After uneducated remark about Native Americans, Kansas education commissioner must go


John Hanna/Associated Press file photo

The Kansas City Star Editorial Board
Thu, February 24, 2022, 10:50 AM·2 min read

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has called on Education Commissioner Randy Watson to resign over his horrifyingly insensitive remark about Native Americans at a recent conference.

Watson told conferees that when he was a kid, his cousins feared coming to Kansas because of tornadoes, according to a video released by state officials Thursday.

“I’d say, ‘Don’t worry about that,’“ Watson says. “’But you’ve got to worry about the Indians raiding the town at any time,’ and they really thought that, you know.”

Watson has reportedly apologized in private for the remark. Nevertheless, Kelly is right that he has to go.

“The state and the Kansas Board of Education must take issues of derogatory and discriminatory language seriously,” the governor said in a statement. “There is no question that Randy Watson must resign his position immediately.”

Watson’s service as the state’s chief education officer has been otherwise laudable, particularly given the pressure from lawmakers who want to destroy the public education model in the state. Like all public officials, he should be allowed to make the occasional rhetorical mistake.

But this mistake goes beyond that, and damages Watson’s credibility in a way that hurts the schools. When the elected Kansas State Board of Education meets Friday to discuss the issue, its members should make that point clear.

This isn’t a case of political correctness run amok. It’s the state’s responsibility to hold its executive officers to account for statements and actions that threaten quality schools for all. Watson’s statement fits into that category.

The state BOE can fire Watson if it wants, or discipline him in other ways, or take no position on his comments. We hope he will spare the members a difficult vote by stepping aside.

Discriminatory comments are always unacceptable, but they are disqualifying for a state official. Watson should quit.

Editor’s note: This editorial has been updated after the release of the video with a transcription of Watson’s remarks.

Kansas board rejects Randy Watson's resignation, suspends him over offensive comments

Andrew Bahl and Rafael Garcia, Topeka Capital-Journal
Fri, February 25, 2022

Kansas education commissioner Randy Watson submitted his letter of resignation after making offensive comments about Native Americans, State Board of Education chair Jim Porter announced Friday. The board rejected Watson's resignation and suspended him 30 days.

The Kansas State Board of Education unanimously rejected the resignation of commissioner Randy Watson, Kansas' highest ranking education official, and instead opted to suspend him for 30 days without pay as discipline for offensive remarks he made at a conference last week.

The dramatic twist of events came after Gov. Laura Kelly, tribal leaders and Native American legislators called on Watson to step down over the comments, in which Watson appeared to make derogatory remarks about Native Americans while telling a story about California cousins wanting to visit him in Kansas.

"They'd be like, 'Are we going to get killed by a tornado?' and I'd say, 'Don't worry about that,'" Watson said. "'But you've got to be worried about the Indians raiding the town at any time.' They really thought that. I guess growing up in California, you don't know much of the history of Kansas."

Randy Watson's total record considered in suspension

Jim Porter, chairman of the Kansas Board of Education, makes opening remarks during Friday's special meeting.

Watson wasn't present at the public portion of the meeting but Board Chair Jim Porter said he had submitted a letter of resignation.

Porter later said Watson met with the board in during the closed-door portion of the meeting Friday. A Kansas State Department of Education spokesperson declined to make him available for comment.

Board members considered the totality of Watson's record in electing to suspend him, Porter said.

"This particular incident was serious and needed to be addressed, but we didn't feel like it was career ending," Porter said. "We believe in restorative justice. We believe that it is absolutely critical that we use this as a learning and teaching opportunity. And we felt strong that we are better able to do that under his leadership."

More: Gov. Kelly calls on Kansas education commissioner Randy Watson to resign after ‘inappropriate’ remarks
Craig Neuenswander will fill in as interim education commissioner

Watson's suspension will start Monday. Craig Neuenswander, deputy commissioner for fiscal and administrative services, will serve as interim commissioner during his absence.

The comments occurred during a conference on virtual education last week. Porter called the notion the board dragged their feet in addressing the issue "balderdash."

"It cannot be done quickly but needs to be done with a proper and appropriate opportunity to process what has taken place," Board Member Jim McNiece, R-Wichita, told reporters.

In a terse statement at the opening of the meeting, Porter slammed the fact that Watson felt the need to resign after multiple members of the Kansas Legislature were arrested and allowed to remain in their position, though he added Watson shouldn't have made the remarks and the board is "not here to acute to excuse or justify this statement in any way."

Ahead of the meeting, board member Ann Mah, D-Topeka, had said she hoped “something positive” could come from the situation.

