Monday morning news - April 18, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Mariupol on verge of falling to Russian military » The Russian military appears to be on the verge of capturing the shattered port city of Mariupol.

Russian commanders have issued an ultimatum to Ukrainian troops: Surrender or die. But Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told ABC’s This Week:

SHMYHAL: We will not leave our country, our families, our land. So we will fight absolutely to the end, to win in this war.

Russia estimated 2,500 Ukrainian fighters were holding out at a hulking steel plant in the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Much of the city now lies in smoldering ruin.

The fall of Mariupol would hand the Russians their biggest victory of the war thus far. And it would give them their sought after land bridge from Crimea to eastern Ukraine.

Meantime in Kyiv, President Volodymry Zelenskyy said he would welcome a visit from President Biden to the capital city. He spoke Sunday with CNN’s State of the Union.

TAPPER: Do you want President Biden to come here?
ZELENSKYY: Yes.
TAPPER: Are there any plans for him to come?
ZELENSKYY: I think he will. I think he will. But it’s his decision, of course.

Zelenskyy said he understands that Biden will only visit if the White House is confident that it’s safe to do so.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other Western leaders have visited Kyiv in recent weeks.

Migrant arrests at border hit two-decade high in March » At the U.S. southern border the Border Patrol arrested more than 210,000 migrants attempting to cross into the United States in March.

That was the highest monthly total in two decades.

That news comes as the Biden administration prepares to roll back the pandemic order known as Title 42, which limits those allowed to enter the country.

Republicans warn that lifting that measure will further throw up the floodgates and worsen an already untenable border crisis.

Christians flock to Jerusalem for Easter while tensions mount in Old City » Many Christians celebrated Easter Sunday in person for the first time since the pandemic began. And tens of thousands of worshipers flocked to Jerusalem for Easter.

AUDIO: [Sound from church]

Many gathered for a service at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, identified as the site of Jesus's crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

But elsewhere in the Old City, Palestinian protesters clashed with police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after officers closed the flashpoint shrine, which Jews recognize as the Temple Mount.

This year Easter coincides with the Jewish holiday of Passover and the Muslim Ramadan for the first time in more than three decades.

North Korea tests new weapon bolstering nuclear capability » North Korea just test-fired a new type of tactical guided weapon designed to boost its nuclear fighting capacity. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: North Korea’s state news agency released a photo of a beaming Kim Jong Un clapping his hands with military officers after another new weapons test.

State news did not provide many details in describing the weapon it test fired. But it used the words “tactical nukes.” That suggests the weapon is likely capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that could hit strategic targets in South Korea, including American military installations.

This was the North’s 13th weapons test this year. And Western officials are worried that Pyongyang is gearing up for an even larger provocation.

Sunday’s reported launch came a day before the United States and South Korea begin annual military drills. The North views those drills as a rehearsal for an invasion.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

USDA probing reports of illnesses linked to Lucky Charms cereal » More than a hundred consumers who recently ate a popular breakfast cereal say they’re not feeling so lucky.

COMMERCIAL: Frosted Lucky Charms, they’re magically delicious!

The USDA is investigating official complaints that many people become ill after eating Lucky Charms.

Several hundred people have also posted on a food safety website, iwaspoisoned.com, complaining of nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting after eating Lucky Charms.

General Mills Inc. said it’s aware of those reports and takes them seriously. But the company said its own investigation has not found any evidence of consumer illness linked to Lucky Charms.

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

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