The Full Belmonte, 3/17/2022
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to address Germany's parliament on Thursday, a day after he gave an impassioned address to Congress, pleading for more help to defend his country amid Russia's invasion. Zelenskyy spoke over a video link, invoking the most horrific moments in American history to argue the case for imposition of a ‘no-fly’ zone, or at least more military hardware, stiffer sanctions against Russia and additional steps to prevail against what he described as an assault on the world's democratic values. Hours later, Biden announced an additional $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, which now totals $1 billion just this week, to help ‘fend off Russia's assault.’ Meanwhile, Russian airstrikes ripped apart a theater in Mariupol that served as a makeshift shelter for hundreds of people, Ukrainian officials said, as Russian President Vladimir Putin said the ‘special operation’ in Ukraine was going according to plan.” Read more at USA Today
Refugees carrying their personal belongings leave battered Mariupol.
“Ukraine has come under increased attack by Russian forces, and despite signs of progress in ongoing negotiations, the situation on the ground is becoming more desperate by the day. A theater where hundreds of people are said to have taken shelter in the besieged city of Mariupol was mostly reduced to rubble yesterday, according to an image shared by its city council. Some people are emerging alive from the theater this morning but it is not yet clear if all those inside the building have survived, a Ukrainian official said. Russian President Vladimir Putin is maintaining aggressive rhetoric amid the destruction and is condemning Russians who show a pro-Western mindset. Putin also is retaliating by seizing hundreds of commercial jets owned by US and European leasing companies, making it harder for foreign companies to reclaim their planes without Russian government approval. President Joe Biden called Putin a ‘war criminal’ yesterday -- the harshest criticism of Putin's actions by any US official since the war in Ukraine began three weeks ago.” Read more at CNN
“When the Kremlin announced yesterday that Russia might consider some type of military neutrality for Ukraine, it looked like a potential breakthrough toward ending President Vladimir Putin’s war against his neighbor.
But it was also a lesson that statements from one side in negotiations may be a tactic to strengthen their hand. Kyiv responded that it had its own requirements, including Russia withdrawing troops and iron-clad security guarantees. Both sides said the talks weren’t going easy.
Western officials warn that Moscow may not be negotiating in good faith. U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Putin of playing a ‘smoke and mirrors game,’ while NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said ‘on the ground, we don’t see any sign’ of a genuine approach.
Meanwhile, Russia is pounding cities across Ukraine, whose officials, along with human rights organizations and eye witnesses, report soaring civilian casualties.
Putin has stuck to his vow to ‘demilitarize’ and ‘de-Nazify’ Ukraine. Both would be hard to square with any deal that leaves Ukraine’s government and military intact, and his options are narrowing.
With Russia’s economy tanking, his forces bogged down and Ukraine mounting counterattacks, and the U.S. stepping up arms deliveries, Putin vowed yesterday to cleanse Russia of ‘scum and traitors’ he said worked for Russia’s enemies.
The former KGB officer’s speech was a throwback to Communist-era repression used to keep the population in line. It’s not clear whether he was trying to deflect from his struggles or if he’s planning the type of purge that marked the brutality of the Soviet system.
While the first scenario points to rising pressure on the Kremlin and potentially an eventual peace deal, the second could mean Putin is digging in. — Michael Winfrey Read more at Bloomberg
A woman prays yesterday inside the Cathedral of the Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon in Odesa. Photographer: Jonathan Alpeyrie/Bloomberg
“A fake video depicting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admitting defeat in Russia's war in Ukraine was uploaded to a hacked Ukrainian news website. The origin of the deepfake is unclear, but experts warn that Russia could use manipulated videos to spread fear and panic.” Read more at NPR
(CNN)A Moscow court announced it has extended the arrest of American basketball star Brittney Griner until May 19, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
‘The court granted the request of the investigation and extended the period of detention of the US citizen Griner until May 19,’ the court said, per TASS.
According to Russian authorities, the two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested on allegations of drug smuggling significant amounts of narcotic substance at a Moscow airport. US Representative Colin Allred, a congressman from Texas, said she was arrested on February 17.
