Currents News Staff
When the invasion of Ukraine first began, Currents News spoke to a nun who just narrowly escaped the capital city. Sister Anna Andrusiv went home to her convent in the western city of Lviv, which was thought to be a safe haven for refugees.
But just a day after Easter, missiles hit the city. Still, she says this is where God wants her. Sister Anna joined Currents News to discuss her daily life in the besieged city.
President Biden announced an additional 800-million dollars in military assistance for Ukraine.
We talk to a nun who is in Ukraine right now.
The back and forth over whether to wear masks or not is leading to a lot of confusion among Americans.
Currents News Staff
Outside the besieged city of Mariupol, the city is Ground Zero. The Azovstal Steel Plant stands as Mariupol’s last line of defense.
Russian President Vladimir putting has scrapped plans to storm the plant and ordered soldiers to instead encircle it.
“There will be nobody left in this area. They will be dead,” said George Kurparashvili, Azov Battalion Commander, “all the children. I’m not talking about the soldiers, but the civilians will be eliminated and it will be on us, the civilized world.”
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy warns that his troops do not have enough “serious and heavy” weapons to defeat the Russians there.
The U.S. is responding. President Biden unveiled his latest presidential draw-down. Any more money would need congressional approval.
“We’re in a critical window,” said the president. “Now of time where they’re going to set the stage for the next phase of this war.”
He Defense Department is now set to pull weapons and equipment like howitzers, ammo and drones from U.S. inventories to send to Ukraine.
“Putin has failed to achieve his grand ambitions on the battlefield,” Biden said. “After weeks of shelling, Kyiv still stands.”
In a move to further isolate Moscow, Russian-affiliated ships are now banned from American ports. In Mariupol, the help can’t come soon enough.
Ukrainian soldiers are remaining defiant and resisting Russian attacks and ignoring their calls to surrender.
Currents News Staff
On planes and trains, mask mandates are vanishing. But not everyone is on board.
“I felt much more comfortable keeping mine on,” said one passenger.
And the rules aren’t the same everywhere. Some trains, airports and cab companies still require masking-up. Plus children under the age of five are not eligible to be vaccinated. Their parents and those that are immuno-compromised or in high-risk categories are now left wondering: is it safe to travel with the unmasked?
“I’m really worried about busses and subways and places that don’t have great ventilation,” said Dr. Leana Wen, the former city of Baltimore Health Commissioner.
Some research suggests masks can protect a wearer alone. It acts as a barrier between particles and your nose and mouth. But the level of protection with one-way masking depends on two factors: the quality of your mask and how it fits.
“If someone’s not wearing a mask,” said Dr. Zeke Emanuel, Former member Biden transition team COVID-19 Advisory Board, “even if you’re wearing a very high quality mask like this, an N 95 mask, They’re infected, you have about an hour, hour and 15 minutes of protection from them.”
According to research from the University of California, a well-fitting N-95 can cut down potentially infectious particles you inhale by more than 20 times compared to not wearing a mask. With a surgical mask, it’s by a factor of 9 and a cloth mask, by 3.
“Just because the government is saying you don’t need to wear a mask, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t” said Dr. Leana Wen.
The choice, for now, in most places, is up to you. Carriers are juggling sweeping changes in the middle of a Spring Break travel surge.
There’s also staffing shortages and an increased demand for air travel. The pilot’s union for Southwest says its employees are suffering from an epidemic of fatigues. And Jet Blue Airways says its trimming flights up by 10 percent this summer.
A look back at Holy Week 2022 and a special message for the Easter Season from Bishop Robert J. Brennan.
The Catholic Church is rushing to keep two death row inmates from being executed.
Why you may not be able to fly mask-free for long – the latest legal maneuver that could change everything.
Pope Francis did something he hasn’t done in more than two years – greeting pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.
A WWII veteran finally gets his medals – more than seven decades later.
Currents News Staff
Melissa Lucio is making a last ditch effort to postpone her execution. She’s set to die next week on April 27. The first Hispanic woman on Death Row was found guilty of killing her two-year-old daughter in 2007. She insists the toddler fell down the stairs outside of the family’s home in Texas. But after a seven hour interrogation, the mother of 14 told investigators “I guess I did it, I’m responsible.”
Sabrina Van Tassel directed a documentary about the case.
