr. Peter Graven, director of advanced analytics at OHSU, says that cases are at a low point in Oregon right now. There may be some increases, but he does not expect large ones.
“You may hear that I don’t sound too worried about it, that’s because I’m not too worried, because we have a lot of immunity that’s built up over time and that’s going to prevent this from becoming a big wave that we saw previously,” Graven said.
Graven also said that preventing deaths are hospital’s top priority and that a hospital stay usually precedes death from COVID-19.
“We only have so many hospital beds in Oregon, which happens to be the lowest number per capita in the country, so Oregon has always had a unique path it’s had to be on because we don’t have the ability to flex out and have a whole bunch of extra people in the hospital every day,” Graven said.
According to Graven, COVID isn’t following a full seasonal pattern yet, so he believes that the state will likely have a mild increase of B.A2, which is the new dominant variant and feels similar to Omicron when one is infected.
When asked if new variants are on track with becoming less viral and more endemic, Graven said that playing the long game can be hard to understand at this point.
“Omicron did follow the pattern of being more transmissible, milder and that’s something that viruses have a tendency towards. But on the other hand the virus is trying to find ways to escape your immunity,” Graven said.
Graven stated that if the state doesn’t see a big rise in cases over the next few weeks, then maybe masks weren’t slowing the spread as much as we thought and that’s something to learn from. He also said that he believes that masks did help because at Oregon’s peak Omicron levels were still lower than other places.
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https://www.koin.com/news/house-set-to-pass-marijuana-legalization-friday/
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(The Hill) — The House is set to pass legislation on Friday to legalize marijuana nationwide, an effort that has unprecedented levels of support in both chambers of Congress.
The bill is likely to pass the lower chamber largely along party lines, with most Republicans expected to oppose it.
Proponents argue that legalizing marijuana at the federal level will simply reflect most states’ existing policies that allow it in some form.
They also frame the effort as a way to end the disproportionate punishment of racial minorities and people in low-income communities for possessing and using weed.
And with an overwhelming majority of Americans — as much as 91 percent in a Pew Research Poll last year — backing marijuana legalization for at least medical purposes, Democrats believe it’s a winning issue for them ahead of November’s midterms.
“This landmark legislation is one of the most important criminal justice reform bills in recent history: delivering justice for those harmed by the brutal, unfair consequences of criminalization; opening the doors of opportunity for all to participate in this rapidly growing industry; and decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level so we do not repeat the grave mistakes of our past,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on the House floor on Thursday.
The bill, titled the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, would eliminate criminal penalties associated with the drug and establish a process to expunge previous convictions from people’s criminal records.
It would further impose a federal tax on marijuana sales to fund programs meant to help communities negatively impacted by so-called “war on drugs” policies beginning in the 1970s.
Friday’s vote will mark the second time that House Democrats have advanced legislation to decriminalize marijuana, after previously passing the measure in December 2020.
But the last effort didn’t gain any traction in the Senate, which was controlled by Republicans at the time.
But now, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said that marijuana legalization is a top priority, and he has been working with fellow Democrats to unveil a bill this spring.
It’s not yet clear, however, if enough Senate Republicans, or even all Democrats, would get on board for the bill to clear a filibuster.
Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), whose states have been ravaged by the opioid epidemic, have both expressed skepticism about broadly legalizing marijuana.
Republicans opposed to the legislation say legalization would do more harm than good.
Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), a former police officer, recalled having to make “devastating” visits to inform people that their family members had died in accidents resulting from drivers who were under the influence of drugs. He warned that legalizing weed could lead to an increase in people driving while high.
“We can all sit here and pretend that marijuana is a harmless drug, but it is not. It clouds your judgment and inhibits your reaction time,” Stauber said.
A smaller number of Republicans support legalizing marijuana.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has introduced her own bill to legalize cannabis products. But it currently only has three GOP cosponsors: Reps. Brian Mast (Fla.), Tom McClintock (Calif.) and Peter Meijer (Mich.).
Mace’s proposal would set an age limit of 21 for cannabis use. It would also impose a smaller tax on marijuana sales — 3 percent — than the bill Democrats are bringing to the House floor and establish a 10-year moratorium on any tax increases.
The Democratic bill would first establish a 5 percent tax that would gradually increase to 8 percent over five years.
At least 18 states, two territories and the District of Columbia allow cannabis for adult, nonmedical use, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures. More than twice as many states – 37 – allow pot for medical use.
“Americans have made their support for cannabis legalization abundantly clear, and states across the country have taken the lead on cannabis legalization. Now it is time for Congress to take action and finally put an end to the failed policy of prohibition,” said Toi Hutchinson, president and CEO of the Marijuana Policy Project, an advocacy group.
Before final passage on Friday, the House will consider amendments from two centrist Democrats, Reps. Conor Lamb (Pa.) and Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), to study the impact of marijuana legalization on workplaces and schools, as well as the methods that law enforcement can use to determine whether a driver is impaired by weed.
Another amendment up for debate from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) would clarify that people could not be denied security clearances because of cannabis use.
While Schumer may face an uphill path to securing 60 votes for broad marijuana legalization in the Senate, proponents may have success with more narrow measures.
The Senate passed a bill by unanimous consent last week that would expand scientific and medical research on marijuana and its compounds.
The House has also passed legislation twice in the last year to allow legally operating cannabis businesses to use banking services and credit cards so that they no longer have to be cash-only.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, predicted that the banking legislation had a shot of securing enough bipartisan support in the Senate to pass.
Unlike the MORE Act, which only won the support of five Republicans in 2020, the measure to allow cannabis businesses to access banking services passed in the House passed handily by a vote of 321-101 just under a year ago.
“We have, I think, probably in the low 60s in the Senate,” Blumenauer said.
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https://www.koin.com/news/navy-to-name-ship-after-ruth-bader-ginsburg/
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(The Hill) – The U.S. Navy will name a future ship after the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro announced Thursday.
The T-AO 212 replenishment oiler will be referred to as the USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“As we close out women’s history month, it is my absolute honor to name the next T-AO after the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She is a historic figure who vigorously advocated for women’s rights and gender equality,” Del Toro announced.
“As Secretary of the Navy, it is my aim to ensure equality and eliminate gender discrimination across the Department of the Navy,” he continued, adding that Ginsburg was “instrumental to why we now have women of all backgrounds, experiences and talents serving within our ranks, side by side with their male Sailor and Marine counterparts.”
Ginsburg was the second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court and was well known for her advocacy for women’s rights in cases such as United States v. Virginia, which ruled that it was unconstitutional for the Virginia Military Institute to bar women from admissions.
Her daughter, Jane Ginsburg, will be the sponsor of the new ship, according to Del Toro.
- Zelensky: Two Ukrainian generals dismissed for being ‘traitors’Energy & Environment
- Biden announces largest-ever oil reserve release
Naval ships are regularly named after significant public figures. The lead ship of the eight T-AOs is named after former Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who died in 2020.
T-AO fleet oilers, which primarily serve to transport fuel, have the capacity to carry up to 162,000 barrels of oil each.
The ships, designed by General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, stretch to 742 feet and possess double hulls to protect against oil spills. They can reach a speed of 20 knots.
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https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/kohr-explores-flowers-in-bloom-at-wooden-shoe-tulip-festival/
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by: Kohr Harlan Posted: Apr 1, 2022 / 05:50 AM PDT Updated: Apr 1, 2022 / 06:48 AM PDT SHARE PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The 38th annual Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival is happening now, and peak bloom for the season is quickly approaching. Kohr Harlan checked out the field in Woodburn with a preview of the 40 acres of tulips.
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https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/several-alaska-airlines-flights-canceled-in-portland/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Those flying with Alaska Airlines in and out of Portland International Airport may get stuck at the airport on Friday.
There are ten flights canceled out of PDX, while another 11 flights headed to the Rose City are canceled. All of those are Alaska Airlines flights.
Alaska Airlines pilots are reportedly picketing across the country on Friday over contract negotiations. A spokesperson with Alaska Airlines told KOIN 6 News that a shortage of pilots has forced them to cancel some flights.
Those employees will be picketing at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel later in the day.
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https://www.koin.com/news/police-offered-to-arrest-will-smith-over-slap-oscars-producer-says/
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oscars producer Will Packer said Los Angeles police were ready to arrest Will Smith after Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Academy Awards stage.
“They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment,” Packer said in a clip released by ABC News Thursday night of an interview he gave to “Good Morning America.” “They said we will go get him. We are prepared. We’re prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him. They were laying out the options.”
But Packer said Rock was “very dismissive” of the idea.
“He was like, ‘No, no, no, I’m fine,” Packer said. “And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish.’ The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action?’ And he said no.”
The LAPD said in a statement after Sunday night’s ceremony that they were aware of the incident, and that Rock had declined to file a police report. The department declined comment Thursday on Packer’s interview.
In the longer version on “Good Morning America,” Parker said he initially believed the slap was an orchestrated bit. “I thought it was part of something that Chris and Will were doing on their own. I thought it was a bit. I wasn’t concerned at all.”
Packer said he went up to Rock after the incident. “I said, ‘Did he really hit you?’” the producer asked Rock. “And he looked at me and he goes, ‘Yeah, I just took a punch from Muhammad Ali,’ as only Chris can. He was immediately in joke mode, but you could tell that he was very much still in shock.”
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Smith could be suspended, expelled or otherwise sanctioned.
The academy said in a statement that “Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television.”
Without giving specifics, the academy said Smith was asked to leave the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre, but he refused to do so.
Smith strode from his front-row seat onto the stage and slapped Rock after a joke Rock made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, when he was on stage to present the Oscar for best documentary.
On Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
The academy said Smith has the opportunity to defend himself in a written response before the board meets again on April 18.
Rock publicly addressed the incident for the first time, but only briefly, at the beginning of a standup show Wednesday night in Boston, where he was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation. He said, “I’m still kind of processing what happened.”
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https://www.koin.com/news/russians-leave-chernobyl-as-fighting-rages-elsewhere/
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops left the heavily contaminated Chernobyl nuclear site early Friday after returning control to the Ukrainians, authorities said, as residents in parts of eastern Ukraine braced for renewed attacks and awaited blocked supplies of food and other humanitarian relief.
Ukraine’s state power company, Energoatom, said the pullout at Chernobyl came after soldiers received “significant doses” of radiation from digging trenches in the forest in the exclusion zone around the closed plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it could not independently confirm the exposure claim.
In what would be the first attack of its kind, if confirmed, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region accused Ukraine of flying helicopter gunships across the border on Friday morning and striking an oil depot.
The depot run by Russian energy giant Rosneft is located about 35 kilometers (21 miles) north of the Ukraine-Russia border. The helicopter attack set the facility ablaze, and two people were injured, according to a Telegram post by Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
“The fire at the oil depot occurred as a result of an airstrike from two helicopters of the armed forces of Ukraine, which entered the territory of Russia at a low altitude,” the governor wrote on the messaging app.
It was not immediately possible to verify the claim or images that were circulating on social media of the alleged attack. Russia has reported shelling from Ukraine before, including an incident last week that killed a military chaplain, but not an incursion of its airspace.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces have retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka, which are south of the besieged northern city of Chernihiv and located along one of the main supply routes between the city and Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, according to Britain’s Defense Ministry.
Ukraine has also continued to make successful but limited counterattacks to the east and northeast of Kyiv, the ministry said.
Russian forces have subjected both Chernihiv and Kyiv to continued air and ground-launched missile strikes despite Moscow officials saying Tuesday they planned to reduce military activity in those areas.
Western officials said there were growing indications Russia was using its talk of de-escalation in Ukraine as cover to regroup, resupply its forces and redeploy them for a stepped-up offensive in the eastern part of the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russian withdrawals from the north and center of the country were just a military tactic to build up strength for new attacks in the southeast.
“We know their intentions,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation. “We know that they are moving away from those areas where we hit them in order to focus on other, very important ones where it may be difficult for us.”
“There will be battles ahead,” he added.
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators planned to resume talks via video on Friday, five weeks into a conflict that has left thousands dead and driven more than 4 million refugees from Ukraine. There seemed little faith that the two sides would find agreement on their respective demands any time soon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said conditions weren’t yet “ripe” for a cease-fire and he wasn’t ready for a meeting with Zelenskyy until the negotiators do more work, Italian Premier Mario Draghi said after a Thursday telephone conversation with the Russian leader.
Following a plea from Zelenskyy when he addressed Australian Parliament on Thursday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that his country would send mine-resistant armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.
He said Friday the four-wheel drive Bushmaster vehicles, specifically requested by Zelenskyy, would be flown to Europe but did not say how many would be delivered or when.
“We’re not just sending our prayers, we are sending our guns, we’re sending our munitions, we’re sending our humanitarian aid, we’re sending all of this, our body armor, all of these things, and we’re going to be sending our armored vehicles, our Bushmasters, as well,” Morrison said.
In the encircled strategic port city of Mariupol, Russian forces on Thursday blocked a convoy of 45 buses attempting to evacuate people after the Russian military agreed to a limited cease-fire in the area. Only 631 people were able to get out of the city in private cars, according to the Ukrainian government.
Russian forces also seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies in a dozen buses that were trying to make it to Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
The city has been the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war. Tens of thousands of residents managed to get out in the past few weeks by way of humanitarian corridors, reducing the population from a prewar 430,000 to an estimated 100,000 by last week. But continued Russian attacks have repeatedly thwarted aid and evacuation convoys.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had been informed by Ukraine that the Russians forces at Chernobyl had transferred control of the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster to the Ukrainians in writing. The last Russian troops left Chernobyl early Friday, the Ukrainian government agency responsible for the exclusion zone said.
