On today’s episode of the 5 Things podcast: Russia Invades Ukraine
The move is the culmination of months of tension in the region. Plus, reporter Chris Woodyard reports on the impact of the Russian invasion on gas prices, political reporter Rick Rouan talks about discrimination against people with disabilities for organ transplants, many people not knowing their job makes them eligible for student loan forgiveness and the NBA returning from the All-Star break.
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Hit play on the player above to listen to the podcast and follow along with the recording below. This record was automatically created, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between audio and text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I’m Taylor Wilson and here are 5 Things You Need to Know Thursday, February 24, 2022. Today’s Russia Invasion of Ukraine, Plus Organ Transplant Discrimination and More.
Here are some of the top titles:
- The FBI is aggressively investigating dozens of historic bomb threats against colleges, universities and black places of worship. The FBI says at least 57 organizations received bomb threats via phone, email, instant messaging or online posts between January 4 and February 16.
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- And Fox Sports NFL analyst Troy Aikman is reportedly close to joining ESPN. He will appear on Monday Night Football.
Taylor Wilson:
The Russian military launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine last night. The move comes after a day of heavy sanctions from countries around the world and after weeks of intense diplomatic negotiations, which ultimately failed to stop Russia’s aggression.
Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the attack in a televised address that needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine. American officials say it is a false claim, and even yesterday predicted that he would make it. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki:
Jen Psaki:
There will be a bunch of mishandling that we’ve come to expect and have put out in the books to see. Here’s an example of it, which shows that they feel threatened. By whom? The Ukrainian that the Russians are threatening to attack? As such, we will continue to call what we consider false flag activity or an attempt to spread misinformation about actual conditions on the ground.
Taylor Wilson:
In the midst of the invasion, Putin said that Russia only intended to demilitarize Ukraine and bring the offenders to justice. But he promised to fight anyone who stood in Russia’s way,
Taylor Wilson translates for Vladimir Putin:
Anyone trying to stop us and continue to pose threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and lead you to consequences. that you have never faced in your history. We are ready for any outcome.
Taylor Wilson:
President Joe Biden issued a statement overnight condemning what he called an unprovoked and unjustified attack. Today, Biden will meet with the leaders of the Group of Seven before addressing the American people. More sanctions against Russia are also expected today.
In Ukraine, conflict seems to have persisted in the eastern parts of the country for a generation that seems to have finally reached the western parts of the country, including the capital, Kiev.
[Sound: air raid sirens]
That was the siren of the air raid earlier today. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, advised residents to stay at home unless they were engaged in important work and asked them to pack their bags to evacuate. On a national level, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is asking for international help to protect Ukraine and its airspace from Russia. He also said that Russia’s invasion had opened a war on the entire democratic world. Zelenskyy declared the law of marshals throughout Ukraine. The country’s border protection service has reported an artillery attack by Russian troops from neighboring Belarus, and the Russian military claims to have disabled all Ukrainian air bases.
It remains unclear exactly how Western troops will assist Ukraine in the coming days. This week, the US said it was redeploying forces around the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. However, President Joe Biden has repeatedly stated that he will not send US troops into Ukraine.
One immediate consequence for the United States of Russia’s actions this week is an increase in gas prices. How high they go depends on Russia’s next moves. Reporter Chris Woodyard explains.
Chris Woodyard:
We all know that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is driving up gas prices. It will drive them up for a long time in the United States, where we’ve been paying an average of $3.53 cents a gallon, which is high where it started. Now experts say it can exceed four dollars. Honestly, the record in this country at $4.11 cents a gallon was set in 2008. So, not taking into account inflation, just on a nominal basis, going on all fours would be pretty painful. painful for many drivers, it can cause a lot of backlash. How high will they go? Don’t expect it to exceed $5 nationally, but California and Hawaii could see that level because taxes are high in those places. They’re separate gasoline markets. They’re always there, the experts say. high level.”
