U.S. and world news for Feb. 22

Biden returning to D.C.: President Biden said this morning in Warsaw, Poland, that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a mistake by withdrawing from the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty with the U.S. Biden is returning to Washington today after his 72-hour trip to Ukraine and Poland.

Congressman wants to honor AR-15: Alabama Republican Congressman Barry Moore has introduced a bill to honor the AR-15 assault rifle, which has been used in many mass shootings, as the “National Gun of America.” Moore voted against the June 2022 bipartisan gun control law that was passed on Capitol Hill. An early co-sponsor of Moore’s bill to honor the AR-15 is New York Congressman George Santos.

Storm moving east: Schools and businesses in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North and South Dakota have closed for the day as an intense winter storm moves in. Some places could see two feet of snow or more. The storm is moving to the east and is expected to bring s mixture of snow, ice and rain to the Northeast.

McCarthy gives video to Carlson: Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson says that members of his staff are already going through the estimated 40,000 hours of surveillance footage of the Capitol building provided to him by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy has been withholding the footage from others and it is said to include sensitive security information. Carlson said that he expects to use the footage to tell a different story about the Jan. 6 attempted coup than the one the nation and world witnessed.

SEC fines Mormon Church: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fined the Mormon Church $5 million for disguising the true value of the investment portfolio it controls. According to the SEC, the church had amassed $32 billion in assets and used other entities to hide the scope of its wealth.

EPA orders cleanup: The U.S. Environmental Protection agency has ordered the Norfolk Southern railroad to pay for the cleanup following the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. The railroad has not been specific on what it will and won’t do to clean up from the derailment, toxic spill and fire. It has reopened the rail line and trains are running again through East Palestine. Government officials said yesterday that if the railroad doesn’t do everything it should the federal government will take over the cleanup and send the bill to Norfolk Southern.

Cover photo of Utah’s Salt Lake Temple by Entheta / Wikimedia Commons