Category: US

CNN
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A woman and boy were killed by a polar bear that had been chasing residents in a tiny, remote community in Alaska, state troopers said Tuesday.

The bear had chased residents after entering the western Alaska town of Wales before attacking the woman and boy, an Alaska State Troopers dispatch report said.

The bear was shot and killed by another resident as it attacked the two victims, according to the report.

The victims have been identified as Summer Myomick, 24, and her 1-year-old son, Clyde Ongtowasruk, Austin McDaniel, communications director for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, said in a statement Wednesday.

Troopers and Alaska Department of Fish and Game personnel have been working to travel to Wales following the attack, but have been waylaid by weather.

“Poor weather conditions in the region and the lack of runway lights in Wales prevented Troopers and Alaska Department of Fish and Game personnel from making it to Wales,” McDaniel said Wednesday. “Troopers are continuing to make efforts to fly to Wales today.”

Wales is on the coast of western Alaska and has a population of 168, according to the US Census.

Reports of polar bear attacks on humans are extremely rare, a 2017 study published by The Wildlife Society found. “From 1870-2014, we documented 73 attacks by wild polar bears, distributed among the 5 polar bear Range States (Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and United States), which resulted in 20 human fatalities and 63 human injuries,” it found.

But melting ice due to climate change has led to a corresponding change in bear behavior and made human encounters with bears more likely, CNN previously reported.

Residents of Churchill in northern Manitoba, Canada, sometimes called the “polar bear capital of the world,” told CNN in 2021 that bear encounters were becoming more common. Thousands of tourists visit each fall in hopes of catching a glimpse of a bear.

Bear season in the area peaks in October and November, just before Hudson Bay refreezes and bears begin migrating north and congregating near the shore.

In recent decades, bear season has been lasting longer because of climate change, residents say. The ice is melting sooner and freezing later, keeping the bears on land longer.

But attacks on humans remain rare. The last one was in 2013, according to the Reuters news agency, and there hadn’t been a fatal attack since the early 1980s, CNN reported in 2021.

CNN
 — 

If you frequently find yourself stuck in a procrastination loop, there’s a good chance you’re not lazy – but rather, a perfectionist. Oftentimes, perfectionists avoid starting tasks due to a fear of failure or criticism, experts say. You can challenge those beliefs by avoiding all-or-nothing thinking and by setting achievable standards on a daily basis.

Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.

(You can get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)

Ukraine’s interior minister is among at least 16 people killed after a helicopter crashed in a Kyiv suburb today, police said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the crash in Brovary “a terrible tragedy” and ordered officials to “find out all the circumstances” of the incident. This comes as more than 9,000 civilians, including 453 children, have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began last February, a senior Kyiv official said. On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that the fastest way to end the war is “to give Ukraine a strong hand on the battlefield,” which is what the US is doing, he said. The White House also teased that an additional aid package for Ukraine could be announced “as soon as the end of this week.”

Senior House Republicans are preparing to hold hearings on the problems at the southern border, which they say could serve as a prelude to an impeachment inquiry against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. It’s exceedingly rare for a Cabinet secretary to be impeached as it has only happened once in US history in 1876. Meanwhile, House committees are forming and some of the awarded seats have drawn the ire of several Democrats. Embattled Rep. George Santos has been awarded seats on two low-level committees, though he is facing growing calls to resign for extensively lying about his resume. Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar also received their committee assignments for the new Congress, after being booted from their committees by Democrats and some Republicans for their incendiary remarks. 

Military veterans can now receive free emergency mental health care, according to an announcement by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The new policy, which went into effect Tuesday, provides inpatient care for “veterans in suicidal crisis” for up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days at no cost. “This expansion of care will save Veterans’ lives, and there’s nothing more important than that,” VA Secretary for Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough said. The policy will also allow the VA to make “appropriate referrals” after a period of emergency suicide care, determine veterans’ eligibility for other services and benefits from the VA, and refer veterans who received emergency care to other VA programs and benefits.

