Winter storm tears across US
A sprawling storm blocked highways, closed schools and canceled flights across much of the central United States Wednesday, with nearly 1 foot of snow piling up in parts of the Midwest while areas to the south braced for potentially dangerous accumulations of ice. The system left large piles of snow in Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, and threatened to cause power outages in Texas and Tennessee, where the worst of the storm was not expected to hit until Wednesday evening or Thursday. The storm disrupted life across three time zones, closing courtrooms in New Mexico, blocking highways in Missouri and causing crashes in Indiana.
Biden presents ambitious plan to cut cancer death rate in half
President Joe Biden unveiled a plan Wednesday to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years — a goal, he said, to “supercharge” the cancer “moonshot” program he presided over five years ago as vice president. Biden also announced a campaign to urge Americans to undergo screenings they missed during the pandemic. And he said he would create a “cancer Cabinet” to center the fight against cancer inside the White House. Cancer experts expressed doubt that it would be possible to so profoundly reduce the age-adjusted death rate, which accounts for expectations that older people are more likely to grow ill and die.
Republicans who voted to impeach Trump outraised primary rivals
All seven House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump and are seeking reelection have outraised their primary opponents, according to campaign disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission this week. In Wyoming, Rep. Liz Cheney, who has emerged as one of the lead lawmakers on the special committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, raked in $2 million during the last quarter, entering 2022 with nearly $5 million in cash on hand. Her opponent, Harriet Hageman, raised $443,000 last quarter and has about $380,000 cash on hand. The disclosures illustrate the foothold that establishment conservatives and well-funded political action committees still hold among the party’s donor class.
US stands firm in response to Russia’s demands
The confrontation between Russia and the United States over Ukraine deepened Wednesday, as leaked documents confirmed the U.S. and NATO rejection of key Russian security demands. Although the leaked documents showed the U.S. had offered to provide more transparency about missile deployments in Eastern Europe, the message to Moscow was U.S. and NATO resolve not to bow to Russian demands. Among the most contentious demands were Russia’s insistence that Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, never be allowed to join NATO, and that the West scale back its military presence in Eastern Europe.
At least 60 dead in attack on camp for displaced peoplein Congo
At least 60 people were killed after militants attacked a camp housing people displaced by violence in eastern Congo, officials and a monitoring group said Wednesday. Militants attacked the Plaine Savo camp in Ituri province Tuesday, killing 60 people, said Ndalo Budz, who works for Caritas Congo and manages the camp. Lt. Jules Ngongo, the Congolese army spokesperson in Ituri, said the Cooperative for Development of Congo militia was responsible for the attack. He said the army was deployed to the camp after the attack “to restore order, and we are chasing the enemy.”
12 migrants freeze to death, stripped by Greek Guards, Turkey says
Twelve migrants died Wednesday in Turkey, most of them found with little clothing in a freezing field near the border with Greece, according to several Turkish officials. A Turkish government minister said they froze to death and accused Greek border guards of stripping the migrants and forcing them back across the frontier before they died. The Greek migration minister, Notis Mitarachi, said the deaths were a tragedy but denied the Turkish accusations. The governor’s office for the Turkish province of Edirne, which borders Greece, said that 11 of the migrants were found frozen to death and another died later after being taken to a hospital.
New Zealand Announces Plans to Fully Reopen to the World
New Zealand will ease the strict border controls and quarantine rules it has maintained during the pandemic under a five-stage plan announced by the prime minister Thursday, gradually reopening to travelers from abroad over the next nine months. New Zealanders in Australia will be able to return home beginning at the end of February without spending time in hotel quarantine.
Trump son, allies sued by witness from 1st impeachment case
A retired Army lieutenant colonel who was a pivotal witness in the first impeachment case against Donald Trump has sued the oldest son of the former president and other Trump allies, accusing them of participating in an “intentional, concerted campaign of unlawful intimidation and retaliation” over his decision to testify.The lawsuit from Alexander Vindman, who testified during 2019 impeachment proceedings about a phone call in which Trump pressed his Ukraine counterpart to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, was filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington. Trump was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate in February 2020. The suit names as defendants Donald Trump Jr.; Rudy Giuliani, a longtime Trump adviser who has served as Trump’s lawyer; and former White House communications officials Dan Scavino and Julia Hahn.
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