Monday morning news - May 2, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Pelosi leads U.S. delegation to Ukraine » House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a top-level U.S. delegation in a secret trip to Kyiv over the weekend.

The speaker said she and other lawmakers were there to underscore the message to Ukraine that America stands behind them.

PELOSI: Do not be bullied by bullies. If they’re making threats, you cannot back down. We’re there for the fight.

Pelosi was the most senior American official to visit Ukraine since the war began more than two months ago. Only days earlier, Russia bombed the Ukrainian capital during the U.N. secretary-general’s visit.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova told ABC’s This Week…

MARKAROVA: I think it’s yet another sign of the very, very strong support that Ukraine has here in the United States. We feel and we know that Americans are our brothers and sisters in this fight for freedom for democracy.

The speaker and the half dozen U.S. lawmakers with her met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his top aides for three hours.

The trip came two days after President Biden asked Congress for $33 billion in additional aid to Ukraine.

U.N.: Evacuation of civilians from Mariupol steel plant underway » The United Nations said on Sunday that an effort to evacuate people from a steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was finally underway. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: A U.N. spokesman said the Red Cross was working with Ukrainian and Russian officials to bring people out of the sprawling steel plant.

As many as 100,000 people are believed to still be in blockaded Mariupol.

That includes up to 1,000 civilians who were hunkered down with an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters beneath the steel plant.

That area is the only part of the port city not occupied by the Russians.

The U.N. says women, children, and the elderly would be evacuated to the city of Zaporizhzhia, about 141 miles northwest of Mariupol.

The fate of the soldiers holed up at the plant is not clear. Russia has demanded their surrender.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Country music star Naomi Judd dies » Country music superstar Naomi Judd has died. She performed for decades as one half of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds, along with her daughter, Wynonna.

AUDIO: [Mama He’s Crazy clip]

Wynonna and her sister, actress Ashley Judd, announced her death. In a statement, they said “Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.”

The family said no further details about her death would be released. But Wynonna Judd had been open about a long bout with depression.

The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted The Judds into the hall on Sunday with 14 number one songs to their credit.

The duo had just announced an arena tour to begin in the fall. It would have been their first tour together in more than a decade.

Naomi Judd was 76 years old.

Biden trades light-hearted jabs at White House Correspondents’ dinner » President Biden showed his lighter side over the weekend at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

The pandemic sidelined the event the past two years, but the annual gathering, with its good-natured jabs, returned to Washington.

Comedian Trevor Noah played host:

NOAH: I think ever since you’ve come into office, everything is looking up. Gas is up, rent is up, food is up …

And President Biden himself got in on the act. He told the journalists who cover him…

BIDEN: I’m really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with a lower approval rating than I have.

The president poked fun at himself as well as Republicans and his predecessor before an audience of 2,600 journalists, government officials, and celebrities.

It was the first time in six years that the sitting president attended the correspondents’ dinner. Former President Trump shunned the event while in office.

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

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