Energoatom gave no details on the condition of the soldiers it said were exposed to radiation and did not say how many were affected. There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin, and the IAEA said it was seeking more information.
Russian forces seized the Chernobyl site in the opening stages of the Feb. 24 invasion, raising fears that they would cause damage or disruption that could spread radiation. The workforce at the site oversees the safe storage of spent fuel rods and the concrete-entombed ruins of the reactor that exploded in 1986.
Edwin Lyman, a nuclear expert with the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists, said it “seems unlikely” a large number of troops would develop severe radiation illness, but it was impossible to know for sure without more details.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi was in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on Friday for talks with senior officials there about nuclear issues in Ukraine.
In addition to concerns about Chernobyl, nine of Ukraine’s 15 operational reactors are currently in use, including two at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya facility, the IAEA said.
Early this week, the Russians said they would significantly scale back military operations in areas around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv to increase trust between the two sides and help negotiations along.
But in the Kyiv suburbs, regional governor Oleksandr Palviuk said on social media Thursday that Russian forces shelled Irpin and Makariv and that there were battles around Hostomel. Pavliuk said there were Ukrainian counterattacks and some Russian withdrawals around the suburb of Brovary to the east.
At a Ukrainian military checkpoint outside Kyiv, soldiers and officers said they don’t believe Russian forces have given up on the capital.
“What does it mean, significantly scaling down combat actions in the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas?” asked Brig. Gen. Valeriy Embakov. “Does it mean there will be 100 missiles instead of 200 missiles launched on Kyiv or something else?”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said intelligence indicates Russia is not scaling back its military operations in Ukraine but is instead trying to regroup, resupply its forces and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas.
“Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions,” Stoltenberg said. At the same time, he said, pressure is being kept up on Kyiv and other cities, and “we can expect additional offensive actions bringing even more suffering.”
The Donbas is the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial region where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014. In the past few days, the Kremlin, in a seeming shift in its war aims, said that its “main goal” now is gaining control of the Donbas, which consists of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including Mariupol.
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https://www.koin.com/news/whistleblower-hertz-using-police-as-repo-men-prompting-false-arrests/
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(NewsNation) — Rental car company Hertz is under fire from lawmakers after hundreds of customers say they were pulled over by police and told the rental car they were driving had been reported as stolen.
Those customers say they rented their cars legally and paid for them but were arrested and sometimes thrown in jail.
Now, a whistleblower is shedding light on what is going on behind the scenes at the company.
Daniel Stokes worked for Hertz for 11 years from 1996 till 2007 and was a branch and city manager in charge of 24 different Hertz locations.
“Being a city manager and knowing what the processes were and learning more about what actually happens to the people, quite honestly, it pissed me off that knowing that it was still going on,” Stokes told NewsNation investigative reporter Rich McHugh.
Stokes believes the way Hertz is managing this current process is wrong.
“I don’t see how it’s legal,” Stokes said.
He says Hertz should not be involving police in most of these cases, but a collections company, instead.
In cases where customers have rented a car and not returned it on the due date, “Hertz is actually using the police department as a repo company and the court system as a collection company,” Stokes said. “All of these supposed embezzlement by thefts are collection issues. They’re not actual thefts.”
In other cases, he says, the car reported as stolen has already been returned and the customer who returned it late has paid restitution. It’s the next person who rents the car, not knowing the car’s history, that gets in trouble, he said.
“It’s after the fact … people are getting arrested,” Stokes said. “That’s pretty jarring to a person’s life.” And he said that’s because Hertz simply isn’t working with computer systems or record keeping that are rapid enough to clear a car’s history before it’s returned to service, leading innocent people to be falsely arrested.
Stokes said he realized the severity of the problem when this happened to him. He says he was out on medical leave and had a Hertz car. He was arrested, prosecuted for embezzlement and ultimately fired as a result of it. He says he’s coming forward now because he has nothing to gain except for goodwill in telling people about this.
Hertz did not respond to NewsNation’s request for comment regarding Stokes’ claims.
The company has issued the same statement since last year, saying in part: “The vast majority of these cases involve renters who were many weeks or even months overdue returning vehicles and who stopped communicating with us well beyond the scheduled due date.”
Hundreds of people are suing Hertz over accusations of mental and emotional damages, including a former federal agent.
The former agent, who would prefer not to be named due to previous undercover work, said Oklahoma City police handcuffed him a few hours after he rented a car in May 2021. The encounter was captured on bodycam footage.
“I’m thinking to myself, this can’t be happening,” he said.
The former agent was later released but told he might get arrested again.
“I thought, ‘This is insanity,'” he said.
He returned the car the next morning and Hertz refunded his money.
Another man, Julius Burnside, was arrested and spent seven months in jail before a Georgia court, after looking at all the evidence, ruled that Burnside had in fact paid for his rental and dismissed the case entirely.
Francis Malofiy is an attorney representing more than 250 Hertz customers suing the company over false arrest. McHugh caught up with him on Capitol Hill as two senators — Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren — have now asked for a congressional investigation.
“Hertz made it clear that unless a court or Congress makes them change their ways, they’re not going to do so,” Malofiy said. “And that’s why we’ve met with many congressional offices and committees — to get broad support on both sides of the aisle.”
A court has ordered Hertz to turn over a database it was trying to block the release of. That database shows that they have reported about 3,000 cars stolen each year for the past few years.
“If the country knew how our taxpayer dollars and our police systems (are) being used … I promise you, I’m sure more legislators would probably involved in stopping this,” said the former agent.
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https://www.koin.com/weather/weather-blog/spring-feelings-may-fool-you-colder-wetter-weather-to-come/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Welcome to Friday, the first day of April. Flowers, pollen and love are in the air.
Thanks to fewer clouds overnight our morning temperatures are in the upper 30s, slightly below normal. Partly cloudy skies are expected by midday and daytime highs warm to the upper 50s.
All those good weather feelings will be doused with rain arriving after the dinner or commuter hour. Up to a tenth of an inch of rain is possible tonight. Sat looks pretty nice with highs in the upper 50s to 60°.
If I didn’t know any better I’d say we left our winter weather in the dust.
Errr, wrong. We have a robust storm brewing out in the Pacific which may arrive by Sunday night. Upwards of 1″ to 2″ of rain is anticipated by Monday night near PDX, 2-4″ for the coast, and 2-3 feet of snow over Mt. Hood with 6-8″ just below mountain passes. With blowing snow that would mean huge impacts on Cascade passes and resorts. Models for the 5,000′ level are advertising sustained winds of 70-80 mph across the Cascades. If you’re flying from anywhere in Asia back to PDX this would be one way to get home fast on a 180kt (200mph) jet stream. The average speed of a jet stream is about 110 mph.
Beach Hazards Statement for the weekend
WHAT…Sneaker waves possible.
WHERE…In Oregon, North Oregon Coast and Central Oregon Coast. In Washington, South Washington Coast.
WHEN…From late Saturday night through Sunday evening.
IMPACTS…Sneaker waves can surge high up the beach without warning, catching an inattentive individual off guard. They can run up significantly farther on a beach than normal, including over rocks and jetties as well as lifting or rolling extremely heavy logs. If you see someone swept into the sea do not swim in after them. Call 911 and keep an eye on them until help arrives.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS…While the greatest threat for sneaker waves at this time will likely occur Sunday, there will be an elevated threat of sneaker waves beginning today that will likely persist through the start of next week.
Those digging for Razor Clams or who will be visiting the beaches should remain vigilant.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A Beach Hazards Statement is issued when sneaker waves create potentially life-threatening conditions in the surf zone. Caution should be used when in or near the water. Always keep an eye on the waves, and be especially watchful of children.
https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=PQR&wwa=beach%20hazards%20statement
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https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/hardesty-takes-full-responsibility-for-credit-card-debt/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty says she takes “full responsibility” after she failed to appear in court over credit card debt earlier this week.
Bank of America sued Commissioner Hardesty after she failed to pay $16,000 in overdue debt and fees. A circuit court judge issued default orders after Hardesty and her attorney were no-shows in court.
In a statement released Thursday night, Hardesty said she has made an initial payment and scheduled regular deductions from her wages to pay off the debt.
“I should have done more when I did not see any notice,” said Hardesty. “This is my mistake, and I take full responsibility. This was a personal failing and has no impact on my official responsibilities.”
Further, the commissioner said she regrets that her financial troubles are overshadowing the “good work we have done together for our city like Portland Street Response.”
Below is Hardesty’s full statement:
Earlier this week the Oregonian ran a follow-up on my $16,000 personal debt. I made an initial payment today, and have set up regular deductions from my wages to settle the matter. I should have done more when I did not see any notice. This is my mistake, and I take full responsibility. This was a personal failing and has no impact on my official responsibilities. I regret that it is taking away energy and focus from the good work we have done together for our city like Portland Street Response, which we expanded citywide this week.
On day one I fulfilled my campaign promise to hire an experienced finance director to ensure my office finances are impeccably managed and have their expertise in the bureaus I oversee. At the time we were the only commissioner’s office with this position.
I have made it my priority as commissioner to elevate the voices of our communities and ensure we are included as the city makes decisions and policies that impact our lives. I am learning from this mistake and have faith that it will make me stronger. I will continue to be transparent, own my mistakes, and show up for Portland.
Like most Portlanders, I have worked my whole life. Living paycheck-to-paycheck for 60 years before becoming your commissioner was hard, and I often struggled to make ends meet. In that way, I’m no different than the vast majority of Portlanders. Once I got elected and back to work as your city commissioner, I budgeted my salary to pay down my debts and cover medical expenses.
My reasons for running remain clear – fighting for working families and vulnerable communities in our policy-making; being honest about the problems we face; and creating solutions that are equitable, accountable, and transformative.
Your commissioner and neighbor,
Jo Ann Hardesty
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https://www.koin.com/news/business/cryptocurrency-comes-with-lots-of-risk-according-to-bbb-report/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Cryptocurrency has become all the rage, especially with America’s young investors. But a new study shows that this digital dough comes with a lot of risks.
The Better Business Bureau found cryptocurrency jumping from seventh to second place in its recent Scam Tracker Risk Report.
Logan Hickle from BBB breaks down their new cryptocurrency scams study.
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https://www.koin.com/news/psaki-to-leave-white-house-for-msnbc/
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(The Hill) — White House press secretary Jen Psaki will leave her job for MSNBC this spring, two sources familiar with the deal told The Hill.
Psaki’s upcoming departure was first reported by Axios on Friday, with the sources confirming it to The Hill. Psaki will leave the White House for the network around May, according to Axios.
The news follows speculation over whether the press secretary was looking for a job at MSNBC or CNN and while Psaki has been out of the briefing room this week with COVID-19.
Deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has also been out with COVID-19. White House communications director Kate Bedingfield has held most of the briefings, which was seen as an opportunity to effectively audition for the post.
Psaki has worked with the White House counsel’s office about her departure and no contracts have been signed yet, Axios reported. Additionally, she has talked to senior officials about the move but has not formally announced it to the press team.
Psaki was asked at a briefing last month if she could confirm whether she was looking for a new job, but she indicated at the time that she was not ready to leave the podium yet.
“I have more than enough on my plate here. So you can’t get rid of me quite yet. Sorry, Peter, for you on that,” she replied to Fox News’s Peter Doocy.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to the Hill for comment.
Psaki wouldn’t be the first official to leave the White House for MSNBC. Symone Sanders, former spokesperson for Vice President Harris, was hired by MSNBC in January as a host for a new weekend program.
Amie Parnes and Dominick Mastrangelo contributed reporting.
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https://www.koin.com/news/student-loan-forgiveness-heres-where-the-us-stands/
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(NEXSTAR) – For over two years, most federal student loan borrowers haven’t had to make a monthly payment after both Trump and Biden enacted pauses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with payments (possibly) beginning again in May, many are hoping their loans will instead be forgiven.
A recent analysis found close to $200 billion was saved by student loan borrowers under the repayment freeze, The Hill reports, but those borrowers could struggle when the pause lifts.
Although borrowers “will likely face a healthier economy going forward, Direct loan holders have higher debt balances, lower credit scores, and were making less progress on repayment than … prior to the pandemic,” the researchers wrote. The average student loan debt balance now exceeds $37,000, with Americans owing roughly $1.6 trillion to the government.
On Thursday, 96 lawmakers – 21 Senators and 75 members of the House – sent a letter to President Biden, calling on him to not only extend the payment moratorium but to “cancel student debt now.”
“Canceling a meaningful amount of student debt will provide long-term benefits to individuals and the economy, helping families buy their first homes, open a small business, or invest in their retirement. More broadly, canceling student debt would add tens of billions of dollars in GDP growth,” the letter reads.
Does Biden have the power to forgive student loans?
While he and Trump had the power to freeze student loan payments, it’s hard to say whether Biden has the power to forgive loans.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said Biden lacks the legal authority. Instead, she said, “That would be an act of Congress.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, on the other hand, has argued that Biden could under the same legal provision Trump used to delay payments and interest accrual at the start of the pandemic, The Hill reports.
Earlier this year, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “We’re still looking at administrative options, but Congress can also send the president a bill that would provide $10,000 in debt relief, and he’d be happy to sign that bill.”
