World News Flash
UNITED STATES
If some people in Congress get there way, the next time you “spring ahead” will be the last time.
In our last edition, we told you to “spring ahead” for Daylight Savings Time, which is when clocks skip an hour ahead in March to extend the sunlight by one hour. It is something that is said to help farmers, and also encourages the conservation of energy, as utility bills are less due to the extra light.
In the fall, the clocks drop back to Daylight Standard Time, in which the 1:00 a.m. hour during the first Sunday in November occurs twice. (This used to be in October, but was adjusted during the George W. Bush administration.) This practice is known as “fall back” and the days get shorter. On one hand, there is less daylight during the day, but unlike with “spring ahead” there is an extra hour of rest.
Among those seeking to make the permanent change is none other than U.S. Senator Cory Booker.
“There is no good reason that every year we are springing forward, falling back. We need to spring forward – and stay there… It’s not trivial. It actually causes us harm. The studies are clear. When we do this jumping back and forth, heart attacks go up, strokes go up, traffic accidents go up,” Booker said on TikTok.
On March 15, the U.S. Senate passed a measure to keep Savings Time, and not to every go back to Standard Time. The legislation, which has support on both sides of the political aisle, now heads to the House of Representatives. If approved there, it would then head to President Biden’s desk for signature.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT REAUTHORIZED
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta applauded the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA was reauthorized as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, which President Joe Biden recently signed into law.
“Domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking are serious violations of criminal law that demand our sustained attention and action,” said Attorney General Garland. “The Department of Justice welcomes the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and will continue to use the resources at our disposal to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and provide critical services for survivors.”
“One of the many achievements of this bipartisan reauthorization of VAWA is recognizing expanded jurisdiction for American Indian and Alaska Native tribes to protect their communities from domestic and sexual violence, which I highlighted as a priority in my testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last October,” said Deputy Attorney General Monaco. “It is fitting that this important legislation was passed during Women’s History Month, as it will help combat the epidemic levels of gender-based violence that stand in the way of equality in our society. We have made substantial progress since I worked on the original VAWA in Congress in the 1990s, but VAWA’s programs, protections, and new initiatives remain critical to address unmet needs in our communities.”
“VAWA’s reauthorization helps ensure all survivors can live safe and healthy lives, free from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking,” said Associate Attorney General Gupta. “Preventing and ending violence creates a more equal and equitable world for women and girls, and people of all genders who experience harm. I look forward to working with the Office on Violence Against Women to implement and administer new programs and services that support underserved communities.”
In addition to recognizing expanded jurisdiction for American Indian and Alaska Native tribes, the VAWA reauthorization addresses numerous Department of Justice priorities, including:
- Reauthorizing until 2027 VAWA’s vitally important grant programs, which will allow communities to provide critical services to survivors, as well as the right tools and training to make sure that responses to these crimes are survivor-centered and trauma-informed.
- Increasing services and support for underserved populations, including culturally specific communities, LGBTQ survivors, individuals with disabilities, immigrant survivors, older adults, and victims in rural communities, among others.
- Closing gaps in federal sex crimes statutes and promoting accountability for law enforcement officers, by strengthening the ability to prosecute federal officers who sexually assault or abuse those in their custody, and by appropriately penalizing defendants who commit civil rights offenses involving sexual misconduct, which includes those who commit sexual assault while acting under color of law and those who commit sexual assault as part of a hate crime.
- Enhancing efforts to reduce homicides through enforcement of federal and state firearms laws, including by enacting the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Denial Notification Act to help state law enforcement investigate and prosecute unlawful firearms purchasers and amending the Gun Control Act to make clear that the firearm prohibitions apply to domestic violence offenders convicted under municipal ordinances.
- Improving access to justice for survivors by expanding grant funding for legal services and authorizing post-conviction legal assistance to survivors in matters arising out of their domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or sex trafficking victimization.
EUROPE
ZELENSKY ADDRESSES CONGRESS
As he coordinates his country’s defense against a brutal dictator, the leader of the brave nation of Ukraine spoke with lawmakers in America to give much needed insight into a brutal war.
On March 16, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed members of the United States Congress to ask for help in his nation’s fight against Russia. Through his translator, Zelensky asked the U.S. to install a no-fly zone to neutralize Russian air forces. While Zelensky made this the primary request, he gave additional options, knowing that the U.S. and other members of NATO are wary about engaging Russian aircraft, which could be interpreted as an act of war on their part. On item on the table was for the provision of warplanes and air defenses, rather than NATO getting involved directly.
