Russia 'increases' troop buildup at border, historic Sandy Hook settlement: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: US: Russia has increased its military presence along Ukraine border
Russia said earlier this week it was pulling some troops away. Plus, USA TODAY Sports' Brent Schrotenboer updates us on the Olympic doping drama, breaking news reporter Christine Fernando looks into the precedent set after Sandy Hook families win a settlement with Remington, coronavirus cases are dropping and loved ones gather to remember Amir Locke.
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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Thursday the 17th of February, 2022. Today, more Russian troops on Ukraine's border according to US officials. Plus, coronavirus cases are dropping, and more.
Here are some of the top headlines:
A month after a tsunami hit the island nation of Tonga, the country still needs huge amounts of aid. UN officials said yesterday that the country needs over $90 million to start repairing damage.
Winter storm warnings are in effect across the Upper Midwest today. Snow is expected early in Chicago before moving to Detroit.
And 7.1% of US athletes now identify as LGBTQ. That number from a Gallup poll is a record and double the percentage from 2012 when Gallup first measured identity.
US officials say that Russia's claims it has withdrawn troops from Ukraine's border are false. And in fact, Moscow appears to have actually added an additional 7,000 troops this week, on top of the 150,000 already in the region, according to US officials. State department spokesman, Ned Price.
Ned Price:
You heard from the secretary once again today, that we are doing everything we possibly can to seek to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis Moscow has needlessly precipitated. But those efforts, as we've said, will be effective only if the Russian Federation is willing to deescalate. To be very, very clear, we have not seen that. In fact, we have seen the opposite. In recent weeks and even in recent days, more Russian forces, not fewer, are at the border.
Taylor Wilson:
That comes as US officials fears of an invasion yesterday did not materialize. In Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy also dismissed Russian claims yesterday saying, "What is this? Rotations, withdrawal, returning back again. It's too early to rejoice." The Ukrainian leader though has for weeks downplayed the crisis and tried to project a sense of calm for the country of 44 million people. He declared yesterday a day of national unity. Russian president Vladimir Putin this week has kept the door open for negotiations, though it's still not clear how much the West will budge on any Russian demands. The country wants Ukraine and other former Soviet countries to stay out of the NATO alliance and for the West to stop weapons deployments near Russian borders.
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned performance enhancing substance at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Since then her lawyer suggested she ingested the drug unknowingly through her grandfather who takes the medicine for heart trouble. And Valieva was cleared to skate by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. To help shed light on what's actually going on, USA TODAY Sports consulted with doping experts and reviewed a recent history of the drug in question. USA TODAY Sports Brent Schrotenboer has more.
Brent Schrotenboer:
So she submitted a drug sample at a skating event in Russia in December. There was a delay and it's since come out that she tested positive for a banned substance known as trimetazidine. It's called TMZ for short. That's on the prohibited list of the World Anti-Doping Agency. It's a heart medication. It's not approved for use in the US. It's banned because it's considered performance enhancing. It helps with endurance for athletes. But in addition to that substance, it's since come out that she declared on a doping control form that she's also taking two other substances. One is called hypoxen and the third substance is called L-carnitine. And they each have sort of these dual uses. They're used by people with heart issues and they're also used by athletes to help with performance and endurance and fighting fatigue and boosting metabolism and things like that. So it raises questions why all three of these would be in the body or being used by a 15 year old Russian figure skater. And that either this 15 year old girl has some heart issues where she's taking all this medication, or she's part of a sophisticated doping strategy by the Russians, which is not surprising. The Russians have this history of this going back many years. So it's not really shocking that this kind of sophisticated regimen would be being used by a top figure skater for the Russians.
This is the third straight Winter Olympics where this particular drug TMZ has become a problem. Back in 2014 at the Sochi games in Russia, there is a Ukrainian cross country skier who tested positive for this substance and was expelled from the Olympics. And she also said she didn't take it knowingly. Four years later in 2018 at the Winter Olympics in South Korea, there was a Russian bobsledder who tested positive for the same substance TMZ. She also was expelled from the Olympics. She was suspended for eight months. There was some excuse that was given by a Russian medical official that it came from her mom who was a doctor for some heart issues of some sort.
So, athletes, they test positive, they have excuses like that. Sometimes they're legitimate, sometimes not. But here we have the third straight Olympics where this has become an issue. In this case, the Russian figure skater who tested positive for it has not been disqualified. It's been very controversial. One of the reasons she hasn't been disqualified is that she is under 16 and therefore she is a "protected person." That gives her some special status with situations like this. I guess, because they presume some sort of innocence with an athlete of that age.