After the meeting, she harkened back to a presentation the state school board had heard from Schlagle High School in Kansas City USD 500. The school had implemented restorative justice practices, which focus on discipline through conversation and learning, rather than punishment.
Kansas education board member calls for restorative justice

“If there’s an opportunity to use restorative justice in a great way and learn from it, this was it,” she told The Capital-Journal. “I think it’s important we now use restorative justice practices to reach out to these people who were hurt and maybe think about a bigger policy change going forward.

“I know the folks across the street would very much like us to stop talking about racial justice and equity, but I think this brings to light that we still have a lot of work to do. We can be a leader, and we need Randy at the top to make it happen.”

Rep. Stephanie Byers, D-Wichita and one of three Native American legislators, called on the state board to back up its statement on learning from the situation. A good first step would be having the education board meet with the chairs of Kansas’ four federally recognized tribes, she said.
Native American legislator: suspension 'slap on the wrist'

Still, she added that Watson’s 30-day suspension was ultimately “a slap on the wrist” and an insult to the state’s Native American students.

“We understand we’re in a position where public education in Kansas is being attacked left and right, and having Dr. Watson step down adds fuel to that fire,” Byers said. “People want to make the excuse that he said it because he was a child.

“But if you substitute any other racial group, or any other ethnicity for Indians, should we still forget about it?. Because that’s what it’s like for Native Americans, when you’re getting erased over and over again.

“Dr. Watson has done tremendous good for the state, but his discretion on this was such that, can he still be trusted if he said something like this publicly?”

In a statement, Joseph "Zeke" Rupnick, chairman of the Prairie Band Pottawatomi Nation, said the board's decision "sent a clear message to Indigenous People that comments like this are completely acceptable."

"The Board should ensure that all students under their charge are protected, rather than protecting the privileged few whose derogatory comments perpetuate discriminatory behaviors," Rupnick said.

Gov. Laura Kelly wants to meet with Randy Watson, KSBE chair

Former and present school superintendents, board members and education officials gather before the start of Friday's Kansas Board of Education special meeting.

Porter criticized Kelly and said it "was not appropriate" for the governor to make a public statement on the matter.

"It seems ironic to me that Commissioner Watson, who owned and did take responsibility for his statement, which was not illegal, feels obligated or feels forced to resign by outside forces," Porter said during the meeting.

In a statement, Kelly's spokesperson, Lauren Fitzgerald, said the governor would be seeking a meeting with Porter and Watson "to discuss what has transpired and how to move forward now that the Board has acted."

In recent days, board members say they have been besieged by education officials from across the state, who urged them not to terminate Watson. Some descended on Topeka on Friday in a bid to show support and launched into a round of applause after the meeting was adjourned.

Steve Noble, superintendent at Seaman USD 345, one of a handful of people waiting for the board to come out of executive session, said he and other education leaders across the state were rallying for the commissioner and veteran educator.

“Everyone makes mistakes, and us as educators, perhaps we should know and understand that better than most because we’re in the learning environment,” Noble said.

Porter said the controversy was only serving to distract from concerns brought forward by Native students and officials in recent days and he committed to addressing the treatment of indigenous students and history in Kansas schools going forward.

"If we believe that Kansas is to lead the world in the success of each student, we need to assure that Kansas is a welcoming and safe place for each student regardless of their heritage or any other factor," Porter said. "We also need to stop the effort to deny their history because it might offend somebody."

The Kansas State Board of Education voted to go into executive session during Friday's special meeting before announcing commissioner Randy Watson's suspension.

There are more than 3,600 American Indian and Alaska Native students enrolled in Kansas schools, according to 2021-22 headcount data from KSDE.

In recent days, Native students, leaders and education officials have said the remarks are indicative of an education system that often overlooks their history, culture and tribal sovereignty.

"The Kansas State Board of Education has a responsibility to the Kansas State Department of Education's vision that 'Kansas leads the world in the success of each student,'" Nis Wilbur, a member of the Prairie Band Pottawatomi Nation and former KSDE employee, said in an email earlier this week. "In order to lead the world, each student, including all Indigenous students, must receive safe and supportive learning environments."

Watson has served as the state's top education official since 2014. Prior to his appointment to the position, he served as superintendent of McPherson Unified School District 418.

He has led the state education agency during its push to redesign Kansas K-12 education and boost the statewide graduation and post-secondary success rates, as well as in the past two years of COVID-19 learning in the state.

More: Kansas State Board of Education to meet Friday after ‘inappropriate’ remarks by education commissioner

While Noble condemned Watson’s comments as inappropriate, he said context matters. Especially at the tail end of national Public Schools Week, he called Watson "a champion to the cause of public education."

