Hyundai is the latest brand to pause advertising on ” X” due to antisemitism.
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NYPD arrests more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University on Thursday.
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Students at more universities announce solidarity rallies after 108 pro-Palestinian activists are arrested at Columbia
Originally Published: 19 APR 24 04:18 ET
Updated: 19 APR 24 10:55 ET
By Dalia Faheid, Caroll Alvarado and John Towfighi, CNN
New York (CNN) — Dozens of activists denouncing Israel’s war in Gaza remain camped out on the West Lawn of Columbia University on Friday, a day after New York City police arrested more than 100 people on suspicion of criminal trespass during a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the campus.
Now, students at several other universities are planning rallies in solidarity with the Columbia University demonstrators.
The University of North Carolina Students for Justice in Palestine is holding a solidarity rally Friday. The Boston University Students for Justice in Palestine announced an “emergency rally.” The Students for Justice in Palestine at The Ohio State University announced an “emergency protest supporting Gaza solidarity encampment.” And the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee announced a student walkout “in solidarity with steadfast Columbia students.”
Demonstrators at Columbia were “peacefully protesting for divestment from genocide,” said one of the organizers, Columbia University Apartheid Divest.
At least 33,797 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s war against Hamas started in October, according to figures from the enclave’s health ministry. Israel launched ongoing attacks in Gaza after a spate of Hamas attacks in Israel that killed 1,200 people in October.
What spurred the arrests at Columbia
Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik sent a letter Thursday to NYPD requesting they remove people who were occupying the South Lawn of the university’s campus after being told that they “are in violation of the University’s rules and policies” and are trespassing, according to the letter, which was released by the university.
More than 108 arrests were made, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a news conference Thursday evening.
The protest and arrests atColumbiacome as universities across the nation grapple with how to respond to the hundreds of protests and counterprotests held by students on campuses since the war in Gaza began.
Here’s what we know about the protest atColumbia and subsequent arrests so far:
Why students are protesting
The protests began Wednesday. Pro-Palestinian students, faculty and others set up tents and signs that morning on the campus in upper Manhattan on a day that Shafik, the university president, was in Washington, DC, to testify to a House committee over the school’s response to antisemitism.
The encampment was organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) – a student-led coalition of more than 100 organizations – Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace, to protest what they describe as the university’s “continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and military occupation of Palestine,” according to CUAD’s news release.
“The Gaza Solidarity Encampment was established to pressure Columbia to divest all funds, including the endowment, from corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and military occupation in Palestine,” the release said.
CNN sought comment from Columbia University and the university’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing for more information on their investments and for comment on the protest organizers’ allegations.
Ry, a senior at Columbia who declined to provide his last name to protect his identity, told CNN he had been camping at the campus before arrests began.
“We as students are using our privilege to stand for people who have been oppressed for far too long and we hope other universities take the call and do the same,” said Ry, who is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, was among those arrested Thursday, a police official told CNN. The official said Hirsi is being processed and will likely receive a summons for a criminal trespass charge then be released from custody.
Hirsi, an organizer with Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, said earlier Thursday she and two other students at Barnard College – located across the street from Columbia University – were suspended for participating in pro-Palestinian protests.
“Columbia has shown over and over again that they don’t care about student rights, they don’t care about student voices, they don’t care about student safety,” protester Aidan Parisi told CNN affiliate WCBS.
University president asked NYPD to remove demonstrators
Shafik wrote a letter to the NYPD on Thursday asking for the department’s help to “remove these individuals,” and said those students occupying the South Lawn of the university’s Morningside Heights campus had been informed of their suspension.
“The actions of these individuals are in violation of University rules and policies,” the president told police in the letter. “The University provided multiple notices and warnings and informed the encampment participants that they must disperse or face immediate discipline.”
In an email to students obtained by CNN, Shafik said Thursday that she authorized the move “out of an abundance of concern for the safety of Columbia’s campus.”
