Month: March 2022

In a press statement, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the U.S. government “assesses that members of Russia’s armed forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.”  Blinken said since launching “his unprovoked and unjust war of choice” Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed unrelenting violence that has caused death and destruction across Ukraine.

Blinken said in the statement: “Last week, I echoed President Biden’s statement, based on the countless accounts and images of destruction and suffering we have all seen, that war crimes had been committed by Putin’s forces in Ukraine. I noted then that the deliberate targeting of civilians is a war crime. I emphasized that Department of State and other U.S. government experts were documenting and assessing potential war crimes in Ukraine.”  Blinken said the U.S. government will continue to track reports of war crimes and will share information with allies and partners, as well as with international organizations and institutions “as appropriate.”

The statement said as with any alleged crime, a court of law with jurisdiction over the crime is ultimately responsible for determining guilt in specific cases. The state department said examples of Russian war crimes in Ukraine include attacks on hospitals, schools, ambulances, critical civilian infrastructure “and other atrocities.”

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Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as the U.S. secretary of state, died Wednesday at age 84. Her family confirmed in a statement that Albright died of cancer, adding that she was surrounded by family and friends at the time of her passing.  The statement read: “We have lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend,” as well as a “tireless champion of democracy and human rights.”

Former President Bill Clinton named Albright the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations shortly after he was inaugurated in 1993, and nominated her as the secretary of state three years later. She was confirmed in 1997 by a vote of 99-0. At the time, she was the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government. Albright served in the post for four years.

On Wednesday, Clinton remembered Albright as “an extraordinary human being” adding “because she knew firsthand that America’s policy decisions had the power to make a difference in people’s lives around the world, she saw her jobs as both an obligation and an opportunity. And she made the most of them in advancing peace, security and shared prosperity.”  The former president said he last spoke to Albright two weeks ago, sharing:  “She never lost her great sense of humor or her determination to go out with her boots on, supporting Ukraine in its fight to preserve freedom and democracy.” 

After leaving public office, Albright went on to teach at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and became a prolific author, writing seven New York Times bestsellers. In 2012, former President Barack Obama awarded Albright the Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor.

Albright is survived by three daughters and six grandchildren, as well as a brother and a sister.

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The NYPD said on Tuesday that the woman suspected of shoving a beloved Broadway voice coach, causing her to suffer fatal injuries, has turned herself in. 26-year-old Lauren Pazienza of Port Jefferson on Long Island has been charged with manslaughter in the death of 87-year-old Barbara Maier Gustern.

For nearly two weeks, NYPD had been searching for Pazienza, who is accused of approaching Gustern from behind and pushing her to the ground just steps away from her apartment near West 28th Street and 8th Avenue in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. Gustern was responsive after the attack, telling a friend who came to her aid that she had “never been hit so hard” in her life. However, she later slipped into a coma and was taken to Bellevue Medical Center, where it was discovered that she had suffered traumatic damage to the left side of her brain; Gustern died March 15. The motive behind the seemingly unprovoked attack is unknown at this time.

Gustern was fondly regarded in New York’s theater community. She coached the cast of the 2019 Broadway revival of the musical “Oklahoma!,” The New York Times reported. She also once coached rock singer Debbie Harry of the group Blondie.

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White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Tuesday that she tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time in five months.  In preparation for traveling with President Biden to Europe, Psaki said she took a polymerase chain reaction test Tuesday morning, which was positive. Per guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Psaki will no longer be traveling with Biden.

Psaki said in a statement:  “Thanks to the vaccine, I have only experienced mild symptoms. In alignment with White House COVID-19 protocols, I will work from home and plan to return to work in person at the conclusion of a five-day isolation period and a negative test.”  This is the second time Psaki has tested positive for COVID-19; in October 2021, she announced she tested positive after members of her household came down with the virus.

Since Psaki said she had two socially distanced meetings with Biden on Monday, he also was tested for the virus, which was negative via a PCR test taken on Tuesday morning.  Biden plans to travel to Brussels for a NATO summit Thursday, before heading Friday to Poland to speak with President Andrzej Duda.

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