 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Good morning, Daily Briefing readers. Russian troops attacked a nuclear power plant in Ukraine, sparking a fire that has since been extinguished. Military officials say Russian forces have taken control of the site. The 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics will get underway – and Russia and Belarus won't be taking part. And, a rocket that's been tumbling haphazardly through space for the last seven years is expected to crash into the far side of the moon. |
| It's Jane, with Friday's news. |
| ⚖️ Brett Hankison, the former police detective charged in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor nearly two years ago, was found not guilty of three counts of wanton endangerment. |
| 🔴 Florida lawmakers voted to approve a 15-week abortion ban that shortens by more than two months the current window available to legally terminate a pregnancy. |
| 🚔 A California woman captured headlines in 2016 with a sensational kidnapping tale. New charges say she made it up. |
 | | Sherri Papini | | Family photo | |
| 🚨 At least 19 children and one employee were sent to the hospital with injuries after a SUV crashed into a day care center in California, police said. |
| ⚽️ "I hated it": Two-time Olympic gold medalist Carli Lloyd shared a scathing review of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. |
| 🦇 Is Robert Pattinson the best Batman? All of the big-screen Dark Knights, definitively ranked. |
 | | Robert Pattinson's hero is on a quest to avenge his parents' death in "The Batman." | | JONATHAN OLLEY/DC COMICS | |
| 📰 Did you pay attention this week? Take our news quiz! |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, finance reporter Elizabeth Buchwald wonders if President Joe Biden's plan for inflation can work. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Fire extinguished after Russian attack on Ukraine nuclear plant |
| Ukrainian authorities on Friday said a fire at Europe's largest nuclear power plant that prompted widespread concern had been extinguished following an overnight Russian attack in the area. The military administration said Russian forces took control of the site. The head of the United Nations' atomic watchdog, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said there was no release of radiation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after a building on the site was hit. He said two people were injured in the fire. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave an emotional plea in a video address following the attack. "If there is an explosion – that's the end for everyone. The end for Europe. The evacuation of Europe," he said. The fire evoked memories of another emergency like the 1986 Chernobyl accident, the world's worst nuclear disaster, which happened about 110 kilometers north of Kyiv. |
| 📩 The latest news on the Ukraine-Russia crisis straight to your inbox. Sign up for the newsletter here. |
Oath Keepers court hearing scheduled after first guilty plea |
| Another court hearing in the criminal case involving Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is scheduled to take place on Friday. The hearing comes days after Joshua James, a co-defendant, plead guilty to charges of seditious conspiracy and obstruction related to the U.S. Capitol riot. It marks the first person involved in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol to be convicted of the rarely used charge. A guilty plea is potentially problematic for the 10 other co-defendants in the high-profile criminal case, who are accused of acting by force to prevent, hinder or delay laws related to the transfer of presidential power. As part of his plea, the 34-year-old James agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and prosecutors, including testifying before a grand jury and sitting for interviews. |
Just for subscribers: |
| 🔴 A special House committee sent an unequivocal message to the Justice Department that the panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has gathered the makings of a criminal case. |
| 🚨 One year after Atlanta spa shootings, "prevention is the key" to fighting anti-Asian hate crimes. |
| 🚘 As lab owners buy luxury cars, President Joe Biden is tightening oversight of $5 trillion in COVID-19 relief. One lab owner posted images of Lamborghinis and a Ferrari bought with "COVID money." |
| 📓 Ukraine war diary: "If we lose Kyiv, we lose everything. We will lose the nation." |
| 🥃 They gambled everything: Two friends quit their jobs and cashed out their 401(k)'s to start importing a liquor with a suddenly booming U.S. market: mezcal. |
| These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. |
| Are you already a subscriber and want all of the subscriber-only content emailed to you directly every day? We can do that! Sign up for that here. |
Beijing Winter Paralympics kicks off |
| The 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics will officially commence on Friday with the opening ceremony at the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest. More than 40 U.S. athletes and two guides are expected to participate in the fanfare of the opening ceremony, which includes the Parade of Nations, where athletes and officials from participating countries march into the Bird's Nest with their country's flag. Coverage starts Friday at 6:30 a.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock TV. The Paralympic Games are set to begin amidst Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine. The International Paralympic Committee announced the expulsion of Russian and Belarusian athletes on Thursday to "protect the Games from war," walking back a previous ruling that allowed Russian and Belarusians to compete as neutral athletes. |
Space junk on collision course with far side of the moon |
| A Chinese rocket that's been in space for seven years – not an American SpaceX Falcon 9 stage as previously reported – is expected to smash itself to pieces when it hits the far side of the moon on Friday. The leftover rocket has been tumbling haphazardly through space, experts believe, since China launched it nearly a decade ago. But Chinese officials are dubious it's theirs. No matter whose it is, scientists expect it to crash at 5,800 mph, delivering a punch that will carve out a crater that could fit several semitractor-trailers. As far as the moon is concerned, there's really nothing to worry about. The booster won't hit any Lunar Heritage Sites where American spacecrafts have landed and it won't endanger orbiting satellites photographing the surface, the Chinese rover rolling through craters, or Laser Ranging Retroreflectors left by Apollo astronauts. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday
|
| 🚨 "It could happen tomorrow": Experts say that a theoretical disaster upon disaster looms for the West Coast. |
| ⛸ Russian figure skaters are banned from the world championships but not for the reason we expected. |
| ⛽️ Gas prices in many U.S. cities will hit $5 in "weeks." Some are already higher. |
| 🏞 Dry boat ramps, exposed rocks at Lake Powell reveal the cost of the Colorado River drought. |
The NFL Scouting Combine continues 🏈 |
| The second day of on-field drills at the NFL scouting combine begins Friday, with running backs, offensive linemen and special teams players showing off their skills in Indianapolis. NFL Network will televise six hours of live coverage beginning at 4 p.m. EST. Thursday brought the normal fare for the combine: Explosive performances, breakout players, and discussion of a quarterback's hand size (it happens every year, it seems). |
📸 Animals take shelter, evacuate Ukraine amid Russian invasion 📸 |
 | | Refugee Kyryl (surname withheld) aged 9, from Kyiv arrives with his pet dog Hugo at the Hungarian border town of Zahony on a train that has come from Ukraine on March 02, 2022 in Zahony, Hungary. | | Christopher Furlong, Getty Images | |
| More than 1 million Ukrainians and other nationals have fled to neighboring countries such as Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania since the Russian invasion started more than a week ago, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. |
| The UNHCR has warned the situation may become Europe's largest refugee crisis this century, surpassing the 1.3 million people who traveled to the continent to request asylum in 2015 as conflicts raged in the Middle East. |
| Humans aren't the only ones who are fleeing Ukraine to seek sanctuary. |
| Scroll through the gallery of dogs, cats and other animals taking shelter and leaving Ukraine amid Russia's invasion. |
| Contributing: Associated Press |
| |
| |
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment