President Joe Biden imposed new sanctions on Russia and is expected to announce new CDC guidelines and his Supreme Court pick later Friday.
Summary
President Joe Biden imposed tougher sanctions on Russia Thursday after Russia invaded Ukraine. Later Friday the president is expected to announce new CDC guidelines on masking and his nomination for the Supreme Court seat left open by Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement.
- In a Thursday afternoon speech Biden announced he would impose sanctions on Russian banks, oligarchs, their high-tech sector, and exports. Biden declined to remove Russia from the SWIFT international financial system, impose direct sanctions on Putin, or sanction Russia’s lucrative energy sector.
- The sanctions came as the Russian missiles hammered Kyiv and Russian troops entered Ukraine’s capital. Russian missiles hammered Kyiv. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky remained in the capital amid heavy fighting.
- The Centers for Disease Control will roll out less restrictive mask-wearing guidelines later Friday. Most Americans “will no longer be advised to wear masks in indoor public settings.”
- The CDC will also change what it measures when recommending masks, de-prioritizing case counts while factoring in the local hospitalization rate and hospital bed capacity.
- Biden has reportedly decided to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to be the newest Supreme Court Justice. Jackson would be the first black woman to serve on the high court.
- The president interviewed three finalists for the vacancy: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Leondra R. Kruger, and J. Michelle Childs.
- CNN reported that US intelligence fears Kyiv could fall to the Russians within days. Ukrainian civilians – including former president Petro Poroshenko – are arming themselves with Kalashnikovs and Molotov cocktails to defend their capital.
- The New York Times profiled Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden’s pick to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson has served on federal district and circuit courts and had prior experience as a public defender.
- Politico reported on Europe’s “before and after moment” of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Putin offered a reality check to a continent that has gotten lax on defense. The author predicts it will have “far-reaching consequences” for the European continent.
- The Wall Street Journal profiled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s transformation from late-night TV comic into a resolute wartime leader.
- Fox News reported on the collapse of the liberal world order just thirteen months into Biden’s term. Biden of course promised to “restore” world order after Trump’s presidency and declared “Putin doesn’t want me to be President…it’s because I’m the only person in this field who’s ever gone toe-to-toe with him.”
- Commentary wrote that “a pre-modern war demands pre-modern thinking.” Noah Rothman argues Putin’s invasion of Russia proves once again that hard power – troops and a strong military – is what really matters and the West needs to wake up and restore its military might to defend the free world.
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© Dominic Moore, 2022
