Wednesday morning news - April 27, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kristen Flavin. 

NATO allies meet in Germany » Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin convened a meeting of U.S. allies at the Ramstein air base in Germany on Tuesday.

AUSTIN: It is an extraordinary gathering, with more than 40 countries represented here today. And we’re here to help Ukraine win the fight against Russia’s unjust invasion. And to build up Ukraine’s defenses for tomorrow’s challenges.

NATO countries have committed to send more than $5 billion dollars in military equipment to bolster Ukraine’s forces.

Many of those weapons have traveled through Poland en route to the front lines. And now Russia is retaliating by cutting off supplies of natural gas. Russian energy giant Gazprom announced it would stop gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria after they refused to pay in rubles.

Bulgarian officials said they were looking for alternative sources. But Poland said it was prepared for such a situation and did not fear any shortages.

Meanwhile, in Moscow…

PUTIN: [Speaking Russian]

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday. Putin said he still wanted to find a diplomatic solution. But Russian forces have not slowed their attacks in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

And for the second day in a row, explosions rocked the neighboring country of Moldova, sparking fears that the conflict could spread. Tuesday’s blasts took out two powerful radio antennas close to the Ukrainian border.

Attacks on the last pocket of resistance in the southern port city of Mariupol also continued Tuesday. Guterres urged Putin to allow civilians to leave the steel plant where they’ve taken shelter. But Putin claimed Ukrainian forces are using civilians as human shields and won’t let them go.

States argue for Remain in Mexico policy at the Supreme Court » The Biden administration made its case at the Supreme Court Tuesday for ending the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy. Under the rule, asylum-seekers are required to stay outside the country while courts consider their claims.

Lawyers for Texas and Missouri argued to keep the program. Ken Paxton is the Texas attorney general.

PAXTON: And we're arguing that the Biden administration, just like the rest of us, have to follow federal law. They either have to detain them or send them back to their country of origin. It's a very simple argument…

The administration argues the president has the right to end a program enacted by his predecessor. But the United States does not have the capacity to detain everyone who applies for asylum. And that means many immigrants are allowed in without a full vetting.

Paxton and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt say that violates a congressional order not to release immigrants into the country.

Judge blocks plan to end pandemic immigration restrictions » During a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said some of the president’s Justice Department budget would go toward relieving the overburdened immigration system.

GARLAND: This includes $1.35 billion for the Executive Office for Immigration Review to reduce the immigration court backlog by hiring more than 1,200 new staff including approximately 200 immigration judge teams.

The Biden administration has faced widespread criticism for failing to manage a surge of migrants at the southern border during the last year. Nearly 8,000 migrants currently cross the southern border each day.

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Louisiana temporarily blocked the government’s plan to end the pandemic-era policy known as Title 42. It allows border authorities to turn away migrants due to the public health crisis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the order is no longer necessary and plans to revoke it on May 23rd. But even members of the president’s own party oppose the move, saying it will cause an overwhelming surge of immigrants at the southern border.

Administration expands COVID treatment availability » Vice President Kamala Harris has tested positive for COVID-19. The White House announced the news on Tuesday.

Harris has no symptoms but will quarantine at home until she tests negative. White House officials say President Biden is not at risk. He last saw Harris on April 18th.

The vice president’s diagnosis comes as a new Omicron subvariant makes its way across the country, although with few serious consequences. Dr. Rochelle Walensky is director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WALENSKY: Cases also remain comparatively low to where we were even a month ago, at about 44,000 a day, though this too has represented an increase of about 25 percent in the past week.

Although the latest Omicron subvariant remains highly infectious, it’s not leading to nearly as many hospitalizations. That could be because so many Americans have already had the virus. According to new CDC research, three out of every four U.S. children and more than half of all Americans have had a previous infection.

Still, the Biden administration is stepping up efforts to distribute Pfizer’s COVID treatment to doctors and pharmacies. Limited supplies of Paxlovid prevented its widespread use during the winter Omicron surge. But health officials say the country now has plenty to go around.

Kim Jong Un touts nuclear weapons program » AUDIO: [Music and cheering from parade]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to increase his country’s nuclear weapons arsenal and use it if threatened.

Kim made the comments during a military parade held Monday.

KIM: [Speaking Korean]

Kim said the country had developed nuclear weapons as a deterrent to war. But he said he would not be afraid to use them if any forces tried to, quote “violate the fundamental interests of our state.”

The weapons rolled out during Monday’s parade included full-range intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. The military also showed off hypersonic missiles and a new type of ballistic missile designed to be fired from submarines.

North Korea has ramped up its military activity in the last year, completing 13 missile tests since January. Analysts have also detected signs it is rebuilding tunnels at a nuclear test site, possibly in preparation for detonating a nuclear device.

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

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