Thursday morning news - April 14, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

U.S. sends more weapons, equipment to Ukraine in $800m package » The United States is rushing more heavy firepower into Ukraine as part of another $800 million in military aid. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday…

KIRBY: It’s the first time that we’ve provided these 155 howitzers and the associated rounds that will go with them. And again, that’s reflective of the kind of fighting that Ukrainians are expecting to be faced with in this little bit more confined geographic area.

The Pentagon is also handing over transport helicopters, armored personnel carriers and Humvees, naval drone vessels used in coastal defense and gear used to protect soldiers in chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological attacks.

It’s all in preparation for a major Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. For several days, officials have been urging residents in the region to flee.

And President Biden now says Russia's war in Ukraine amounts to genocide. He used that term for the first time in what appeared to be unscripted remarks.

BIDEN: Yes, I called it genocide because it’s become clearer and clearer that Putin is trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian.

U.S. officials have repeatedly said Russia is guilty of “war crimes,” but steered clear of calling it “genocide.” The State Department said that’s because that term is actually a legal designation, and the United States was still gathering evidence.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zenenskyy said he is grateful and believes President Biden called it exactly what it is.

Leaders sound alarms about impact of Ukraine war on food supply, cost » Meantime, world leaders are sounding alarms about the impact of the war in Ukraine on food supplies and costs.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday …

YELLEN: I am deeply concerned about the impact of Russia’s war on food prices and supply, particularly on poor populations who spend a larger share of their income on food.

And U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres added …

GUTERRES: The war is supercharging a three-dimensional crisis, food, energy, and finance, that is pummeling some of the world’s most vulnerable people, countries, and economies.

He said “as many as 1.7 billion people—one-third of whom are already living in poverty—are now highly exposed to disruptions that are triggering increases in poverty and hunger.

Russia and Ukraine both play significant roles in global food supplies. About one quarter of the world’s wheat exports come from those two countries.

CDC extends travel mask requirement » The Biden administration is extending the nationwide mask requirement for public transit for two more weeks as it monitors a slight uptick in COVID-19 cases. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The public transit mask order was set to expire on Monday. But the CDC announced it will extend the order until May 3rd to allow more time to study the BA.2 subvariant of the omicron strain. That is now the dominant strain in the country.

Over the past month, new cases have held steady at about 30,000 per day, even showing a slight increase.

Hospitalizations have shown a mild uptick in recent days as well.

In a statement, the CDC said it’s keeping the mask order in place to—quote—“assess the potential impact the rise of cases has on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and health care system capacity.”

Critics of the mask rule note that cases have dropped in many states even as they lifted their mask mandates.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Man arrested in Brooklyn subway attack, charged with terror » New York Police on Wednesday slapped handcuffs on the man suspected of shooting 10 people on a Brooklyn subway train.

ADAMS: My fellow New Yorkers, we got him. We got him.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams heard there.

The arrest ended a daylong manhunt. Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters …

SEWELL: Moments ago, Frank Robert James was stopped on the street and arrested by members of the New York City Police Department. Officers, in response to a CrimeStoppers tip, stopped Mr. James at 1:42 p.m. at the corner of St. Marks Place and First Ave. in Manhattan.

The 62-year-old allegedly deployed a smoke canister in a subway car on Tuesday before opening fire. Five victims are listed in critical condition.

He now faces a federal terrorism charge that could land him behind bars for life.

In recent months, James railed in online videos about racism and violence in the United States and about his experiences with mental health care in New York.

Search and rescue efforts continue in Philippine disaster » In the southern Philippines, rescuers are using tractors and backhoes to dig through tons of earth, twisted steel, and shattered lumber hoping to find more survivors from a spate of deadly landslides. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has more.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: At least 56 people have died and dozens remain missing after heavy rain pounded the region for days triggering floods and mudslides.

Army, police, and other rescuers slogged through mud and unstable heaps of earth and debris to find missing villagers.

More rescuers and heavy equipment, including backhoes, arrived Wednesday in villages partially buried by landslides.

Officials recovered 47 bodies in the city of Baybay. Nine other people drowned elsewhere in flooding.

Coast guard, police and firefighters rescued many villagers from their rooftops.

At least 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines each year, mostly during the rainy season that begins around June.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

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

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