Biden announces sanctions against Myanmar generals

The U.S. government will prevent Burmese generals from improperly accessing “the $1 billion in Myanmar government funds held in the United States,” President Joe Biden said on Wednesday. He called on the military leaders behind the recent coup in Myanmar, also known as Burma, to turn power back over to the political leaders they have detained.

What’s happening in the country? Large crowds defied a ban on protests to demonstrate on Wednesday against the military takeover. Tens of thousands of protesters turned out in Yangon and Mandalay, the country’s biggest cities, as well as the capital city of Naypyitaw and elsewhere.

Dig deeper: Read Angela Lu Fulton’s report on the coup.