TASS also quoted Ekaterina Kalugina, whom it said represented Moscow's Public Monitoring Commission (ONK), which observes the treatment of prisoners.” Read more at CNN
“A new version of the Omicron variant known as BA.2 is picking up steam in the US and overseas. BA.2 is blamed for a recent surge of coronavirus cases in Hong Kong, the UK and other places. And in the states, as many as 28 million seniors remain at risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19, according to a CNN analysis of federal data. This is because they are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, or because it's been more than five months since their second or third dose of a vaccine. Recent studies show that vaccine protection wanes over time. Vaccines against the Omicron variant are only 10% effective six months after a second dose, according to data collected by the UK's Health Security Agency. While boosters help restore that protection, experts are questioning their long-term benefits since they are only about 40% to 50% effective at preventing Omicron infections among all adults, data shows.” Read more at CNN
“Jerome Powell won bipartisan support from a U.S. Senate panel for a second term as Federal Reserve chair, while the nominations of Lael Brainard and Philip Jefferson were also sent to the full Senate for confirmation.” Read more at Bloomberg
“The era of ultralow mortgage rates is over.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage topped 4% for the first time since May 2019,Freddie Mac said Thursday. At the beginning of the year, the average rate on America’s most popular home loan was 3.22%. It hit a record low of 2.65% in January 2021 and spent more than half the year under 3%.
Home-lending costs had been rising ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision Wednesday to raise rates for the first time since 2018. And while the Fed’s quarter-point move didn’t affect Freddie Mac’s weekly average of 4.16%, recorded before the central bank’s announcement, it is likely to send rates even higher. Mortgage rates are closely tied to the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury, which tends to rise in tandem with the Fed’s benchmark rate.
Rising borrowing costs pose another challenge for would-be homeowners already facing soaring home prices. An average rate around 4%, while still historically low, is sharply higher than the sub-3% rates that were available for much of last year. And the last time the 30-year mortgage rate topped 4%, the median home price was $277,000—26% lower than it is today.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Hunter Biden’s taxes are just one element of the broader investigation stemming from work he did around the world, including when his father was vice president.Credit...Calla Kessler for The New York Times
“WASHINGTON — In the year after he disclosed a federal investigation into his ‘tax affairs’ in late 2020, President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, paid off a significant tax liability, even as a grand jury continued to gather evidence in a wide-ranging examination of his international business dealings, according to people familiar with the case.
Mr. Biden’s failure to pay all his taxes has been a focus of the ongoing Justice Department investigation. While wiping out his liability does not preclude criminal charges against him, the payment could make it harder for prosecutors to win a conviction or a long sentence for tax-related offenses, according to tax law experts, since juries and judges tend to be more sympathetic to defendants who have paid their bills.
But Mr. Biden’s taxes are just one element of the broader investigation stemming from work he did around the world. Hunter Biden is a Yale-educated lawyer; his professional life has intersected with his father’s public service, including working as a registered lobbyist for domestic interests and, while his father was vice president, pursuing deals and clients in Asia and Europe.
As recently as last month, the federal grand jury heard testimony in Wilmington, Del., from two witnesses, one of whom was a former employee of Hunter Biden whose lawyer was later subpoenaed for financial records that reflected money Mr. Biden received from a Ukrainian energy company.
The investigation, which began as a tax inquiry under the Obama administration, widened in 2018 to include possible criminal violations of tax laws, as well as foreign lobbying and money laundering rules, according to the people familiar with the inquiry.
But prosecutors face a number of hurdles to bringing criminal charges, the people familiar with the investigation said, including proving that Mr. Biden intentionally violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, which requires disclosure to the Justice Department of lobbying or public relations assistance on behalf of foreign clients.
The Justice Department has given no public indication that it has made decisions about any element of the case, and Mr. Biden has not been charged with any crime.” Read more at New York Times
“The Transportation Security Administration has investigated more than 3,800 incidents of potential violations involving the federal mask mandate, assessing more than $644,000 in civil penalties, according to a report this week by the Government Accountability Office.
The TSA, charged with enforcing the mandate in airports and other public transportation settings, has issued more than 2,700 warning notices, the report said. It issued civil penalties in about 900 instances,roughly 24 percent of cases that occurred between Feb. 2, 2021, and March 7, 2022.
The average civil fine for violators was $699, the report said.