Covid-19 has killed more than 1 million people in the US since the start of the pandemic, and life expectancy has been cut by nearly 2.5 years since 2020. While data from 2022 suggests that there were significantly fewer Covid-19 deaths in the third year of the pandemic than there were in the first two, experts say the virus will likely remain the third leading cause of death in the US in 2022 for the third year in a row, behind heart disease and cancer. CDC officials have said they are actively working to better develop and deploy rapid response measures to combat the spread of disease outbreaks. A new report, however, argues that the CDC is in “a moment of peril” and a significant reset is necessary to build a “strong, effective, and more accountable” agency.

Microsoft is set to announce thousands of job cuts today, according to multiple news reports, potentially becoming the latest tech company to shrink its workforce. Sources say the reported layoffs could affect roughly 5% of the company’s workforce and largely impact the company’s engineering divisions. Microsoft employs 221,000 people around the world, including 122,000 in the US. Multiple tech companies have made deep cuts to their workforces since the start of the year, as inflation weighs on consumer spending and rising interest rates squeeze funding. The demand for digital services during the pandemic has also waned as more people return to their offline lives.

Brian Walshe, charged with murdering his wife, is expected to appear in court today

Brian Walshe is expected to be arraigned in court today after being charged with murdering his wife Ana Walshe, a Massachusetts mother and corporate real estate manager. The case has captured widespread attention since she was reported missing by her employer at the start of the year. Brian Walshe told police he last saw his wife the morning of January 1 when she left for a work trip. However, searches have uncovered several pieces of potential evidence linking him to the alleged crime, law enforcement sources told CNN. The couple’s three children, all between the ages of 2 and 6, are now in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

Documents show employer reported Ana Walshe missing, not her husband

Madonna’s star-studded tour announcement

Get ready for decades worth of Madonna’s hits and more shocking outfits, of course! The singer will stop in these cities for her upcoming global tour.

Clumsy pandas capture hearts on livestream

Click here to watch cute pandas give their handlers a giant headache. It’s quite literally panda-monium.

Actor Jeremy Renner released from hospital after snowplow accident

Fans were happy to learn that the Marvel star is now home after a snowplow accident left him in critical condition and hospitalized for weeks.

Biden welcomes the Golden State Warriors back to the White House

The 2022 NBA champions returned to the building for the first time since a high-profile clash with former President Donald Trump. See photos here.

Lisa Marie Presley’s memorial to be held at Graceland

A memorial has been planned at Graceland for Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis. The family’s estate said the public is invited to attend.

French nun Sister André, the world’s oldest known person, died on Tuesday in the southern city of Toulon, France, her spokesperson announced. She was 118. Born as Lucile Randon on February 11, 1904, Sister André dedicated most of her life to religious service and was the oldest nun to ever live, according to the Guinness World Records.

$20 million

That’s how much ousted Disney CEO Bob Chapek will receive in exit pay following a tumultuous two-year stint at the company, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. The hefty payout is in addition to the $24 million he made last year – his $2.5 million base salary plus millions in stock options and awards. Chapek was replaced by his predecessor, Bob Iger, who retired in 2020 and returned in 2022 to retake the reins.

“This type of radicalism is a threat to our nation.”

– Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, after a former Republican candidate for New Mexico’s legislature was arrested in connection with shootings at the homes of Democratic leaders. Solomon Peña, who lost a 2022 run for state House District 14, is accused of paying and conspiring with four men to shoot at the homes of two state legislators and two county commissioners, and trying to participate in at least one of the shootings himself, police said. He was arrested by a police SWAT team Monday.

Check your local forecast here>>>

Inside the Museum of Illusions

Take a virtual browse through the Museum of Illusions in New York City. Your brain may be tricked by some of the interactive exhibits! (Click here to view)

CNN
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The US is expected to announce one of its largest military aid packages for Ukraine in the coming days, according to two US officials familiar with the plans. But Kyiv has been pleading for modern tanks, a request the US is not yet willing to grant, despite the United Kingdom and Poland saying they will.

So far the US has appeared resistant to sending them, even though the UK and other key allies are preparing to send tanks that could make a crucial difference in the war as Kyiv braces for a possible large-scale Russian counter-offensive.

The UK has already announced it will send 12 of their Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, heralding a new phase in the international effort to arm Kyiv and cross what had previously appeared to be a red line for the US and its European allies.

Earlier this month, Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country would provide Ukraine with a company of Leopard tanks, while Finland said tanks are under consideration.

