📱 Quick rundown: A Russian soldier was sentenced to life in prison in Ukraine’s first war crimes trial; President Joe Biden’s promise to come to Taiwan’s aid if China invades; former VP Mike Pence’s notable break from Trump; a federal judge rules to keep a pandemic-era restriction on asylum-seekers and a civil lawsuit against Bill Cosby is going to trial.
I’m Nicole, and here’s Monday’s news.
🌅 Up first: A C-17 military plane full of formula produced in Europe landed at Indianapolis International Airport – the first shipment to hit the United States as part of President Joe Biden’s recently announced Operation Fly Formula initiative. The aircraft that landed Sunday contained 132 pallets of Nestlé formula specially designed for infants and toddlers with cow milk allergies. That amounts to about 78,000 pounds – enough to feed 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers for a week.
More news to know now:
🔔 A hepatitis outbreak that killed six children has infectious disease experts looking for answers.
⚫ An unidentified gunman shot and killed another passenger on a moving New York City subway train in what police officials said appeared to be an unprovoked attack.
🤒 An ”atypical” surge in monkeypox cases prompted the WHO to step up efforts to understand and combat the outbreak.
📰 Southern Baptist Convention leaders perpetuated a cycle of abuse for decades by ignoring reports of sexual abuse and ignoring recommendations for reform, according to a new report.
🏈 The inaugural NFL Coach and Front Office Accelerator Program will take place Monday and Tuesday during the spring league meetings in Atlanta.
👋🏼 Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Kyle Mooney and Aidy Bryant marked last week’s episode of ”Saturday Night Live” as their last.
🟢 May is Mental Health Awareness month. Everyone’s self-care routine looks different, but our product experts at Reviewed have gathered plenty of ways to destress.
🎧 On today’s 5 Things podcast, reporter Jordan Mendoza explains Russia’s decision to ban a list of Americans from the country. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.
Biden, in Tokyo, says US would send military if China were to invade Taiwan
President Joe Biden on Monday said the United States would come to Taiwan’s defense militarily if China invades and tries to take over the self-ruled island by force. “That’s the commitment we made,” Biden said during a news conference in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Both leaders said they still support the “One China” policy that recognizes there is only one Chinese government. China views Taiwan as part of its territory while Taiwan sees itself as an independent, sovereign nation. The U.S. has long tried to navigate a fraught middle ground that aims to support Taiwan without infuriating China. Biden, who is on a five-day trip to Asia, announced Monday the dozen founding partners for his Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, an attempt to deepen economic engagement and cooperation in the region and help counter China’s growing economic and military influence. “We’re writing the new rules for the 21st century economy,” Biden said.
🌎 More from Tokyo: Biden says U.S. has enough vaccines to deal with monkeypox outbreak.
🌎 Joint announcement: U.S. and South Korea could expand military exercises as deterrence to North Korea.
📷 Photo of the day: President Biden travels to Korea and Japan for first trip to Asia 📷
President Joe Biden’s five-day trip to Asia set out to focus on relations with nations in the Indo-Pacific region following months of attention directed toward Russia’s war in Ukraine. After a stop in South Korea, Biden is in Japan, where on Tuesday he plans to meet with the leaders of Japan, India and Australia. The group is dubbed the “Quad,” short for the “Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.”
Click here to see photos of Biden’s visit to Asia.
Former VP Pence to headline rally for Georgia governor, putting him at odds with Trump
Former Vice President Mike Pence will headline a rally for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday, the eve of the state’s contested Republican primary. Pence’s appearance puts him at odds with former President Donald Trump, who is fighting to defeat the GOP incumbent governor. Kemp infuriated the former president when he refused to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election result in favor of Trump.Trump endorsed Kemp’s opponent, Republican Sen. David Perdue, in February. In April, Trump’s Save America PAC gave $500,000 to a super PAC devoted to preventing Kemp’s reelection, Politico reported.
🔴 In primaries, a spotlight on the unhealed wounds of 2020 – and the ongoing divisions in America.
🔴Trumpism is here to stay in Georgia no matter what happens during Tuesday’s primaries.
Just for subscribers:
👃🏼 She lost her sense of smell. It almost ended her business.
✍ Putin claims he wants to ”de-Nazify” Ukraine. He has a bigger Nazi problem at home.
💵 Free college? These alternatives could help solve the student debt crisis.
🔴 Here’s how caskets decorated with photos, superheroes or rainbows help some parents grieve.
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Russian soldier sentenced to life in prison for war crimes
A Ukrainian court sentenced a 21-year-old Russian soldier to life in prison on Monday for killing a Ukrainian civilian, in the first war crimes trial held since Russia’s invasion. Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin was accused of shooting a Ukrainian civilian in the head in a village in the northeastern Sumy region in the early days of the war. He pleaded guilty and testified that he shot the man after being ordered to do so. He told the court that an officer insisted that the Ukrainian man, who was speaking on his cellphone, could pinpoint their location to the Ukrainian forces.
🟡 Having captured the strategic southern city of Mariupol, its first major victory of the war in Ukraine, the Russian military is focusing its efforts on the Donbas region to its north with the aim of expanding the territory Moscow-backed separatists have held since 2014.
🟡 Putin’s war in Ukraine is driving a hidden horror:Sex trafficking of women and children.
🟡 Russia permanently banned more than 900 American politicians, celebrities and executives from entering the country.
Federal judge stops Title 42 rollback
A federal judge in Louisiana ruled Friday that pandemic-related restrictions on migrants seeking asylum on the southern border must continue, blocking President Joe Biden’s plan to terminate the Title 42 public health order Monday. The Department of Justice said it plans to appeal the decision. U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays sided with 24 states that sued the Biden administration over plans to lift the restrictions, granting the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction to stop the rollback of Title 42, a provision that allows border authorities to refuse entry to people who could pose a health risk.
🟠 April saw record encounters at the southern border, but some data points dipped. Here’s what that means.
ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday
🟣 Arkansas’ governor said the state’s abortion law will be “revisited” to add rape and incest as exceptions if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
📱 New details revealed Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, urged Arizona state lawmakers to reverse former President Donald Trump’s election loss in 2020 by choosing electors themselves.
🌪 A rare tornado in Michigan killed at least two people, inured dozens and left wreckage in its wake.
🔔 The State Department was silent in response to questions about the evacuation of a Peace Corps employee who killed a woman in Africa.
💍 Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker said ”I do” for the third time on Sunday at a lavish ceremony in Portofino, Italy.
🎤 ”My heart is beating out of my chest”: Noah Thompson crowned the winner of ”American Idol.”
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Jury selection begins for the trial of Judy Huth’s civil lawsuit against Bill Cosby
Nearly 50 years after an alleged encounter at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, Judy Huth’s civil lawsuit against Bill Cosby – accusing him of groping her when she was a teen – is going forward to trial this week. Jury selection will begin Monday at the Santa Monica courthouse for Huth v. Cosby, with the trial starting as soon as a jury is picked. Huth, 64, is suing Cosby for sexual battery. She filed the suit in 2014 alleging she was groped by the comedian/TV star in 1974 when she was 15 and visiting the Playboy Mansion, where Cosby was a frequent visitor. Cosby has denied her allegations. Huth filed the lawsuit soon after Cosby became the target of five dozen allegations from women who accused him of drugging and raping them in encounters dating back to the mid-1960s.
⚖ Previously:Bill Cosby remains free after Supreme Court declines to review conviction reversal.
⚖ More details on Huth’s 2014 lawsuit: Cosby strikes back at accuse, says she tried to extort him.
Associated Press contributed reporting.
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