Thursday morning news - February 10, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Russia begins joint military exercises with Belarus near Ukrainian border » Russia and Belarus are kicking off 10 days of joint military drills today.

Moscow has moved up to 30,000 troops, along with fighter jets and surface-to-air missile systems, into Belarus, near Ukraine’s border. That’s in addition to more than 100,000 Russian troops parked in western Russia near the border.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters…

PSAKI: We see this as certainly more of any escalatory, not a de-escalatory action as it relates to those troops and the military exercises. This is happening at the border as well. So that is certainly concerning to us.

Britain’s top diplomat flew to Moscow Wednesday, seeking to defuse tensions.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said “Russia has a choice here. We strongly encourage them to engage, de-escalate and choose the path of diplomacy.”

Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron met with Putin at the Kremlin … also pushing for a diplomatic solution.

Western nations say they will impose their toughest-ever sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine.

Fauci: “full-blown” COVID almost over » President Biden’s top medical adviser says the “full-blown” pandemic phase of COVID-19 is almost over. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Dr. Anthony Fauci told the Financial Times that the data suggest the pandemic is entering a new phase. And he is hopeful that local, state, and federal governments will be able to wind down all restrictions within a few months.

Fauci said COVID-19 is here to stay and will never be eradicated. But he said—quote—"we are looking at a time when we have enough people vaccinated and enough people with protection from previous infection … that the Covid restrictions will soon be a thing of the past."

Daily infections have plummeted since the omicron wave peaked in mid-January. U.S. cases topped out at more than 800,000 per day, but that number has fallen to less than 200,000. That’s a drop of about 75 percent in just a few week’s time.

Hospitalizations and deaths are also declining.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Senators call for gas tax suspension to blunt rising prices » Gas prices are on the rise once again. But some Democratic senators up for reelection this year are pushing a plan to provide some temporary relief.

Americans are paying about $3.47 a gallon right now for regular unleaded, and prices could continue to climb.

With that in mind, Senators Mark Kelly and Maggie Hassan are floating a bill that would suspend the national gas tax for the rest of the year.

The federal gas tax is about 18 cents per gallon. The money goes into a trust fund that helps pay for highway construction projects and public transit.

Several senators quickly signed on as co-sponsors, but the bill still faces an uphill climb. Other lawmakers have proposed suspending the gas tax in the past, but couldn’t generate enough support to pass a bill.

SpaceX satellites downed by solar storm » Dozens of SpaceX satellites are tumbling out of orbit after being struck by a solar storm. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has that story.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: As many as 40 of the 49 small satellites that SpaceX launched just last week have either reentered the atmosphere and burned up, or are on the verge of doing so.

Officials said a geomagnetic storm doomed the satellites.

SpaceX described the lost satellites as a “unique situation." Intense solar activity like solar flares can cause geomagnetic storms sending streams of plasma from the sun hurtling out into space.

The company said there is no danger from these newly falling satellites, either in orbit or on the ground.

SpaceX still has close to 2,000 Starlink satellites orbiting Earth and providing internet service to remote corners of the world.

The company’s founder Elon Musk envisions a constellation of thousands more satellites to increase internet service.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Canadian provinces roll back some pandemic restrictions » Four Canadian provinces announced plans this week to roll back several COVID-19 restrictions.

Alberta dropped its vaccine passport for places like restaurants and will lift its mask mandate by March 1.

The premier of Alberta Jason Kenney said it’s time to start lifting restrictions.

KENNEY: The point is simply this: That the restriction exemption program has served its useful purpose. It’s done its job.

Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island also announced plans this week to roll back some or all of their restrictions.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended federal mandates like requiring all truck drivers to be fully vaccinated.

Protesters with the so-called “Freedom Convoy” say they’ll remain parked in the streets of the capital until the government lifts those mandates. More than 400 trucks remain in downtown Ottawa, which is under a state of emergency.

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

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