In addition to calling on Biden to cancel upward of $50,000 in student debt per borrower, lawmakers are mulling multiple legislative proposals to forgive student loans, make it easier to refinance, or continue the pause on payments.
Who is already eligible for student loan forgiveness?
Whether or not another pause (more on that later) or loan forgiveness is on the horizon, some borrowers can already have some debt relief.
The Department of Education recently announced nearly 100,000 people are eligible for student loan cancelation due to changes made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program in October. The move amounted to roughly $6.2 billion in relief, according to The Hill.
Under the PSLF program, eligible borrowers were promised that their debt would be canceled if they made payments over the course of 10 years. To be eligible for the program, you must work full-time for the government or a not-for-profit organization, have Direct Loans, repay them under an income-driven repayment plan, and make 120 qualifying payments.
Teachers, certain volunteers, and individuals working in specific industries may qualify for student loan cancellation. There are a number of other cases in which your student loans could be forgiven, canceled, or discharged.
Could another payment pause happen?
The Department of Education has reportedly directed companies that service federal student loans not to send notices about payments resuming in May, CNBC reports. According to NPR, the department does have a legal obligation to reach out to borrowers at least six times before payments begin – by telling companies to hold off on reaching out, some believe the administration was signaling another payment moratorium.
This came shortly after White House chief of staff Ron Klain said Biden wanted to decide on debt cancellation before payments restarted, “or he’ll extend the pause.”
Pushing out another payment pause may also be beneficial for Democrats heading into the midterm elections.
There are, of course, critics of another student loan payment pause. Many point to the costs the deferment has put on the federal government, and taxpayers, which amounts to nearly $50 billion a year.
As it stands now, the student loan payment pause is set to end on May 1.
The Associated Press and NewsNation’s Leland Vittert contributed to this report.
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https://www.koin.com/news/windshield-shatters-during-delta-flight-from-salt-lake-city-to-d-c/
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SALT LAKE CITY (KTVX) – A flight heading from Salt Lake City to Washington D.C. had to be diverted Thursday due to a shattered windshield.
Passengers aboard the flight say the plane made an unexpected landing in Denver due to the incident.
“We were on our way to the ACC meeting when it was announced that we would need to make an unplanned landing in Denver because the windshield cracked,” wrote passenger Kirk Knowlton in a tweet. “Apparently, it was spontaneous. Fortunately, we landed safely and are about to get back in air. We are grateful for safe flights.”
In a statement, Delta confirmed the unscheduled landing.
“Delta flight 760 from Salt Lake City to Washington D.C. experienced a maintenance issue mid-flight. Out of an abundance of caution, the flight crew diverted into Denver and the plane landed routinely. Our team worked quickly to accommodate customers on a new plane, and we sincerely apologize for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans.”
Delta says the 198 passengers on board were flown to D.C. on a new plane.
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https://www.koin.com/top-stories/hubble-telescope-spots-farthest-star-ever-seen/
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — It’s taken nearly 13 billion years, but light from the farthest observed star has officially reached earth.
The extremely distant star was observed by the Hubble Space Telescope recently — making it the most distant star we have observed in the universe. The light from that star is so old that it’s like looking back in time.
Scientists say that light formed when the universe was about seven percent of its current age.
Director of Space Science Education at OMSI Jim Todd joined AM Extra to talk about the discovery.
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https://www.koin.com/entertainment-news/actor-ezra-miller-ordered-to-stay-away-from-hawaii-couple/
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HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii judge has granted a couple’s request for a temporary restraining order against Ezra Miller, an actor known for playing “The Flash” in “Justice League” films.
The couple filed a petition for a temporary restraining order Tuesday, alleging that Miller burst into their bedroom and threatened them in Hilo, a small town on the Big Island. The petition also accused Miller of stealing some of their belongings, including a passport and wallet.
The judge’s order, filed in court Wednesday, said it was necessary to grant the couple’s petition to prevent harassment.
Days earlier, Miller allegedly harassed patrons at a karaoke bar. Late Sunday, police were called to Margarita Village in Hilo, where they said Miller yelled obscenities, grabbed a mic from a singing woman and lunged at a man playing darts.
“The bar owner asked Miller to calm down several times to no avail,” police said in a news release.
Miller was arrested at the bar shortly after midnight Monday and charged with disorderly conduct and harassment. Miller was released on $500 bail.
Neither Miller nor the actor’s representatives could immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
Miller is ordered to appear at a court hearing for the temporary restraining order against harassment in Hilo on April 13.
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https://www.koin.com/entertainment-news/aps-marjorie-miller-named-as-new-head-of-pulitzer-prizes/
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NEW YORK (AP) — Marjorie Miller, vice president and global enterprise editor at The Associated Press, has been named as the new administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes.
Miller spent 27 years at the Los Angeles Times as a correspondent in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. She was the newspaper’s foreign editor when it won a Pulitzer Prize for Russia coverage and was a finalist for Iraq War coverage.
She joined AP in 2010 as the regional editor for Latin America, where her team produced award-winning coverage of cartel violence. In 2015, she moved to New York to help lead daily news coverage and enterprise. Two years later she became the founding leader of AP’s Global Enterprise Team, overseeing reporting projects in all formats, including work from Yemen that won the 2019 Pulitzer for International Reporting.
Her appointment was announced Thursday by the Pulitzer Prize Board and by Lee C. Bollinger, president of Columbia University, which hosts the prestigious journalism awards.
“I cannot think of a better steward for the Pulitzer Prizes, which celebrate excellence in journalism, arts, and letters and recognize the powerful, public service role they play in promoting tolerance, advancing the search for truth, and protecting the free exchange of information and ideas,” Bollinger said.
Miller succeeds acting administrator Edward Kliment, who will stay on as Miller’s deputy. She begins her new role on April 11.
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https://www.koin.com/entertainment-news/grammy-awards-sets-sight-on-las-vegas-for-first-time/
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Grammysmight be missing stars like Drake, The Weeknd and Kanye West as a performer, but the biggest night in music could still shine bright on the Las Vegas Strip.
The ceremony relocated to Las Vegas for the first-time ever with several artists who could have epic nights including Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and Jon Batiste. The awards shifted from Los Angeles because of the rising COVID-19 cases and omicron variant in January. Sunday’s show will air live beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS and the Paramount+ streaming service.
Host Trevor Noah calls Las Vegas a “perfect place to have a celebration” with fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Last year, the Grammys had a music festival vibe with parts of the show held outdoors in an intimate in-person setting with music artists mixed with pre-taped performances.
Noah expects an entertaining show with several performers set to hit the stage including Rodrigo, Eilish, Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow, Brandi Carlile, Batiste, Silk Sonic, H.E.R., Chris Stapleton, Leslie Odom Jr. and Brothers Osborne. He said the awards will be a celebration of the music industry coming back to life.
“There’s an element of this (show) that’s like a music camp,” Noah said. “I think it’s going to bring a different energy, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
It’s still unclear whether the Foo Fighters will take the stage following the recent death of its drummer Taylor Hawkins. The rock band – nominated for three Grammys – is scheduled to perform during the ceremony, but they recently canceled all upcoming concert dates.
The Grammys will continue to move forward without West, known as Ye, after news surfaced earlier this month that he wouldn’t perform at the show because of his “concerning online behavior.” The Weeknd is still boycotting the awards and Drake said he wanted no part in competing for a Grammy, withdrawing his two nominations.
The three popular performers will be missed, but the show will certainly go on.
The multitalented Jon Batiste enters the Grammys as the leading nominee with 11in a variety of genres including R&B, jazz, American roots music, classical and music video. Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. are tied for the second-most nominations with eight apiece.
The awards will introduce its expanded 10 nominees in three major genres — record, album and song of the year. The growing categories will make the competition stronger but could make choosing a winner a lot tougher.
For album of the year, the Recording Academy expanded the category’s eligibility for any featured artists, producers, songwriters and engineers — even if the music creator co-wrote one song on the project. That means there could be a large amount of winners on stage, depending on who wins.
For example, if Bieber’s “Justice” wins at the show, more than 50 creators could pack the stage. The same could be said for Ye, Doja Cat and H.E.R., who have a plethora of contributors.
But Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” features songs written by the young star and her brother Finneas, who produced all of her tracks. Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga and Rodrigo are sitting in the same boat.
Harvey Mason jr., the academy’s CEO, said the number of creators in a category won’t dictate the winner.
Either way, Noah said he doesn’t mind.
“It’ll be great to see that moment,” he said. “You get to be on stage and celebrated for your work. I’m excited for that. I want to see 25 people on stage celebrating and sharing the love and joy for something they’ve done.”
Before the awards, the academy will hold a couple events including a tribute to Joni Mitchell at the MusiCares Person of the Yearon Friday night. Chaka Khan, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Porter and Beck are among those expected to perform.
On Saturday, Grammy winner John Legend will be honored during the academy’s Black Music Collective. The singer will receive his first-ever Recording Academy Global Impact Award for his personal and professional achievements in the music industry.
Legend will be celebrated with a performance by Summer Walker, D-Nice and MC Lyte as the voice for the evening. Jimmy Jam will be making remarks.
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https://www.koin.com/entertainment-news/korean-pop-star-luna-readies-for-broadway-debut-in-kpop/
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NEW YORK (AP) — Korean pop star Luna is ready to make her Broadway debut this fall in the musical “KPOP” and she’s already dreaming of who might be there on opening night — like BTS.
“I would be thankful if they showed up on opening night,” Luna told The Associated Press through her translator.
She also wants fans and other stars to show up, too.
“This is New York City, it’s got its own celebrities and also audiences who would enjoy this. So, I would love to see New York celebrities, as well as Hollywood celebrities,” Luna said.
Luna was introduced at a press event for the musical Wednesday at the Korean Cultural Center in New York.
Luna began her musical career as a member of the popular K-pop group f(x) before becoming a solo artist. Her latest single, “Madonna,” was released in September.
Her stage resume includes Korean productions of “In the Heights” and “Mamma Mia,” and she’s excited to take her talents to Broadway.
“I have always loved doing all those ever since I was a young child, and I even liked creating some routines,” Luna said.
She added: “For this musical, I get to dance while I sing while I act, that is so exciting, and I cannot wait to do this.”
“KPOP” tells the story of global superstars preparing for a special one-night only concert, when one singer’s inner struggle threatens to dismantle one of the biggest labels in the industry.
The multimedia experience explores the relentless discipline, raw talent, and commercial ambition behind the international phenomenon.
The musical has a story by Jason Kim and music by Helen Park, who has worked on the show for the past eight years. She said she is excited that audiences will finally get to experience her favorite music genre.
“I know recently a K-pop has been really blowing up and a lot of people love the genre. But when we started writing this musical in back in 2014, I was so eager for the world to see what I see. And I wanted to share it with the world in a language that everyone can understand,” she said.
“I think musical theater is that vessel for people to hear and witness other people’s stories and feel the emotions. I really wanted the show to be doing that with the genre that I love so much,” Park said.
“KPOP” begins previews Oct. 13 at the Circle in the Square Theatre, with an opening night scheduled for Nov. 20.
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https://www.koin.com/entertainment-news/oscars-producer-says-police-offered-to-arrest-will-smith/
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oscars producer Will Packer said Los Angeles police were ready to arrest Will Smith after Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Academy Awards stage.
“They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment,” Packer said in a clip released by ABC News Thursday night of an interview he gave to “Good Morning America.” “They said we will go get him. We are prepared. We’re prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him. They were laying out the options.”
But Packer said Rock was “very dismissive” of the idea.
“He was like, ‘No, no, no, I’m fine,” Packer said. “And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish.’ The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action?’ And he said no.”
The LAPD said in a statement after Sunday night’s ceremony that they were aware of the incident, and that Rock had declined to file a police report. The department declined comment Thursday on Packer’s interview.
In the longer version on “Good Morning America,” Packer said he initially believed the slap was an orchestrated bit. “I thought it was part of something that Chris and Will were doing on their own. I thought it was a bit. I wasn’t concerned at all.”
Packer said he went up to Rock after the incident. “I said, ‘Did he really hit you?’” the producer asked Rock. “And he looked at me and he goes, ‘Yeah, I just took a punch from Muhammad Ali,’ as only Chris can. He was immediately in joke mode, but you could tell that he was very much still in shock.”
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Smith could be suspended, expelled or otherwise sanctioned.
The academy said in a statement that “Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television.”
Without giving specifics, the academy said Smith was asked to leave the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre, but refused to do so.
Smith strode from his front row seat on to the stage and slapped Rock after a joke Rock made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, when he was on stage to present the Oscar for best documentary.
On Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
The academy said Smith has the opportunity to defend himself in a written response before the board meets again on April 18.
Rock publicly addressed the incident for the first time, but only briefly, at the beginning of a standup show Wednesday night in Boston, where he was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation. He said “I’m still kind of processing what happened.”
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
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When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock over an Oscars ceremony punchline, other comedians felt the sting.
“I know Chris and I know what it’s like to be on a stage in front of an audience that doesn’t like your material,” said stand-up comedian Judy Gold. “But to be physically assaulted, that’s a whole other thing. It felt like every comedian was smacked across the face. It really felt like that.”
Smith’s act comes during a stressful time for comedy. While boundaries for humor constantly shift — think George Carlin’s 1972 monologue on seven so-called “dirty words” banned by TV — comics say they have felt increased pushback from audiences and society. Comedy great Dave Chappelle drew sharpcriticism last year for what some deemed anti-transgender humor in his Netflix special “The Closer.” Kathy Griffin’s careerwas derailed in 2017 when she was photographed holding a mock-up of former President Donald Trump’s head.