“She wasn’t guilty, so she decided to answer the questions without knowing what the outcome would be,” Sabrina said. “She basically gave up – that’s what she told me.”
Bishops in Texas sent a letter to the state’s board of pardons and paroles but Gov. Greg Abbott and the District Attorney are advocating on Lucio’s behalf. They wrote:
“We are also fervently praying that clemency be granted to ms. lucio, not solely because of the church’s opposition to the death penalty and the inherent dignity of every human life, but also due to the mitigating circumstances surrounding her case.”
Meanwhile, another death penalty case in South Carolinas caught the attention of Catholic leaders. Richard Moore will be put to death by a firing squad next Friday April 29. The convicted murderer chose that option over the electric chair after being told lethal injection drugs are not available.
In a statement, the Diocese of Charleston called the choice he had to make “modern-day barbarism” and went on to say:
“Respect for life is, and must remain, unconditional. this principle applies to all, even the perpetrators of terrible acts.”
Pope Francis has spoken out against the death penalty several times.
“However serious the crime committed may have been,” Pope Francis said, “the death penalty is inadmissible because it undermines the inviolability and dignity of the person.”
Currents News Staff
Families are running to see if they can get on the bus. Why? They are desperate to get out of this tent city. But they’re told they can only get on the bus and go to the shelter.
Nearly 2,000 migrants who have been expelled after trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border now live in this giant tent city in Reynosa, Mexico.
They’re all waiting for Title 42 to be dropped so that they can again attempt to cross and ask for asylum. They come from Central America: Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, but also Haiti, Brazil, Venezuela, and beyond.
A record number of migrants are crossing the border and now border patrol and other agents are preparing for a huge increase once Title 42 is dropped just next month.
Currents News Staff
Mariupol is taking its last stand.
“We might have only a few days, or even hours, left,” said Maj. Serhii Volyna, commander of Ukraine’s 36th Separate Marine Brigade.
The southern port city is besieged as Russian forces move forward. While thousands of residents seek shelter, the Ukrainian army is pleading for help as they continue to resist Russian attacks.
The enemy’s units are ten times larger than ours. We appeal to the world leaders to help us,” said Maj. Serhii.
The mayor of Mariupol asked residents to evacuate the city Wednesday. In the meantime, a route is being set up near a steel factory where thousands of civilians and Ukrainian soldiers are believed to be taking shelter.
A Ukrainian military commander says strikes by Russian aviation and heavy artillery are continuing.
“The Mariupol military garrison has over 500 wounded soldiers and hundreds of civilians among whom there are children and women,” Maj. Serhii said.
While it’s still early in Russia’s shift toward an offensive in the Donbas region, two senior U.S. officials say there has been no major territorial gains for Russia so far. Still, pressure is mounting on the U.S. and NATO to provide additional military assistance and help with evacuations.
“The Ukrainians have been trying for a number of days to negotiate safe passage for civilians and for wounded fighters,” said Victoria Nuland, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. “There was some hope earlier this morning that the russians might allow that, there will be nato allies involved in that is my understanding.”
Currents News Staff
For the first time in over two years, Pope Francis rode through the crowd in St. Peter’s Square on the popemobile to begin his Wednesday audience. The Holy Father continued his series of catechesis on the value of old age and the elderly, and explained how the fourth commandment, “honor your father and your mother” extends not only to family, but to all people from older generations.
He expressed his disappointment in today’s youth culture which disregards the value of elderly people, and referred to an instance in Italy of kids who lit an elderly homeless man’s blanket on fire.
“These kids who burned the covers of a homeless person are the tip of the iceberg,” Pope Francis said, “of the contempt for one’s life that is far from the ways of youth and seems like a waste of life, waste is the key word here. To disregard the elderly is to discard their lives, to put them apart, throw them down.”
The pontiff then urged parents to bring their children close to the elderly people in their lives to combat the culture of waste.
“Please, bring your kids, young children, close to the elderly, always bring them close,” the Holy Father said. “And when the elderly person is ill, or can’t think right, keep bringing them close, so that they may know that this is our flesh, this has made it possible for us to be here. Please do not keep the elderly far away.”
Pope Francis then greeted various groups of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, and thanked those from Poland for welcoming Ukrainian refugees into their homes. He then delivered his blessing while surrounded by Easter flowers.