“I took this extraordinary step because these are extraordinary circumstances,” Shafik wrote. “The individuals who established the encampment violated a long list of rules and policies.”
Calling the protest a “disturbance,” Adams said in a news conference Thursday evening that the protesters violated university rules and that “NYPD officers moved in to ensure the safety of the campus, the students and the staff.” He added that, “the NYPD assured there was no violence or injuries” during the protest.
“The students that were arrested were peaceful, offered no resistance whatsoever and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner,” added John Chell, NYPD Chief of Patrol.
Most of the people taken into custody will be summoned for trespassing, while two people were charged with trespass as well as obstruction of governmental administration, authorities said at the news conference.
In the past, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has declined to prosecute or deferred prosecution cases where large numbers of people were arrested as part of civil disobedience.
The arrests came a day after Shafik testified over the university’s response to antisemitism during a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing. The university faced criticism for its handling of antisemitic incidents on campus and for hiring a professor who allegedly expressed support for Hamas on social media. That professor has been fired, Shafik said Wednesday.
In her testimony,Shafik saidthe core of the university’s mission is to “ensure that all members of our community may engage in our cherished traditions of free expression and open debate,” quoting from the school’s rules of university conduct.
How the protests at Columbia unfolded
Competing pro-Palestine and pro-Israel rallies grew into Wednesday afternoon as more protesters gathered after the hearing.
Several people waving Palestinian flags shouted at police officers, who had begun boxing the protesters in with barricades, CNN affiliate WCBS reported.
During Wednesday’s protests, Columbia closed the gates to campus, only allowing peoplewith university IDs to enter. Many of the pro-Palestinian protesters affiliated with Columbia camped on the campus overnight.
Four people were arrested overnight during the protests, the NYPD said. Police did not specify what charges were filed and gave no additional details about the arrests.
The NYPD used bullhorns on Thursday to tell protesters they would be arrested unless they dispersed immediately. Large crowds of Columbia students on the perimeter refused to leave and chanted “Shame on you!” and “the students united will never be defeated.”
Shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday, a group of at least 200 protesters moved to an area about two blocks away from the school campus near the NYPD staging site and police said they would soon disperse the crowd, CNN witnessed. Officers in helmets, carrying batons, were seen lining up in the street surrounding the group.
Online video appears to show NYPD officers arresting pro-Palestinian protesters outside Columbia University early Thursday morning. Detained students were escorted off campus by the NYPD in zip tie handcuffs.
The university warned of suspension
In a Wednesday letter to students, Columbia University officials said participation in the encampment and refusal to leave the campus would result in suspension for students involved.
“If you are a Columbia student and you do not adhere to this final request by 9:00 p.m. today, April 17, 2024, the University will take the interim measure of suspending you pending investigation for possible violation of multiple University policies,” the university said in the letter.
“During the suspension, you may not go to class or hand in work related to courses and therefore may not be able to complete your current courses. Your CUID will be deactivated, you will not have access to classrooms and other parts of campus and may not participate in University activities.”
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Protest
**This image is for use with this specific article only** New York City police officers in riot gear stand guard as demonstrators chant slogans outside the Columbia University campus in New York.
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19 Apr 24
Police
NYPD officers detain a person as pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside of Columbia University in New York City on April 18.
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19 Apr 24
Uber helping investigators after driver shot to death by Ohio man; both targeted by apparent scammer
Uber is helping investigators look into an account that sent a driver to the Ohio home where an 81-year-old man allegedly shot the woman to death
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Originally Published: 18 APR 24 14:31 ET
By Parija Kavilanz, CNN
New York (CNN) — Online furniture and home furnishings seller Wayfair is set to open its first-ever namesake store next month, the company announced Thursday.
The large-format store, clocking in at 150,000 square feet and located in Edens Plaza in Wilmette, Illinois, will open to shoppers on May 23. It will also feature an onsite restaurant called “The Porch,” the company said, taking a page out of Ikea’s store setup.