“It was a mistake," Noble said, "but it’s the career and the legacy of a great man who cares deeply about all kids in Kansas.”

Andrew Bahl is a senior statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at abahl@gannett.com 

Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Randy Watson suspended as Kansas education commissioner after remarks

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M HEALTHCARE

Company officers accused of bilking customers of $190 million indicted in southern IL



Carolyn P. Smith
Thu, February 24, 2022

A federal grand jury in an East St. Louis courtroom on Wednesday indicted a pair of Florida businessmen in a health insurance scheme that generated more than $190 million in revenue for their company.

According to the complaint, which was filed by the Federal Trade Commission in the U.S. Court of the Southern District of Illinois, Simple Health Plans LLC sold policies to more than 400,000 people nationwide, including 1,175 of them in all 38 counties that comprise Southern Illinois.

Simple Health Plans also is known as Health Benefits One.

The company’s former owner, Steven Dorfman, 27, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, former Chief Compliance Officer Candida L. Girouard, 45 of Valrico, Florida, and former Vice President of Sales John A. Sand, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, each face single counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud, and eight counts of wire fraud.

The three Florida men are scheduled to appear at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis on March 7 for arraignments. If convicted, they face potential sentencing of up to 30 years on the conspiracy charges and 20 years on each of the mail and wire fraud counts.

“We credit the Federal Trade Commission for their continued vigilance to protect the community from predatory and unscrupulous businesses operating online,” United States Attorney Steven Weinhoeft said in a statement Thursday. “Crimes like those alleged in the indictment rob people of their hard-earned money, but worse, they have catastrophic consequences when expected insurance benefits aren’t there in a time of need. These offenses ruin lives and must be dealt with harshly.”

According to federal court documents, Simple Health Plans sold health insurance policies over the phone, most of which were indemnity plans with a low cap on the amount of medical expenses they cover. After the caps are reached, patients are responsible for 100% of the balance out of pocket.

The indictment alleges that the company’s sales agents were scripted with a deceptive sales pitch.

“The whole idea of this plan is to make your out-of-pocket expenses as low as possible,” the script said, according to the court records. “When all is said and done, you end up with pennies on the dollar.”

According to the indictment, it wasn’t long after the indemnity plans were purchased that customers called Simple Health to complain:


That they had incurred “significant medical expense” for treatments and services they were led to believe were covered


That their doctors and hospitals did not accept the limited indemnity plans


That prescription drug costs were not covered, contrary to what the company had told them.

The alleged fraud occurred between 2013 and October of 2018, when the FTC filed a complaint with the federal court in southern Florida, which granted a temporary restraining order halting the company’s operation and freezing its assets.

Earlier this month, the court certified a nationwide class-action lawsuit it anticipates could sign on as many as 200,000 former customers as plaintiffs. In the meantime, federal courts are prosecuting the company’s officers criminally in their local districts.

The St. Louis Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Verseman and Peter Reed are prosecuting the case.

Ukrainian soldier blows himself up on bridge to stop Russian tanks from advancing

A Ukrainian soldier blew up a bridge that connects Russia-occupied Crimea to mainland Ukraine in order to stop Russian tanks from advancing. In the process, he sacrificed his own life.

India Today Web Desk 

Kyiv

February 26, 2022

A Ukrainian soldier died after he blew up a bridge to stop the advancement of Russian tanks. (Photo: Facebook)

To stop Russian tanks from invading his country, a Ukrainian soldier blew up the bridge that connects Russian-occupied Crimea to mainland Ukraine. In the process, he sacrificed his own life.

Marine battalion engineer Vitaly Skakun Volodymyrovych was deployed to the Henichesk bridge in the southern province of Kherson when Russian tanks invaded, as per the Ukrainian military.

The army decided that the only way to block the Russian tanks would be to blow up the bridge and, accordingly, Volodymyrovych volunteered to do the needful, the General Staff of the Armed Forces said in a statement.

However, he soon realised he would not be able to get back to safety and died in the blast. His act of bravery forced the Russian forces to take a longer route, thereby giving the Ukrainian military more time to respond.

UKRAINE MILITARY'S STATEMENT

“On this difficult day for our country, when the Ukrainian people give away to the Russian occupiers in all directions, one of the hardest places on the map of Ukraine was the Crimean intersection, where one of the first enemies met a separate marine battalion. In order to stop the promotion of the tank column, a decision was made to overthrow the Geniche Car Bridge,” the Ukrainian military wrote in a statement.

