Tuesday morning news - April 19, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kristen Flavin.

Zelenskky: Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine has begun » Russia has launched its long-feared, full-scale offensive to take control of eastern Ukraine.

AUDIO: [SOUND FROM UKRAINE]

Shelling heard there in the eastern city of Rubizhne.

ZELENSKYY: [SPEAKING UKRAINIAN]

In a video address Monday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said—quote—“We can already state that the Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas.” He added that a "significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive.”

Former British army chief Richard Dannatt explained…

DANNATT: Having achieved that land corridor from Crimea to Donbass, we are then going to see this meticulously prepared, I think this time, attack by the Russians into the Donbass region to secure those two provinces, and then threaten to move farther west.

But Zelenskyy declared, “No matter how many Russian troops are driven there, we will fight.”

That came as Russia bombarded the western city of Lviv and numerous other targets across Ukraine. Missile strikes on Lviv killed at least seven people.

Also on Monday, Zelenskyy submitted a filled-out questionnaire in the first step toward obtaining membership in the European Union—a desire that has been a source of tension with Moscow for years.

Biden to require U.S.-made steel, iron for infrastructure » The Biden administration has issued a new rule designed to support U.S. manufacturing. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: Under new guidance issued Monday, all construction material purchased for projects funded by the $1 trillion infrastructure package must come from the United States.

It does allow for waivers if domestic producers can’t keep up with demand, or if their materials would increase a project's cost by more than 25 percent. But it sets a goal of issuing fewer waivers over time as U.S. manufacturing capacity increases.

President Biden says the new requirement will create more American jobs, ease supply chain bottlenecks, and reduce dependence on China and other nations. The administration also hopes an increase in domestic production will help bring down soaring inflation.

The federal government expects to spend about $350 billion on construction projects this year. But it could not say what percentage of material for those projects is American-made.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Judge strikes down transportation mask mandate » A federal judge in Florida struck down the federal mask mandate for public transportation on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled the mandate covering airplanes, trains, and buses exceeded the authority of U.S. health officials.

The mandate was set to expire Monday, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently extended it to May 3rd. Officials said they needed more time to study the effect of the new BA.2 omicron subvariant.

But in her ruling, Mizelle said the CDC failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rulemaking.

The lawsuit dates back to July 2021. But calls to drop the mask mandate have grown in recent months as states have eased their pandemic restrictions.

Airlines in particular lobbied to end the unpopular mask rule, arguing advanced filtration systems make virus spread on an airplane unlikely.

Philly bringing back mask mandates » But in at least one U.S. city, masks are still required. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has that story.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask rule on Monday. Officials made the decision after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections due to the new omicron subvariant.

Several businesses and residents have filed suit in state court to block the mandate. The city has been mask-free for just over six weeks, after the last indoor mask rule ended on March 2nd.

Most states and cities dropped their masking requirements in February and early March after the CDC said hospital capacity mattered more than overall case counts.

COVID cases are rising again after two months of declines. But daily counts are nowhere near what they were during the winter surge.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Boston marathon makes its post-pandemic return » Thousands of the world’s top long-distance runners gathered in Boston on Monday for the city’s annual marathon.

Kendra Butters is with the Boston Athletic Association.

BUTTERS: The City of Boston is certainly buzzing. There’s a lot of activity. We have everyone back for a full field size for the first time in three years on Patriot’s Day. Thirty thousand runners to take off from Hopkinton. Beautiful forecast. Just a lot of excitement.

Two Kenyan runners took the top spots in the men’s and women’s races. Evans Chebet finished in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 51 seconds, beating Gabriel Geay of Tanzania by 30 seconds.

But the women’s race had the most exciting finish. Peres Jepchirchir traded places with Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh eight times in the final mile before pulling ahead for the win. Jepchirchir finished in 2 hours, 21 minutes, and 1 second.

American Daniel Romanchuk won the men’s wheelchair title, and Switzerland’s Manuela Schar won the women’s wheelchair title.

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

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