Although this will be the first brick-and-mortar location for the Wayfair brand, the company has tinkered with opening test stores for some of its other owned brands, including Joss & Main and AllModern.
But the move to expand its flagship Wayfair brands into physical stores comes as it struggles with sluggish sales and an increased need forspending on advertising.
“Wayfair’s online business has been tremendously successful at generating sales. Unfortunately, it is not profitable because of the amount of marketing that has to be done to attract and retain customers,” said Neil Saunders, retail industry analyst and managing director at GlobalData Retail.
Furniture stores need to always be advertising, Saunders added, because people generally don’t buy furniture very often. Wayfair constantly needs to remind customers that it even exists, as a result.
But it’s not just the big advertising spend that’s hobbling the company. Sales are down, too.
Wayfair posted a 1.8% drop in its annual sales in 2023, to $12 billion, and a net loss for the year. In January, the retailer laid off 1,650 workers, or 13% of its global workforce. This follows a separate round of layoffs in 2023 that eliminated 1,750 jobs.
Its CEO, Niraj Shah, who went viral for telling his employees that they should be working longer hours as well as blending work with their personal lives, explained the company’s hardships in an open letter. Wayfair “went overboard in hiring during a strong economic period,” he wrote,referencing the pandemic lockdowns when online shopping spiked as homebound families spruced up their apartments, houses and backyards, sparking a “dramatic surge” in demand that doubled Wayfair’s sales to $18 billion.
But, coming out of the pandemic, and with persistent inflation, buying highly discretionary big-ticket items like furniture quickly dropped off the shopping list for more budget-conscious consumers.
Saunders said the new store could help drive sales and give Wayfair a more visible presence in the market that will “throw a halo around the online operation.”
“It’s basically a recognition by Wayfair that people shop in an omnichannel way, and like to visit stores as well as use online. This is particularly important in furniture and finishings where people like to see and try out products before buying,” Saunders said.
Whether the store makes a difference to Wayfair’s financials remains to be seen. “If this store is successful then it could be the start of wider physical expansion for Wayfair,” Saunders said.
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Wayfair
**This image is for use with this specific article only** Wayfair is set to open its first physical store next month.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File via CNN Newsource
18 Apr 24
Originally Published: 18 APR 24 07:00 ET
Updated: 19 APR 24 06:39 ET
By Samantha Delouya, CNN
(CNN) — Last year, Netflix made a particularly risky bet by pushing users who share passwords to create their own accounts — but it’s paid off.
Netflix, the dominant player in streaming, added more than 9 million subscribers in the first three months of the year, hitting a record high of 269.6 million subscribers.
“It added more subscribers than many analysts, myself included, expected,” said eMarketer senior analyst Ross Benes. “This signals that password sharing was even more common than previously thought as Netflix keeps converting freeloader viewers into paid users.”
While the subscriber additions topped Wall Street’s estimates, the company still reported a drop in growth from its blowout fourth-quarter report, when Netflix added 13 million subscribers. Netflix announced Thursday that it plans to stop sharing its quarterly subscriber numbers in 2025.
The company also reported $9.37 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $5.28 for the first quarter, beating Wall Street’s estimates, according to FactSet.
However, the stock, which has been a darling of Wall Street this year, fell in after-hours trading.
Much of the company’s past growth and success, analysts say, has come from its old, well-established business model. In recent months, Netflix has made moves to expand and even radically reinvent its business in an effort to juice profit.
While streaming competitors like Disney+, Hulu, Max (owned by CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery) and Peacock work to draw in subscribers with original programming, Netflix has made big bets lately in live sports, video games, and in deals to license other providers’ content — all while transitioning from an advertising-free subscription service to a full-blown ad-supported juggernaut.
