Thursday morning news - March 31, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Russia bombards areas where it pledged to scale back » It took only hours for Moscow to go back on its word.

Russian forces bombarded areas around Kyiv and another city the day after pledging to scale back operations in those zones to promote trust amid peace talks.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said it does appear Russia has moved a small percentage of its forces to other areas, but not as a good will gesture as Russia claimed.

KIRBY: Our assessment would be, as we said yesterday, that they’re going to refit these troops, resupply them, and then probably redeploy them elsewhere in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials reported that Russian shelling hit homes, stores, libraries and other civilian sites in and around Chernihiv and on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Russian troops also stepped up their attacks in other parts of Ukraine.

Meantime, President Biden on Wednesday announced that the United States will dispatch another $500 million in direct aid to Ukraine.

The White House said Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymry Zelenskyy in a one-hour phone call that the additional aid was on its way.

Congress earlier this month approved spending up to $13.6 billion on assistance for Ukraine.

U.S. Intel: Putin misled by military, senior advisers » U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not getting the truth from his top advisers.

White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said Wednesday…

BEDINGFIELD: We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being cripped by sanctions because his senior advisers are too afraid to tell him the truth.

Officials say Putin is now aware of the situation, leading to persistent tension between him and senior military officers.

The Biden administration is hopeful that divulging the finding could help prod Putin to reconsider his options in Ukraine.

The war has ground to a bloody stalemate in much of the country, with heavy casualties and Russian troop morale sinking.

U.S. astronaut ends record-long spaceflight in Russian capsule » A NASA astronaut caught a ride back to Earth in a Russian Soyuz capsule on Wednesday.

AUDIO: Touchdown. Touchdown confirmed at 6:28 a.m. Central Time. Mark Vende Hei and Pyotr Dubrov back home one year after leaving the planet.

Mark Vende Hei spent a U.S. record 355 days at the International Space Station with two Russian cosmonauts and returned to a world torn apart by war.

Vande Hei grinned and waved as he emerged from the capsule.

HEI: Hey hey, hello everybody!

Despite escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow over the war in Ukraine, Vande Hei’s return followed customary procedures. A small NASA team of doctors and other staff was on hand for the touchdown and planned to return immediately to Houston with the 55-year-old astronaut.

Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov said in a live NASA TV broadcast Tuesday that people have problems on Earth. But in orbit “we are one crew.” He said the space station is a symbol of “friendship and cooperation.”

Jackson wins GOP vote, nearly assuring Supreme Court seat » Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is now all but assured of winning Senate confirmation.

That’s because moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, said Wednesday that she will vote “yes” on Jackson’s confirmation.

Collins said she made her decision after another hour-long conversation with Jackson.

COLLINS: She explained in more detail her careful, thoughtful reasoning. I didn’t always agree with the results that she came up with, but I had no doubt that she applies a very careful approach to the facts of a case.

Collins' support gives Democrats at least a one-vote cushion in the 50-50 Senate and likely saves them from having to use Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote to confirm President Biden's pick.

Finnish court upholds free speech » A court in Finland has unanimously ruled to dismiss hate speech charges against a Finnish politician and a Lutheran bishop for expressing Biblical beliefs about homosexuality.

The Helsinki District Court dismissed charges against Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola as well as Finnish Parliament member and former interior minister, Päivi Räsänen, who told reporters…

RASANEN: I am happy and grateful to God and to all the people who have supported me.

They faced criminal charges for supposed “hate speech” stemming from comments about biblical views on homosexuality.

The court concluded it was not its job “to interpret biblical concepts.”

RASANEN: The court has had to, for the first time, take a stand on whether it is legal or not to cite the Bible and to agree with it.

The court also ordered the state prosecutor to pay more than 60,000 euros in legal costs.

Räsänen, who is being represented by Alliance Defending Freedom International, expressed relief but expects the prosecutor will appeal. She said she is “ready to defend freedom of speech and religion in all necessary courts.”

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

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