Thursday morning news - February 3, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

U.S. deploys 2,000 troops to Eastern Europe » The United States is deploying 2,000 troops to Eastern Europe with Russia possibly poised to invade Ukraine.

KIRBY: These movements are unmistakable signals to the world that we stand ready to reassure our NATO allies and deter and defend against any aggression.

American troops are not heading to Ukraine, which is not a NATO member. Though, the United States has sent defense aid and weapons to the country.

The troops are deploying from Fort Bragg in North Carolina to Poland and Germany. Poland’s defense minister thanked the United States for a strong show of solidarity.

The Biden administration is also shifting 1,000 soldiers from Germany to Romania and has placed a separate 8,500 U.S.-based troops on high alert.

Russia called the deployments unfounded and destructive. But while Moscow continues to complain that the West is acting aggressively, the White House once again pushed back. Press Secretary Jen Psaki:

PSAKI: There is one aggressor here. That aggressor is Russia. They are the ones who have gathered tens of thousands of troops on the border. They are the ones who are threatening to invade a sovereign country.

Russia insists it has no intention of invading and is willing to continue diplomatic talks. But the Kremlin has taken no steps to draw down its forces along the Ukrainian border.

Winter storm packing snow, freezing rain moves across U.S. » A massive winter storm is making a 2,000-mile-long mess across the country. Forecasters are calling it Winter Storm Landon. Already, it has forced many schools to close and airlines to cancel hundreds of flights.

John Weiss with the National Weather Service says when all is said and done, Landon will have dropped rain, sleet, and snow from the southern Rockies…

WIESS: Across the southern and central plains, into the upper Midwest, across the Great Lakes, and all the way across New England—in the Northeast and into New England.

On Wednesday, the storm dropped freezing precipitation from Texas to Michigan.

Forecasters said parts of Missouri and Michigan could see up to a foot of snow.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan told residents that snow plows will be hard at work, but digging out from heavy snow will take time.

DUGGAN: We want you to prepare for a four-day job, Thursday through Sunday, to get every neighborhood street cleared.

Officials in many of the affected areas are telling residents to stay off the roads, if at all possible, until the weather clears.

Omicron slams U.S. private payrolls in January » Private U.S. companies had fewer workers on their payrolls last month. It was the first time that’s happened in more than a year. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Payrolls dipped as surging COVID-19 omicron infections threw a wrench in commerce.

The ADP National Employment report showed that private payrolls dropped by 301,000 in January. That followed a December increase of nearly 800,000.

The last time private payrolls dipped was December of 2020.

The leisure and hospitality industry lost the most jobs, roughly 154,000.

ADP's chief economist Nela Richardson said the setback is likely temporary. COVID-19 cases are now falling in the United States.

Today, the Labor Department will release its broader employment report for January. That report is also expected to reflect the impact of the omicron wave.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Biden announces effort to cut cancer death rate in half » Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, President Biden said he is committing to measures aimed at cutting the cancer death rate in half over the next 25 years.

It’s part of a relaunch of the “Cancer Moonshot” initiative that Biden helped launch as vice president in 2016.

The program is designed to speed up scientific discovery related to cancer, foster more collaboration among experts and improve the sharing of data.

BIDEN: My message today is this: We can do this. I promise you, we can do this; all those we lost, all those we miss. We can end cancer as we know it.

As part of the effort, Biden will assemble a “cancer Cabinet.” That will include nearly 20 agencies and federal offices—including leaders from the Departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, the Defense Dept.

The American Cancer Society anticipates nearly 2 million new cancer cases and more than 600,000 cancer deaths this year.

And the issue is deeply personal for Biden, who lost his son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015.

Washington’s NFL franchise announces new name » The team formerly known as the Washington Redskins has adopted a new name.

Team owner Daniel Snyder made the announcement on Wednesday.

SNYDER: Today’s a big day for our team, our fans, a day in which we embark on a new chapter as the Washington Commanders.

The team was known as the Redskins from 1932 until two seasons ago. The franchise dropped its old moniker in response to criticism that it was offensive to Native Americans.

As the Commanders, Washington keeps the same burgundy and gold colors that were around for the three Super Bowl championships in the 1980s and early ’90s glory days.

The team chose Commanders over other finalists such as Red Hogs, Admirals and Presidents. Early on in the process, fans got behind the name Red Wolves, but it was ruled out over copyright and trademark hurdles.

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

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