Netflix’s reinvention
For Netflix, last month’s Oscars were a disappointment: Though the streaming service led its rivals in nominations, it took home just one award, for best live-action short film. Going forward, the company seems to be moving away from what it was known for: spending its money on developing the big-budget films and TV shows able to win those awards.
The company’s first-quarter letter to shareholders laid out several goals to “sustain healthy growth long term,” including: “Improve the variety and quality of our entertainment — with more great TV shows and movies, a stronger slate of games and must-watch live programming.”
In recent months, after “Suits” exploded in popularity on the platform, Netflix has indicated that it plans to license more content from other studios. New generations are rediscovering iconic shows from the 90s and the early aughts, like “Seinfeld” and “Sex and the City” after they show up on Netflix’s platform.
“They’re getting tons of viewership on both original content and licensed content,” Alicia Reese, an equity analyst who covers Netflix for Wedbush Securities, said. “It’s productive and it’s cheaper for them.”
Netflix has also expanded into live and sports programming this year, encroaching on traditional TV’s domain. In February, Netflix aired its first-ever awards show, the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards, and announced a 10-year deal to air “WWE Raw” live, valued at more than $5 billion.
In the fight for eyeballs, Netflix has gotten creative, partneringwith Rockstar Games’ “Grand Theft Auto,” the wildly popular action-adventure video game franchise, to further push into the video game space.
“We’re stoked by the performance of GTA,” Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said in January. “We were in the top mobile game downloads for several weeks, which shows it was not only big for us, but big numbers for mobile gaming in general.”
Reese has faith in Netflix’s new direction.
“Netflix has that winning formula right now,” she said. “They have a lot of content of various types that keep people using the service at various price points.”
TV with ads, again
Reese said she believes Netflix also has other avenues of growth including the company’s newer advertising-supported subscription tier.
The ad tier, which costs $6.99 per month in the United States, significantly less than Netflix’s other subscription plans, has seen explosive growth since it was introduced in late 2022, according to the company. In January, Netflix’s president of advertising, Amy Reinhard, shared that Netflix’s ad-tier had more than 23 million users.
While the company did not share an updated number of ad-tier users, in Thursday’s shareholder letter, Netflix said its ads membership grew 65% quarter-over-quarter.
Reese said Netflix’s future growth could hinge on its success in the advertising space.
In January, Peters said the company aimed to snatch more ad dollars from traditional TV competitors.
“We know ad dollars follow engagement. We’ve got the most engaged audience so we believe we’re well positioned to capture some of that ad spend that shifts from linear to streaming,” he said.
Netflix will stop sharing quarterly subscribers
On the company’s earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters discussed the company’s decision to stop sharing quarterly paid subscriber numbers beginning in 2025.
“We’ve evolved, and we’re going to continue to evolve, developing our revenue model and adding things like advertising and our extra member features. Things that aren’t directly connected to number of members,” he said. “So, each incremental member has a different business impact.”
Benes from eMarketer, said Netflix’s decision to stop sharing subscriber numbers allows the company to “quit while its ahead and go out as the world heavyweight champ in subscribers”
“Netflix is emphasizing what benefits them,” Benes said. “The password sharing boosts will eventually recede and it will be very difficult to continue to add as many subscribers as they have added in the last few quarters.”
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Netflix
**This image is for use with this specific article only** The Netflix logo is seen on top of their office building in Hollywood, California, January 20, 2022.
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
18 Apr 24
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’
Since the start of this year, Netflix has released several shows that have generated excitement among fans, including the live-action “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
Robert Falconer/Netflix via CNN Newsource
18 Apr 24
‘WWE Raw’
**This image is for use with this specific article only** In January, Netflix announced it had acquired the exclusive rights to “WWE Raw” live, currently seen on Comcast’s USA cable network. According to a company filing, the 10-year deal is valued at more than $5 billion.
