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CARL AZUZ: Hi.
I'm Carl Azuz.
Before I was on air, I said that if I ever got that shot,
I would begin every week-ending show with the words,
Fridays are awesome.
Promise kept.
Here are a trio of headlines to kick things off this Friday.
First, on the island of Puerto Rico, a US territory,
about 1,000 miles Southeast of Florida,
the lights went out Wednesday night.
Electricity to the whole island of more
than three million people was lost
after a fire at a power plant.
Firefighters were able to douse the flames,
but most Puerto Ricans still didn't have
electricity Thursday morning.
School was canceled.
Part of a hospital temporarily lost power
after it had problems with its backup generator,
and water service was stopped to about
100,000 homes and businesses.
Utility officials expected things to be back
up and running Thursday night.
They think the island-wide blackout might have been caused
by a circuit breaker failure, and they've
ordered a replacement parts for the damaged plant.
Second, the US Supreme Court is getting a new justice.
On Thursday, the Senate voted 53 to 47
to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson as an associate justice.
President Joe Biden nominated her
to the position in late February after Associate Justice Stephen
Breyer announced his retirement.
Following the Senate vote in which three Republicans joined
all 50 Democrats in supporting the nomination,
Jackson will become the first Black woman
to serve in the Supreme Court.
She's scheduled to be sworn in this summer
after Justice Breyer's retirement takes effect.
Supreme Court appointments are highly important to America's
two major political parties.
They each want justices who will interpret the law in a way
the parties agree with.
Currently, three members of the court
were appointed by Democrats, six were appointed by Republicans.
That won't change when Jackson is seated.
She was nominated by a Democratic president.
She's replacing a justice, who is nominated by a Democrat.
So what's referred to as the court's ideological balance
is expected to stay the same.
Third, another US congressional vote.
This one concerns the Nation of Russia.
The Senate and House of Representatives
have overwhelmingly approved legislation
that economically punishes Russia for invading Ukraine.
The law suspends normal trade relations between America
and Russia, and it bans the import of Russian oil, coal,
and natural gas to the US.
The bill is now headed to President Biden's desk
for signature.
This is another step in the American government's efforts
to penalize Russia and support Ukraine
without sending US troops to fight on Ukraine's side.
Separately, the United Nations General Assembly
voted, Thursday, to suspend Russia from the UN
Human Rights Council.
The United States, which pushed for Russia's suspension,
says it shouldn't be part of a group that promotes
respect for human rights.
Russia called the vote politically-motivated
and said it decided to voluntarily
end its own membership.
This all happened after Russia was accused of committing
war crimes in Ukraine.
TOM FOREMAN: War criminal-- this is the tag being
slapped on Russian President Vladimir Putin
by US President Joe Biden.
JOE BIDEN: I think he is a war crime.
TOM FOREMAN: The term covers a range
of offenses and deliberately targeting
civilians as chief among them.
Russia has repeatedly denied its going after civilian targets,
but there's vast evidence to the contrary.
Remember that maternity hospital that was bombed,
the theater, where people were hiding,
the family killed by a Russian strike on an evacuation route.
Just look at the bombed out center of Mariupol.
The Kremlin claims, with no proof,
that the maternity hospital was being used
as a Ukrainian combat position and all patients
and medical staff had left.
They also deny hitting the theater,
claiming a Ukrainian army battalion
blew up that building.
But even then, to avoid being labeled as possible war crimes,
attacks on civilian sites must be proportional,
enough to counter the military threat,
but not to unduly endanger the civilian population,
which brings us to other actions that
may be considered war crimes.
Some of the weapons the Russians are reportedly using in Ukraine
are indiscriminate.
These weapons can kill at random.
Cluster bombs, which human rights groups say have been
used by Russia, are released in the air by a missile
and can scatter smaller bomblets over a wide area,
injuring or killing anyone near, including civilians.
The same goes for thermobaric or vacuum bombs, which
fill the air with fuel vapor, then ignite
it with catastrophic effect.
The International Criminal Court is already
investigating allegations of war crimes
committed at Putin's command.
So if they find evidence, what next?
The International Criminal Court in the Netherlands,
located in and often referred to as the Hague,
is a judicial body supported by the vast majority
of the world's nations.
It could pursue charges against Putin while he is in Russia.
But this is where huge stumbling blocks appear.
It can be incredibly challenging and take years to gather
evidence to prove the intent behind the attacks,
and that someone as high up as Putin is responsible,
and convictions are rare.
What's more.
The court does not try people in absentia.
Russia would need to hand Putin over, and that seems unlikely,
considering Russia, Ukraine, and the United States
are among the few nations that do not recognize the court's
jurisdiction, even though the US may more generally
support the court's actions.
Still, there can be consequences for Putin
being charged with war crimes.
Even without a conviction could damage his political standing
and would put him at risk of arrest if he ever left Russia.
CARL AZUZ: 10-second trivia.
Which of these buildings was considered
the first skyscraper--
Chicago Savings Bank Building, Home Insurance
Building, New York Tribune Building,
or Empire State Building?
According to Guinness World Records,
Chicago's 10-story Home Insurance
Building was completed in 1885.
It's one thing to live in a historic building,
a tall building, or to be able to leap one in a single bound.
But would you want to live in the world's
skinniest skyscraper?
It's now open in New York City.
Steinway Tower is named for the famous piano company that used
to have a concert hall here.
The newly-constructed building added
to that is 1,428 feet high, one of the tallest skyscrapers
in the Western Hemisphere.
And it has a height to width ratio of 24:1.
For perspective, a ruler standing on its end,
as a height to width ratio of 12:1,
according to real estate website Curbed New York.
So by that measurement, Steinway tower
is twice as skinny as a ruler.
Is it safe?
We're sure its developers would say so.
But similar and wider skyscrapers than this
have been known to sway a few inches or a few feet
in the wind, so some prospective buyers
might find that unnerving.
There are 60 condominiums available at Steinway.
Because the building is so skinny,
there's only one of them on each resident's floor.
And if this is the kind of home you've always dreamed of,
you're going to need a few bucks.
A studio apartment here lists for $7.7 million.
And if you want the penthouse at the top,
you'll need 66 million.
That does get you more than 7,000 square feet of living
space, but it's spread out over three levels
because, well, skinny.
So keep this in mind when shopping
for something that's a slim fit at the height of luxury.
Dang, bro, that drive-thru worker was tall.
Make that three of them.
Because what do you do after serving up the biggest comeback
in NCAA tournament history?
You serve up chicken.
At least three players from the University of Kansas men's
basketball team did that on Wednesday at a restaurant
in Lawrence, Kansas.
But Carl, you might be asking, why?
They said it was a way to connect with fans
and show appreciation for their support.
And when you think about it, chicken fingers and basketball
have a lot in common.
They're both dunked with sauce.
They're good on a fast break.
You can always get a bucks-in-one.
They both involve foul, and they're served up in baskets.
So why shouldn't ballers cross over
to take a shot at a drive-thru?
I'm Carl Azuz.
Today's shoutout goes out to Giltner Public School.
It is located in the village of Giltner, Nebraska.
Hope your weekend is a win.
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