Remains of Nearly 5,000 Native Americans Will Be Returned, U.S. Says
The remains of nearly 5,000 Native Americans that were excavated long ago from earthen burial mounds by the Tennessee Valley Authority could soon be returned to their tribes, now that the agency has announced it is prepared to repatriate them after a decadeslong wait. The TVA, the largest federally owned utility, obtained the remains as it built dams near Native American burial grounds and later gave many of them to universities and museums across the South. Beginning on April 28, tribes across the country will be able to request that those remains be returned, the TVA said. More than 1,000 funerary objects will also be returned.
Moderate Drinking Has No Health Benefits, Analysis of Decades of Research Finds
For decades, scientific studies suggested moderate drinking was better for most people’s health than not drinking at all, and could even help them live longer. A new analysis of more than 40 years of research has concluded that many of those studies were flawed and that the opposite is true. The review found that the risks of dying prematurely increase significantly for women once they drink 25 grams of alcohol a day, which is less than two standard cocktails. The risks to men increase significantly at 45 grams of alcohol a day, or just over three drinks. The new report was published in JAMA Network Open last week.
FDA Plans to Allow a Second Updated COVID Booster for Vulnerable Americans
The Food and Drug Administration plans to allow older and immunocompromised Americans to get a second updated coronavirus booster shot in the near future, an acknowledgment of the virus’s continuing risks to vulnerable people whose immunity might be sagging months after a previous inoculation. Federal regulators are expected to authorize the additional dose in the next few weeks, according to people familiar with the agency’s planning. Those 65 and older would be able to receive the vaccine at least four months after their previous updated shot. Those with immune deficiencies would also be eligible, and the vaccines would be free of charge.
New York Mayor Orders New Round of Budget Cuts That Could Erode City Services
For the first time since he took office last year, Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday raised the specter of cutting critical New York City municipal services in response to what his budget director described as worsening economic conditions. The message, delivered in a letter from the budget director, directed the leaders of nearly every city agency, including the Police Department, to cut their budgets by 4% for the coming fiscal year, which begins in July. Only the Department of Education and the City University of New York will be subject to smaller cuts of 3%. Agency heads have 10 days to detail the cuts.
U.S. Announces Additional $2.6 Billion in Aid to Ukraine
The United States plans to send Ukraine additional air defense interceptors and munitions as part of a $2.6 billion aid package, part of which will be used to help the country prepare for a planned spring offensive against Russian troops. The package announced Tuesday includes $500 million in ammunition and equipment from U.S. military stockpiles, and $2.1 billion that the United States will use to buy munitions, radar and other weapons to send to Ukraine. The money will also be used to purchase anti-aircraft ammunition, mobile laser-guided rocket systems, fuel tankers and other equipment, according to the Pentagon.
Finland Joins NATO in a Power Shift and Rebuke to Putin
With a simple exchange of documents, Finland on Tuesday became NATO’s 31st member state, a strategic defeat for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who was determined to block the alliance’s expansion but instead galvanized Finland to join amid Moscow’s devastating war in Ukraine. Finland’s national flag was raised at NATO headquarters, a deeply symbolic moment and a stark display of the shifting global dynamics, as the West shores up its allegiances in response to Russia’s aggression. With Finland’s membership assured, NATO doubled its borders with Russia and gained access to a strong military with a deep history of countering Russia.
Expecting an Offensive in Ukraine’s South, Moscow Digs In
Russia is strengthening its defenses in territory it occupies in southern Ukraine by planting fields of land mines and building barriers to brace against a possible attack, a Ukrainian official said Tuesday. Moscow’s forces have started to dig defensive barriers between the borders of the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions and between the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, according to Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, which is in Zaporizhzhia. They are also digging a defensive line between two villages near Melitopol, he said. Although he is not based in Melitopol, given that Russia controls the city, he bases his information on contacts in the region.
Appeals Court Punts on Due Process Rights for Guantánamo Detainees
A federal appeals court Tuesday deferred on deciding whether detainees at the Guantánamo Bay wartime prison have due process rights under the Constitution, pulling back from what could have been a landmark decision about legal protections for noncitizens held there. Instead, the full Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a ruling that said a 55-year-old Yemeni man, Abdulsalam al-Hela, could continue to be held without charge or trial at the American naval base in Cuba. The appeals court also directed a lower court to take a new look at his case.
Avalanche in Indian Himalayas Kills at Least 7 Tourists, Officials Say
An avalanche in the Indian Himalayas killed at least seven tourists, the Indian army announced Tuesday, adding that more than 370 people were rescued in the remote northeastern state of Sikkim. The avalanche, reported around noon local time, struck near Nathu La, a scenic mountain pass connecting Tibet to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim state, according to India’s Border Roads Organization. Police said rescue work was paused late Tuesday because of darkness and more snowfall, and it remained unclear whether more people might still be missing or trapped under thick layers of snow.
Train Derails in the Netherlands, Killing at Least 1
At least one person was killed and about 30 others were injured when a passenger train derailed near The Hague Tuesday after striking a crane on the tracks, Dutch officials said, a rare accident in a country with an excellent record for rail safety. The train, carrying 50 passengers, was en route to The Hague from a nearby city, Leiden, when it derailed near the suburb of Voorschoten about 3:30 a.m., according to safety officials for the Dutch region of Hollands Midden. Officials at the Dutch rail authority, ProRail, said that the crane had been on the rails for planned maintenance work.
By wire sources