WWE/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
18 Apr 24
Originally Published: 18 APR 24 18:19 ET
Updated: 19 APR 24 11:06 ET
By Brian Fung, CNN
(CNN) — TikTok is again facing an imminent threat from Congress.
On Wednesday, House Republicans added a hot-button bill that could lead to a nationwide TikTok ban to a wide-ranging foreign aid package intended to help Israel and Ukraine.
House Speaker Mike Johnson aims to hold a vote on the aid package as early as Saturday. If approved, it could fast-track what has become the most serious risk to TikTok’s US business since former President Donald Trump first proposed a ban of the popular app in 2020.
An earlier version of the TikTok bill sailed through the House in March, but it has become bogged down in the Senate. By including it in the aid package, House Republicans hope to force the Senate to a quick vote on a measure supporters say is necessary to protect Americans’ personal data from the Chinese government.
Opponents, including TikTok and a range of civil society groups, have argued the bill risks violating TikTok users’ First Amendment rights.
In pressuring Senate colleagues to approve the TikTok bill alongside military equipment for Ukraine, House Republicans are angling to avoid the lengthy regular process that could delay a Senate vote on the app, which has 170 million US users. President Joe Biden has said he would sign the House TikTok bill if it reaches his desk.
The latest version of the TikTok bill contains some updates. For example, it sets out a nine-month timeframe for the app’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, to sell the social media company. If it misses the deadline, TikTok would be banned from US app stores.
That proposed time limit is longer than the roughly six months proposed in previous legislation. The new bill would also give the president the option to extend the deadline by another 90 days if he determines there’s been progress toward a sale.
The changes appear aimed at addressing concerns by some senators that the original six-month deadline was too short. Whether the revisions are enough to gain Senate approval, however, remains unclear, as some leading senators have signaled desires for a slower approach to a TikTok bill.
One key senator who was doubtful of the initial House TikTok bill appeared satisfied.
“I’m very happy that Speaker Johnson and House leaders incorporated my recommendation to extend the ByteDance divestment period from six months to a year,” said Washington Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, in a statement. “As I’ve said, extending the divestment period is necessary to ensure there is enough time for a new buyer to get a deal done. I support this updated legislation.”
For years, US policymakers have expressed fears that TikTok’s links to China through its parent company could allow the Chinese government unauthorized access to TikTok’s US user data. That information could potentially help the Chinese government identify intelligence targets or facilitate disinformation campaigns, they have said. Some other countries such as India have already banned TikTok.
TikTok has pushed back strongly against those claims, saying there is no evidence the Chinese government has accessed US user data to date and that the company has taken steps to insulate Americans’ personal information. That includes Project Texas, an initiative that involved moving TikTok’s US user data onto servers controlled and overseen by Oracle, the US technology giant.
Some policy experts say a more comprehensive way to deal with TikTok’s potential national security risks would be for Congress to pass a national privacy law that regulates how all businesses and organizations can handle Americans’ personal information.
This month, Cantwell and her Republican counterpart in the House, Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, unveiled a proposal that could do just that, breaking a yearslong deadlock over key issues including the scope and reach of a unified, national data privacy standard.
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TikTok phone
**This image is for use with this specific article only** In this photo illustration, the TikTok app is seen on a phone on March 13, 2024 in New York City. Congress is set to vote and pass a bill that could ban the popular app TikTok nationwide and be sent to the Senate for a vote.
Michael M Santiago/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
18 Apr 24
Phone
**This image is for use with this specific article only** A laptop keyboard and TikTok on App Store.
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
08 Mar 24
Originally Published: 19 APR 24 08:02 ET
Updated: 19 APR 24 09:02 ET
By Chris Isidore and Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN
New York (CNN) — Tesla has been ordered to recall nearly 4,000 of its Cybertrucks due to an accelerator pedal that can stick in place when pressed down.
The cause, according to the regulator: soap.
“An unapproved change introduced lubricant (soap) to aid in the component assembly of the pad onto the accelerator pedal. Residual lubricant reduced the retention of the pad to the pedal,” the NHTSA wrote in the recall document.
