Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT, Russian forces bombarded the central square in Ukraine’s second-largest city, and St. Thomas Campus Ministry and the Office for Mission held an ecumenical prayer Friday for justice and peace in Ukraine. Ad/Pr Rep. Ethan Erickson has today’s News in :90.
Seven positive COVID-19 cases were reported by St. Thomas’ Center for Well-Being during the week ending Feb. 25.
Russian forces shelled Ukraine’s second-largest city on Monday, rocking a residential neighborhood, and closed in on the capital, Kyiv, in a 17-mile convoy of hundreds of tanks and other vehicles, as talks aimed at stopping the fighting yielded only an agreement to keep talking.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for talks today amid high hopes but low expectations for any diplomatic breakthrough. Exact death tolls are unclear, but the U.N. human rights chief said 102 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded in five days of fighting. Macy Berendsen has today’s News in :90.
In a dramatic escalation of East-West tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert Sunday in response to what he called “aggressive statements” by leading NATO powers.
Fourteen people were shot before dawn Saturday morning at a hookah parlor and police said one man died and that two of those hit by gunfire suffered critical injuries.
St. Thomas Campus Ministry and the Office for Mission held an ecumenical prayer Friday for peace and justice in Ukraine. Theology professor Paul Gavrilyuk, who is Ukrainian, spoke before the prayer, describing President Vladimir Putin’s words as “straight from Hitler’s playbook.”
As recently as Monday, the parents of St. Thomas theology professor Paul Gavrilyuk lived in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. After learning about the likelihood of a Russian attack on the city, he and his brother convinced them to move about 50 miles away from the capital.
St. Thomas’ University Action and Response Team announced via email that it will be lifting its face covering requirement in many indoor spaces on Saturday, Feb. 26. Masks will still be required inside classrooms, labs, St. Thomas’ shuttle and the Center for Well-Being.
The Biden administration announced Friday that it will move to freeze the assets of President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, following the European Union and Britain in directly sanctioning top Russian leadership.
Most Americans live in places where healthy people, including students in schools, can safely take a break from wearing masks under new U.S. guidelines released Friday.
President Joe Biden on Friday nominated federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman selected to serve on a court that once declared her race unworthy of citizenship and endorsed segregation.
Russian troops bore down on Ukraine’s capital Friday, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter, in an invasion of a democratic country that has fueled fears of wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop.
Russian troops bore down on Ukraine’s capital Friday in an invasion of a democratic country that has fueled fears of wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to stop Russia, three former Minneapolis police officers were convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights, and the Twin Cities have lifted the indoor mask mandate this Thursday. Reporter N.k. Akpati has today’s News in :90.
The American Red Cross visited campus Tuesday to host a blood drive donation event for St. Thomas students and faculty.
