Wednesday morning news - April 20, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Airlines, other transit companies drop mask requirements » Passengers are now flying without face masks on many airlines.

Some passengers on a Delta flight in New York cheered as a flight attendant announced that face coverings were no longer mandatory.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Masks will be optional this evening for all crew and for passengers as well. (cheers)

The White House expressed disappointment with a federal judge’s decision one day earlier that the CDC overstepped its authority by mandating masks for mass transit.

Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday…

PSAKI: The CDC continues to advise and recommend masks on airplanes. We’re abiding by CDC recommendations. The president is, and we would advise all Americans to do that.

JetBlue, United, Alaska, and Southwest Airlines are among the carriers joining Delta in letting passengers choose whether to wear a mask.

Amtrak, Greyhound bus line, and ride sharing services Lyft and Uber have also announced that masks are now optional.

Eastern Ukraine battle » Russia continues to pour more troops into Ukraine while assaulting more cities and towns in the country’s east.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres declared on Tuesday…

GUTERRES: The onslaught and terrible toll we have seen on civilians so far could pale in comparison to the horror that lies ahead. This cannot be allowed to happen.

Russia this week launched its long-feared offensive on eastern Ukraine, the country’s industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

If successful, Russia's assault on the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region would essentially slice Ukraine in two.

Artillery rounds shook the ground in multiple cities. And Moscow's forces shelled another hospital. This time in the southern town of Bashtanka.

Russia has also bombarded many Ukrainian military sites, including major troop centers and missile storage depots.

U.S. preparing to send more big guns and ammo » The United States is gearing up to send more big guns and ammo to Ukraine.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby:

KIRBY: They are exactly the kinds of systems the Ukrainians have been asking for. And they are tailored and designed, the things that we’re giving them, tailored and designed for the fight that we know they’re in now in the Donbas and will be in coming days and weeks.

Kirby would not specify exactly what the United States is planning to send in the weeks ahead, but it won’t be sending tanks. He explained that the Ukrainian military is not trained to operate the types of tanks the U.S. military uses.

Multiple European countries have shipped tanks into Ukraine.

Last week, President Biden approved an $800 million package including additional helicopters. The United States has sent about $2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded.

Blasts at Kabul schools kill at least 6 civilians » In Afghanistan, burned notebooks and shoes littered the street after explosions rocked a high school and an education center in Kabul. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The explosions hit in rapid succession, killing at least six, including students, and wounding many others.

The facilities are in a Shiite Muslim neighborhood, a minority often targeted by other Muslim groups.

Witnesses said a suicide bomber entered a high school complex Tuesday morning and blew himself up. Two other blasts went off outside the school–likely also suicide bombers.

It wasn’t clear how many were in the school at the time. One explosion happened outside a nearby education center. No deaths have been reported in that incident.

No one has claimed responsibility, but Afghanistan’s ISIS affiliate has been known to target Shiite Muslims, calling the minority heretics.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Florida Gov DeSantis pushes to end Disney self-government » Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday asked the legislature to repeal a law that allows Walt Disney World to operate a private government over its properties in Florida.

It was the latest salvo in a feud between DeSantis and Disney over a new parental rights law.

His announcement threatens a special concession that Disney received all the way back in 1967. That’s when Walt Disney Sr. convinced Florida lawmakers to essentially allow his new theme park to operate as its own local government called Reedy Creek Improvement District.

On Tuesday, DeSantis told reporters…

DESANTIS: Yes, they will be considering termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968, and that includes the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

DeSantis has battled with the company after it caved to pressure from LGBT activists and voiced opposition to a new parental rights law. The law bars teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity to young school children.

I’m Kent Covington. For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

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