Tesla has yet to detail how many of the futuristic looking Cybertrucks it has produced. But it has said that it would be slow ramping up production of the vehicle, which had its first deliveries in late November.
The NHTSA said the recall affects “all Model Year (‘MY’) 2024 Cybertruck vehicles manufactured from November 13, 2023, to April 4, 2024.”
That means the 3,878 trucks being recalled are likely many, if not all, of the trucks now on US roads.
Documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the recall say that “when high force is applied to the pad on the accelerator pedal, the pad may dislodge, which may cause the pedal to become trapped in the interior trim above the pedal.”
The safety regulator said workers assembling the trucks at Tesla’s factory near Austin, Texas, improperly used soap to aid in the component assembly of the pad onto the accelerator pedal.
The accelerator sticking issue was first raised in social media and online discussion group posts.
On Monday, NHTSA told CNN it had reached out to Tesla requesting more information on the issue.
Telsa did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company this month told employees it would lay off roughly 10% of its global workforce.
Unlike many Tesla recalls, this one cannot be fixed with a simple over-the-air software update. Tesla will have to have owners respond to letters and bring the Cybertrucks into its service centers for a repair at no charge.
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Tesla
**This image is for use with this specific article only** Nearly 4,000 of the new Tesla Cybertrucks are being recalled because the accelerator can become stuck in the down position.
Chengdu Economic Daily/VCG/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
19 Apr 24
Originally Published: 19 APR 24 09:16 ET
By Andrew Carey, Svitlana Vlasova and Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN
Kyiv (CNN) — From the top down, the assessment of Ukraine’s armed forces’ position in fighting Russia is bleaker than at any point since the early months of the war.
The situation on the eastern front has “worsened significantly,” the military’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said a few days ago – a message backed up by video evidence, analysts, and interviews conducted by CNN with Ukrainian soldiers.
As the United States Congress prepares for a crucial weekend vote that could unlock $60bn of military aid for Ukraine, frontline troops find themselves withdrawing from key terrain, or getting pounded from the air as they try to hold on to important towns.
A key location is the large village of Ocheretyne, which sits on a ridge line to the northwest of Avdiivka, an industrial town captured by Russia in February. Higher ground is typically prized for being easier to defend.
DeepState, a Ukrainian organization which monitors battlefield developments daily, assesses a series of Russian advances in recent days along the railway line east into the village – about 4.5 kilometers (nearly 3 miles) in total. The group published drone video showing what it said were Russian soldiers in a trench near the railway line – visual confirmation of their advance.
Ahead of the encroaching Russian forces, Ukrainian volunteers have been evacuating civilians from Ocheretyne and other villages, posting videos on social media showing older residents leaving badly destroyed apartment buildings, along with their pets, and with belongings packed into cardboard boxes. As they leave, multiple explosions can be heard in the distance.
Advances into Ocheretyne are also being reported by Russian military bloggers, as well as into nearby Novokalynove – about 8 kilometers (5 miles) to the east – threatening to overwhelm a part of Ukraine’s defensive lines in the eastern Donetsk region.
“The large fortification between Ocheretyno and Novokalynovo may soon be in [Russian] hands. Assault groups have already entered Novokalynovo from the southeast and continue to advance,” one Russian military blogger, Boris Rozhin, wrote on Telegram on Thursday afternoon, using the Russian spelling for the two settlements.
Russian gains there in recent days are just the latest successes for Moscow’s forces, which broke through Ukraine’s defensive lines further to the south around the villages of Tonenke and Orlivka at the end of March.
An officer with Ukraine’s Eastern Command told CNN the Russian offensive in the area was clearly aimed at pushing towards the town of Pokrovsk, a key road intersection about 30 kilometers to the west.
