Wednesday morning news - February 9, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Macron hails “opportunity” for Ukraine-Russia negotiations » French President Emmanuel Macron met with the president of Ukraine in the capital of Kyiv on Tuesday.

And one day after his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Macron declared that the door to diplomacy is open.

MACRON: [Speaking in French]

In a joint news conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Macron said he believes there is now—his words—"the opportunity to move these negotiations forward" between Russia and Ukraine.

He said Putin told him on Monday that—quote—“He won’t be initiating an escalation,” and the French president added, “I think it is important.”

But while Macron expressed cautious optimism, White House officials said they’re more cautious than they are optimistic. Press Secretary Jen Psaki:

PSAKI: If there is diplomatic progress, we would welcome that, but we will believe it when we see it with our own eyes at the border.

The Kremlin on Tuesday denied reports that Macron and Putin struck a deal on de-escalating the crisis.

The French president later traveled to Berlin to speak with the German chancellor and the Polish president. Macron plans to meet Putin again and then convene talks with leaders from France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine on Thursday.

U.S. approves support deal with Taiwan for Patriot missiles » The Biden administration has approved a $100 million support contract with Taiwan. It is aimed at boosting the island’s missile defense systems as it faces increasing pressure from China. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The State Department announced the engineering and maintenance agreement this week as China plays host to the Winter Olympic Games.

Beijing is sharply critical of any American arms sales to Taiwan and has called on Washington to revoke the deal.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said—quote—“U.S. arms sales to Taiwan ... seriously undermine China’s sovereignty and security interests, and seriously damage China-U.S. relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to unify the island with the mainland. The Chinese military has ramped up incursions of Taiwan’s air space in recent months.

The support agreement is meant to help Taiwan maintain its existing air-defense missiles as well as advanced U.S.-made Patriot missiles that Taiwan is buying.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Opioid fight needs new strategy, Cabinet leadership: report » A government panel says the United States must step up its response to the opioid and overdose epidemic.

A bipartisan commission on Capitol Hill released a 70-page report on Tuesday.

The panel warned that the stakes are much higher now with the widespread availability of fentanyl. And the report suggests five “pillars” of government action:

It proposes Cabinet-level leadership to organize the response. It also calls for better coordination of law enforcement actions and more effective treatment programs.

It outlines a strategy to use a mix of law enforcement and diplomacy to shut down the global sources of the chemicals used to make fentanyl. And the report calls for new tools to help spot trends in illicit drug use before they morph into major problems for society.

Former Pope apologizes, admits no wrong » Retired Pope Benedict XVI asked forgiveness Tuesday for any—quote—“grievous faults" in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases. But he denied any personal or specific wrongdoing. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The 94-year-old former pope was responding to a recent report from a German law firm. The German Catholic Church hired the firm to investigate abuse cases within the Munich archdiocese dating back to 1945.

The report faulted Benedict’s handling of four cases during his time as archbishop in the late 1970s and early ‘80s. It accused him of failing to restrict the ministry of four priests even after they were criminally convicted.

Benedict's lack of a personal apology or admission of guilt riled sex abuse survivors.

Benedict issued what he called a “confession,” but he didn't confess to any specific fault. He said he felt pain—quote—“for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate.”

The report also faulted his predecessors and successors, estimating roughly 500 abuse victims.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Air Force to pay $230 million to shooting survivors » The U.S. Air Force is set to pay out more than $200 million in a settlement stemming from a mass shooting in Texas.

In 2017, Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire during the Sunday service at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing 26 people. The Air Force issued a dishonorable discharge to Kelley in 2014 after an assault conviction. But it failed to report incriminating information about him to a Justice Department database. That allowed Kelley to buy a weapon.

For that reason, a federal judge last July ruled that the Air Force was 60 percent liable for the shooting.

And on Monday, the judge ordered the Air Force to pay out a total of $230 million to 80 surviving relatives and 21 survivors and their families.

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

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.