Some comedians expressed concern that Smith’s behavior might embolden other displeased audience members.
“No one went up to Chris Rock and said, ‘Are you OK?’” Sheryl Underwood, co-host of “The Talk,” said on the show Tuesday. “I’m going to say this as a comic, I am afraid now to get on a stage, because in my third show, when everyone’s been drinking, if you don’t like my joke, do you now believe that you can get up and slap me? There’s got to be accountability quicker.”
Griffin tweeted that “now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”
“Which is the worst crime here?” veteran comedian Gilbert Gottfried said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Chris Rock being physically assaulted? Or Chris Rock making a joke? That’s it, pure and simple. He made a joke.”
Dean Obeidallah, a lawyer and stand-up comic who hosts a show on the SiriusXM Progress channel, said there is never “a place for a violent response to a joke” but doubted there would be copycat behavior. In his time in comedy clubs, he’s seen yelling, screaming and, once, a glass thrown at somebody. But he’s never seen a punch thrown, nor a comedian slapped.
“If someone were to strike a comedian, they’re going to be prosecuted criminally. They don’t have the privilege that Will Smith has,” Obeidallah said.
The Los Angeles Police Department said Sunday that it was aware of the incident, but Rock had declined to file a police report. Smith stayed through the rest of the ceremony Sunday and received the best-actor Oscar.
Gold said she’s been confronted but never struck, and she knows other female comedians have faced difficult circumstances. “People have been getting on stage, people have thrown things,” she said.
Comedian-actor Yamaneika Saunders calls Smith’s behavior upsetting and Sunday a sad day for ”two beloved Black men in entertainment.” She also views what happened through the lens of a “Black woman in comedy.”
“I’m constantly being threatened….by some man who doesn’t like some (expletive) I said about being a woman, some white guy who doesn’t like some (expletive) I said about being Black,” she said.
Insult humor isn’t new to high-profile ceremonies, which call on comics to liven up what can be tedious events. Ricky Gervais made a meal of celebrities at successive Golden Globe ceremonies, and they grin — or grimace — and bear it. The most famous bad sport: Trump at the 2011 White House correspondents’ dinner, where he sat stone-faced during then-President Barack Obama’s extended ribbing of him.
Rock wasn’t the first to tweak Smith or wife Jada Pinkett Smith at Sunday’s Oscars. Ceremony co-host Regina Hall made what appeared to be a veiled joke about their marriage in trying, unsuccessfully, to draw Smith into a comedy bit.
Rock’s wisecrack was targeted at Pinkett Smith. “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” the comedian said to Pinkett Smith, whose close-shaven head looked similar to Demi Moore’s in the 1997 movie. Whether Rock was aware that she has a hair-loss condition, alopecia, is unknown, but Smith reacted with the smack and an angry warning to “keep my wife’s name out your (expletive) mouth!”
A tearful Smith later accepted the top acting award for “King Richard,” his somewhat remorseful speech eliciting a standing ovation from the Dolby Theatre crowd. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has since condemned Smith’s attack and said it’s reviewing the matter.
Whatever the result, his actions indelibly marred the ceremony and ignited discussions about violence, toxic masculinity and the advantages of fame. Smith, who’d conspicuously left Rock out of his remarks Sunday, apologized to the comic and decried “violence in all of its forms” in a statement the next day issued by his publicist and posted on Instagram.
Pinkett Smith’s first public comment came in an Instagram post in which she said, “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it.”Rock referred briefly to the slap at a comedy show Wednesday in Boston, saying he was “still kind of processing what happened.” He appeared to become emotional as the audience gave him several standing ovations.
Whatever pushback comedians may encounter on stage, verbal or physical, they have to guard against censoring themselves to avoid it — and they will, said Obeidallah: “They shouldn’t change, and there’s nothing about this that tells me that they will change.”
They can’t because their role goes beyond providing laughs, as comedians see it.
“We are the truth tellers. We speak truth to power,” said Gold, author of the 2020 book, “Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble.”
Gottfried cites a favorite Carlin quote — “It’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately” — and can’t resist serving up a punchline.
“If Will Smith is reading this, dear God, please don’t come to my shows,” he said.
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AP Television Writer Lynn Elber reported from Los Angeles, AP Media Writer David Bauder from New York.
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LONDON (AP) — Tia Rutherford is worried about her 3-year-old son.
As energy prices soared last fall, she tacked fleece blankets over her doors and windows to keep the cold out and started serving Jacob breakfast in his room so she didn’t have to heat the living room. But she’s consumed by worry that she can’t pay her utility bills and that her son isn’t warm enough.
“There are effects on his health,’’ said Rutherford, a 29-year-old single mother who lives in southeast London. “He’s constantly catching colds.”
People across the United Kingdom will face similar choices in coming months with energy costs for millions of households set to rise by 54% on Friday. It is the second big jump in energy bills since October, and a third may be ahead as rebounding demand from the COVID-19 pandemic and now Russia’s war in Ukraine push prices for oil and natural gas higher.
Energy costs are the main driver of rising consumer prices. While inflation is a worldwide phenomenon, it’s a bigger issue in Britain because it’s more exposed to rising natural gas prices than even its gas-reliant European neighbors, where utility bills and other costs also have soared. Prices for natural gas, which is used for electricity and heating, have more than doubled in the past year.
In the U.K., economists warn of the biggest drop in living standards since the mid-1950s, fueled byrocketing energy costs, food prices and preplanned tax increases. Disposable household incomes, adjusted for inflation, are expected to fall by an average 2.2% this year, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Those figures obscure the impact on low-income people being hit disproportionately by the crisis. Because they spend a larger percentage of their budgets on food and energy, the poorest quarter of British households will see their real incomes drop by 6% this year, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a think tank focused on improving living standards.
People who rely on government benefits and state pensions are being doubly squeezed because their annual cost-of-living adjustment was based on annual inflation figures through September — before consumer prices spiked.
That means benefits are set to rise by just 3.1% this year. But inflation jumped to a 30-year high of 6.2% in February and is expected to peak at around 8% this year as the war sends food and energy prices ever higher, the Bank of England predicted.
As costs rise, people are moving their beds near windows so they can read by the light of the streetlamps outside, said outreach workers at Christians Against Poverty, which offers counseling for those in debt. Divorced fathers skip meals so they can afford to buy food for their children when they visit, and an increasing number of people report the pressures make them contemplate suicide.
“The cost-of-living crisis is genuinely costing lives,” said Gareth McNab, the charity’s external affairs director. “Almost every single call to our new inquiries team is mentioning the energy crisis and an inability to cope. And yeah, it’s desperate out there.”
Energy prices for 22 million households will rise Friday as an update of the national price cap kicks in. Regulators adjust it every six months. Analysts expect a third consecutive jump in the cap later this year, which could leave consumers with utility bills that are more than double what they were a year earlier.
Britain relies more heavily on natural gas to meet its energy needs than European Union countries, having less nuclear and renewable energy. Britain also has been slower than its neighbors in insulating and sealing the nation’s aging housing stock, so it takes more energy to heat them.
Britain’s largest gas storage facility also was allowed to close five years ago, leaving the country with the capacity to store just 12 days of supply, compared with about 80 days in Germany, which is also heavily reliant on natural gas. That means in crisis, Britain is more dependent on buying gas through “spot markets” that reflect short-term price swings.
“In normal times, we’re using more energy than (the Europeans) are to heat their houses, but … the price is low enough that you don’t really notice a big difference in the cost of living,” said Arun Advani, an inequality expert at the University of Warwick. “Now that energy prices are going up, they are paying more, but we’re paying a lot more. And so that difference is magnified.”
Even so, some European governments have acted more aggressively than Britain in trying to limit costs. France forced a state-controlled utility to limit electricity price hikes to 4% this year. Spain imposed a tax on energy producers’ windfall profits that will be passed on to consumers.
Britain responded in February with a 9 billion-pound ($11.8 billion) package designed to help offset rising utility bills. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak announced more measures last week, including a cut in the tax on vehicle fuels. But he ignored calls to impose a tax on producers’ windfall profits or delay a planned 1.5 percentage point increase in income taxes, also set for April.
Sunak said the government has to keep spending under control amid uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine and after public debt last year rose to the highest level since 1963.
Lawmakers from all parties criticized Sunak for missing the point, suggesting he failed to understand the scale of the problem for low-income people. But he isn’t backing down.
Meanwhile, people who have little are trying to live on less. Chris Price, who runs a community charity called Pecan in south London, says food bank clients are passing up potatoes and other root vegetables because they need to be cooked.
“People are saying, ‘I need to have food which I can cook easily and cheaply because if I put something in the oven for too long, it takes up so much … electricity or gas,’’’ he said. “And they are really uncertain if they can afford it.’’
These are the people also hit hardest by the pandemic and recent cuts in government benefits, leaving them with little to fall back on in the new crisis, said Adam Scorer, chief executive of National Energy Action, a charity focused on fuel poverty.
“There’s no cutting back. There’s no smart decisions,” Scorer said. “You just don’t heat your home, and you don’t use your cooker, and you don’t heat water, and you don’t shower. You just don’t do those things because you can’t afford to do those things. There’s no choices for many people.”
Rutherford is one of those running out of choices.
She gets her energy through a prepaid meter, often the only option for people who fall behind on bills. Prepaid meters allow customers to control how much they spend, but they pay high prices and can be left without power if they run out of credit.
That has left her struggling to top up the meter, pay off debt she already owes her energy supplier and keep her son warm when he comes home from day care. She’s tried to save by turning off the lights, living in the dark except for strings of tiny white Christmas tree lights that use less electricity.
“I didn’t have to live like this before,” she said. “I literally have no money — and my electric is going to cut out.”
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BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who has fostered close ties with Russia and refused to impose sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, is expected to extend his almost 10-year grip on power in the Balkan country when it holds national elections on Sunday.
Polls predict that Vucic, a populist who has boasted about his personal ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, will win another five-year term as president. His right-wing Serbian Progressive Party also is expected to continue to dominate the country’s parliament.
But polls indicated a close local government race in the capital, Belgrade. A loss for Vucic’s party there could undermine his increasingly autocratic rule.
Most political parties taking part in the presidential, general and municipal elections lean right, reflecting the conservative stands prevalent among Serbia’s 6.5 million voters. But a new Green-left coalition campaigning on the need to tackle long-neglected environmental problems also is fielding candidates.
Opposition party officials say Russia’s war in Ukraine has only strengthened Vucic’s dominance of Serbian politics and the mainstream media. Soon after Russian tanks entered Ukraine, the president’s election slogan changed to “Peace. Stability. Vucic.”
“The war has diverted public attention from what is happening in Serbia and of course, with media support, enabled Vucic to blame the crisis for everything that is wrong in Serbia,” Dragan Djilas, a leader of the biggest opposition coalition United Serbia, said in an interview.
“Articles are published here every day about how a kilogram of bread costs 9 euros in Italy and Germany, how they have no fuel, how they will have food stamps and how great we are,” Djilas said. “People are scared, and it always suits the authorities because people say, ‘Let’s not change anything now.’”
Serbia, a traditional Russian ally, has rejected calls from the European Union and the United States to join in sanctions against Moscow, citing national interests. The country’s representative to the United Nations did vote in favor of a resolution condemning Moscow’s attack on Ukraine as a violation of international law.
Despite the Serbian government saying it is seeking EU membership, Vucic and his allies have refrained from condemning Russia over the invasion, a possible sign they want to avoid alienating pro-Russia voters ahead of Sunday’s election.
Much of the pro-Russia sentiments among Serbs comes from their hatred of NATO; the Western military alliance bombed the country in 1999 to stop a bloody Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanians seeking independence for Kosovo, a Serbian province at the time.
Former Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that imposing sanctions on Russia would be tantamount to “political suicide” because Moscow has blocked U.N. membership for Kosovo which declared independence in 2008.
“If we are ready to give up Kosovo, then we can impose sanctions on Russia,” Dacic said. “But if we are not ready, then we cannot.”
Thousands of people in Serbia have turned out for pro-Putin rallies during the five-week invasion, waving Russian flags and displaying the letter Z – a symbol seen on Russian military vehicles in Ukraine. The support for Moscow makes Serbia somewhat of an outlier in Europe.
Opposition officials said that despite Vucic’s almost full control of the media and the pro-Russian narrative that has been created leading up to the elections, they expect a good result on Sunday.
“As far as we are concerned, the situation in Ukraine was very clear. It is about Russian aggression, and we immediately condemned it,” Dobrica Veselinovic, who is running for mayor of Belgrade as the candidate of the environmentalist We Must coalition.
Election polls predict Vucic will win the presidential election outright on Sunday. If he does not receive more that 50% of the vote, he would face an unpredictable runoff in two weeks, likely against opposition candidate Zdravko Ponos, a Western-educated former army general.
The election for National Assembly lawmakers was not scheduled until 2024, but Vucic called an early vote after criticism from the EU that Serbia’s 2020 election had not been free and fair. The opposition boycotted that election.
“I don’t see any difference between these elections and those two years ago,” political analyst Slobodan Stupar said. “A parliament will be formed in which Vucic will have fewer lawmakers than now. He will be able to tell Europe, ‘Yes, we are a democratic country. See how many enemies I have in parliament.'”
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Associated Press Writer Jovana Gec contributed.
