Monday, April 4 top stories
It is Monday, April 4. Hope your weekend was good. Here are today’s top stories.
Bucha, Ukraine killings
Over the weekend, Ukrainian officials and journalists entered the town of Bucha, which is a suburb of Kyiv, after Russian troops pulled out for the first time since they invaded.
Journalists took images and videos of many dead Ukrainian civilians on the streets of Bucha. Some bodies showed they were killed by execution because they were handcuffed and some had their legs tied together. There are allegations that Russian troops raped multiple women and killed them.
News photographs show many civilian cars crushed on the streets, clearly from tanks.
Ukrainian officials said they found a total of 410 deceased civilians in towns around Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said what happened was genocide and war crimes. He said there were dead people found in barrels and basements, strangled and tortured.
In the past several days, there were fierce counterattacks from Ukrainian troops that have destroyed many Russian military vehicles and forced Russian troops to pull out. That’s why we’re seeing all those pictures and videos in Bucha now.
This morning President Biden called Russian President Putin a war criminal again, pointing to what happened in Bucha. Biden said there needs to be an actual war crimes trial against Putin. Biden promised there would be more sanctions against Russia but did not specify what they were.
In Europe, Poland’s Prime Minister Morawiecki called on France and Germany to cut off their reliance on Russian energy so it would “break Putin’s war machine.” The PM asked, “Would you negotiate with Hitler, with Stalin, with Pol Pot?” Europe gets 40% of its gas and 25% of its oil from Russia, so it is very difficult for certain European leaders to suddenly cut off their main access to energy.
Sacramento mass shooting
Six people in Sacramento, California were killed by gunfire in a street after 2 a.m. while people were leaving bars and nightclubs. Videos on social media showed several people fighting and crowds gathered around them before gunfire broke out, sending people running. Other videos showed many police officers and first responders giving first aid to victims.
Sacramento police said three men and three women were killed. Their ages ranged from 21 to 57.
Police said they believe there was more than one shooter and are investigating to identify the gunmen and have found over a hundred shell casings and a stolen handgun at the scene.
This afternoon police arrested a 26-year-old suspect named Dandre Martin and charged him with assault and illegal firearm possession charges.
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U.S. seizes yacht owned by Russian oligarch
U.S. and Spanish authorities seized a mega yacht owned by a Russian oligarch named Viktor Vekselberg. Russian oligarchs are those who became wealthy as a result of their close relationship with former USSR leaders or more recently because of their relationships with Putin. The yacht was anchored in a Spanish island and is worth $90 million.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the yacht was seized because Vekselberg is a “sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime.” The Justice Department is working with other agencies in an operation called “KleptoCapture” to identify Russian oligarchs and seize their assets as a form of punishment and accountability for Putin’s war on Ukraine.
Ketanji Brown Jackson vote
The Senate Judiciary Committee was supposed to vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson this morning, but they delayed it to later today because one of the Democratic senators had a delayed flight. The 22-member committee is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans with all of the Democrats in the committee signaling they will support Jackson and all of the Republicans in the committee signaling they will vote against Jackson. When the senator who is late arrives, the committee is expected to vote in a 11-11 tie.
News analysts said even with a tie, Jackson’s nomination will still advance to the full Senate. All 50 Democratic Senators and at least one Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, said they support Jackson, so it is very likely we’ll see Jackson confirmed to the Supreme Court by Friday, before the Senate begins its Easter recess. Jackson will not immediately become a part of the Supreme Court, as Justice Stephen Breyer will have to officially retire and depart before Jackson can be sworn in.
Elon Musk now Twitter’s biggest shareholder
Elon Musk bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter and is now Twitter’s biggest shareholder. Musk bought the stake in the middle of March but it was only revealed today in a regulatory filing with the SEC. The news caused Twitter shares to rise up to 27% in value.
Musk has not revealed why he wants to be a part of Twitter, but he has expressed concerns in the past that Twitter was not allowing free speech and said he was considering starting a new platform. But with this purchase, it seems like Musk wants to change the platform’s direction.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-crimes-biden-putin-84767d1c3c35a7a36f2f70ceaccc3fa0
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/03/europe/bucha-ukraine-civilian-deaths-intl/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/03/us/sacramento-california-shooting/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/22/what-is-oligarch-russia-sanctions/
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/04/1089833711/scotus-nominee-ketanji-jackson-brown-senate-judiciary-vote
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-takes-9-2-102640581.html