Monday morning news - January 10, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

High level U.S.-Russia talks begin Monday » The United States and Russia are kicking off high-level talks today in Geneva, aimed at easing tensions between Moscow and the West. The stakes are high, but optimism is low.

Russia declared Sunday that it will not make any concessions under pressure.

And Secretary of State Tony Blinken told ABC’s This Week…

BLINKEN: The question really now is whether President Putin will take the path of diplomacy and dialogue or seeks confrontation.

That does not mean military confrontation, at least not with the United States. But if Putin decides to invade Ukraine, Blinken warned once again over the weekend that Russia will pay a heavy price.

BLINKEN: Financial and economic measures; certainly NATO’s defensive posture will have to strengthen even further. Assistance to Ukraine to defend itself will continue.

Moscow says it wants guarantees that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO. Blinken says that’s a nonstarter and Putin knows it.

Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine will top the agenda in talks this week, but it’s not the only issue. The two sides plan to discuss an array of disputes—ranging from arms control to cybercrime and diplomatic issues.

Kazakhstan says 164 killed in week of protests » Russia’s decision to send paratroopers into Kazakhstan could add more uncertainty to this week’s talks. Well over a hundred people have been killed in protests that have rocked the country over the past week. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: Kazakhstan's health ministry said Sunday that 164 people have died in clashes between demonstrators and government forces. Most of the deaths were in the city of Almaty where protesters seized government buildings and set some of them on fire.

It is not clear if the report referred only to civilians or if law enforcement deaths are included.

Protesters are angry about soaring energy prices, among other things. Some turned to violence, but most demonstrations have been peaceful.

The U.S. State Dept. responded to reports of “shoot-to-kill” orders for Kazakh forces and condemned the use of deadly force against peaceful demonstrators.

On Friday, Russian military spokesman, Igor Konashenkov said Moscow had deployed a “peacekeeping” force to Kazakhstan for a limited time. No word on how long Russian troops will remain in the ex-Soviet nation.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Hospitalizations match record high amid omicron wave » COVID-19 hospitalizations have quickly surged to match the record high set back in January of 2021, with more than 18,000 new admissions each day.

The rate of hospitalizations of children under the age of five, while still low, is now at the highest level since the pandemic started—a little more than 4 per 100,000. Overall, kids under the age of 18 account for slightly less than 5 percent of new hospital admissions.

The new variant has not yet caused a substantial spike in deaths, but CDC Director Rochelle Welensky warns that could change. She says it’s true that omicron, generally, is not as severe…

WALENSKY: On a person to person basis, it may not be. However, given the volume of cases we’re seeing with omicron, we may very well see death rates rise dramatically.

It is that sheer volume of cases that has driven the spike in hospitalizations.

A 7-day rolling average puts new infections at well over 600,000 per day. That's more than double the previous pandemic high.

City, teacher’s union remain deadlocked in Chicago » Meantime, in Chicago, still no breakthrough in talks between the city and the teacher’s union.

Teachers left classrooms last week and called for a temporary shift to online learning. The city called the move an unnecessary “walkout” and cancelled classes altogether.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot told NBC’s Meet The Press that kids need to be in classrooms to get the best possible education. But added that many families in Chicago public schools are poor or working class…

LIGHTFOOT: Which also means that they live in households with single parents, mostly women of color, who have to work to be able to keep the home together. So this walkout by the teacher’s union, which is illegal, has had cascading negative ripple effects.

She said the city has spent millions to make the schools safe for teachers and students and that they are safe.

But the teacher’s union argues that the city has failed to deliver on a range of safety needs amid the pandemic.

Union leaders have placed on the table what they consider to be a compromise solution. They want to resume remote instruction on Wednesday and in-person instruction on Jan. 18th. The city has rejected that proposal.

At least 19 dead after NYC apartment fire » At least 19 people, including nine children, are dead after a fire tore through a Bronx apartment building on Sunday.

New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro:

NIGRO: Thirty-two people were transported to hospitals in life-threatening condition. That is unprecedented in our city. The last time we had a loss of life that may be this horrific was that Happy Land fire that was over 30 years ago.

About 200 firefighters responded to the building around 11 a.m. Initial reports said the fire was on the third floor of the 19-story building, with flames blowing out windows.

Thirteen people remained hospitalized in critical condition. Nigro said most of the victims had severe smoke inhalation.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dilenny Rodriguez lives in the building that caught fire.

RODRIGUEZ: I am devastated. I lived in this building for 16 years and I’ve never experienced anything so sad, especially of this kind. Found neighbors that [are] like my family and see them — I have no words to describe my pain.

Investigators say a faulty space heater sparked the fire.

6. Actor-comedian Bob Saget dies » Actor and comedian Bob Saget has died. He was best known for his role as single dad Danny Tanner on the sitcom “Full House.”

SOUND (Full House clip): Ok, I have everyone’s sandwich just the way they want them: turkey and swiss, swiss - no turkey, turkey all dark meat - extra tomato, and peanut butter and banana - hold the turkey.

He was also the longtime host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

Sheriff’s deputies in Orange County, Florida, found Saget unresponsive in his Orlando hotel room. Detectives said they found “no signs of foul play or drug use in this case.”

Bob Saget was 65 years old.

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.