The GAO found the TSA generally did well at coordinating efforts with other agencies to enforce the mask mandate and other coronavirus-related security directives.” Read more at Washington Post
“Weeks after the 2020 election, at least one Trump White House aide was named as secretly producing a report that alleged Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden because of Dominion Voting Systems – research that formed the basis of the former president’s wider efforts to overturn the election.
The Dominion report, subtitled ‘OVERVIEW 12/2/20 – History, Executives, Vote Manipulation Ability and Design, Foreign Ties’, was initially prepared so that it could be sent to legislatures in states where the Trump White House was trying to have Biden’s win reversed.
But top Trump officials would also use the research that stemmed from the White House aide-produced report to weigh other options to return Trump to the presidency, including having the former president sign off on executive orders to authorize sweeping emergency powers.
The previously unreported involvement of the Trump White House aide in the preparation of the Dominion report raises the extraordinary situation of at least one administration official being among the original sources of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The publicly available version of the Dominion report, which first surfaced in early December 2020 on the conservative outlet the Gateway Pundit, names on the cover and in metadata as its author Katherine Friess, a volunteer on the Trump post-election legal team.
But the Dominion report was in fact produced by the senior Trump White House policy aide Joanna Miller, according to the original version of the document reviewed by the Guardian and a source familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The original version of the Dominion report named Miller - who worked for the senior Trump adviser Peter Navarro – as the author on the cover page, until her name was abruptly replaced with that of Friess before the document was to be released publicly, the source said.
The involvement of a number of other Trump White House aides who worked in Navarro’s office was also scrubbed around that time, the source said. Friess has told the Daily Beast that she had nothing to do with the report and did not know how her name came to be on the document.
It was not clear why Miller’s name was removed from the report, which was sent to Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani on 29 November 2020, or why the White House aide’s involvement was obfuscated in the final 2 December version.
Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment.” Read more at The Guardian
“The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that it will grant temporary protected status, or TPS, to Afghan nationals living in the United States without permanent legal status, adding them to a long list of immigrants waiting for the same protection under the law.
Approximately 74,500 Afghans are eligible to apply for the status, which grants them protection from deportation for 18 months and eligibility for a work permit. Afghans residing in the United States as of March 15 are eligible to apply, and they must pay a fee and pass a background check.
For most Afghans, the protection is redundant: The vast majority were paroled into the United States under Operation Allies Welcome and allowed to apply for work permits free of charge. DHS said in a statement that this additional protection will mainly affect approximately 2,000 foreign nationals who were not evacuated — such as international students — and whose visas could expire and leave them in legal limbo.” Read more at Washington Post
“The federal government will pay the families touched by the Parkland school shooting $127.5 million as part of a settlement. The families accused the FBI of negligence in the lawsuit, saying the bureau received tips of the shooter's plans to collect weapons but did not intervene.” Read more at NPR
“Former United States spies are now barred from providing their services to foreign governments for 30 months after they retire. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on Tuesday, part of a larger spending bill that will ‘prohibit U.S. intelligence officials with knowledge of spycraft and national security secrets from selling their services to other countries for 30 months after retiring,’ Reuters reports. The new law, first proposed by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), found its legs after a Reuters investigation revealed how ex-National Security Agency personnel leveraged their knowledge to the United Arab Emirates, which allowed for the surveillance of Americans, according to the news wire. ‘We don’t want our best-trained intel officers going straight into the hands of foreign governments for the sake of money,’ the congressman said of the new law. ‘This discourages intelligence mercenaries and protects our national interest.’” [Daily Beast] Read more at Reuters
Migrants from Colombia, Cuba and Venezuela arrive in Yuma, Ariz., after crossing the Colorado River last month. Photo: Katie McTiernan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
“Biden administration intelligence officials are privately warning about a potentially gigantic influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border tspring — with possibly 170,000+ people prepared to cross if COVID policies are ended, Axios' Jonathan Swan and Stef Kight report.
Why it matters: Border officials have used COVID rules more than 1 million times to turn away migrants from the southern border. Senior Biden officials expect the policies to end, but don't know for sure.
Behind the scenes: Internal discussions have raised alarms that human trafficking networks throughout Mexico and Central America will exploit the situation to ‘generate a mass migration event.’
