Friday morning news - May 6, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Ukrainian resistance holds out against long odds in Mariupol » Ukrainian fighters in the tunnels of a steel plant in Mariupol held out against Russian troops Thursday in a desperate and possibly doomed effort to deny Moscow its biggest victory so far in the war.

Some 2,000 Ukrainian fighters were holed up inside the plant, the last pocket of resistance in the now all but destroyed port city.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmytro Kuleba says the sacrifices of so man in Mariupol will not be in vain.

KULEBA: The war, I told you, we will win. We literally have no other option but to win this war because the existence of [the] Ukrainian nation is at stake. And we are not going to surrender under any circumstances.

And the remaining troops in Mariupol have not yielded to Russian calls for their surrender.

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has already declared victory in Mariupol as his forces are carrying out a new focused offensive in Ukraine’s east.

McConnell calls for standalone Ukraine aid package » Meantime in Washington, a proposed $33 billion dollar aid package for Ukraine has hit a snag on Capitol Hill. GOP lawmakers object to Democrats’ push to add COVID-19 and food insecurity funds to the same bill that addresses aid to Ukraine.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wants the aid package to include only provisions related to the Russian invasion.

MCCONNELL: Obviously, there is broad bipartisan support for a robust aid package. But even a strong bipartisan vote won’t mean much if we don’t deliver on this promise soon.

The U.S. government on Thursday did announce another $387 million in additional humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The cash will help provide basics like drinking water, sanitation and medical supplies.

Abortion rights activists ‘doxxing’ Supreme Court justices » Abortion rights activists having resorted ‘doxxing’ conservative Supreme Court justices, publishing their home addresses online. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: A pro-abortion rights group is calling on protesters to demonstrate outside the homes of the justices they believe may back a ruling to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

The group “Ruth Sent Us” employed a tactic known as “doxxing.” They posted a map online showing the home addresses of Justices Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett. They also revealed the address of Chief Justice John Roberts. That despite the fact that he is not believed to be in favor of reversing the 1973 Roe decision.

The group said it's organizing a “walk by” demonstration on May 11th—quote—“Where the six Christian fundamentalist Justices issue their shadow docket rulings.” End quote.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

DOJ finalizes new gun kits rule » Attorney General Merrick Garland says the Justice Department has finalized a new gun rule. The new measure makes clear that parts kits that can be assembled into guns will be treated as firearms.

GARLAND: Those who engage in the business of dealing in these guns will be required to mark every frame or receiver with a serial number so that the guns can be traced (if )they’re used in crime.

Garland says to sell gun kits, businesses will be have to be federally licensed, maintain records and run background checks, the same as any firearm retailer.

He said the new rule is part of a new anti-crime strategy aimed at bringing down rising rates of violent crime.

WHO: Nearly 15 million deaths associated with COVID-19, but deaths are falling » COVID-19 has killed nearly 15 million people, either directly or indirectly. That according to the World Health Organization. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The new WHO estimate counts not only deaths directly caused by the virus, but other pandemic-related deaths as well. That factors in COVID’s impact on health systems, such as cancer patients who were unable to seek treatment when hospital beds were full of COVID patients.

The new death toll estimate of 14.9 million is more than double the current official death toll of over 6 million.

Most of the deaths occurred in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas.

The good news is that new cases and deaths continue to drop. Both of those tallies fell again last week worldwide.

The WHO counted 9 million cases last week, a 16 percent drop from the week before. And infections are down in all regions of the world.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Tornadoes strike Texas, Oklahoma » Several tornadoes ripped through Texas and Oklahoma, heavily damaging homes, schools, and businesses.

The twister wreaked havoc in Seminole, about 60 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. Tiffany Coker is a schoolteacher in Seminole.

COKER: It sounded like a train, and we could also hear glass breaking. And I could hear metal coming off of the roof.

Gov. Kevin Stitt says despite the destruction, officials reported no serious injuries.

STITT: We’ve got drones kind of assessing the damage, but thank the Lord nobody was hurt.

A large tornado also roared through Wilbarger County, Texas, near the Oklahoma border, damaging numerous buildings.

And the same storm system knocked out power and triggered flash flooding parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas.

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

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.