The officer, who asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak on the record, said that if Russian forces succeeded in gaining and holding Ocheretyne, it could bring vital Ukrainian logistics routes, linking three key military hubs – Kostiantynivka, Pokrovsk and Velyka Novosilka – under Russian fire control.
US aid package vote
An acute shortage of artillery munitions among Ukraine’s armed forces is the primary reason for Kyiv’s frontline withdrawals, as President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told a US interviewer.
“Our artillery ratio is 1 to 10 (in Russia’s favor),” he said, adding that Russian forces are “pushing us back every day.”
Artillery shells are among a sweep of different weapons and armament types Ukraine could expect to receive from the US if Congress approves new military support. Held up in various guises for about six months, a new aid package is expected to come to the floor of the House for a vote on Saturday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed confidence the bill will pass, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper: “We know what the timetable is… we know the urgency in Ukraine… and we’re going to stand for freedom and make sure that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin doesn’t march through Europe.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also appealed to lawmakers to approve the legislation, acknowledging that the battlefield was shifting “in Russia’s favor.”
“We are seeing (Russian forces) make incremental gains, we’re seeing the Ukrainians be challenged in terms of holding the line — they’re doing a very good job, a credible job — but in order to continue to do that, they’re going to need… the right materials, the right munitions, the weapons to be able to do that,” he told the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee. If passed by the House, the bill would still need Senate approval – though that is seen as more likely after the upper chamber gave its support to similar Ukraine aid legislation earlier in the year.
About 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Ocheretyne, on another piece of higher ground, the town of Chasiv Yar is also firmly in Russian sights. Syrskyi, the Ukrainian Armed Forces chief, has said he believes the Kremlin has ordered its capture by May 9, the day Russia celebrates victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Multiple reports describe heavy fighting taking place in an arc of about 120 degrees to the east of the town, taking in villages from Kalynivka to the northeast to Ivanivske and Klishchiivka to the southeast. Some of the battles are taking place in areas recaptured by Ukraine when it went on the offensive last summer.
“The situation around the town of Chasiv Yar is difficult,” Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Ukrainian Ground Forces’ “Khortytsia” operational-strategic group, told CNN. “The enemy is currently using air superiority, missiles, and large-caliber artillery ammunition, trying to reach its goal of reaching the borders of Donetsk region,” he said.
The spokesman described some of the Russian ground tactics, saying that assault groups would sweep forward towards Ukrainian positions, probing for possible weak spots, but then retreat without attempting to secure positions.
Yurii Fedorenko, commander of the “Achilles” drone battalion, part of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade, agreed that Russian forces had not made significant territorial gains in the last few days but said troops in villages outlying Chasiv Yar were engaged in fierce combat.
“The war is for every house, every street, every intersection. Some positions are changing hands,” he told CNN in a phone conversation from the region. If Russia succeeded in capturing Chasiv Yar, he said, it would bring cities like Kostiantynivka and Kramatorsk under Russian fire control – and represent a major shift in fortunes in Donetsk.
Until it moves to take the town, Russia’s tactics appear clear – to destroy it from the air. Videos posted on pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels show a series of massive explosions in Chasiv Yar, almost certainly caused by FAB guided aerial bombs, which are dropped from Russian aircraft sometimes dozens of kilometers behind front lines.
FAB bombs, which can weigh up to 1.5 tonnes, around half consisting of high explosives, have been used by Russia in ever increasing numbers since they were introduced in the early part of 2023, and have proved devastating in their effectiveness.
“It will not be easy for Russia to take the town, but their conditional advantage is that they will not have the job of preserving the settlement. They will simply demolish it with air strikes after which there will be nothing to defend, just like they did with Mariinka and Avdiivka,” Voloshyn told CNN.
Ukraine’s vulnerability in the face of the FAB threat highlights another huge need for Kyiv – more air defenses. Officials point out that an increase in the number of Patriot systems, for instance, would not just help defend cities like Kharkiv from missile attack but would blunt the threat from Russian warplanes dropping huge bombs on front-line targets like Chasiv Yar.