Top Biden officials representing multiple agencies have been meeting to discuss a whole-of-government plan to deal with the potentially record-breaking spring influx of migrants.
DHS has branded it the ‘Southwest Border Mass Irregular Migration Contingency Plan.’
The plan is sweeping, reflecting how serious the Biden administration believes the situation could soon become, worsening a border surge that has troubled it from the beginning.
What we're watching: The response includes a newly created — and previously unreported ‘Southwest Border Coordination Center (SBCC)’ — essentially a war room to coordinate an interagency response.
The center will physically operate out of the DHS headquarters at the old St. Elizabeths Hospital in D.C.
Department of Homeland Security intelligence estimates warn that perhaps 25,000 migrants are already in Mexican shelters just south of the border, waiting for COVID policies, under Title 42, to end.
Yesterday, DHS Deputy Secretary John Tien asked employees ‘to consider stepping forward to support the DHS Volunteer Force,’ citing large numbers of migrants at the southwest border, according to an email seen by Axios.
The email seeks general support for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and help with data entry.
White House spokesperson Vedant Patel didn't confirm or dispute specifics of Axios' reporting but said in a statement: ‘Of course the Administration is doing our due diligence to prepare for potential changes at the border.’
A man prepares to climb the border wall in Tijuana, Mexico, in 2019. Photo: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images
If this migrant influx materializes, the Department of Homeland Security could request aircraft from the U.S. Marshals Service to help transfer migrants to other areas of the border, Axios' Stef Kight and Jonathan Swan report.
DHS also could call on additional air and ground transportation from the Department of Defense.
Officials could request dozens of buses from the Bureau of Prisons to transport migrants between DHS facilities.
And they expect to expand and even build new soft-sided facilities that can shelter up to 2,000 migrants apiece.
In addition to preparations on the U.S. side of the border, officials are also planning how to coordinate with Mexico and other Latin American nations.
The backdrop: Border resources are already strained, with unusually high numbers of people attempting to cross every month for a year straight.
Officials expect those numbers to climb even higher in coming months due both to seasonal trends and the expected end of Title 42 policies.
The backstory: The CDC's Title 42 order, first issued under then-President Trump in March of 2020, uses the pandemic as a reason for expelling migrants attempting to enter the U.S.
Despite outcry from progressive Democrats and immigration advocates, the Biden administration has continued to rely on the policy to turn back migrant families and single adults.
What's next: The administration is leaning toward ending Title 42 expulsions, Reuters reported last week.
CDC reassesses the Title 42 order every 60 days. The next deadline for renewal is in early April. "We continue to defer to the CDC on the use of Title 42 and how long it might remain in effect," a White House official told Axios.
The issue of immigration has plagued President Biden since he took office, opening him up to criticism from both the right and the left.
Democrats have been most critical of the continued use of Title 42, which they see as a cruel Trump-era policy.
Republicans have pointed to record numbers at the border, and reports of migrants being released into the U.S. by overwhelmed officials.
By the numbers: After declining in January, the number of encounters with migrants at the border ticked up in February to 165,000, according to data released Tuesday.
Border patrol arrests reached an all-time high in fiscal year 2021, at nearly 1.7 million.