The statement added, “The engineer of a separate battalion sailor Skakun Vitaliy Volodymyrovich was called to perform this task. The bridge was replaced, but he didn't have time to get out of there There was an explosion right away. Our brother was killed. His heroic act significantly slowed down the push of the enemy, allowing the unit to relocate and organize defense.”

The statement concluded, “We will fight as long as we live! And as long as we are alive we will fight!”

The soldier, Skakun Vitaliy Volodymyrovich, will be given a state award posthumously for his bravery.

Russia declared war on Ukraine on Thursday. Since then, more than 130 Ukrainian ‘heroes’ have been killed, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukrainian border guards die defending Snake Island

Audio circulated by Ukrainian authorities appears to show guards on a tiny island defying a Russian warship's order to surrender, before they were killed by combined sea and air strikes.

Garrison Of Ukrainian Soldiers Killed After Refusing Russian Demands To Surrender

Nick Visser
Thu, February 24, 2022, 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds a press conference Thursday in Kyiv on Russia's attack on Ukraine. (Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

An entire garrison of 13 Ukrainian border guards was killed in the first day of fighting on the nation’s Snake Island after the soldiers refused to surrender to invading Russian forces, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy said in an address that the guards had attempted to protect the island, resisting demands from Russian forces to lay down their arms. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, posted audio to Facebook in which Russian forces can be heard telling the soldiers to surrender and “avoid bloodshed,” according to a translation by The Washington Post.

The garrison refused, with one soldier saying, “Russian warship, go fuck yourself,” and were all killed in an artillery strike.

Zelenskyy said the 13 soldiers would be honored posthumously with the Hero of Ukraine award.

Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, is about 30 miles off the coast of Ukraine and is less than 42 acres. The Post noted that the island marks the edge of Ukraine’s territorial waters and serves as a strategic post in the Black Sea.

Zelenskyy said at least 137 people have been killed in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion and hundreds had been wounded. That tally was expected to climb as Russian forces closed in on the capital, Kyiv, and Zelenskyy said in his address that “the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders.”

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Feds rescind license extension for Florida nuclear plant


 In this Feb. 26, 2009 file photo, the Turkey Point nuclear plant south of Miami is shown. Federal officials have reversed a decision to allow a South Florida nuclear power plant to continue running for another 30 years by ordering a new review of potential environmental risks, including those posed by climate change. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued an order Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. 

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)More

Thu, February 24, 2022, 5:41 PM·2 min read

MIAMI (AP) — Federal officials have reversed a decision to allow a South Florida nuclear power plant to continue running for another 30 years by ordering a new review of potential environmental risks, including those posed by climate change.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued an order Thursday to reverse a 2019 decision by a previous, Republican-led commission to extend Florida Power & Light’s operating license for two reactors at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant until 2052 and 2053, respectively. The reactors have been operating since 1972 and 1973, respectively.

The new decision shouldn't immediately affect operations at Turkey Point, which is south of Miami along Biscayne Bay. The NRC, which oversees commercial nuclear power plants, had previously granted FPL a 20-year extension that will allow the reactors to run until 2032 and 2033.

The reversal gives environmental groups a chance to reiterate concerns that federal regulators didn’t adequately consider the risks of climate change and flooding from sea level rise when granting the last extension. The NRC plans to hold hearings after staff completes a new site-specific environmental impact statement.

The environmental group Beyond Nuclear has challenged the adequacy of an outdated generic environmental impact statement that the NRC had previously relied on for the license extensions.

Attorney Diane Curran said the agency had been relying on an impact statement prepared in 1996 and revised in 2013 that addressed only the environmental impacts of extending reactor license terms from 40 years out to 60 years. Extending the licenses to 2052 and 2053 would mean 80 years of operation.

“NRC researchers have acknowledged, however, that operating a reactor beyond 60 years poses unique safety and environmental issues related to the age-related degradation of safety equipment," Curran said. "This decision paves the way for a hard look at those significant concerns.”

FPL has previously said rising sea levels and other climate factors won’t compromise operations of the reactors, the Miami Herald reported.

Besides the reversal at Turkey Point, the NRC also reversed a license extension for the Peach Bottom nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. Days after taking office in January 2021, President Joe Biden named Democrats to take over the NRC and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The agencies have been reevaluating decisions made by Republican-led panels under former President Donald Trump, including the 2019 decision on Turkey Point.

Guest Column: It’s time to end Florida’s “welfare for the wealthy” and expand solar power

Kevin Doyle
Sat, February 26, 2022

Kevin Doyle is the Florida Executive Director for Consumer Energy Alliance, which seeks to ensure American families and businesses have access to reliable, affordable, and environmentally sound resources.