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VIENNA — The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says that Russian forces’ departure from the decommissioned Chernobyl power plant is “a step in the right direction” and the U.N. nuclear watchdog plans to be there “very, very soon.”
IAEA director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi says he will head a support mission to Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, and that further nuclear safety missions to Ukraine will follow.
Grossi spoke Friday after visits to Ukraine and Russia. He said Russian nuclear and foreign ministry officials didn’t discuss with him why Russian forces left Chernobyl.
Of the overall situation in the area, he said: “The general radiation situation around the plant is quite normal. There was a relatively higher level of localized radiation because of the movement of heavy vehicles at the time of the occupation of the plant, and apparently this might have been the case again on the way out.”
Ukraine’s state power company said Russian troops received “significant doses” of radiation from digging trenches in the exclusion zone around the plant. But Grossi said “we don’t have any confirmation” that soldiers were contaminated.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
— Ukraine top of agenda as China, EU prepare to meet at summit
— Russians leave Chernobyl; Ukraine braces for renewed attacks
— UK, Russia foreign ministers visit India amid Ukraine crisis
— Kremlin decree says foreign currency can still buy natural gas
— War in Ukraine fuels fears among draft-age Russian youths
— African refugees see racial bias as US welcomes Ukrainians
— Go to https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine for more coverage
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
MOSCOW — Russian officials say their demand that natural gas be paid for in rubles doesn’t mean supplies will be immediately interrupted.
Gas used for heating and electricity was still flowing from Russia to Europe on Friday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “payments on shipments in progress right now must be made not this very day, but somewhere in late April, or even early May.”
President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia would start accepting ruble payments Friday and gas supplies would be cut off if buyers don’t agree to the new conditions.
A decree he signed gave Russian authorities and Gazprombank 10 days to make arrangements. It also says countries could pay foreign currency to the bank, which would convert it to rubles in a second account.
The European Commission’s energy chief tweeted that the European Union was coordinating “to establish a common approach.” Western leaders have said they will keep paying in euros and dollars.
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LVIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s general staff says the country’s armed forces have retaken control over 29 settlements in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, where Russia has pulled back some of its troops.
The Russian military in the northeast continues to block and shell Chernihiv and Kharkiv, the general staff said Friday.
In the southeast of the country the Russians are trying to seize the cities of Popasna, Rubizhne and Mariupol in order to expand the territory of separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, according to the Ukrainian military.
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LVIV, Ukraine — Authorities in Mariupol say it is not possible to enter the besieged Ukrainian city and that it is dangerous for people to try and leave it on their own.
“We don’t see a real desire from the Russians … to provide an opportunity for Mariupol residents to evacuate to territory controlled by Ukraine,” Petro Andryushchenko, adviser the mayor of the city, said Friday on the messaging app Telegram.
“Since yesterday, the occupiers have categorically not allowed any humanitarian cargo, even in small volumes, to enter the city,” he added.
Russian officials on Friday allowed 42 buses with Mariupol residents to depart from the neighboring occupied city of Berdyansk, which Mariupol residents were able to reach on their own.
A convoy of about 2,000 refugees, escorted by the Red Cross, on Friday afternoon was heading to the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is under Ukrainian control.
The Mariupol city council on Friday said Russia’s actions in Ukraine and in their bombed-out city amounted to genocide.
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WARSAW, Poland — Ukraine’s foreign minister says that now his country’s government is back in control of the Chernobyl nuclear site, it will work with the U.N. atomic agency to determine what the occupying Russians did there and mitigate any danger.
Russian troops left the heavily contaminated nuclear site early Friday after returning control to the Ukrainians.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the Russians behaved irresponsibly at the site during the more than four weeks that they controlled it, preventing staff at the plant from performing their full duties and digging trenches in contaminated areas.
Kuleba told a news conference in Warsaw that the Russian government had exposed its soldiers to radiation, endangering their health.
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ROME — Venice is preparing special material to send to Lviv’s National Art Gallery and other museums in the Ukrainian city so artworks can be better protected during the war.
Mariacristina Gribaudi, head of the Venice Civic Museums Foundation, said in a statement Friday that some 65,000 artworks and 2,000 sculptures have been placed in Lviv storerooms as a precaution, but the objects aren’t adequately protected.
The Venice foundation will oversee a shipment of special fabric that can cover paintings and graphic art as well as furniture, costumes and materials made from glass or marble to protect the objects from the majority of solvents and gasses. The fabric also impedes mold and fungus growth while the works are in storage.
Also being sent are polyethylene foam shock-resistant panels.
Venice museums experts also gave advice in a video call with the Lviv gallery’s management about how to best store artworks.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says that new sanctions against Russia are needed “to force (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to end this crazy aggression.”
Le Drian, who was in Estonia and spoke through an interpreter, also said Friday that “Russia cannot expect to win this war.”
Le Drian was to travel later in the day to Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.
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ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated that he would like to host a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders in Istanbul, in the hope that it would “turn the negative course of events into a positive one.”
Erdogan made the comments on Friday hours before he was scheduled to hold a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the call, he was expected to renew an offer to host a leaders’ meeting.
Erdogan told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with whom he spoke on Thursday, had a “positive outlook” toward such a meeting in Turkey and that Putin’s attitude had been positive in the past.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations held a face-to-face meeting in Istanbul earlier this week during which Ukraine presented a list of proposals, including that it would have neutral status guaranteed by a range of foreign countries.
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LVIV, Ukraine — Talks between Russia and Ukraine have resumed via video link.
Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky published a picture of the talks under way Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office confirmed to The Associated Press that the negotiations had resumed.
Friday’s talks came three days after the last meeting, in Turkey, between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Medinsky, the Russian lead negotiator, said “our positions on Crimea and the Donbas are unchanged.”
Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in southern Ukraine in 2014. The Donbas is the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial region where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014.
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BRUSSELS — The European Union’s executive arm is proposing that the 27-nation bloc’s countries allow the millions of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine to exchange their hryvnia banknotes into the currencies of host member nations.
The European Commission said Friday its proposal aims at promoting a coordinated approach within the region.
“This approach was necessary in light of the fact that the National Bank of Ukraine had to suspend the exchange of hryvnia banknotes into foreign cash in order to protect Ukraine’s limited foreign exchange reserves,” the commission said.
“As a consequence, credit institutions in EU Member States have been unwilling to carry out the exchanges due to the limited convertibility of hryvnia banknotes and exposure to exchange rate risk.”
According to EU figures, more than 3.8 million of people fleeing the war have arrived in the European Union. More than 4 million have fled Ukraine.
The Commission proposed a maximum limit of 10,000 hryvnias (306 euros) per person, without charges, at the official exchange rate as published by the National Bank of Ukraine.
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BERLIN — The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog says he will head a team to the decommissioned Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine “as soon as possible.”
Rafael Mariano Grossi wrote on Twitter that the International Atomic Energy Agency “assistance and support” mission to Chernobyl “will be the first in a series of such nuclear safety and security missions to Ukraine.”
Grossi’s comments followed his visits to Ukraine and then to Russia this week. He didn’t elaborate on his plans or give a more precise timeframe. He was due to hold a news conference in Vienna later Friday.
Russian forces took control of Chernobyl, the site of a 1986 nuclear disaster, at the beginning of the war. But authorities say the troops have now left after returning control to the Ukrainians.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The Norwegian government is proposing a national 14.4 billion kroner ($1.7 billion) crisis package for the war in Ukraine, including spending on refugees and national defense.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told a press conference Friday, “We should take good care” of the Ukrainian refugees while they are in Norway. “This will demand the best of us,” he said.
If the proposal is passed by parliament, as expected, some 7.1 billion kroner ($815 million) will be spent on the refugees, police and the Norwegian immigration agency. Norway expects to receive 35,000 refugees this year.
Money is also going to strengthening the country’s military and civilian defense. Earlier the government has said it wants an extra allocation of 3.5 billion kroner ($402 million) for 2022 to strengthen NATO member Norway’s Armed Forces and civilian preparedness.
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MOSCOW — The Kremlin says reports that Ukrainian helicopter gunships attacked a fuel depot inside Russia, setting it ablaze, are not conducive to talks between the two sides in the war.
Asked if the reported incident could be viewed as an escalation of the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks.”
Russia-Ukraine talks were expected to continue Friday via video link.
The governor of the Russian border region of Belgorod accused Ukraine of flying helicopter gunships into Russian territory early Friday morning and targeting the oil depot, in what if confirmed would be the first attack of its kind.
It was not immediately possible to verify the report.
Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the reported fire. He told a daily conference call with reporters that Russian authorities were taking measures to ensure fuel supplies in the region were not disrupted.
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BEIJING — China is accusing the United States of instigating the war in Ukraine and says NATO should have been disbanded following the break-up of the Soviet Union.
“As the culprit and leading instigator of the Ukraine crisis, the U.S. has led NATO to engage in five rounds of eastward expansion in the last two decades after 1999,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters at a daily briefing Friday.
“The number of NATO members increased from 16 to 30, and they have moved eastward more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) to somewhere near the Russian border, pushing Russia to the wall step by step,” Zhao said.
While China says it is not taking sides in the conflict, it has declared a “no limits” partnership with Moscow, has refused to condemn the invasion, opposes sanctions on Russia and routinely amplifies Russian disinformation about the conflict, including not referring to it as an invasion or a war in keeping with Russian practice.
Zhao’s comments came as Chinese and European Union leaders were meeting virtually for a summit at which Ukraine was expected to dominate discussions. EU officials say they are looking for a commitment from China not to undermine sanctions and assist in efforts to halt the fighting.
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GENEVA — The International Committee of the Red Cross says it’s not sure that a planned delivery of aid into Mariupol and an evacuation of civilians out of the besieged Ukrainian city will happen Friday.
Spokesman Ewan Watson told a U.N. briefing in Geneva that the humanitarian group has sent three vehicles toward Mariupol and a frontline between Ukrainian and Russian forces, but two trucks carrying supplies for the city were not accompanying them.
Dozens of busses that have been put together by Ukrainian authorities to take people out also have not started approaching the dividing line, he said Friday.
Watson called it an “extremely complex” operation, adding that “not all details are in place to ensure that this happens today.”
He said the hope was that “thousands” of people could be ferried out, and their destination would be into parts of Ukraine less affected by the fighting that has been ongoing since Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24.
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Europol, the European Union police agency, has sent teams to countries bordering Ukraine in an effort to protect refugees from criminals.
The Hague-based agency said Friday its teams are supporting local authorities by running secondary security checks and seeking to “identify criminals and terrorists trying to enter the EU in the refugee flow and exploit the situation.”
The Europol teams are operating in Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Moldova and are planning to deploy to Romania, too.
The agency says they also are gathering intelligence to feed into criminal threat assessments across Europe.
The United Nations says that more than 4 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Police in Norway say they have intensified information and intelligence gathering as a result of the security situation in Europe.
The move is to help “prevent and detect crime as a result of the migration flow and the tense security policy situation,” National Police Commissioner Benedicte Bjørnland said in a statement Friday.
She added that “we are particularly aware of the crime challenges that may arise as a result of the migration flow.” She did not elaborate.
More than 7,800 Ukrainians have sought asylum in Norway.
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TOKYO — Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi says he is heading to Poland later Friday to assess the need for the war-displaced Ukrainians in that country and assist those who seek refuge in Japan.
Hayashi, during his five-day trip through Tuesday, is set to meet with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and other top officials, as well as international organizations. Officials are still making arrangements for a possibility of his government plane bringing some Ukrainians on his way back, Hayashi said.
“In order to support the Ukrainian people facing the difficulty and to show our solidarity with Ukraine, Japan is pursuing our effort to accept those who fled to a third country,” Hayashi said.
Japan’s government last month launched a taskforce to prepare accepting Ukrainian war-displaced as part of humanitarian support — a rare move for a country known for its strict and reluctant refugee policy. Several municipalities, including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Ibaraki and Osaka, have offered to be their host towns and provide support for medical needs, education, jobs and housing.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky told reporters Friday that some 300 relatives of Ukrainian residents in Japan have been granted entry, and more arrivals are expected from next week.
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BRUSSELS — The president of the European Parliament says she is traveling to Kyiv.
Roberta Metsola announced the trip to the Ukrainian capital city on her Twitter account late Thursday, posting a picture of her standing in front of a railcar.
Metsola is the first president of an EU institution to travel to the Ukrainian capital since the war began on Feb. 24. Details about her travel plans and who she will meet have not been announced.
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SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that his country will be sending armored Bushmaster vehicles to Ukraine to help in its war against Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyaddressed the Australian Parliament on Thursday and asked for the Australian-manufactured four-wheel-drive vehicles and other aid.
Morrison told reporters the vehicles will be flown over on Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport planes, but he didn’t specify how many Bushmaster vehicles would be sent or when.
“We’re not just sending our prayers, we are sending our guns, we’re sending our munitions, we’re sending our humanitarian aid, we’re sending all of this, our body armor, all of these things and we’re going to be sending our armored vehicles, our Bushmasters as well,” Morrison said.
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LVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has stripped two generals of their military rank.
Zelenskyy said “something prevented them from determining where their homeland was” and they “violated their military oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people.”
According to Zelenskyy, one of the generals had headed internal security at the SBU, the main intelligence agency.
He said the other general had been the SBU head in the Kherson region, the first major city to fall to the Russians.
Zelenskyy didn’t say anything about the fates of the two generals other than them being stripped of their rank.
