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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, February 25, 2022:
MORE SANCTIONS
As the Russian military began a full-scale assault on Ukraine on Thursday, President Joe Biden announced another round of sanctions as U.S. lawmakers clamored for a tougher response. This round will block assets from Russian banks and restrict the export of crucial technologies, in an effort to cripple Russia's economy. Biden noted that some of these measures could impact American consumers, but that the pain would be short-lived. The president also deployed additional U.S. troops to NATO ally Germany. CHEDDAR
ON THE GROUND
Reports poured out of Ukraine Thursday offering a fragmented picture of what was happening on the ground. Russian forces seized the former Chernobyl nuclear plant. At least 137 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, and the Russian Defense Ministry said more than 70 military targets were destroyed. As of Friday morning, Russian forces had entered the capital of Kyiv with the goal of toppling the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky, who urged citizens to help defend the country, as no foreign aid was coming. He also pleaded with Russia to resume diplomatic talks. NY TIMES
MARKETS WHIPSAW
The news of a Russian invasion sucker punched global markets on Thursday despite weeks of build-up. Stocks tumbled all over the world. Energy prices surged, and U.S. Treasury yields climbed as investors fled into safe haven assets. Then, in a stunning reversal, markets bounced back and ended the day up. The wild swings had investors on their toes, and many are bracing for more uncertainty as the full economic impact of the crisis is far from certain. CHEDDAR
SUPPLY CHAIN FIXES
The Biden administration on Thursday rolled out its plan to unsnarl and unsnag U.S. supply chains. The recommendations, which stem from a 2021 executive order, range from investing more in ports to studying ways to ramp up domestic shipbuilding. Many of the proposals require lawmakers to step up and pass new legislation, while others could be done through the executive branch. One example of the latter is a new Buy American rule that will create a category of products that will receive price preferences from the government. THE HILL
STATES FORM 'HYDROGEN HUB'
Four Rocky Mountain states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming — have a plan to utilize highly abundant hydrogen as a clean-burning fuel for cars. The technology has been around for years, but a lack of infrastructure and investment have kept it on the sidelines, as well as criticism from environmentalists that it's not as green as many would think. Now the states are drawing $8 billion from the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill to create a "hydrogen hub" that aims to help concentrate efforts to make the technology a reality. AP
TRANS HEALTH CARE CHALLENGED
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has released a legal opinion that defines gender-affirming health care for transgender kids as child abuse. While the opinion is non-binding, Paxton is urging the state health department to "act accordingly." Five district attorneys for the state's biggest counties, however, have already said they would not heed the opinion. Meanwhile, the Alabama state senate this week approved a bill prohibiting minors from receiving gender-affirming care. Gender-affirming care includes a series of interventions, from surgery to hormone treatment, which trans activists argue should be widely accessible. KUT
SEC VS. MUSK (ROUND 2)
The Securities and Exchange Commission and Elon Musk have been duking it out since at least 2018, when the agency charged the controversial CEO with civil securities fraud over a tweet. Now the agency is coming back for more, with an investigation into a recent stock sale by Musk to his brother Kimbal Musk, who sits on Tesla's board of directors. The agency is looking into whether the sale violated insider trading rules, and Musk predictably isn't happy about it. The billionaire recently accused the SEC of leading a campaign of harassment against him. CNBC
THE DANGERS OF OCTOPUS FARMING
Pending EU approval, a Spanish company is about to launch the first-ever octopus farm in an effort to increase supply of the tentacled seafood as global fisheries are pushed to their limit. Scientists, however, say farming octopi comes with a slew of environmental and ethical concerns. On the ethical front, octopi are highly intelligent, so ensuring quality of life is an issue. As for the environment, critics of the practice say it would actually increase pressure on fisheries, because the carnivorous octopi would require fish to eat themselves. FUTURISM
TRAYVON MARTIN, 10 YEARS LATER
On Feb. 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman. In the decade since, there have been several waves of protests and too many similar incidents of racially motivated killings to count. Many Americans would agree that much still needs to be done to address these injustices, but in retrospect, it's clear that Martin's death was the beginning of a national reckoning that is still playing out to this very day. AP
LEFTOVERS: PEACE IN SPACE
While tensions between the U.S. and Russia continue to ratchet up on earth, in space the two countries continue to collaborate. Both NASA and Roscosmos on Thursday confirmed that they continue to work together to maintain the International Space Station. The two agencies have worked closely on keeping the station up and running for three decades and weathered several previous moments of crisis, including the 2014 annexation of Crimea. At the moment, four NASA astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts live onboard. THE VERGE