As we continue our solid growth in solar usage all across the Sunshine state, it’s well past time for Florida lawmakers to get rid of what the Wall Street Journal calls “welfare for the wealthy” and make solar accessible for all of us. Because of outdated state laws called “net-metering,” now high-income Floridians who invest in solar to generate renewable energy for their homes are enjoying the financial benefits.

When solar was just getting started, net metering made sense. No, it does not. We are all paying for it, including the less fortunate, while more well-off Floridians reap the rewards.

A proposal is moving through the Florida Legislature to update Florida’s net metering laws and reduce this unfair subsidy.


Senate Bill 1024 by Sen. Jennifer Bradley and House Bill 741 by Rep. Lawrence McClure will bring balance back to utility bills so that all customers are equitably contributing to the grid’s infrastructure and have an equal opportunity to utilize solar energy.

Under Florida’s current net metering laws, utilities compensate rooftop solar customers for the excess energy they produce at retail rates. Retail rates can be up to 10 times higher than what a utility would pay for the same energy from other sources. In addition, customers with rooftop solar avoid much of the costs we all pay to support the power grid.

Maintaining a strong and resilient power grid is critically important to the reliability, especially in a state prone to hurricanes and other natural disasters. Even customers with rooftop solar depend on the grid to provide power when their solar panels cannot, such as during the night, during storms and when their demand for energy exceeds the supply their solar panels can produce.

When utilities pay more for power from rooftop solar homes and those same customers are not contributing to the grid’s infrastructure needs, costs are shifted to other customers. As a result, low-income households who can’t afford to invest in rooftop solar end up paying the lion’s share to maintain reliability.

Florida has made great strides in renewable energy production. Through investments in large-scale solar generation, we are now fourth in the nation for total solar power capacity. Florida continues to increase our portfolio of renewable energy sources, which benefits all customers, not just the wealthy. And more is on the way.

As residential solar power becomes less expensive to install and continues to grow in popularity, it is essential that we modernize net metering incentives and ensure all customers are treated equitably by the state’s power grid.

The proposed legislation directs the Florida Public Service Commission to review the current incentive structure to ensure all costs are fairly allocated, and that the wealthy don’t utilize solar under a system where the rest of us pay more. And to be fair the proposal also grandfathers in customers who have already invested in rooftop solar so they can maintain their current benefits for a decade.

It’s time to end Florida’s “welfare for the wealthy” and get serious about expanding our use of solar power. I am grateful for Senate Bill 1024 by Sen. Jennifer Bradley and House Bill 741 by Rep. Lawrence McClure, which will bring balance back to consumers’ utility bills and ensure all customers pay equitably for reliability.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Outdated state laws need to change for solar energy

Pressure is mounting to strip secretive Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich as owner of Chelsea Football Club

Ashley Lutz

FORTUNE
Thu, February 24, 2022

Russia's invasion of Ukraine gives new ammunition to the argument that billionaire Roman Abramovich should be stripped of his ownership of Chelsea Football Club, one of the biggest and most successful soccer clubs in Europe.

The notoriously secretive Abramovich, who made his billions in oil and is reportedly close to Vladimir Putin, became the London club's outright owner in 2003. Since his investment, Chelsea has won 18 major trophies, including two Champions League titles, the most prestigious pan-European competition.

Over that nearly 20-year span, Abramovich has become a celebrity in the English media, and something of a stand-in for the many ultrawealthy Russians who have moved to England in general and London in particular. Earlier this month, The Times reported that £1.5 billion worth of UK property had been purchased by Russians with links to the Kremlin, nearly £430 million of which was in Westminster alone. Many critics have nicknamed the capital "Londongrad."

The escalating conflict in Ukraine has intensified scrutiny around Abramovich's wealth and his close relationship to Putin. Last month, The Athletic reported that Chelsea owes Abramovich at least $2 billion right now; Abramovich's net worth is around $15 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Labour MP Chris Bryant is leading the charge within Parliament to kick Abramovich out of his west London perch atop Chelsea. On Thursday, he said during Business Questions at the House of Commons that he had access to documents from 2019 linking Abramovich to "malign activity."

In 2021, Abramovich sued the author Catherine Belton for reporting in her book "Putin's People" that Abramovich had acted "covertly at his [Putin's] direction" in multiple business deals, including his acquisition of Chelsea. That lawsuit ultimately settled.

Chris Bryant has urged Boris Johnson's government to seize Abramovich's UK assets, including Chelsea and his London-based investment company Millhouse LLC, the BBC reports.

