Friday, March 11 top stories

It is Friday, March *11. Here are today’s top stories.

Biden: We must prevent World War III

President Biden tweeted today that we must prevent World War III. He said the U.S. would not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine. Biden said the U.S. would defend every inch of NATO territory and that a “direct confrontation between NATO and Russia is World War III. And something we must strive to prevent.” What this means is that Biden is continuing to take the position that the U.S. will not send its troops into Ukraine or order a no-fly zone out of concerns that it would start World War III.

Russian missiles hit central and western Ukraine

Three Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. It is near the center of the country and it is the first time that Dnipro was struck. One person was killed in the strikes, which burned a shoe factory that is near a kindergarten and an apartment building.

Russian missiles hit two airports in the western part of Ukraine. The airport in Lutsk, which is only 70 miles from the border with Poland, was damaged. Two people were killed. About 150 miles south, a military airfield in Ivano-Frankivsk was hit.

News reports say satellite photos show that columns of Russian troops are moving closer and closer to Kyiv and that there may be a large-scale attack on the capital city in the next few days. Kyiv’s mayor Klitschko said his city has turned into a fortress with many people ready to defend the city.

ABC News said they got word from a U.S. official that Russians are starting to bring in biochemical weapon suits into Ukraine, which has raised concerns of a chemical attack.

Gas prices continue to break records

Gas prices in the U.S. are now at a new record high average of $4.33 per gallon. President Biden has blamed the price increases on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which resulted a U.S. ban on Russian oil.

Axios explained that U.S. oil and gas production is now starting to ramp up again, but that it will take time to go back to our peak levels of oil production in 2019. Some want to see the Keystone XL pipeline up and running, but the pipeline has been abandoned due to the Obama and Biden administrations rejecting and revoking permits. Only 10% of it has been built.

The U.S. may ask Saudi Arabia and Venezuela to increase oil production so there will be more supply for the U.S. and the world and lower gas prices.

Several state governors want to see Congress pass a bill that would suspend the federal gas tax. Each state has their own additional gas taxes, and some state leaders are considering a reduction or a break in state gas taxes.

*Correction: Today is Friday, March 11 not March 10.

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South Korea has new president

South Korea elected a new president in a very tight contest. Yoon Suk-yeol, who is from the conservative People Power Party, defeated a candidate from the Democratic Party by less than one percent. Yoon is a former prosecutor general. He has promised to be tough on North Korea and build up South Korea’s military. He will be inaugurated on May 10. President Biden has invited him to visit the White House in the future.

Jussie Smollett sentenced to 150 days

A judge in Chicago sentenced actor Jussie Smollett to 150 days in jail for staging a hate crime against himself in 2019, which triggered a large-scale police investigation that concluded he did it. Smollett will have to pay $120,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago and a $25,000 fine.

Two-year anniversary of pandemic

Today is the two-year anniversary of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s declaration that the coronavirus outbreak has become a pandemic. About this time two years ago, the NBA suspended its season, Broadway shut down, and the actor Tom Hanks announced he became infected. There was a wave of panic-buying that caused a shortage of toilet papers. The WHO warned that the pandemic is far from over and that too many countries are letting down their guard. The WHO said there is still a struggle to get vaccines to poorer countries. In the U.S., we have an average daily Covid-19 case of 35,700, which is one of the lowest numbers we’ve seen in months. There are still about 1,300 people who are dying a day from the virus.

That is all the top stories for today. Have a nice weekend and stay with the light.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/11/world/ukraine-russia-news

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/11/europe/russia-invasion-ukraine-03-11-intl/index.html

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17914958/russian-troops-kyiv-attack-ukraine-war/

https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/russia-ukraine/?id=83390885#83392856

https://twitter.com/TheSun/status/1502212734435442693

https://www.axios.com/gas-prices-biden-russia-ukraine-42f3aa55-dce0-4ae6-8133-b6c5e02f63d1.html

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2022/03/10/what-to-expect-from-the-incoming-south-korean-presidents-domestic-and-foreign-policy-agendas/

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/asia/yoon-suk-yeol-new-south-korean-president-stance-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/jussie-smollett-sentenced-to-prison-probation-for-lying-to-police-in-staged-hate-crime/2780255/

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/11/world/covid-19-mandates-cases-vaccine

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