World News: 'We've got to move at the speed of war'

Tuesday, April 26

A Ukrainian soldier lights candles at the Volodymysky Cathedral during Easter celebration in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Harvard is confronting its ties to slavery with a $100 million fund. And could blood tests be used to detect Alzheimer's? It's Tuesday's news.

The United States and its allies are hustling to help save Ukraine. Joe Biden handed out his first grants of clemency as president. And the CDC says that nearly 60% of American adults were infected with the coronavirus between December and February.

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Illustration of Dr. Clotilde Pérez García

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'Moving heaven and earth' to help Ukraine

A meeting of defense officials from more than three dozen nations Tuesday helped unify the West's efforts to aid Ukraine to "win today and build strength for tomorrow," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. "Countries all around the world have been stepping up to meet Ukraine's urgent needs," Austin said after the meeting. "We've got to move at the speed of war." Austin said Germany, which had balked at providing heavy weaponry to Ukraine, has agreed to send 50 anti-aircraft weapons to the embattled nation now in its third month of grueling war against Russia's invading forces. He said meetings similar to the one Tuesday will be held once a month, either virtually or in person. Before the meeting, Austin had promised to "keep moving heaven and earth" to support Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies have committed more than $5 billion worth of equipment to Ukraine's defense.

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Clemency, granted

Three convicted felons – Abraham Bolden Sr., Betty Jo Bogans and Dexter Eugene Jackson – are receiving presidential pardons from President Joe Biden, along with 75 others whose sentences the president commuted Tuesday, in the first use of clemency power of the Biden presidency. All of Biden's commutations target individuals serving sentences for low-level drug offenses, some of whom have served on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many are Black or brown, and the White House said each has displayed efforts to rehabilitate themselves. The clemency announcements, which coincide with national "Second Chance Month," come as Biden will also announce new actions aimed at improving outcomes for felons who reenter society as part of a broader strategy to reform the criminal justice system.

•	Learn more: Here's what to know about presidential clemency powers.

President Joe Biden walks over to speak with members of the press after stepping off Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, April 25, 2022. Biden is returning to Washington after spending the weekend at his home in Delaware. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) ORG XMIT: MDPS106

Patrick Semansky, AP

What everyone's talking about

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After omicron, nearly 60% of US adults had COVID antibodies

A huge proportion of American adults and even more children were infected by the coronavirus between December and February, perhaps explaining why cases have risen but not skyrocketed since. New government data released Tuesday looked at blood drawn for medical purposes during that time frame and found antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 in nearly 60% of people, up from one-third just three months earlier. For example, in adults under 50, 37% had antibodies in December, compared with 64% in February. In kids, the antibody rate rose from about 45% to 75%. Age groups that were most vaccinated saw the smallest increase in infections over the winter, as measured by antibodies.

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City residents wait in a line extending around the block to receive free at-home rapid COVID-19 test kits in Philadelphia, Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. Philadelphia is ending its indoor mask mandate, city health officials said Thursday night, April 21, 2022, abruptly reversing course just days after city residents had to start wearing masks again amid a sharp increase in infections.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Matt Rourke, AP

Harvard confronts its ties to slavery

Harvard University announced a $100 million fund Tuesday to redress its ties to slavery after a report found that the university's leaders enslaved more than 70 people in the 17th and 18th centuries. The report, written by a committee appointed in 2019 by Harvard President Lawrence Bacow, found "slavery thrived in New England from its beginnings," including at Harvard. Many who read the report will find it "disturbing and even shocking," Bacow said. The university's president said the fund would go toward the recommendations in the report, which include efforts to improve educational opportunities for marginalized students and partnering with historically Black colleges and universities.

Real quick

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Could blood tests be used to detect Alzheimer's?

As pharmaceutical companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease, other researchers are focusing on a more elemental question. How can you tell whether a family member or loved one has Alzheimer's or another form of dementia? These researchers say a new generation of blood tests could offer an easier and more accurate way to detect signs of Alzheimer's, a disease that afflicts an estimated 6.5 million Americans. New research found one blood test can detect hallmarks of the disease in older adults with memory problems. It is among more than a half dozen blood tests being developed and tested to detect early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Experts say the tests are important because they would be easier, cheaper and available to more people than brain scans or spinal taps now used to detect biological hallmarks of the disease.

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In this Wednesday, July 22, 2020, photo provided by C2N Diagnostics, Matthew Meyer, left, senior proteomics scientist, and Stephanie Knapik, a research associate, work in a lab that analyzes blood samples at the company's facility in the Center for Emerging Technologies in St. Louis. C2N Diagnostics has started selling the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer's disease, a leap for the field that could make it much easier for people to learn whether they have dementia. It also raises concern about the accuracy and impact of such life-altering news.

Jerry Naunheim Jr., AP

A break from the news

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•	💐 Mother's Day is around the corner! Check out these gifts and accessories for techy moms.

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