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LVIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian government said Russian forces blocked 45 buses that had been sent to evacuate civilians from the besieged port city of Mariupol, and only 631 people were able to get out of the city in private cars.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said late Thursday that 12 Ukrainian buses with humanitarian aid left Melitopol for Mariupol, but the Russian forces stopped the buses and seized the 14 tons of food and medicines.
According to Ukrainian officials, tens of thousands of people have made it out of Mariupol in recent weeks along humanitarian corridors, reducing the prewar population of 430,000 to about 100,000 by last week.
Vereshchuk said about 45,000 Mariupol residents have been forcefully deported to Russia and areas of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists.
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LVIV, Ukraine — The last Russian troops left the Chernobyl nuclear plant early Friday, according to the Ukrainian government agency responsible for the exclusion zone around the plant.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Russian troops who dug trenches in the forest were exposed to radiation, but that could not be confirmed.
The Ukrainian nuclear operator company Energoatom said Thursday that Russian troops were headed toward Ukraine’s border with Belarus.
Energoatom said that the Russian military was also preparing to leave Slavutych, a nearby city where power plant workers live.
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Talks to stop the fighting in Ukraine resumed Friday, as another desperate attempt to rescue civilians from the shattered and encircled city of Mariupol failed and Russia accused the Ukrainians of a cross-border helicopter attack on a fuel depot.
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said a fiery raid on Russian soil by two helicopter gunships left two people wounded, though state oil company Rosneft denied anyone was hurt.
“Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, five weeks after Moscow began sending upwards of 150,000 of own troops across Ukraine’s border.
The Russian claim could not immediately be verified. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he could “neither confirm nor reject the claim that Ukraine was involved in this, simply because I do not possess all the military information.”
Russia has reported cross-border shelling from Ukraine before, including an incident last week that killed a military chaplain, but not an incursion of its airspace. The Rosneft depot is about 35 kilometers (21 miles) from the Ukraine border.
Meanwhile, Russian troops continued withdrawing from areas around Kyiv, three days after Moscow said it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv to promote trust between the two sides. And Ukrainian forces exploited the pullback by mounting counterattacks and retaking towns and villages.
But Ukraine and its allies warned that the Kremlin is not de-escalating but resupplying its troops and redeploying them to the country’s east for an intensified assault on the predominantly Russian-speaking Donbas region, which includes Mariupol.
The latest negotiations, taking place by video, follow a meeting Tuesday in Turkey, where Ukraine reiterated its willingness to abandon a bid to join NATO and declare itself neutral — Moscow’s chief demand. In return, Ukraine proposed that its security be guaranteed by several other countries.
The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, wrote on social media that Moscow’s positions on retaining control of the Crimean Peninsula — seized from Ukraine in 2014 — and expanding the territory in eastern Ukraine held by Russia-backed separatists “are unchanged.”
The invasion that has left thousands dead and driven more than 4 million refugees from Ukraine.
On the outskirts of Kyiv, where Russian troops have withdrawn, damaged cars lined the streets of Irpin, a suburban area popular with young families, now in ruins. Emergency workers carried elderly people on stretchers over a wrecked bridge to safety.
Three wooden crosses next to a residential building that was damaged in a shelling marked the graves of a mother and son and an unknown man. A resident who gave her name only as Lila said she helped hurriedly bury them on March 5, just before Russian troops moved in.
“They were hit with artillery and they were burned alive,” she said.
An Irpin resident who gave his name only as Andriy said the Russians packed up their equipment and left on Tuesday. The next day, they shelled the town for close to an hour before Ukrainian soldiers retook it.
“I don’t think this is over,” Andriy said. “They will be back.”
To the south, the International Committee for the Red Cross said it was unable to carry out an operation to bring civilians out of Mariupol by bus. It said a team had been on its way but had to turn back.
City authorities said the Russians were blocking access to Mariupol.
“We do not see a real desire on the part of the Russians and their satellites to provide an opportunity for Mariupol residents to evacuate to territory controlled by Ukraine,” Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
He said Russian forces “are categorically not allowing any humanitarian cargo, even in small amounts, into the city.”
The strategic port city on the Sea of Azov has seen some of the worst suffering of the war, with weeks of heavy fighting and shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine. Around 100,000 people are believed left in the city, down from a prewar 430,000.
“We are running out of adjectives to describe the horrors that residents in Mariupol have suffered,” Red Cross spokesperson Ewan Watson said.
On Thursday, Russian forces blocked a 45-bus convoy attempting to evacuate people from Mariupol, and only around 600 people were able to leave in private cars, the Ukrainian government said. Russian forces also seized 14 tons of food and medical supplies bound for Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
In the past few days, the Kremlin, in a seeming shift in its war aims, said its “main goal” is gaining complete control of the Donbas. Mariupol’s capture would be a major prize for the Russians, giving them an unbroken land bridge to Crimea.
The Donbas is the industrial region of eastern Ukraine where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014. The separatists have declared two areas independent republics.
Despite its pledge to scale back, Russian forces have continued to bombard both the Chernihiv area and cities on the outskirts of Kyiv. But Ukraine’s military said it had retaken 29 settlements in the two regions amid a Russian withdrawal of some of its troops.
Russian forces in the northeast also continued to shell Kharkiv, and in the southeast sought to seize the cities of Popasna and Rubizhne as well as Mariupol, the Ukrainian military said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces also withdrew from the heavily contaminated Chernobyl site in northern Ukraine early Friday.
Ukraine’s state power company, Energoatom, said Russian soldiers had received “significant doses” of radiation from digging trenches in the exclusion zone around the closed nuclear power plant. But the International Atomic Energy Agency said it could not independently confirm that, and there was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.
Energoatom gave no details on the condition of the soldiers and did not say how many were affected.
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Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Andrea Rosa in Irpin, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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BEIJING (AP) — About 16 million residents in Shanghai are being tested for the coronavirus during the second stage of the lockdown that shifted Friday to the western half of China’s biggest city and financial capital.
Meanwhile, residents of Shanghai’s eastern districts who were supposed to be released from four days of isolation have been told their lockdowns could be extended if COVID-19 cases are found in their residential compounds.
The lockdown in Shanghai, being done in two phases over eight days to enable testing of its entire population, has shaken global markets worried about the possible economic impact. China’s manufacturing activity fellto a five-month low in March, a monthly survey showed, as lockdowns and other restrictions forced factories to suspend production.
For four days starting Friday, residents of Puxi on the west side of the Huangpu River dividing Shanghai cannot leave their neighborhoods or housing compounds. The gates at some compounds were locked from the outside, with groceries and meals delivered to collection points.
Government workers and volunteers wearing full protective equipment went door-to-door with megaphones in the city with 26 million people, calling on residents to report for testing at designated sites where they were met by long lines and waits of more than 90 minutes.
Veronica Wang, a resident of Pudong, as Shanghai’s eastern half is known, said she and many she knows were still under lockdown, with no word on when normal life will be restored.
Wang’s compound had been closed off even before the lockdown began. She said a large part of her days is now spent on trying to hop on to large group orders for groceries and items from soy sauce to toothpaste obtained through personal connections.
“For example, we have one (group order) set up for vegetables, one for eggs, one for bread,” she said.
Shanghai had not previously experienced a sweeping lockdown, although many residents chose to stay at home even without formal orders to do so.
This time, the “whole environment is rather tense,” Wang said, citing a neighbor who waited hours for an emergency call to be answered.
“The mood is different,” she said.
China’s National Health Commission said another 1,787 domestic cases of COVID-19 had been recorded on Thursday, including 358 in Shanghai. Another 5,442 tested positive for the virus without becoming ill, 4,144 of them in Shanghai.
People who tested positive without symptoms are being taken to temporary isolation centers, including gymnasiums and exhibition centers.
Public transport has been suspended and roads closed, bringing the normally bustling metropolis to a standstill. While city residents are being told to stay put, airports and train stations remain open.
The lockdown reflects China’s continuing adherence to its “zero-COVID” approach despite restrictions being eased elsewhere. China set the hard-line tone at the start of the pandemic in 2020 with the 76-day lockdown on the city of Wuhan where the virus was first detected.
The measures have been decried by some Chinese as excessive, although there has been little open defiance. Amid the grumbling, Shanghai authorities have conceded shortcomings in their handling of the surge driven by the omicron variant, after panic buying stripped store shelves of necessities.
“We didn’t prepare sufficiently enough,” Ma Chunlei, a senior Shanghai official said at a news conference Thursday. “We sincerely accept the criticisms from the public and are making efforts to improve it.”
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Seeking to counter international fears over its new security alliance with China, the Solomon Islands said Friday it won’t allow China to build a military base there.
But that insistence will do little to ease concerns about the pact from the nation’s traditional partners that include New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
The leader of neighboring Micronesia added his voice to those expressing trepidation by invoking the bloody battles of World War II and warning that the pact could again see the South Pacific region become a battleground for much larger powers.
The Solomon Islands government said Thursday a draft agreement of the new security pact had been initialed by representatives from the Solomons and China and would be “cleaned up” and signed.
In a statement Friday, the Solomon Islands government said that “contrary to the misinformation promoted by antigovernment commentators” the agreement did not invite China to establish a military base.
“Government is conscious of the security ramification of hosting a military base, and it will not be careless to allow such initiative to take place under its watch,” the statement said.
The statement seemed to more emphatically rule out the possibility of a base after Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare had earlier told parliament it had no intention of asking China to build a base.
Sogavare said his nation sought only peace and prosperity, citing its foreign policy mantra: “We are friends to all and enemies to none.” He said it wasn’t a secret deal but a sovereign issue.
Under the terms of the draft agreement, China could send police, military personnel and other armed forces to the Solomon Islands “to assist in maintaining social order” and for a variety of other reasons. It could also send warships to the islands for stopovers and to replenish supplies, which had led to speculation about the possibility of China establishing a naval base on the South Pacific islands.
China has denied seeking a military foothold in the islands and accused others of raising tensions.
Apparently referring to the U.S. and its allies, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Friday blamed others for militarizing the South Pacific and said the agreement with the Solomon Islands was predicated on maintaining the safety of lives and property and “does not have any military overtones.”
“When it comes to the militarization of the South Pacific region, individual countries, despite strong opposition from regional countries, are bent on creating a militarized coterie and seriously threatening regional security and stability by introducing the risk of nuclear proliferation into the South Pacific,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing.
“That wantonly trampled on and damaged the existing stability mechanism in the region,” Zhao said.
China’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Micronesia President David Panuelo wrote a letter to Sogavare saying Micronesia had “grave security concerns” about the “novel and unprecedented” arrangement.
He said the two small nations had become battle grounds during World War II and that it could happen again as China, the U.S. and Australia asserted themselves in the region.
“And is it plausible that, once the spheres have been carved out, that our concerns about climate change — today’s problem — would manifest into all-too-real concerns about a war in our backyards, with our people, our islands, as the playground for children playing as adults?” Panuelo wrote to Sogavare.
Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said Friday that while it respected the Solomons’ sovereignty, the deal showed that China was acting aggressively in the region.
“We need to be very cautious here because the Chinese are incredibly aggressive, the tactics that they’re deploying into small island nations are quite remarkable,” he told Sky News.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern this week described the possibility of Chinese military forces stationed on the Solomon Islands as “the potential militarization of the region.” And the U.S. State Department said Washington did not believe China’s security forces and methods needed to be exported.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Thursday that “relevant parties should see the China-Solomon Islands security cooperation objectively and rationally and stop making irresponsible remarks.”
“Attempts to provoke, obstruct and undermine China’s friendly relations with the island countries is not popular and will not succeed,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing.
“China-Solomon Islands cooperation does not target any third party and is not in conflict with Solomon Islands’ cooperation with other countries. Instead, it complements the existing regional cooperation mechanisms in a positive way,” he added.
The Solomon Islands, home to about 700,000 people, switched its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019 — a contributing factor to riots in November last year between residents of different islands within the country.
Australian police have been in the capital, Honiara, maintaining peace since then under a bilateral security treaty established in 2017. It provides a legal basis for the rapid deployment of Australian police, troops and associated civilians in the event of a major security challenge.
Chinese police are already on the islands conducting a training mission.
The Federated States of Micronesia is home to about 100,000 people. It has diplomatic relations and considers itself a “friend” of China, as well as having a close relationship with the U.S. under a compact of free association.
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https://www.koin.com/news/international/un-authorizes-new-au-mission-in-somalia-to-combat-extremists/
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to endorse the African Union’s new transitional mission in Somalia and authorized it to take action against al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups and conduct a phased handover of security responsibilities to Somalia’s government.
The African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia, known as ATMIS, replaces the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, which has been in the Horn of Africa nation for 15 years trying to build lasting peace and security.
While the resolution adopted by the council recognizes significant changes in the security situation since it authorized AMISOM in February 2007 and improvements in Somalia’s capability to respond to security challenges, it also reaffirms “the need to combat terrorist threats by all means.”
Only in the past few years has Somalia begun to find its footing after three decades of chaos from warlords to the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group and the emergence of Islamic State-linked extremist groups. Last year, a political crisis further postponed long-delayed elections and lower house elections which were to be completed on March 15 are still not complete, further delaying the vote for a new president.
The British-drafted resolution authorizes the new ATMIS mission to support the Somali forces “in providing security for the political process at all levels.”
The Security Council underscored that completing the electoral process without further delay and achieving “a peaceful transition of power” will help Somalia move ahead with its national priorities and support its 2021 transition plan which outlines steps toward the gradual handover of responsibilities for security from international forces to the government.