"Surely Mr Abramovich should no longer be able to own a football club in this country? Surely we should be looking at seizing some of his assets ... and making sure that other people who have had tier 1 visas like this are not engaged in malign activity in the UK," Bryant said, according to The Guardian.

Bryant told MPs that the Home Office document about Abramovich from 2019 suggests the oligarch shouldn't be allowed to live in the UK. His 15-bedroom mansion, just behind Kensington Palace, and other UK properties have been estimated to be worth more than $250 million.

"As part of HMG's [Her Majesty's Government] Russia strategy aimed at targeting illicit finance and malign activity, Abramovich remains of interest to HMG due to his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices. An example of this is Abramovich admitting in court proceedings that he paid for political influence," the document reads.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Abramovich was "already facing sanctions," but he later walked that back, with his spokesperson saying he had "misspoke." Abramovich was not part of the several series of sanctions announced by Johnson, the largest ever levied by the UK.

The UK has already announced sanctions targeting Russian banks and billionaires.

Abramovich's oil wealth has been under scrutiny for years, and in 2018, he withdrew his application for a UK investor visa amid mounting criticism. He's been using an Israeli passport to get into the country, and even lived a nomadic existence on his fleet of yachts for a while when he was denied entry to the UK.

After he was denied entry in 2018, Abramovich abandoned plans to build a new $1 billion stadium for Chelsea.

The new sanctions and calls to action against Russian money are just the beginning of a likely shake-up in Western Europe stemming from the war.

Political pressure had separately been building for Europe's top soccer body, the UEFA, to strip Russia of hosting the Champions League final in May, and to cut off its massive sponsorship deal with Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy giant, with the EU Parliament one of the voices calling for action. After Thursday's invasion, The Athletic reported that UEFA will move the Champions League Final away from St. Petersburg's Gazprom Arena.

[This report has been updated with additional information on Chris Bryant's remarks about Abramovich, Boris Johnson's statement about potential sanctions, and the fate of the Champions League Final in St. Petersburg.]

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Wealthy Russians who parked money in Florida's 'Little Moscow' worry they'll be blacklisted from buying luxury real estate

Hillary Hoffower
Fri, February 25, 2022

Sunny Isles, Florida.Meinzahn/Getty Images


Sunny Isles, Florida, is known as "Little Moscow" because of the many Russian elites who live there.


They're worried sanctions could prevent them from buying real estate.


Experts say it's likely they won't be severely affected.

Sunny Isles, Florida, has long been an escape for Russia's wealthy and elite, who have purchased so much luxury property in the area that it's become known as "Little Moscow" and "Moscow by the Sea."

"They love to be here, and they like to spend their money and enjoy their life," Lana Bell, a Russian real-estate agent, told the News Nation correspondent Brian Entin on Monday.

President Joe Biden issued sanctions this week that target Russia's elite and their families and restrict the Kremlin's ability to access Western financial institutions. Though people in Little Moscow have been worried the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict will threaten their lifestyle and blacklist them from buying American real estate, Entin reported, Bell said it hadn't been a problem. Experts told the Miami Herald's Michael Wilner the sanctions in place were unlikely to have a strong effect in South Florida. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday showed the tensions were far from over.

"We are extending the reach of US sanctions to prevent the elites close to Putin from using their kids to hide assets, evade costs, and squander the resources of the Russian people," a National Security Council official told the Miami Herald. "This is a new approach."

Anders Åslund, a Swedish economist and the author of "Russia's Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy," doesn't think this will affect the Russian rich in the greater Miami region that Little Moscow is in. He told Wilner that the Miami Russians weren't powerful enough to feel the sanction burn.

"These are comfortable people, rather than the top people," he said.
Florida's Russian rich

In Sunny Isles, condos can cost as much as $35 million. The most expensive home in the area listed on Sotheby's is $13.9 million. It's an area where the Trump brand is dominant, which The Washington Post reported was part of the appeal among Russian investors looking to move their money in the post-Soviet economy.

Jose Lima, a salesperson for the company that developed the region's Trump towers, told The Post in 2016 that Russian speakers bought about one-third of the 500 units he sold.

But Russian influence stretches beyond Sunny Isles. From Hollywood to Fisher Island, Russians have spent years snapping up properties along Florida's southeastern coast. Experts told Wilner that illicit financing had helped fuel the trend, though it's not all related to dirty money. They estimated that Russia's elite had more than $1 trillion in offshore accounts, which they said was disproportionally held in South Florida property.

So far, Russia's richest billionaires have been affected by the rising conflict the most. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the richest 22 of them lost $39 billion in one day.