Zelensky is expected to press key allies to donate more such air defense systems to Ukraine when he addresses defense ministers Friday at a virtual meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council.
Victoria Butenko contributed to this report.
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Employee
**This image is for use with this specific article only** An employee handles 155 mm caliber shells after the manufacturing process at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on April 16.
Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
19 Apr 24
Raids
**This image is for use with this specific article only** A Ukrainian police officer walks past a destroyed residential building, following artillery and air raids in the village of Ocheretyne, near the town of Avdiivka, in the Donetsk region, April 15.
Anatolii Stepanov/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
19 Apr 24
Troops
**This image is for use with this specific article only** Ukrainian service members prepare shells next to a self-propelled howitzer at a position near a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on April 3.
Reuters via CNN Newsource
19 Apr 24
Kyiv
**This image is for use with this specific article only** A photograph taken on April 11, 2024, near the town of Chasiv Yar, in Donetsk region, shows smoke rising from fires after bombing.
Anatolii Stepanov/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
19 Apr 24
A disturbing scene was caught on camera in Buncombe County, North Carolina, where a group of people were pulling bear cubs out of a tree, all for a few selfies. CNN affiliate WLOS reports.
Source: WLOS, CNN
Embargo: Greenville-Spartanburg, SC-Asheville, NC
Footage Type:
TRT: 01:42
Click The Link Below To Watch Video
https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/240418090929-wlos-bear-cubs-vpx-1.jpg?c=original
Originally Published: 17 APR 24 18:45 ET
Updated: 17 APR 24 20:30 ET
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — Congratulations are in order for singer Ashanti and rapper Nelly.
The reunited couple have gone public with both a pregnancy and their engagement. They shared the news exclusively with Essence magazine, which posted an announcement Wednesday on social media.
“This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation,” Ashanti, 43, said in a statement to the publication. “Motherhood is something that I have looked forward to, and sharing this with my family, fiancé, and loyal fans, who have been so supportive of my career, is an amazing experience.”
Ashanti had some fun with the news on her own verified Instagram account, with a video in which she’s seen preparing for a performance.
When her mother and manager Tina Y. Douglas asks her how much time she’s going to need in the clip, Ashanti quips, “I’m gonna need about nine months” as he mother gasps and the screen goes to a logo for Proov, an at-home fertility and hormone marker test.
In a statement to CNN, the singer said, “As you know, I am so close with my mom and dad, so I am looking forward to being an amazing parent to our clild, like they were to me and my sister. Nelly and I are so excited to welcome and love on Baby Haynes.” (Nelly’s real name is Cornell Iral Haynes Jr.)
Ashanti and Nelly, 49, confirmed in September that they were reunited as a couple, 20 years after they were first linked together in a relationship that ended after a decade.
Ashanti attended the MTV VMA Awards around that time, where Nelly was a scheduled performer. She carried a clutch with a photo of her and Nelly from when they attended the awards ceremony together back in 2003.
During an interview with E! News at the event, Ashanti said she thought the bag was “cute” and was asked if she and the “Hot in Here” star were in a relationship again.
After some laughing, she responded coyly with, “I mean…yeah.”
Nelly also came clean during an appearance with “Love and Hip Hop Atlanta” stars Rasheeda and Kirk Frost on her “Boss Moves with Rasheeda” show last fall.
“We cool again,” Nelly said. “I think it surprised both of us. It wasn’t anything that was planned.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for Nelly for additional comment.
The-CNN-Wire
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Ashanti and Nelly
**This image is for use with this specific article only** Ashanti and Nelly perform at E11EVEN Miami during the 10th Anniversary of E11EVEN celebration on February 2 in Miami, Florida. The reunited couple have gone public with both a pregnancy and their engagement.
Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images via CNN Newsource
17 Apr 24