The council reiterated its objective “of enabling Somalia to take full responsibility for its own security, including through assuming the leading role in countering and addressing the threat posed by al-Shabab.”
The resolution authorizes ATMIS to conduct jointly planned operations with Somali security forces “to degrade al-Shabab and affiliates linked to ISIL,” an acronym for the Islamic State group.
The council authorized AU member nations to deploy up to 19,626 uniformed personnel, including a minimum of 1.040 police, until Dec. 31, and endorsed the AU Peace and Security Council’s decision to reduce the peacekeeping force by 2,000 by that date. It authorized a reduced force of 17,626 between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2023, and noted that a joint proposal including the AU and Somalia envisions further cuts to 14,626 in September 2023, 10,626 in June 2024 and “zero personnel” by the end of December 2024.
The resolution welcomes the Somali government’s intention to generate 3,850 new security forces by December 2022, 8,525 new forces by September 2023 and 10,450 new forces by June 2024.
AMISOM was funded by voluntary contributions, especially from the European Union, with logistical support from the United Nations. The Security Council urged U.N. member nations, including new donors, “to consider providing predictable, sustainable and multi-year support for ATMIS.”
After the vote, Britain’s deputy U.N. ambassador James Kariuki thanked council members for their support “in the adoption of this landmark resolution.”
U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Mills said the resolution “provides a vital opportunity to build on AMISOM’s efforts and take the next steps to roll back al-Shabaab, enabling Somalia to provide the security and stability required for the Somali people to achieve their aspirations.”
“Al-Shabab is a formidable and adaptable threat to Somalia, and to East Africa more broadly,” he said. “As al-Qaeda’s largest and best financed affiliate, al-Shabab represents a threat that requires a vigorous and broad-based response. The ATMIS mandate provides the opportunity to adapt and reinvigorate the African-led, international effort against al-Shabab.”
Albania’s political coordinator Arian Spasse noted al-Shabab’s increased attacks on security forces and civilians in recent months and called on the government again to complete elections.
“It is crucial the newly elected government turn its focus to the deteriorating security situation, to the undertaking of reforms, and to the humanitarian crisis caused by the unprecedented droughts, which is plunging the population into another famine,” he said. “Further delays will give al-Shabaab more time to overshadow the government’s effort to provide peace and prosperity, and will fuel al-Shabab propaganda as an alternative to a democratically elected government.”
Somalia’s U.N. Ambassador Abukar Osman expressed disappointment that the council’s resolution didn’t provide more funding for its security forces, address the need for a unified and centralized command for ATMIS, and greater logistical support
Addressing these issues will ensure that the resolution is aligned with Somalia’s strategic document on security, he said.
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https://www.koin.com/news/international/war-in-ukraine-fuels-fears-among-draft-age-russian-youths/
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As Moscow’s forces bog down in Ukraine, many young Russians of draft age are increasingly jittery about the prospect of being sent into combat. Making those fears particularly acute is an annual spring conscription that begins Friday and aims to round up 134,500 men for a one-year tour of military duty.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu pledged at a meeting of the military brass this week that the new recruits won’t be sent to front lines or “hot spots.”
But the statement was met with skepticism by many in Russia who remember the separatist wars in the southern republic of Chechnya in the 1990s and early 2000s, when thousands of poorly trained young men were killed.
“I don’t trust them when they say they won’t send conscripts into combat. They lie all the time,” said Vladislav, a 22-year-old who is completing his studies and fears he could face the draft immediately after graduation. He asked that his last name not be used, fearing reprisals.
All Russian men aged 18-27 must serve one year in the military, but a large share avoid the draft for health reasons or deferments granted to university students. The share of men who avoid the draft is particularly big in Moscow and other major cities.
Even as President Vladimir Putin and his officials say that conscripts aren’t involved in what Russian authorities call “the special military operation in Ukraine,” many appeared to have been taken prisoner during its initial days. Videos emerged from Ukraine of captured Russians, some being shown calling their parents, and were put on social media.
The mother of one of the prisoners said she recognized her 20-year-old draftee son in a video even though he was shown blindfolded.
“I recognized him by his lips, by his chin. You know, I would have recognized him by his fingers,” said the woman, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Lyubov, for security reasons. “I breastfed him. I raised him.”
The Defense Ministry was forced to walk back its statements and acknowledge that some conscripts were sent to Ukraine “by mistake” and were taken prisoner while serving with a supply unit away from the front.
There have been allegations that before the invasion, some conscripts were forced to sign military contracts that allowed them to be sent into combat — duty that is normally reserved only for volunteers in the army. Some of the captured soldiers said they were told by their commanding officers that they were going to a military exercise but suddenly found themselves fighting in Ukraine.
Lyudmila Narusova, a member of the upper house of the Russian parliament, spoke in early March about an entire company of 100 men who were forced to sign such contracts and were sent into the combat zone — and only four survived. Military officials did not comment on her allegation.
Svetlana Agapitova, the human rights commissioner in St. Petersburg, said Wednesday that relatives of seven soldiers had written to her to complain the men had been forced to sign the contract and sent to Ukraine against their will. She said two of them already had been brought back to Russia.
In recent years, the Kremlin has emphasized increasing the share of volunteer contract soldiers as it sought to modernize the army and improve its readiness. The force of 1 million now has over 400,000 contract soldiers, including 147,000 in the infantry. If the war drags on, those numbers could be insufficient to sustain the operations.
The Kremlin could eventually face a choice: Keep fighting with a limited number of troops and see the offensive stall, or try to replenish the ranks with a broader draft and risk public outrage that could fuel anti-draft sentiment and destabilize the political situation. Such a scenario occurred during the fighting in Chechnya.
Dmitry, a 25-year-old IT expert, has a deferment that should keep him out of the draft for medical reasons. But he’s still nervous like many others, fearing authorities could abruptly waive some deferments to bolster the military.
“I hate the war. I think it’s a total disaster,” said Dmitry, who also asked that he not be identified by has last name, fearing reprisals. “I fear that the government could change the rules and I could face the draft. They also were saying for months that they wouldn’t attack Ukraine, so why should I trust what they say about the draft now?”
Proposed legislation would facilitate the draft by allowing military recruiters to call up conscripts more easily, but the bill has been put on hold for now.
Still, it added to the public’s anxiety.
Alexei Tabalov, a lawyer who advises conscripts, said medical panels at recruitment offices often admit youths who should be exempt from service because of illness. Now, he added, their attitudes could grow even tougher.
“It’s quite probable that doctors may shut their eyes to conscripts’ illnesses and declare them fit for military duty,” Tabalov said.
In addition to lowering the medical standard for draftees, there are fears that the government could try to impose some sort of martial law that would ban Russian men from leaving the country and, like Ukraine, force them to fight.
“We have received a lot of calls from people fearing mobilization,” Tabalov said. “People now are afraid of everything in this situation. No one even thought before about the need to analyze the law on mobilization.”
The Kremlin has strongly denied any such plans, and military officials insist the army has enough contract soldiers to serve in Ukraine. Still, many Russians remain skeptical of the officials’ denials, given their track record.
“What kind of trust could there be if Putin says one day that conscripts will not be sent there … and then the Defense Ministry recognizes that they were there?” Tabalov asked.
An existing law allows for a 21-month alternative civil service in hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities for those who view military duty as incompatible with their beliefs, but military conscription offices often broadly ignore requests for such service.
After the war began, Tabalov said his group saw a large increase in inquiries about the alternative service law, which is vaguely phrased and allows military officials to easily turn down applications.
“We are worried that in the current militarist mood, military conscription offices can take a tougher attitude and reject appeals for the alternative civil service,” he said.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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DENVER (AP) — A federal jury’s $14 million award to Denver protesters hit with pepper balls and a bag filled with lead during 2020 demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis could resonate nationwide as courts weigh more than two dozen similar lawsuits.
The jury found police used excessive force against protesters, violating their constitutional rights, and ordered the city of Denver to pay 12 who sued.
Nationwide, there are at least 29 pending lawsuits challenging law enforcement use of force during the 2020 protests, according to a search of the University of Michigan’s Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse.
The verdict in Denver could give cities an incentive to settle similar cases rather than risk going to trial and losing, said Michael J. Steinberg, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School and director of the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative. It could also prompt more protesters to sue over their treatment at the hands of police.
“There’s no doubt that the large jury verdict in Denver will influence the outcome of pending police misconduct cases brought by Black Lives Matter protesters across the country,” said Steinberg, whose law students have been working on a similar lawsuit brought by protesters in Detroit.
Lawyers for the claimants argued that police used indiscriminate force against the nonviolent protesters, including some who were filming the demonstrations, because officers did not like their message critical of law enforcement.
“To the protest of police violence they responded with brutality,” one of their attorneys, Timothy Macdonald, told jurors.
People who took part in the protests have already made similar allegations in lawsuits filed across the country.
In Washington, DC, activists and civil liberties groups sued over the forcible removal of protesters before then-President Donald Trump walked to a church near the White House for a photo op. The claims against federal officials were dismissed last year but a judge allowed the case against local police to continue.
Several lawsuits alleging protesters were wrongfully arrested or that police used excessive force have been filed against New York City and its police department, including one brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James that claims police used excessive force and wrongfully arrested protesters. In Rochester, New York, people who protested the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man who lost consciousness after being pinned to the street by officers during a mental health call in 2020, claim police used extreme force against them in a lawsuit that also alleges city officials have allowed a culture of police brutality against racial minorities to fester.
One of their attorneys, Donald Thompson, said he plans to raise the Denver award in settlement talks with the city and note that unlike most of the Denver protesters, some of his clients suffered lasting injuries including the loss of an eye and scarring from being hit in the face with a tear gas canister. Thompson also thinks the Denver verdict shows that the public, in the age of cellphone and body camera videos, is not as willing to give police the benefit of the doubt anymore.
“Now people see how this policing really works. You can’t be naïve,” he said.
A spokesperson for Rochester, Barbara Pierce, declined to comment, saying the best forum to discuss its legal position was through the litigation process. When the case was filed, the city said it had already revised the way police responds to protests.
Over the last two months, the city of Austin, Texas has agreed to pay a total of $13 million to four people who were hit in the head with bean bag rounds fired by police.
Even before the Denver ruling last week, the police department made some changes in response to criticism that arose from the protests, including eliminating the use of 40mm foam rounds for crowd control and changing the way officers are permitted to use pepper balls.
Denver’s Department of Public Safety, which includes the police department, said in a statement that the city was not prepared for the level of sustained violence and destruction. During the trial, lawyers and witnesses said over 80 officers were injured as some in the crowds hurled rocks, water bottles and canned food at them.
The department said it continues to evaluate its policies to “better protect peaceful protestors while addressing those who are only there to engage in violence.”
Still, the large award is not expected to lead to an overhaul of how officers respond to what experts say are inherently chaotic situations that are difficult to prepare for.
Ed Obayashi, a use-of-force consultant to law enforcement agencies and a deputy sheriff and legal adviser in Plumas County, California, said society may have to bear the cost of such settlements because innocent people can be injured during protests as outnumbered police try to react on the fly, including to people intent on violence.
“It really goes south in an instant because there are individuals out there who want to cause chaos,” he said.
Obayashi said there is not much police training for protests, which have been relatively rare. He said it would be prohibitively expensive to have officers practice deploying equipment such as tear gas canisters. Because projectiles used in crowds and considered “less lethal” by police, such as rubber bullets and pepper balls, have less velocity and less power to hurt people, it is harder to ensure they hit their intended target, he said.
Lawyers representing people who have also alleged police misconduct and violation of their constitutional right to protest can now use the Denver damage award as part of their own settlement negotiations, said Mark Silverstein, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented some of the winning Denver protesters.
The decision came nearly two years after thousands of people angry about Floyd’s death took the streets nationwide, a relatively quick result for the legal system and soon enough for others who allege misconduct by police to file a claim. In Colorado and many other states, there is a two-year statute of limitations for such lawsuits Silverstein said, leaving only a few months for others to sue.
The city attorney’s office said it has not decided whether to appeal the verdict, but appeals in such big cases are common, said Gloria Browne-Marshall, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Outside lawyers will also scrutinize the case to try to determine if there are unique circumstances that may have led to a “lightning in a bottle” verdict that is less likely to be repeated.
However, she thinks the verdict sends a significant message that regular people respect the right of protest and demand change from the government, which she believes police and prosecutors have been undermining.
“It should send a message to both, but whether or not they listen is a different issue,” Browne-Marshall said.
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Wilfred Tebah doesn’t begrudge the U.S. for swiftly granting humanitarian protections to Ukrainians escaping Russia’s devastating invasion of their homeland.
But the 27-year-old, who fled Cameroon during its ongoing conflict, can’t help but wonder what would happen if the millions fleeing that Eastern Europe nation were a different hue.
As the U.S. prepares to welcome tens of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing war, the country continues to deport scores of African and Caribbean refugees back to unstable and violent homelands where they’ve faced rape, torture, arbitrary arrest and other abuses.
“They do not care about a Black man,” the Columbus, Ohio, resident said, referring to U.S. politicians. “The difference is really clear. They know what is happening over there, and they have decided to close their eyes and ears.”
Tebah’s concerns echo protests against the swift expulsions of Haitian refugeescrossing the border this summer without a chance to seek asylum, not to mention the frosty reception African and Middle Eastern refugees have faced in western Europe compared with how those nations have enthusiastically embraced displaced Ukrainians.
