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CARL AZUZ: Hi, my name is Carl Azuz.
Thank you for taking 10 minutes to watch our show.
A lot of fast-moving headlines concerning Ukraine
top off today's coverage.
Here's what's happening.
Russian troops have crossed the border into the Eastern
European country.
This happened after Russian President Vladimir Putin gave
a speech on Monday, saying he would recognize two regions
in Eastern Ukraine as being independent
from the Ukrainian government.
Those regions are Donetsk and Luhansk.
These are places where separatists have been fighting
for years to be independent from the rest of Ukraine,
and Russia has supported them in this effort.
President Putin called the region ancient Russian lands.
After formally recognizing Donetsk and Luhansk as
independent, Russia's government said it would protect them
from what it called Ukrainian aggression,
and Russia sent troops that it describes
as peacekeepers to these areas.
The nation has said it has no plans
to expand its military operation in Ukraine.
But the leaders of Britain and France
described Russia's actions as a blatant attack
on freedom and democracy, and US President
Joe Biden called Russia's moves the beginning of an invasion.
He said Russia did not have the legal right
to redraw borders in Europe.
America and its allies have announced new sanctions
against Russia, or penalties on that country's
economy, designed to pressure it to withdraw from Ukraine.
And the US says more sanctions will come
if Russia goes any further.
American officials plan to move additional military forces
and equipment to allied nations around Ukraine to show
they have American support.
But President Biden said US service personnel would
not be there to fight Russia.
He and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky
say they still hope a diplomatic solution can be reached.
Some analysts are concerned that Russia's ambitions in Ukraine
go beyond Donetsk and Luhansk.
Russia took over a part of Ukraine before in 2014,
when it annexed another region called Crimea.
Are its actions now another step toward taking control of more
territory near Western Russia?
TOM FOREMAN: Ukraine is only about the size of Texas.
So why would Russia need so much force
to go after this small area down here?
Why would they have filled the region
with so many different troops?
Military experts who have looked at this
say they believe it's because they want
to have overwhelming power to support
this peacekeeping mission in here,
and maybe to carry it a lot further.
One of the concerns that military strategists have
for the West is that if they move into this area,
Russia will not say merely that we're putting peacekeeping
troops here, but that they might say,
let's carve out a land bridge to Crimea, which we want anyway.
And because of the danger, why don't we
have a zone a little bit further out here,
just to say we're just keeping everyone apart,
so there won't be much fighting?
And then maybe beyond that, the concern is what if they say,
we're going to push all the way out here to the Dnieper River,
and say all of this is for Russia?
And by the way, if the Ukraine army is in here resisting this,
there's a real fear that what Russia might
try to do is sweep in behind them,
and essentially isolate them, and come up with a very, very
diminished remainder of Ukraine, and a very
different-looking map.
CARL AZUZ: 10-second trivia.
A time period of 70 years is traditionally
associated with what precious substance, platinum,
diamond, gold, or ruby?
A 70th jubilee, or anniversary, is traditionally
symbolized by platinum, which is why
after 70 years on the throne, Britain's
Queen Elizabeth II is marking her Platinum Jubilee this year.
There are a lot of events and celebrations set to take
place in the months ahead.
But for the queen to participate,
she'll have to get well first.
Buckingham Palace announced on Sunday
that she'd caught COVID, though she was fully vaccinated.
The queen canceled all of her virtual events on Tuesday.
But her symptoms are said to be mild, like she has a cold.
There have reportedly been a number
of cases among the people who work around Windsor Castle.
Queen Elizabeth II has ruled longer
than any other British monarch, and
she's met with many leaders of Britain's ally across the pond.
QUEEN ELIZABETH: Mr. President.
Mr. President.
[music playing]
[applause]
--build an assembly of international institutions.
[music - "god save the queen"]
BARACK OBAMA: To Her Majesty, the Queen.
To the vitality of the special relationship
between our peoples, and, in the words of Shakespeare,
to this blessed plot, this Earth, this realm,
this England.
To the queen.
QUEEN ELIZABETH: Mr. President, thank you for your warm words.
CARL AZUZ: The reigning king in the world of chess
is Magnus Carlsen.
The 31-year-old Norwegian chess grandmaster has won the world
championship five times.
In the current Airthings Masters online tournament,
Carlsen had won three games in a row
before he matched up with Rameshbabu
Praggnanandhaa, an Indian chess prodigy who
just had three losses in a row.
But the 16-year-old, nicknamed Pragg, kept his cool,
and somehow found a way to beat the Norwegian in 39 moves.
Pragg was praised for his victory
by another Indian chess champion,
and a former pro cricket player, who said
the teen had made India proud.
After the match, Pragg said he was
just very happy, and looking forward to going to bed.
Carlsen said he was still feeling the effects of COVID
after catching it in the days before the tournament,
but he's worked his way back up to second place
in the Airthings Masters standings,
behind a Russian grandmaster.
The tournament is ongoing.
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Scientists don't know all the reasons why wolves howl.
But according to "National Geographic," the myth
that wolves howl at a full moon likely
started way back in the day, when ancient people, who spent
more time outside when there was a full moon to give light,
were probably just more aware of wolves howling then.
Again, though, there's a lot that's unknown.
And a recent howl caught on camera
was described as being as wild as they come.
JEANNE MOOS: It's what wolves are most famous for,
but this had researchers howling with delight.
[wolf howling]
In the words of University of Minnesota Professor, Joe Bump--
JOSEPH BUMP: Oh, it's like winning the howling lottery.
JEANNE MOOS: The Voyageurs Wolf Project sets out
hundreds of trail cameras in Voyageurs National
Park in northern Minnesota.
And talk about the right place at the right time--
wolf number 94 not only howled once,
he switched directions and howled twice.
[wolf howling]
There's a myth about wolves.
- That's what wolves do.
We howl at the moon.
[wolf howling]
JEANNE MOOS: Actually, experts say they howl to communicate
with each other, to tell their own pack
members where they are--
[wolf howling]
--or warn away members of other packs.
Fans love it when the Voyageurs Wolf Project posts images
from its trail cams of pups exiting the wolf den,
or mom carrying food home to the kids.
Apparently, all that howling takes a toll.
The wolf flopped down.
Watch those eerie eyes, as the eyelids droop,
and the wolf naps.
The call of the wild is also the call of the sleepy.
[wolf howling]
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
CARL AZUZ: With the camera right there,
I think it was auditioning.
There's "The Great British Barking Show," "My Pack Life,"
"Wolf Versus Food," "The West Wolf," "The Wolfer Years,"
"The Wolf Whisperer," "Who's Timberline is it, Anyway?,"
"Dr. Ow-whoo" and, of course, everyone's favorite,
"The Real House Wolves of Minnesota."
I'm Carl Azuz.
Today, we are howling for Ridgeline High School.
It is great to see you watching, from Liberty Lake, Washington.
And thank you for your request on our YouTube channel.
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