Officials are projecting similar numbers for this fiscal year with the end of Title 42, according to sources familiar with the estimates.” Read more at Axios
“A deadly 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Japan yesterday, centered off the coast of its Fukushima region, north of Tokyo. Four people were killed and at least 160 others were injured, Japanese authorities said today. Video footage from the country shows street lights and apartment buildings vigorously shaking. For many, the incident brought back painful memories of 2011, when an earthquake triggered a tsunami that caused a disastrous nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power plant and killed thousands of people. Wednesday's earthquake struck about 55 miles from the location of the devastating 2011 quake, but hasn't prompted a national emergency this time. The quake also derailed a bullet train, leaving 78 people trapped on board for hours until they were able to escape through an emergency exit.” Read more at CNN
“‘Transnational repression’ | The Justice Department has charged five people for acting on China’s behalf to harass and spy on U.S. residents critical of Beijing, including a former Tiananmen Square protester running for a congressional seat from New York. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian today said the government doesn’t ask its citizens ‘to engage in activities in violation of local laws.’” Read more at Bloomberg
“Clean break | Germany and Norway are considering building a hydrogen pipeline to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy supplies. They plan a feasibility study on the project that would eventually transport green hydrogen from Norway to Europe’s largest economy, which currently gets more than half of its gas and coal and roughly a third of its oil from Russia.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Oil shock | Russia’s war in Ukraine is threatening to crush an $81 billion economy more than 4,000 miles away in the Indian Ocean. As Anusha Ondaatjie reports, hit by soaring oil import costs and a dip in tourism revenue, Sri Lanka is racing to avert a default amid dwindling foreign-exchange reserves.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Russia’s Vladimir Putin, famous for his rumored reliance on Botox, looks set to be cut off from the popular wrinkle treatment thanks to his war against Ukraine. U.S. drugmaker AbbVie, which owns the cosmetic medicine, announced that it is halting operations inside Russia as a result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The company joins a growing list of pharmaceutical companies running for the exits after Moscow’s senseless war. U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly has vowed to keep sending critical medicines for cancer and diabetes to Russia, but it’s stopping sales of ‘non-essential medicines.’ Swiss drugmaker Novartis has also announced it is suspending all investments and marketing activities in Russia, while Pfizer, Bayer, and Abbott Laboratories have cut back spending.” [Daily Beast] Read more at Reuters
“As Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its fourth week, the contours of a peace deal are beginning to come into focus. As the Financial Times reports, topics currently under discussion include Ukrainian neutrality, a promise never to join NATO, and a pledge not to host any foreign military bases.
Some of those measures are similar to Russian demands made in discussions with the United States in December.
Ukraine’s lead negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak has rejected a Russian suggestion of neutrality based on Sweden or Austria’s models, saying the model could only be ‘Ukrainian and only on legally verified security guarantees.’ The fact that the idea was not simply dismissed shows how seriously Ukraine’s government is considering the option. (Adopting Finland’s model, an option recommended by Henry Kissinger and others, seems to have been left unsaid).
Still, the possibility that Ukraine could shift its stance has been signaled by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who suggested on Tuesday that he would consider abandoning the country’s quest to join NATO, a process that would involve amending the country’s constitution.
Zelensky also said the talks, which could follow into a fourth consecutive day today were becoming ‘more realistic’ while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said there is now ‘some hope for compromise.’
The United States is less optimistic about peace, with State Department spokesman Ned Price saying on Tuesday that the Biden administration had ‘yet to find a Russian interlocutor that is either able or willing to negotiate in good faith, and certainly not in the context of de-escalation.’ (That U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke the very next day with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev suggests that ground could be shifting).
Despite Russia’s insistence that it will prosecute the war until its ‘goals’ are met, seeking a deal sooner rather than later makes sense. Sanctions will take time to fully hit, but when they do, the Kremlin will have to deal with an even more unsettled populace. The seeds of unrest—exemplified by forced factory closures as well as a declining ruble—are already taking root.
It also makes sense in that Ukraine’s ability to wage war is strengthening, with an additional $800 million in U.S. military aid announced on Wednesday—part of a broader $14 billion aid package. The military component includes 100 miniature Switchblade drones, designed to fly kamikaze style to penetrate armored vehicles.
Ultimately, the decision to pursue further negotiations—and whether to compromise—ultimately rests with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the anti-Western rhetoric emanating from the Kremlin in recent days has not changed much.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Iran frees British prisoners. Two British nationals, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, who had been detained in Iran for several years returned to the U.K. via Oman yesterday. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, whose case was closely followed by the British press due to the very public protests and hunger strikes of her husband, Richard, and daughter, Gabriella, outside 10 Downing Street and the Foreign Office during her six years of detention.
A third British citizen held in Iran, Morad Tahbaz, was released from prison while under house arrest but not allowed to return; he was born in London but also holds U.S. citizenship and Iran is treating him as an American. U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Thursday that the government would “continue to work intensively’’ on his case.
