Thursday morning news - March 17, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Zelenskyy appeals to Congress, President Biden for more help » AUDIO: [Applause]

A historic moment on Capitol Hill Wednesday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr virtually delivered a wartime address to members of the U.S. Congress.

After a standing ovation from lawmakers, Zelenskyy appealed to leaders in Washington for more help, as Russia continues to hammer Ukrainian cities. And at one point, he appealed directly to President Biden.

ZELENSKYY: You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

He spoke briefly in English, but delivered most of his remarks through a translator. He once again called on the United States and its allies to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

ZELENSKYY (interpreter): If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative. You know what kind of systems we need, S300 and other similar systems. You know how much depends on the battlefield on the ability to use aircraft.

The Biden administration has been reluctant to supply warplanes to Ukraine for fear that Russia will see the move as escalatory. And all Western powers have resisted the idea of a no-fly zone for the same reason.

Zelenskyy invoked the memories of Pearl Harbor and 9-11 and said, “Our country experiences the same every day now.”

Hours later, President Biden announced an additional $800 million of security aid to Ukraine.

BIDEN: At the request of President Zelenskyy, we have identified and are helping Ukraine acquire additional longer range anti-aircraft systems and ammunitions for those systems.

Biden, ICC accuse Russia of war crimes as human rights group expels Russia » The president also said he believes Russia’s Vladimir Putin is a war criminal.

The International Criminal Court said Wednesday it has credible evidence that Russia is committing war crimes as its military continues to target civilians.

And a human rights group has just expelled Russia from its ranks. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The 47-nation Council of Europe is now a 46 member council. It took down Russia’s flag from its courtyard on Wednesday after removing the country from membership over its invasion of Ukraine.

Russian forces bombed a theater in Mariupol on Wednesday where up to 1,000 people were sheltering. It is unclear how many are trapped in the rubble.

And in Kyiv, the Russian military bombed a 12-story apartment building. Casualties and injuries are still unknown.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv also tweeted that Russian forces shot and killed 10 people standing in line for bread in Chernihiv. Russia also bombed multiple residential buildings southwest of Kyiv.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

9 dead in Texas crash involving U. of Southwest golf teams » Nine people are dead after a fiery collision in West Texas.

Those killed include six students and a coach from a New Mexico university.

The wreck occurred when a pickup truck crossed the center line of a two-lane road and struck a van about 30 miles east of the New Mexico state line Tuesday evening.

Sgt. Steven Blanco with the Texas Dept. of Public Safety told reporters…

BLANCO: This was a head-on crash. One of the vehicles involved belonged to the University of the Southwest. It was transporting the men’s and women’s golf team from a golf tournament here in the West Texas area.

Six students and a faculty member were killed in the crash along with the driver and a passenger in the pickup truck. Two students were airlifted to a hospital in critical condition.

The University of the Southwest is a private, Christian college located in Hobbs, New Mexico, near the state’s border with Texas.

Afghan refugees in US to receive temporary protected status » Many Afghan refugees in the United States will be allowed to stay for at least 18 months under temporary protected status. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The move will help some of the thousands who arrived following the chaotic American withdrawal from their country.

The Afghans must already be in the United States and pass a background check to qualify for the program.

The temporary protected status designation enables non-citizens to legally work in the United States. It also benefits about 2,000 Afghans who were in the country as students or in some other capacity before the evacuation.

For many, however, time is running out because they have not yet received permanent residency through backlogged programs like the special immigrant visa. Those visas are available to people who worked as interpreters or in some other capacity for the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan.

The United States accepted more than 76,000 Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal in August.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

7.3 magnitude quake hits northern Japan, tsunami risk receding » A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima in northern Japan on Wednesday. That plunged more than 2 million homes in the Tokyo area into darkness and triggered a tsunami warning.

Seismologist Paul Earle with the US Geological Survey said the quake hit the same area devastated by a tsunami 11 years ago.

EARLE: It is in the same region as the 2011 magnitude 9 earthquake, and some would actually consider this an aftershock to that earthquake.

The deadly 2011 quake also triggered nuclear plant meltdowns, spewing massive radiation that still makes some parts uninhabitable.

The region avoided disaster this time around, though the powerful quake did damage many homes and buildings. There was no word on any casualties.

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

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