While many of the Little Moscow Russians didn't want to be identified when talking to News Nation's Entin, they did tell him off camera that they supported Russian President Vladimir Putin.

BABA YAGA

Ukrainian woman says Russian troops should carry seeds so flowers grow where they die



Sarah Sicard
Thu, February 24, 2022

As Russian troops continue to invade Ukraine in what President Vladimir Putin has called a “special military operation,” accounts of what is going on on the ground are beginning to surface.

With wailing air-raid sirens, families in Kharkiv sheltering in train stations, and lines forming at gas stations, the scene being painted is growing increasingly grim.

But one badass Ukrainian woman isn’t backing down, according to Ukraine World, a news organization run by Internews Ukraine.

According to a recording the news site obtained and shared to Twitter, the unidentified woman reportedly confronted Russian troops, asked why they were there, and suggested they place sunflower seeds in their pockets so that flowers may bloom where they fall on the soil of her country.



The video has been retweeted more than 5,000 times with viewers around the world lauding the Ukrainian woman for her bravery.

Oil companies, union reach deal on U.S. refinery workers pact


A Marathon Petroleum banner covers an Andeavor sign 

outside the El Paso refinery in El Paso

Fri, February 25, 2022
By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON (Reuters) -Oil companies led by Marathon Petroleum and the United Steelworkers (USW) agreed to a new national contract on Friday for 30,000 U.S. workers in refineries, chemical plants, and pipelines, the company and the union said.

Once the deal is ratified, workers will receive a 12% pay increase over its four-year term, said three sources familiar with the matter.

"We’re pleased to have reached a mutually satisfactory four-year pattern labor agreement with the United Steelworkers," Marathon spokesman Jamal Kheiry said.

USW International President Thomas Conway said in a statement the membership played a key role.

"The industry came to the table with demands that would have undermined generations of collective bargaining progress," Conway said. "Thanks to the solidarity of the membership and the hard work of our (national oil bargaining policy) committee, we have achieved a fair agreement."

Both sides did not disclose terms of the agreement.

Negotiations between Marathon and the Steelworkers had been stalled until early this week when meetings resumed, the sources said.

Talks stopped on Jan. 31 when USW negotiators rejected a 9% increase over three years and extended the current contract. basis. The current contract will remain in effect until the new contract is ratified.

USW local unions will now combine the national agreement with agreements on site-specific issues at each refinery, chemical plant and pipeline and put the combined contracts to ratification votes.

After talks stopped on Jan. 31, the USW carried out a series of protests outside refineries across the United States, which, the sources said, pushed other companies to pressure Marathon in restarting talks and increasing the pay offer as well as moving on other issues.

One issue long sought by the USW is agreement to appoint union health and safety representatives at each facility which is included in the new contract.

The pay increases are not evenly split between the four years, the sources said.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Leslie Adler, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio and Diane Craft)

I'm An OB-GYN. Here's Why I Decided To Learn How To Provide Abortions.


Sarah Garber
Fri, February 25, 2022


Training to be an obstetrician-gynecologist is both challenging and extraordinary. In a single 24-hour, sleepless shift as an OB-GYN resident, I might have the privilege of delivering a newborn to a joyfully tearful couple, bear witness to the unimaginable pain of a family processing an intrauterine fetal death, meet a patient in the emergency department and transport her to emergent surgery for an intra-abdominal bleed, and confirm the code status of a woman with terminal ovarian cancer.

On my toughest days, the days when physical and emotional exhaustion weigh heavy, blood soaks through my shoes, and my eyes well up with tears from the trauma I’ve witnessed, I think about why I chose to become an OB-GYN: to provide judgment-free, empathetic, supportive care to patients.

This care includes learning to provide abortions, a procedure I believe is an integral part of health care. In the United States, 1 in 4 women will have an abortion by the age of 45, so comprehensive reproductive health care must include abortion provision. As legislation across the country becomes increasingly hostile toward abortion providers, with threats of federal prison and cumbersome fines mounting and the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned, it feels important to share why I feel so strongly about protecting the right to provide abortion care.

Most anti-abortion legislators and advocates will go through their entire careers without ever spending significant time on a Labor and Delivery floor. I often wonder if Mike DeWine, the anti-abortion governor of Ohio, where I practice, understands how dangerous pregnancy can be to maternal life. I wonder if he can imagine what it’s like to watch a 14-year-old girl give birth while her abusive partner sits in the corner, to feel adrenaline flood your body while you struggle to gain control of a massive hemorrhage, to watch a patient seize from preeclampsia. Unfortunately, this happens more than it should where I work in Cleveland ― where people are dramatically affected by lack of access to care and the impact of systemic racism on health care. Training here is where I learned that pregnancy is not benign.