In March, when President Joe Biden made a series of announcements welcoming 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, granting Temporary Protected Statusto another 30,000 already in the U.S. and halting Ukrainian deportations, two Democratic lawmakers seized on the moment to call for similar humanitarian considerations for Haitians.
“There is every reason to extend the same level of compassion,” U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, of Massachusetts, and Mondaire Jones, of New York, wrote to the administration, noting more than 20,000 Haitians have been deported despite continued instability after the assassination of Haiti’s president and a powerful earthquake this summer.
Cameroonian advocates have similarly ratcheted up their calls for humanitarian relief, protesting in front of the Washington residence of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the offices of leading members of Congress this month.
Their calls come as hundreds of thousands in Cameroon have been displaced in recent years by the country’s civil war between its French-speaking government and English-speaking separatists, attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram and other regional conflicts.
The advocacy group Human Rights Watch, in a February report, found many Cameroonians deported from the U.S. suffered persecution and human rights violations upon returning there.
Tebah, who is a leading member of the Cameroon American Council, an advocacy group organizing protests this month, said that’s a fate he hopes to avoid.
Hailing from the country’s English-speaking northwest, he said he was branded a separatist and apprehended by the government because of his activism as a college student. Tebah said he managed to escape, as many Cameroonians have, by flying to Latin America, trekking overland to the U.S.-Mexico border and petitioning for asylum in 2019.
“I will be held in prison, tortured and even killed if I am deported,” he said. “I’m very scared. As a human, my life matters too.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TPS and other humanitarian programs, declined to respond to the complaints of racism in American immigration policy. It also declined to say whether it was weighing granting TPS to Cameroonians or other African nationals, saying in a written statement only that it will “continue to monitor conditions in various countries.”
The agency noted, however, that it has recently issued TPS designations for Haiti, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan — all African or Caribbean nations — as well as tomore than 75,000 Afghans living in the U.S. after the Taliban takeover of that Central Asian nation. Haitians are among the largest and longest-tenured beneficiaries of TPS, with more than 40,000 currently on the status.
Other TPS countries include Burma, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen, and the majority of the nearly 320,000 immigrants with Temporary Protected Status hail from El Salvador.
Lisa Parisio, who helped launch Catholics Against Racism in Immigration, argues the program could easily help protect millions more refugees fleeing danger but has historically been underused and over-politicized.
TPS, which provides a work permit and staves off deportation for up to 18 months, doesn’t have limits for how many countries or people can be placed on it, said Parisio, who is the advocacy director for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.
Yet former President Donald Trump, in his broader efforts to restrict immigration, pared down TPS, allowing designations for Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in West Africa to expire.
Although programs like TPS provide critical protections for vulnerable refugees, they can also leave many in legal limbo for years without providing a pathway to citizenship, said Karla Morales, a 24-year-old from El Salvador who has been on TPS nearly her whole life.
“It’s absurd to consider 20 years in this country temporary,” the University of Massachusetts Boston nursing student said. “We need validation that the work we’ve put in is appreciated and that our lives have value.”
At least in the case of Ukraine, Biden appears motivated by broader foreign policy goals in Europe, rather than racial bias, suggests María Cristina García, a history professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, focused on refugees and immigrants.
But Tom Wong, founding director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego, said the racial disparities couldn’t be clearer.
“The U.S. has responded without hesitation by extending humanitarian protections to predominately white and European refugees,” he said. “All the while, predominately people of color from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia continue to languish.”
Besides Cameroon, immigrant advocates also argue that Congo and Ethiopia should qualify for humanitarian relief because of their ongoing conflicts, as should Mauritania, since slavery is still practiced there.
And they complain Ukrainian asylum seekers are being exempted from asylum limits meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while those from other nations are being turned away.
“Black pain and Black suffering do not get the same attention,” says Sylvie Bello, founder of the D.C.-based Cameroon American Council. “The same anti-Blackness that permeates American life also permeates American immigration policy.”
Vera Arnot, a Ukrainian in Boston who is considering seeking TPS, says she didn’t know much about the special status until the war started and wasn’t aware of the concerns from immigrants of color. But the Berklee College of Music sophomore hopes the relief can be extended to other deserving nations.
Arnot says TPS could help her seek an off-campus job with better pay so she doesn’t have to rely on her family’s support, as most in Ukraine have lost their jobs due to the war.
“Ukrainians as a people aren’t used to relying on others,” she said. “We want to work. We don’t want welfare.”
For Tebah, who is staying with relatives in Ohio, TPS would make it easier for him to open a bank account, get a driver’s license and seek better employment while he awaits a decision on his asylum case.
“We’ll continue to beg, to plead,” Tebah said. “We are in danger. I want to emphasize it. And only TPS for Cameroon will help us be taken out of that danger. It is very necessary.”
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Associated Press video journalist Patrick Orsagos in Columbus, Ohio contributed to this story.
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DETROIT (AP) — In the long debate over whether Black Americans should be granted reparations for the atrocity and injustices of slavery and racism, California took a big step this week toward becoming the first U.S. state to make some form of restitution a reality.
The state’s reparations task force tackled the divisive issue of which Black residents should be eligible — it narrowly decided in favor of limiting compensation to the descendants of free and enslaved Black people who were in the U.S. in the 19th century.
Whether Tuesday’s vote by the task force spurs other states and cities to advance their own proposals, and whether they adopt California’s still controversial standard for who would benefit, remains to be seen. Some veteran reparations advocates disagree strongly with proposals to limiting eligibility to only Black people who can prove they have enslaved ancestors, while excluding those who cannot and leaving out victims of other historic injustices, such as redlining and mass incarceration.
Still, one advocate noted California’s move is a step that could lend momentum to stalled reparation proposals elsewhere in the U.S.
“It’s precipitated a debate and it will influence communities,” said Ron Daniels, president of The Institute of the Black World 21st Century and administrator of the National African American Reparations Commission, an advocacy group of scholars and activists.
As to whether others will adopt the same approach to eligibility, Daniels said: “That’s to be decided. …We think that ultimately a more expansive definition will prevail.”
The commission headed by Daniels has taken a position that limiting reparations to slave descendants, or to Americans whose ancestors were free Blacks living during the time of slavery, ignores the effects of racism that persisted for more than a century after emancipation.
“There are always going to be criteria” for reparations, Daniels said. “The problem is the harms have been so gross that almost no Black person is not eligible in some form or another.”
Although there is still debate among historians about when exactly the practice began, chattel slavery in what would become the U.S. dates back to 1619 when about 20 enslaved Africans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia — then a British colony. Over the next two centuries, more than 300,000 men, women and children were forcibly taken from Africa to work on plantations in southern colonies and later the Southern states, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, a project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and maintained by Rice University.
Slavery in the U.S. officially ended in 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Union Army General William Sherman promised compensation to freed slaves in the form of land and mules to farm it — hence the phrase “40 acres and a mule” — after the North’s victory over the South in the Civil War. But President Andrew Johnson took away the offer.
More than 120 years later, then-Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, first introduced H.R. 40, a bill that would create a federal commission to study reparations and make proposals. Conyers reintroduced it in every congressional session until he resigned in 2017. As a candidate, President Joe Biden said he supported creating the commission, but has yet to formally back it as commander-in-chief. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, is currently the lead sponsor of the House bill.
Getting governmental leaders to openly consider slavery reparations has been daunting and taken decades. But progress has been made at both the state and local levels, particularly since the national reckoning on racial injustice that was sparked after the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In Michigan, legislative proposals submitted earlier this year in the House of Representatives call for $1.5 billion in federal dollars to be placed in a racial equity and reparations fund within the state’s treasury. The funds would be issued to various state departments and agencies to provide grants, loans and other economic assistance for businesses and economic developments that promote the Black community.
The bills have yet to receive a hearing in the House.
Last year, Evanston, Illinois, — the first U.S. city to find a source of funding for reparations — began giving eligible Black residents $25,000 housing grants for down payments, repairs or existing mortgages. The program is meant to atone for the history of racial redlining and housing discrimination. Recipients were selected randomly from among the applicants, Black residents who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969.
And in Providence, Rhode Island, the mayor announced a city commission on reparations in February that will look to atone for the city’s role in slavery and systemic racism, as well as the mistreatment of Native Americans.
For Anita Belle, a grassroots activist in Detroit, where residents in the mostly Black city voted in November to create a city reparations commission, getting to this point in the pursuit of reparations is cause for celebration. But what happens next is worrisome, especially when it comes to who gets what and how much, she said.
“I am happy for all of us who have doing the groundwork for all these years,” said Belle, founder of the Reparations Labor Union. “We are somewhat afraid that these people who have jumped on the bandwagon are actually there to sabotage it and make reparations $12.62, if that. There will be those saboteurs — people who look like us, but have hidden agendas.”
“You have some of that fear in California where the scope for reparations was narrowed to the people who can prove they were enslaved,” she added. “The people of California will be like ’why am I paying reparations for someone who was enslaved in Mississippi?'”
In California, the task force is taking the next step with economists to determine the cost of compensating more than 2 million Black residents, although all of them would not be eligible. Following slavery abolition, Black migration to California happened primarily in the immediate decades after World War II, with newly-arrived African Americans settling in cities like Oakland, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The Black population there rose from just under a half million residents, or 4.4% of the population, in 1950 to 1.4 million residents, or 7% of the population, by 1970. Decades later, the 2020 census recorded 2.1 million Black residents in California, or about 5.3% of the state’s population.
While proposals and who would be eligible appear to vary, they still are types of reparations, according to Rashawn Ray, senior fellow of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution.
“California chose to focus on enslavement of Black people,” Ray said. “In Evanston, it’s red lining and housing segregation. Both are issues that need restitution to them based on what the wrong is.”
But, Ray added, “Federal reparations — without a doubt and hands-down — that’s what we need. What is happening in California should be happening in Congress.”
As a former alderman for the city of Evanston, Illinois, and a longtime reparations advocate, Robin Rue Simmons said reaching consensus on eligibility can be tough because policymakers should be as expansive and inclusive as possible, while also identifying specific harms that they’re seeking to address.
The big step taken by California could help spur action on reparations proposals in other cities and states, Simmons said, and perhaps add pressure for the federal government to act, which she sees as critical.
She doesn’t expect California’s lineage-based eligibility standard to become the norm.
“I don’t think any community should think that another has figured it out for them,” Simmons said, “because every community is going to have their own priorities and their specific history.”
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Ga. AP writers Janie Har in San Francisco and Michael Schneider in Orlando contributed to this story.
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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has granted a request from a northern Virginia school system to continue using a challenged admissions policy at a highly selective high school while it appeals a ruling that found the policy discriminates against Asian American students.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a ruling Thursday that Fairfax County Public Schools can continue to use its new admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton rejected the new policy in a February ruling, saying that impermissible “racial balancing” was at its core. Commonly known as “TJ,” the prestigious school near the nation’s capital is often ranked as one of the best public high schools in the country.
Earlier this month, Hilton also rejected a request from the school system to delay the implementation of his ruling. But the 4th Circuit, in a 2-1 ruling, said the school board had met the legal requirements for a suspension of Hilton’s order while its appeal is pending.
The 4th Circuit panel agreed with school officials who argued that because the selection process for the incoming freshman class is well underway, implementing Hilton’s ruling now would throw the process into chaos.
Judge Toby Heytens wrote that he has “grave doubts” about Hilton’s conclusions “regarding both disparate impact and discriminatory purpose” of the new admissions policy.
“In my view, appellant Fairfax County School Board is likely to succeed in its appeal,” Heytens wrote.
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Allison Jones Rushing said putting Hilton’s ruling on hold while the school board appeals his decision is not in the public interest. Jones said any logistical difficulties or inconvenience associated with changing the admissions policy at this late date “simply do not outweigh the infringement of constitutional rights.”
“And everyone — even temporarily frustrated applicants and their families — ultimately benefits from a public-school admissions process not tainted by unconstitutional discrimination,” Rushing wrote.
The case has been closely watched as courts continue to evaluate the role that racial considerations can play when deciding who should be admitted to a particular school. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a similar case alleging that Harvard University discriminates against Asian Americans in its admissions process.
Fairfax County Public Schools said the order from the 4th Circuit allows the school board to continue with the current application process to select the Class of 2026 this spring.
“For the 2,500+ students in this application pool, this means the race blind process set out by the School Board in October 2020 will remain in place as an appeal challenging the February court decision plays out,” the board said in a news release.
The parents’ group Coalition for TJ, which filed the lawsuit, said the 4th Circuit judges have made a “grave error” in allowing the school system to continue to use its new admissions process.
“If the judges’ decision stands, we would see Fairfax County Public Schools usher in a second class of students to America’s No. 1 public high school through an unconstitutional race-based admissions process,” the coalition said in a statement.
For decades, Black and Hispanic students have been woefully underrepresented in the student body. After criticism over its lack of diversity, the school board scrapped a standardized test that had been at the heart of the admissions process and opted instead for a process that sets aside slots at each of the county’s middle schools. It also includes “experience factors” like socioeconomic background.
The parents’ group argued in its lawsuit that Asian Americans, who constituted more than 70% of the student body, were unfairly targeted in the new policy.
The school’s current freshman class, which was admitted under the new policy, saw a significantly different racial makeup. Black students increased from 1% to 7%; Hispanic representation increased from 3% to 11%. Asian American representation decreased from 73% to 54%.
The school system has insisted that its new policies are race neutral, and the panel evaluating applicants is not even aware of applicants’ race as it conducts its reviews.
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