So what does this mean? The president has said that he knows about gas prices. In his speech, he said that he would try to hold them tight, try to arrange other supplies, not only in the US but among our allies in Europe, as we do the actions and sanctions against Russia. But it will be difficult. The world petroleum market, the world petroleum market is very volatile, it is very independent and it operates according to supply and demand. And with the economy improving, people want to get out there and drive. Temperatures will rise across the country as spring arrives. It will make more people want to get out, especially given the overall economy is pretty good. So it will be very interesting to see if gas prices skyrocket or if they can somehow keep the lid on these things, keep it maybe low, maybe even Tuesday. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Taylor Wilson:
You can keep up to date with all of our coverage from Eastern Europe this week and beyond on USATODAY.com.
Advocates say people with disabilities are being discriminated against when they need an organ transplant, but bipartisan bills supported by national disability rights organizations have been introduced in both houses of Congress to try to stop discrimination. Political reporter Rick Rouan has more than that.
Rick Rouan:
So when someone gets an organ transplant, it’s not really as simple as you just go into the surgery, you walk out a few days later and you’re a healthy person going on with their lives. . It requires some rather complicated post-operative care. There are many follow-up appointments. There are lifestyle changes that they want organ transplant recipients to make. And then you also have to control the side effects of any medications you’ll be taking really continuously after you have a new organ.
So, according to the 2019 report that I consulted, transplant centers say that people with disabilities will have to struggle more with managing all those complicating factors and that’s what makes them the best. worse candidates for an internal organ than those without disabilities. . Now, proponents of the issue say more resources should be pumped only into helping people with disabilities manage the post-surgery complexities they will have to deal with, rather than excluding them from receiving treatment altogether. viscera .
Back in December, Senators Marco Rubio and Maggie Hassan introduced a bipartisan bill that would at least establish a basic federal standard to prevent this type of discrimination. And now that’s an important point, it will also establish a rapid review process for cases alleging that this type of discrimination is taking place. So think about it. If you need an organ and one is available, things start to move very quickly, right? So, if you think you are being discriminated against, you don’t want your case to get bogged down in a court proceeding that can take a long time to resolve. You may be missing out on your chance to get an organ transplant. So the law provides a faster process for resolving those types of disputes.
It will now be based on the same bills that we’ve seen a bunch of different states adopt over the past few years. We now have 30 states with these kinds of laws, 14 of which passed them last year. And some advocates have told me that state legislation isn’t enough because you end up with a bunch of different policies, and that can be confusing if someone crosses state lines. to try to get the organs. So they say a federal standard is needed because it will at least provide this baseline for everyone, and then state law can go above and beyond that. but does not offer less protections.
One last thing I would like to mention is that I have heard from disability advocates that they feel that this type of discrimination is a referendum from health care advocates on quality. the life someone with a disability has to go through, but to those I have made it very clear that just because someone has a disability doesn’t mean they can’t find fulfillment and they shouldn’t have the opportunity life-saving treatment like everyone else.
Taylor Wilson:
Check out Rick’s full story in today’s episode description.
A large portion of the country’s workforce is working in a job that currently qualifies for debt relief. That’s through the overhauled public service loan forgiveness program, but many workers, including those who have previously been denied parole, may not realize they qualify. The program requires borrowers to work full-time in a public service job and make 10 years’ worth of payments on their loan. In return, the federal government agreed to forgive them. The education department overhauled the program in October, loosening some of the strictest rules that have prevented most borrowers working in millions of qualified jobs from accessing debt relief.
The NBA returns tonight from an all-star break, and it’s getting ready for an extended period of the regular season. The Phoenix Suns enter the second part of the season as the strongest team of the league at 48th and 10th, including nine wins in the last game. , but the top five are all separated by less than three games in the rankings. Meanwhile, the two pre-season favorites to either make it to the NBA finals or even win them all, the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets, are having 21 comebacks and seven games. return to the top seeds of their respective conferences, although both still have a spot to advance to the knockout stages. You can stay up to date with all the action with the NBA team at USA TODAY Sports.
And you can find 5 things seven mornings a week right here, wherever you’re listening right now. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his amazing work on the show and tomorrow I’ll be back with more than 5 things from USA TODAY.