The US, which has led the way on providing military aid to Ukraine to combat’s Russia’s invasion, now appears more cautious than key allies, even as it has far outpaced other countries in sending aid to Ukraine.

The largest US security package to date, announced earlier this month, totaled more than $3 billion and included the first shipment of Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. The previous largest package was $1.85 billion and was announced in late December.

Tanks represent the most powerful direct offensive weapon provided to Ukraine so far, a heavily armed and armored system designed to meet the enemy head on instead of firing from a distance. If used properly with the necessary training, they could allow Ukraine to retake territory against Russian forces that have had time to dig defensive lines. The US has begun supplying refurbished Soviet-era T-72 tanks, but modern western tanks are a generation ahead in terms of their ability to target enemy positions.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Tuesday that the UK decided to “intensify our support” for the Ukrainians by sending tanks and other heavy equipment because they want to send “a really clear message” to Russian President Vladimir Putin that they will support Ukraine until they are “victorious.”

“It’s in no one’s interest for this to be a long, drawn out, attritional war,” Cleverly said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “I mean, we seeing terrible images of civilian infrastructure, residential buildings being hit by missiles, women, children being killed, bodies being taken out of collapsed buildings. We cannot allow that to go on any longer than is absolutely necessary … So the moral imperative is to bring this to a conclusion.”

Ukraine has been asking for such tanks since nearly the start of Russia’s invasion. President Volodymyr Zelensky famously asked for “1%” of NATO’s tanks in April, but it was a weapon the West was not willing to seriously consider amid concerns of managing escalation with Russia and the time it takes to train tank operators and maintainers.

Despite Britain’s change of heart, the US has not shown any indication that it’s preparing to send its M-1 Abrams tank. It has acknowledged a willingness to consider sending modern tanks, but they have been floated as a long-term option. But critics say the time is now as Ukraine braces for the possibility Russia will mobilize more troops and launch a new offensive. It would take weeks to train Ukrainian troops to use the Abrams effectively, so the window for a spring deployment is closing rapidly.

Retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams – the former commander of US Forces Korea whose father was the namesake for the tank – told CNN that “the longer we delay a decision, and the longer we slow-roll this, we’re taking away valuable time.”

“If in the end, five months from now we say, ‘Okay fine, we’re going to give them some M1 tanks, choose your variety’ – we’ve just lost five months of prep time. So the politics decision actually has to come sooner rather than later,” he said.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the support Washington has provided to Kyiv has evolved throughout the course of the war and teased more announcements as he reiterated that the United States is determined to give Ukraine “what it needs to succeed on the battlefield.”

Speaking alongside Cleverly, Blinken praised the UK’s decision to send tanks. “We applaud the prime minister’s commitment over the weekend to send Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems to Ukraine, elements that will continue to reinforce and add to what the United States has provided, including in our most recent drawdown.”

But so far, no US official has signaled the administration is likely to change its mind and send American tanks.

The Pentagon says it’s not a question of managing escalation with Russia or questions over heavy US weaponry falling into Russian hands. The concern is how difficult it is to operate and maintain the Abrams tank and whether the 70-ton tank would work for Ukrainian forces.

“It is a very, very different system than the generation of tank they’re currently operating,” said retired Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Donahoe, former commander of the Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia. “So we would have to go through a sizeable training program with their Army. It would not be something that you can just, ‘Hey we field Abrams to you today and you’re fighting with it tomorrow.’ That’s not even in the realm of the possible.”

Similar to the Patriot missile system training that Ukrainians are now beginning in Oklahoma, the Abrams tank would not be an overnight fix – on top of significant maintenance and logistics challenges, Ukrainians would also need to undergo more training to learn how to use and maintain the Abrams.

Recent announcements show how far the US and its allies have come within a short period, from a focus on the HIMARS and howitzers they have already provided to heavy armor, marking a “substantive” change in the types of offensive weaponry heading for Ukraine that will give their military “much more capability.”

“We are attempting to help Ukraine transform as fast as they can into better, capable, newer advanced weapons systems that are more deadly on the battlefield,” said retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling. But he warned that such an effort requires a massive military infrastructure to support it with people, parts and supplies in place.

