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IMPORTANT | | ‘Not Cheap’ | Biden Asks Congress for $33 Billion More in Ukraine Aid, Weapons “The cost of this fight is not cheap,” said President Joe Biden, “but caving to aggression is going to be more costly.” The vast funding request includes over $20 billion for weapons, ammunition and other military help, $8.5 billion in direct economic assistance to Ukraine and $3 billion in humanitarian aid. “I am thankful to the American people and personally to President Biden for it,” said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “I hope that Congress will quickly approve this request for help to our state.” But getting it past Congress might be tricky, since Biden recently asked for $22.5 billion for COVID-19 response. (Sources: Reuters, NYT) |
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| | Display of Defiance | Moscow Bombs Kyiv During UN Secretary-General’s Visit Russia hit the Ukrainian capital with five cruise missile strikes “immediately after” Zelenskyy’s talks with the U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “This says a lot about Russia’s true attitude to global institutions, about the efforts of the Russian leadership to humiliate the U.N. and everything that the organization represents,” Zelenskyy said. Two days earlier Guterres had been in Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin. The missiles hit a residential neighborhood two miles from the site of Guterres and Zelenskyy’s joint press conference. Early reports suggested 10 people were injured and at least one person was killed. (Sources: DW, The Guardian) |
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| | | Menthol Moratorium | FDA Announces Ban on Menthol Cigarettes in US Public health experts hailed the proposal as the government’s most significant action on smoking since the 2009 Tobacco Control Act, which banned other flavored cigarettes, but not menthols after successful lobbying from tobacco companies. “If the United States’ experience mirrors that of Canada after it banned menthol cigarettes, 1.3 million people would quit smoking and potentially hundreds of thousands of premature deaths could be averted,” said Geoffrey Fong of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project. The change, which will take at least a year to go into effect, would disproportionately benefit Black smokers, as 85% use menthol cigarettes compared to 29% of white smokers. (Sources: NYT) |
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| | Shrinking Violet | US Economy Shrinks in Q1, But Experts Aren’t Worried Gross domestic product unexpectedly fell by 1.4% last quarter — but many experts saw the decline as a head fake since the economy grew 3.6% year on year. What’s more, manufacturing output grew by 5% and 1.7 million jobs were created in the past three months. “It is nonsense that real GDP declined,” said Conrad DeQuadros of Brean Capital. Others were less dismissive. “The economy is still showing some resilience, but the first-quarter GDP report signals the start of more moderate growth this year and next, largely in response to higher interest rates,” said BMO Capital Markets economist Sal Guatieri. (Sources: Reuters) |
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| | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: The long goodbye. James Corden will leave The Late Late Show in the middle of next year after 8.5 years as host, but he hasn’t decided whether he’ll return to the U.K. (Source: Deadline) Dire warning. The International Monetary Fund has warned that rising food and energy prices as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict may lead to “social unrest” in Africa. (Source: Al Jazeera) Leading by example. Premier Andrew Fahie, the leader of the British Virgin Islands, was arrested in Miami for alleged drug smuggling and money laundering. (Source: BBC) |
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INTRIGUING
| | | Return to Sender | The Ugandan Designer Sending the West’s Hand-Me-Downs Back Bobby Kolade has long hated the fact that 70% of secondhand clothes donated globally end up in Africa: “It’s really rude,” he said. It also stifles the African textiles industry as manufacturers can’t compete on price. Now he’s returning the favor, with a collection made up entirely of repurposed secondhand clothes bought by the bale in Uganda. Each of the 250 pieces in Buzigahill’s first collection is obviously patched together from discarded garments and bears a label noting its original source. “International trade was designed such that, in a country like Uganda, our companies are not supposed to succeed,” said Kolade. (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | | High on the Hog | Saltwater Crocs in Australia Bounce Back, Thanks to Feral PigsCall it swine dining. By comparing bone samples of saltwater crocodiles killed between 1968 and 1986 with contemporary corpses, Researchers at Charles Darwin University have discovered that “salties” are replacing marine prey with land-based snacks like pigs and water buffaloes. The change in diet has worked wonders on their population, and it’s also helping to curb Australia’s massive feral pig problem. When crocodile hunting was banned in 1971, only 3,000 individuals remained. Now more than 100,000 crocs roam the Northern Territory alone. “This is an incredible recovery,” said study author Moira Campbell. “It's something extremely difficult to do.” (Sources: ABC News, 7 News, The Guardian) |
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| | Going for a Song | Almost 300-Year-Old Guarneri Violin Could Fetch $10M at Auction “There are many violins, but this one is like selling a Rembrandt, a Goya or even a Leonardo da Vinci painting,” said Sophie Perrine of the Aguttes auction house near Paris. The maple-backed masterpiece — one of only 150 by legendary Italian luthier Giuseppe Guarneri — was crafted in 1736 at the peak of his career. French virtuoso Regis Pasquier bought it over two decades ago and used it in concert the next day, before even a single practice session. It will go under the hammer on June 3, when Perrine estimates it could fetch as much as $10.6 million. (Source: Reuters) |
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| | (Not) A Matter of Breeding | Your Dog’s Personality May Have Nothing to Do With Its Breed“Despite his regal appearance, the Afghan [hound] can exhibit an endearing streak of silliness and a profound loyalty,” writes the American Kennel Club authoritatively. Now new research challenges the belief that a dog’s personality is determined by its breed. After comparing surveys completed by owners of 18,000 dogs (including 2,000 who’d had their entire genomes sequenced) researchers found that just 9% of a dog’s personality was a result of its breed. If you want a dog with a particular personality, says lead author Kathleen Morrill, “you shouldn’t shop out of a catalog. Each dog is an individual.” (Sources: Science) |
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| | You Did … What? | Amputee Runs 102 Marathons in 102 Days — and She’s Not Done Yet Jacky Hunt-Broersma of Gilbert, Arizona, set an unofficial women’s world record by running her 102nd marathon in as many days. (The men’s record is a paltry 59.) But instead of putting her foot up, the 46-year-old vowed to run two more. “I might as well end April with a marathon,” she said. Even more incredible is the fact that the South Africa native runs on a carbon-fiber prosthesis after losing her lower left leg to a rare cancer. Hunt-Broersma gained a huge social media following and raised $27,000 to help other blade runners get the prostheses they need. (Sources: AP) |
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