During the address, Zelensky showed a video depicting the carnage that Russia has wreaked upon his country. Members of Congress were visibly moved by the painful to watch scenes on the film.
Before ending his address, Zelensky spoke in English, with a direct message to U.S. President Joe Biden.
“Today, the Ukrainian people are defending not only Ukraine, we are fighting for the values of Europe and the world…That’s why today the American people are helping not just Ukraine, but Europe and the world, to keep the planet alive, to keep justice in history. Now I’m almost 45 years old. Today, my age stopped when the heart of more than 100 children stopped beating.
“I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths. And this is my main issue as the leader of my people, great Ukrainians, and as the leader of my nation, I am addressing the President Biden, you are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.”
While there is no word on any specific military involvement, Biden did announce another huge tranche of military aid to Ukraine, valued at around $800 million.
ASIA
EARTHQUAKE TRIGGERS TSUMANI WARNING
A devastating act of Mother Nature has stoked fears of a deadly crisis from over a decade ago.
On March 16, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, shaking Tokyo while damaging structures and knocking out power. Because of the location of the tremor, a tsunami warning was issued, with authorities urging people to stay away from coastal areas around Miyagi and Fukushima.
The earthquake came almost 11 years after an earthquake and tsunami caused damage to the Fukushima nuclear power plant, causing a meltdown. While the meltdown was not on the level of Chernobyl, it was still destructive to the region.
Just last year, the area was hit by a separate power quake, with similar disastrous results as it relates to damage and loss of power.
WORLD
OFFICIALS FEAR COVID-19 MISINFORMATION
A combination of factors, including misinformation that the pandemic is over, the lifting of mask mandates, ending physical distancing – and a more transmissible Omicron BA.2 variant – are causing an increase of COVID-19 cases globally, the World Health Organization warned on March 16.
“After several weeks of declines, reported cases of COVID-19 are once again increasing globally, especially in parts of Asia”, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus told journalists in Geneva.
In the past week, the agency has seen an 8 percent increase in detection of COVID-19 cases, with more than 11 million positive test results.
“These increases are occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the cases we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg,” Tedros explained, warning that when cases tick up, so do deaths.
He added that continued local outbreaks and surges are to be expected, particularly in areas where measures to prevent transmission have been lifted, but that there are ‘unacceptably high’ levels of mortality in many countries, especially where vaccination levels are low among susceptible populations.
“Each country is facing a different situation with different challenges, but the pandemic is not over,” he reiterated.
WHO’s Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove explained that a combination of factors is fueling the increase of cases worldwide, beginning with a more transmissible variant.
“We still have Omicron which is transmitting at a very intense level around the world. We have sub-lineages of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2. BA.2 is more transmissible, and this is the most transmissible variant we have seen of the SARS-COV2 virus to date,” she warned.
The COVID-19 Technical Lead informed that in the last 30 days of more than 400,000 sequences sampled, 99.9% are Omicron, and 75% correspond to the BA.2 variant.
“We do not see an increase in severity with BA.2. However, with huge numbers of cases you will see increase hospitalizations and we have seen this in country after country”, Dr. Van Kerkhove highlighted.
Another factor influencing the increase of numbers is the lifting of public health and social measures.
“Lifting of the use of masks, lifting of physical distancing, lifting of restrictions limiting people’s movement, this provides the virus an opportunity to spread,” Dr. Van Kerkhove cautioned.
The expert also pointed out that there are ‘huge amounts of misinformation’ causing a lot of confusion among people.
“The misinformation that Omicron is mild, misinformation that the pandemic is over, misinformation that this is the last variant that we will have to deal with, she explained.
Meanwhile, Dr Mike Ryan, WHO’s Executive Director of the Health Emergencies Program clarified that the virus has not ‘settled down’ into a purely seasonal or predictable pattern yet.
“So, the idea that ‘we are through with it’ in the northern hemisphere and now we have to wait until next winter, I think (for example) when we look at increasing rates in the UK, we need to be very vigilant and cautious with this,” he said.
The expert added that the virus is still ‘very fit’ and it’s moving around easily and in the context of waning immunity and vaccines not acting perfectly against infection, the virus will likely continue to echo around the world.
