Monday morning news - December 6, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kristen Flavin. 

Warning of sanctions against Russia » President Biden will hold a virtual meeting with his Russian counterpart on Tuesday.

Top of the agenda: Russia’s troop buildup on the border with Ukraine. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin downplayed concern over possible military action.

AUSTIN: I think he knows President Putin very well. Again, I think there’s a lot of space here for diplomacy and leadership to work.

Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, told Fox News Sunday President Biden needed to send a clear and strong message.

ERNST: It’s hard to know what Vladimir Putin is thinking and what his true intentions are. But we do see a very aggressive action on his part, amassing his troops on the Ukrainian border. So, we must prepare for the worst, not knowing what those intentions are.

Last week, President Biden said his administration had developed a “comprehensive and meaningful” set of initiatives to make it difficult for Putin. Those likely include sanctions.

Washington already enforces financial penalties on Russian entities and individuals over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. But it has yet to block international banking transactions, a move that could cripple Russia’s economy.

Omicron spreads to one-third of U.S. states » The omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly across the country. Health officials have so far detected it in about one-third of U.S. states.

CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told ABC News those numbers will continue to grow.

WALENSKY: You know we have several dozen cases, and we’re following them closely. And we are every day hearing about more and more probable cases. So that number is likely to rise.

So far the omicron variant does not appear to be causing an increase in hospitalizations. But Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told Fox News Sunday doctors don’t yet know enough about it.

MURTHY: I certainly am concerned about the possibility that this is going to spread more easily than other variants that we’ve seen to date. And we’ve got to get more data, like I said, to understand the exact extent of that. But I do think it’s a reason for us, not necessarily to panic, but just to be more vigilant.

Delta remains the dominant variant in the United States. It makes up more than 99 percent of recorded cases. And it’s driving a surge of hospitalizations in the north.

Parents of MI school shooter arrested » The parents of a teenager accused of killing four classmates at a Michigan high school last week are also behind bars.

James and Jennifer Crumbley disappeared Friday after prosecutors charged them with involuntary manslaughter. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said a fugitive task force found them early Saturday hiding in a commercial art studio in Detroit.

BOUCHARD: So they are in our jail, all three of them, the son and both parents. They are segregated, each individually, in isolation.

Prosecutors say the Crumbleys ignored warning signs that could have prevented their son’s attack. School officials called them just hours before the shooting after a teacher found a disturbing drawing at the teen’s desk. They told the Crumbleys to get counseling for the boy but his parents resisted taking him out of school.

District officials have asked the Michigan attorney general’s office to investigate the events that led up to the shooting at Oxford High School.

The Crumbleys have pleaded not guilty and insisted they intended to turn themselves in after meeting with their lawyers on Saturday morning.

Former Sen. Bob Dole dies at 98 » Flags are flying at half-mast today in honor of former Republican senator and war hero Bob Dole.

Dole fought in World War II and suffered injuries that left his right arm paralyzed. But he went on to have a long career in politics, representing his home state of Kansas on Capitol Hill for nearly 36 years.

He was known as a shrewd and pragmatic negotiator who played key roles in developing tax policy, farm and nutrition programs, and protections for the disabled.

But his political success did not extend to the national stage. He made three unsuccessful attempts at the presidency, losing the last time to Bill Clinton in 1996.

Once out of office, Dole dedicated his time to helping veterans. He pushed for the construction of the World War II Memorial. And he regularly met with veterans there well into his 90s.

In 1997, Congress awarded him the National Medal of Honor. During his acceptance speech, Dole recalled moments when politics was at its best, citing the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

DOLE: The moral challenges of our time can seem less clear. But they still demand conviction and courage and character. They still require young men and women with faith in our process. They still demand idealists captured by the honor and adventure of service. They still demand citizens who accept responsibility and who defy cynicism, affirming the American faith and renewing her hope. They still demand the president and congress to find real unity in the public good. If we remember this, then America will always be the country of tomorrow, where every day is a new beginning, and every life is an instrument of God’s justice.

Bob Dole died Sunday at his home in Kansas. He was 98 years old.

I'm Kristen Flavin. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org.

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