The British government reportedly agreed to pay £393.8 million ($519 million) it owed Iran after cancelling an order of tanks following the overthrow of Iran’s Shah in the Islamic revolution of 1979. Secret talks in Oman held in February apparently led to the deal.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Austin in Slovakia. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits Slovakia today in a show of support for a nation on NATO’s eastern flank—and Ukraine’s border. It is the first time a Pentagon chief has visited the country since it joined the defense alliance in 2004. Austin is expected to discuss the possible transfer of Slovakia’s Soviet-era S-300 air defense system to Ukraine, a move Slovakia is open to, as long as it gets replacement equipment.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“St. Patrick’s Day at the White House. U.S. President Joe Biden welcomes Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin to the White House today for Washington’s traditional St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, the first in-person since 2019. Martin will begin the day with a breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris, before a bipartisan luncheon on Capitol Hill hosted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before heading to the White House later in the day.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“French discuss Corsica autonomy. The French government said it is prepared to discuss ‘autonomy’ for the Mediterranean island of Corsica following pro-independence riots sparked by a prison attack on Yvan Colonna, considered a hero to the Corsican independence movement for his role in assassinating Paris’s representative to the island in 1998. ‘We are ready to go as far as autonomy. There you go, the word has been said,’ Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told a local newspaper on Wednesday, while adding that discussions would only begin once violence had ceased.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Yemen peace talks. Yemen’s Houthis said they would agree to peace talks with the opposing Saudi-led coalition as long as they are held in a neutral country, not in Riyadh as the Gulf Cooperation Council has proposed. ‘It is neither logical, nor fair that the host of the talks is also the sponsor of war and blockade,’ the Houthis said in a statement. The group has said its priority was to lift “arbitrary” restrictions on Yemeni ports and airports.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“U.S.-Israel relations. A new poll issued by Gallup gives the latest snapshot of American attitudes toward Israel and the Palestinians. Overall, 55 percent U.S. adults surveyed said their sympathies lay with Israelis, while 26 percent said they sympathized more with Palestinians—a 20-year high for the Palestinian cause. On a partisan basis the difference was more stark, Republicans said they sympathized more with Israelis than Palestinians in a 77:13 split, while Democrats held both sides almost equal with 40 percent siding with Israelis and 38 percent siding with Palestinians.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Disney employees are staging walkouts over the company’s response to Florida’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. Organizers of the protests have encouraged employees to walk out during their work breaks in 15-minute daily sessions. They are also planning to stage a full-day walkout next Tuesday, but it is currently unclear how many employees will take part. The controversial bill bans educators from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with children from kindergarten to third grade. Organizers of the walkout penned an open letter that claims Disney's leadership ‘does not truly understand the impact this legislation is having not only on cast members in the state of Florida, but on all members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the company and beyond.’ Disney's CEO issued an apology for his silence on the controversial bill. The company employs 75,000 people at its resorts in Florida.” Read more at CNN
“Chris Cuomo, who was fired from his prime-time perch at CNN in December for inappropriately aiding his governor brother’s response to a sexual harassment scandal, has filed an arbitration claim seeking $125 million in compensation from the company.” Read more at Washington Post
“Jussie Smollett was released from jail after an appeals court agreed that he should be freed pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to policeabout a racist and homophobic attack.” Read more at USA Today
“74% — The share of self-described introverts who said they wanted to be in the office at least part-time, according to a survey by the Myers-Briggs Co. Less than a quarter were interested in fully remote setups.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“NEW YORK (AP) — St. Patrick’s Day celebrations across the country are back after a two-year hiatus, including the nation’s largest in New York City, in a sign of growing hope that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic may be over.
The holiday served as a key marker in the outbreak’s progression, with parades celebrating Irish heritage among the first big public events to be called off in 2020. An ominous acceleration in infections quickly cascaded into broad shutdowns.
The full-fledged return of New York’s parade on Thursday coincides with the city’s wider reopening. Major mask and vaccination rules were recently lifted.
‘Psychologically, it means a lot,’ said Sean Lane, the chair of the parade’s organizing group. ‘New York really needs this.’” Read more at AP News
“Three of the four No. 1 seeds in the men's NCAA Tournament will be in action Thursday, with Gonzaga, Baylor and Kansas set to play. Baylor, the No. 1 seed in the East Region, will begin its tournament run against Norfolk State in Fort Worth, Texas – less than two hours away from where Baylor plays its home games. That game will tip off at 2 p.m. ET on TBS. And in the West Region, No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga will face off against Georgia State (TNT, 4:15 p.m. ET), who won the Sun Belt Conference tournament last week. Kansas will close out Thursday's slate of games, when it faces Texas Southern (truTV, 9:57 p.m. ET), who triumphed in its play-in game on Tuesday.” Read more at USA Today
THE NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH
“The luck of the Irish came through. All Notre Dame needed, coincidentally, was to play into the wee hours of Saint Patrick's Day.