It strikes me as ironic that society has politicized the terms “pro-life” and “pro-choice” when I feel I am pro-life, working to protect the lives and health of the patients in front of me, while simultaneously understanding that not all patients truly have the “choice” to carry a pregnancy to term and care for themselves and their families.

If I’m being honest, I understand and acknowledge the perspective that there is moral complexity to terminating a pregnancy. It is not insignificant to me to end a potential life. However, that discomfort is far surpassed by my knowledge that for every termination I perform, the patient has been counseled thoroughly on all their options, including adoption, and that only they can understand what is best for themself, their body, and their current or future family.

I’m also aware that because patients understand what is best for themselves, their bodies and their families, prohibiting access to abortions will not stop abortions, but it will make access less equitable. Across the globe, mortality from complications of unsafe abortions is highest in areas where access is the most limited and where terminations occur outside of the clinical context. Legislators will not be the ones working in the emergency rooms and seeing the influx of sick patients coming in with complications from unsafe abortions because they decided to take matters into their own hands. It is us, young doctors, who will see the hemorrhages, perforated bowels and septic shock that our oldest teachers remember well.

I anticipate that if abortion restrictions increase in Ohio, my toughest days ― the ones where my physical and mental exhaustion is pushed to its limits ― will involve caring for patients affected by inequitable access to abortion care. Yes, self-managed medication abortions may pose a safe alternative to the traditional abortion provision that currently exists. But still, even with other options, it has been well-demonstrated that restrictive abortion legislation disproportionately burdens women of color, whether that be through delayed access and barriers to health care or through the known increased pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality that affects women of color in this country.

My job is both challenging and extraordinary. On the best days, I deliver healthy babies and cry tears of joy alongside happy couples welcoming new family members. On the worst days, I cry tears of sadness alongside devastated families who have lost the lives of their loved ones. For today, my hope is to paint a picture of the realities of what limiting access to abortion care looks like and feels like for patients and their providers, so that tomorrow I can continue to provide quality holistic care to the patients I serve.

Sarah Garber (she/her/hers) is an OB-GYN resident in Ohio. She graduated from the University of Michigan for medical school, where she completed the Global Health and Disparities Program. She is passionate about medical education, physician wellness, narrative medicine and reproductive justice for all. She has written and published multiple narrative essays in journals such as BMJ Opinion and Academic Medicine. All opinions expressed are her own.

Putin’s allies abandon him over Ukraine invasion

Erin Doherty

AXIOS
Sat, February 26, 2022

Several of Russia's closest allies and former Soviet satellite states have sharply rebuked President Vladimir Putin over his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Why it matters: As the Western world seeks to make Putin an international pariah, even his closest allies are resisting showing support for his assault on Ukraine.

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Driving the news: Czech President Milos Zeman and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, both historically strong pro-Russian voices in the European Union, condemned the affront as "an unprovoked act of aggression," AP reports.

"Russia has committed a crime against peace," Zeman said.

Zeman, who earlier this week insisted that Russia wouldn't attack Ukraine, changed course and has called for harsh sanctions against Russia, including pulling out of the SWIFT financial system.

Orban, who has pursued a diplomatic and economic strategy with Putin called "Eastern Opening," condemned "Russia's military action."

“Hungary’s position is clear: we stand by Ukraine, we stand by Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” said Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijijarto, per AP.

What's happening: Kazakhstan, one of Russia's closest allies, denied a request for its troops to join the attack on Ukraine, per NBC News.

The Czech Republic closed Russian consulates in the country and stopped issuing visas to Russians except for humanitarian cases.

The president of Bulgaria, which was Russia's closest ally during the Cold War, said the invasion was "absolutely inadmissible."

The ruling coalition leaders in Romania called Russia "the architect of the worst security crisis since World War II."

Moldovan President Maia Sandu said Russia’s attacks were launched "in violation of international norms," and the international community "unanimously condemns these military actions."

And Germany and Italy, which have strong economic ties to Russia, are both poised to support a European Union measure to cut Russia from the international SWIFT financial system.

Between the lines: China, which has deepened economic and military ties with Russia in recent years, has straddled the fence between supporting Russia's "legitimate security concerns" and calling for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity to be respected.

China abstained from a UN resolution on Friday criticizing Russia's attack, a departure from its usual practice of vetoing Western-led measures.

Go deeper: The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis

Axios' Zachary Basu contributed reporting.