Taylor Wilson:
Valieva is back on the ice today for the second half of the women's individual competition and she could clench a gold medal. Meanwhile, earlier today, the US women's hockey team fell to Canada in the gold medal game and will settle for silver. And Mikaela Shiffrin skied out in the combined slalom run and will not medal in Beijing. For all the latest, stay with our live Olympics updates page on USATODAY.com.
Families of nine Sandy Hook shooting victims agreed to a $73 million settlement this week out of a lawsuit against Remington. The gun maker made the rifle used to kill 20 first graders and six educators in 2012. Nicole Hockley lost her son, Dylan in the tragedy.
Nicole Hockley:
After Dylan's murder, I made a very early promise to do everything in my power to honor his short life by creating change that would save the lives of other children and prevent mass shootings like the one that destroyed our family. This lawsuit has been part of that promise. Eight long years we've continued our fight to hold Remington accountable for its role in prioritizing profit above safety and using reckless marketing techniques to appeal to at risk and violence prone young men. Marketing that is targeted to those to that want to appear more intimidating, more powerful and more masculine through the use of their AR-15. The thousands of internal documents obtained in discovery for this paint a picture of a company that lost its way.
Taylor Wilson:
But experts say it's not clear how far reaching in effect the outcome will have on similar cases looking to hold gun manufacturers accountable. Breaking News Reporter Christine Fernando has more.
Christine Fernando:
So basically the Sandy Hook families are accusing the gun maker Remington of targeting young at risk men through for example, product placement and violent video games and also ads, including one that used this phrase, "Consider your man card reissued," along with an image of the gun. When I was speaking to the lead lawyer of the case, he was telling me about how it kind of play into these ideas of toxic masculinity, also glorified violence and the military use of this weapon. Basically the case hinges around this type of marketing that the Sandy Hook family alleges is damaging and may have contributed to what happened.
Experts agree that this is very much a landmark case because it challenges the scope of a law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act or PLCAA. And so this is passed in 2005 and it grants gun makers protection from these kinds of lawsuits. Clearly a very important case, but what is a little bit more up in the air is if this outcome will kind of open the flood gates to similar cases that challenge PLCAA in this way.
So specifically the Sandy Hook families are arguing that this case falls under an exception to PLCAA for manufacturers who violate a state or federal statute applicable to the sale or marketing of its product. So one of my sources was confident that this case would lead to more similar cases because there's a wide range of statutes like this that he thought could form the basis of future lawsuits. But another one of my sources said it's a bit harder to say if this case will lead to many more similar cases because this questions over what applicable means when we talk about a statute being applicable to the sale or marketing of a product. So basically would the statute have to be specific to firearms or could it be a more general statute? That question would've been answered by the US Supreme Court, but the US Supreme Court declined to hear this case.
Taylor Wilson:
You can find Christine's full story in today's episode description.
The US is reporting fewer than a million new coronavirus infections a week for the first time in two months. And the seven day rolling average dropped from 453,000 cases two weeks ago to 136,000 on Tuesday. Weekly deaths from the virus were also down with just over 16,000 in the week ending Sunday, down from 17.5 thousand the week before. At its worst, more than 23,000 Americans were dying a week from COVID 19 in January of 2021. With numbers dropping and the winter omicron surge possibly in the rear view mirror, the CDC may soon be adjusting guidance again. Health officials still recommend indoor masking in areas with high transmission, which would apply to about 97% of US counties this morning. But CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said yesterday that the CDC soon wants to give Americans a break.
Rochelle Walensky:
I want to give people a break from things like mask wearing when these metrics are better and then have the ability to reach for them again, should things worsen. If and when we update our guidance, we will communicate that clearly and it will be based on the data and the science. However, it's also important to remember, regardless of the level of disease burden in your community, there are still very important times to continue to wear your mask. If you are symptomatic or feeling unwell, you should wear a mask. If you're in the 10 days after a COVID diagnosis, you should wear a mask. If you are exposed to someone with COVID 19 and are quarantining, you should wear a mask.
Taylor Wilson:
It's not clear if or when cases will surge again from COVID 19, but vaccination is still encouraged. And in many parts of life required. 64.5% of Americans are fully vaccinated, while 76% are at least partially vaccinated. But only 27.8% of Americans have also received a booster shot.
Loved ones will gather today to remember Amir Locke. The 22 year old black man was killed by Minneapolis police during a no knock raid on the apartment where he was staying earlier this month. The killing set off protests for weeks in the Twin Cities over the use of no knock raids. Today's service will be held at Shiloh Temple International Ministries, the same church that hosted the funeral for Daunte Wright, another black man shot by Minneapolis police last year. That officer, Kim Potter, was convicted of manslaughter and could be sentenced to more than seven years in prison tomorrow.
Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us seven mornings a week right here, wherever you're listening right now. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show and I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Russia 'increases' troop buildup, COVID-19 cases drop: 5 Things podcast