Only days earlier, before Poland said it would send tanks, the US announced that it would ship Ukraine Bradley infantry fighting vehicles for the first time – not tanks, but “tank killers,” the Pentagon said – as France and Germany promised to send own their versions of the armored vehicle.

The coordinated announcements from Washington and Berlin, as well as the Paris announcement shortly thereafter, underscore how the US and its NATO allies have moved forward largely in unison on the issue of advanced and heavy weaponry. Instead of a single country unilaterally stepping out far ahead of others, the alliance has stayed in close coordination, using the monthly Ukraine Contact Group meetings to find and organize shipments of weapons.

All eyes will be on the next such meeting, occurring in Germany on Friday, as top officials meet to discuss what else should be provided to the embattled country.

The UK can send its Challenger 2 tank to Ukraine on its own, but Poland acknowledged it requires approval from Berlin before exporting its German-made Leopard tanks. A spokeswoman for Germany’s government, Christiane Hoffmann, said last week they had received no such request from Poland or Finland. Hoffmann added that Germany is in close contact with the US, France, the UK, Poland and Spain about ongoing military assistance to Ukraine.

Germany on Tuesday signaled a reluctance to approving the shipments unless the US sends its own tanks.

“We are never going alone, because this is necessary in a very difficult situation like this,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

If Germany offered approval for countries to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, it would open up a previously off-limits cache of potential arms for Kyiv. About a dozen European countries operate the Leopard, which could provide Ukraine with an abundance of potential ammo and spare parts, as well as additional tanks once Ukrainian forces become familiar with the Leopard.

While the Ukrainians welcomed the UK’s decision to send Challenger 2 tanks, experts cautioned that too many tank variants would only stretch Ukraine thinner on its ability to maintain them.

“The more variations of tanks that you put into the Ukrainian Army, it’s going to challenge their logistics more and more,” said Donahoe. “I mean the Challenger is a completely different system than the [US-made] Abrams and a completely different system than the Leopard … There’s significant challenges with them integrating Challenger as well if they’re going to get more variants of other westerns [main battle tanks].”

London
CNN
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Global oil demand is expected to hit its highest-ever level this year on the back of China’s swift reopening of its economy.

Oil demand could surge by 1.9 million barrels per day to reach a record 101.7 million barrels per day, the International Energy Agency said in its latest monthly report, released Wednesday.

“China will drive nearly half this global demand growth even as the shape and speed of its reopening remains uncertain,” the IEA said.

Beijing began to dismantle its strict zero-Covid policy in December, paving the way for a rebound in travel, trade and business activity across the world’s second-biggest economy. Most economists expect growth to remain sluggish in the first quarter of 2023 before picking up over the rest of the year.

The rebound in Chinese demand could lead to a tighter global oil market as the “full impact” of Western sanctions on Russian oil starts to bite, the IEA said in the report.

The Paris-based agency said that oil exports from Russia dropped by 200,000 barrels per day on average in December from the previous month after the European Union imposed a ban on imports of Moscow’s crude and G7 nations imposed a cap on the price at which the fuel could be traded.

Prices for Brent crude, the global benchmark, tumbled last year after hitting a 14-year high of $139 a barrel in early March after Russia invaded Ukraine. Prices started to recover in early December, and ticked up 1.7% on Wednesday to hit $87 a barrel.

Where prices could go next is unclear. The IEA said there was a “high degree of uncertainty” over its outlook. Despite an expected drop in supply from Russia, global oil inventories are at their highest levels since October 2021.

A boom in demand for electric vehicles and countries’ efforts to become more energy efficient could also help temper demand, the agency said.

“Measures like these are especially vital in a supply-constrained oil market,” it added.

The IEA’s forecasts come as business leaders express cautious optimism that the world can avoid a recession in 2023, after months of gloomy forecasts about the economic outlook.

That’s thanks in large part to China, whose reopening is expected to unleash a wave of spending that may offset economic weakness in the United States and Europe.

Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund said that about one third of the world economy would this year likely fall into recession — typically defined as two or more consecutive quarters of declining growth.

In November, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies started slashing their oil output by 2 million barrels per day, a policy set to continue through 2023, as it forecast a drop in demand.

— Julia Horowitz contributed reporting.