Friday morning news - March 25, 2022

NATO leaders pledge ‘to do more’ to counter Russia, support Ukraine » BIDEN: Good evening everyone.

President Biden addressed reporters in Brussels Thursday evening after a day of emergency meetings with European allies.

Western leaders vowed to hit Russia with more sanctions and step up their aid to Ukraine and its people.

BIDEN: NATO has never, never been more united than it is today.

The leaders spent Thursday crafting next steps to counter Russia’s invasion … and huddling over how they’ll respond to whatever Vladimir Putin does next.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters they “agreed to do more”…

STOLTENBERG: Including cybersecurity assistance, and equipment to help Ukraine protect against biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear threats.

President Biden would not say how the West will respond if Russia launches a chemical attack in Ukraine, saying only that it would—quote—“trigger a response in kind.”

But the White House clarified, that would not mean U.S. troops in Ukraine.

Biden also announced the United States would welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and provide an additional $1 billion in humanitarian aid.

But NATO’s pledges on Thursday fell short of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s latest request.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking in Ukrainian]

In a pair of live-video appearances, Zelenskyy asked NATO to donate one percent of its tanks and war planes to Ukraine.

But the White House and Europe say they want to avoid escalating a conflict with a nuclear superpower.

UN blames Russia for Ukraine humanitarian crisis » Meantime, the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning Russia’s actions.

AUDIO: In favor, 140 - against, 5 - abstention 38. Draft resolution is adopted.

Only Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea joined Russia in opposing the measure. China was among the 38 nations that abstained.

The resolution blames Russia for a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and urges a ceasefire.

The vote was almost exactly the same as a similar resolution on March 2nd.

New rules aim to decide US asylum cases in months, not years » Migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. southern border may soon have a decision in months rather than years. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The Biden administration just rewrote asylum rules in hopes of speeding up the process. The new procedures, which will likely take effect in late May will empower asylum officers to grant or deny claims.

Right now, only immigration judges have that authority at the southern border. Asylum officers only screen migrants and then hand that information off to overwhelmed immigration courts.

The court backlog has soared to nearly 1.7 million cases. Many applicants don’t have legitimate asylum claims under U.S. law, but count on being released inside the United States while their cases play out. And that can take years.

Officials hope the new rules will cut down on illegitimate claims, but they say the changes will take effect slowly. The administration estimates it will need to hire 800 more employees to help handle the caseload.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Supreme Court rules in favor of religious death row inmate » The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of a death row inmate.

The justices said John Henry Ramirez likely has the right to have his pastor lay hands on him and pray out loud in the execution chamber.

Current execution rules in Texas forbid that.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had denied Ramirez’s challenge against the state of Texas. But the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 to reverse that decision. Justice Clarence Thomas was the only dissenter.

Ramirez was scheduled to die by lethal injection last year for murdering a convenience store clerk in 2004.

North Korea tests long-range missile » North Korea test-fired possibly its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea Thursday, heightening tensions on the Korean Peninsula. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has that story.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The missile launched from an area near Pyongyang … and soared nearly 700 miles before plunging into the sea. That according South Korean officials on Thursday.

It was the North’s first launch of an ICBM since 2017.

The missile avoided Japan’s territorial waters, but it came close.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said flight details suggest it was a new type of missile for the North.

The White House called the launch a “brazen violation” of U.N. Security Council resolutions. And South Korea said Pyongyang’s actions pose a serious threat to the region and the world.

The North has tested a variety of new missiles in recent months, including a purported hypersonic weapon.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org. 

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