Notre Dame defeated Rutgers, 89-87, in a double overtime contest that ended shortly after midnight on the east coast. Here's how the ending of the First Four game went:
With 40 seconds left, Prentiss Hubb made two free throws to put the Fighting Irish up three. 87-84.
With 22 seconds left, Rutgers star Ron Harper Jr. nailed a long, contested 3-pointer to tie it at 87.
Then, Notre Dame's Blake Wesley drove to the basket but missed. Paul Atkinson was there for the rebound, though, and converted with just over a second left. 89-87. Rutgers did not get a final shoot off afterwards.
If this is a sign of what's to come over the next few weeks, sign me up. This game had big shot after big shot and stirring comebacks by both sides. Atkinson will be remembered as the hero for his putback, but his full-game effort -- 26 points on 13-for-15 shooting and six rebounds -- was vital as the Notre Dame guards were quiet offensively.
Notre Dame will face 6-seed Alabama tomorrow.
... AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO THE WRIGHT STATE RAIDERS
Welcome to the club, Wright State! The Raiders earned their first NCAA Tournament win last night, topping Bryant, 93-82. Tanner Holden scored 37 points, the most ever by a Horizon League player at the NCAA Tournament, and grabbed 11 rebounds. The Raiders will take on 1-seed Arizona tomorrow.
Honorable mentions
Kenny Payne is headed back to his alma mater; the former Louisville star will be the program's next head coach.
Spencer Dinwiddie hit another big shot as the Mavericksbeat the Nets.” Read more at CBS News
An FDNY jacket at the 9/11 Tribute Museum that belonged to firefighter Jonathan Ielpi.
PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER GREGORY-RIVERA FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The 9/11 Tribute Museum in Lower Manhattan is getting ready to close permanently.
“The smaller of two museums founded to recognize the terrorist attacks has accummulated too much debt. The lack of foreign tourists in New York City during the pandemic hit hard; admissions dropped 83% to 26,000 last year. Though international travel is bouncing back, it hasn’t been enough to sustain the museum, barring some last-minute savior swooping in. Unlike the better-known National September 11 Memorial Museum, which focuses on those who died, the 9/11 Tribute Museum trained more than 1,000 survivors, first responders, recovery workers and locals to share first-hand accounts with visitors. The 16-year-old institution has a staff of 10 along with 300-plus volunteer docents and a $3.6 million operating budget.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Nine people, including six students and their golf coach, were killed when a van carrying members of a New Mexico university's golf teams collided with a pickup truck Tuesday night, officials confirmed.” Read more at USA Today
“PRAGUE (AP) — A Czech zoo has welcomed a critically endangered eastern black rhinoceros baby that has taken the name of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in honor of that country’s resistance to invading Russian forces.
The rhino was born early on March 4 in the Dvur Kralove zoo, a rare occurrence for the facility even if it has the most rhinos belonging to the subspecies.
“The name is another expression of our support for the Ukrainian heroes,“ zoo Director Premysl Rabas said.
Kyiv’s mother Eva has been taking care of him in a best possible way, the zoo said, with the baby gaining 1 kilogram (2.20 pounds) a day. It currently weighs about 50 kilograms (110 pounds) .
Poaching has reduced the number of the eastern black rhinos living in the wild to around 800. The Czech park has 14.
Only three other such rhinos have been born in other zoos around the world in the last year.
A total of 47 eastern black rhinos have been born in Dvur Kralove since the park received the first one in 1971.
Many of them are now in various zoos around the globe but nine have been returned to Rwanda and Tanzania to live in the wild.” Read more at AP News
“Lives Lived: Lauro Cavazos served as secretary of education under Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and was the nation’s first Latino to serve in a cabinet post. Cavazos died at 95.” Read more at New York Times
