Russian plane crashes: Russia said today that one of its military transport planes carrying prisoners of war has crashed in the Belgorod section of Russia near the border with Ukraine killing all on board. The airplane was carrying 65 Ukrainian soldiers that had been captured by Russia. A Russian news agency reported that the Ukrainians were being taken to a part of Ukraine occupied by Russia for a prisoner exchange. Russia alleged that the airplane had been shot down by a Ukrainian missile.
Primary result: Donald Trump won yesterday’s New Hampshire primary, but his opponent Nikki Haley vowed to stay in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination. Haley was planning a major push to try to win the South Carolina primary next month. South Carolina is her home state. Her supporters were quick to point out that although she came in second to Trump, nearly half of the voters in the New Hampshire primary stayed away from the indicted and twice impeached former president. President Biden won the Democratic primary as a write-in candidate, as his name was not on the ballot.
Loose bolts: The CEO of Alaska Airlines says that inspections have found many loose bolts on Boeing 737 airplanes in the airline’s fleet. The inspections were a result of the incident in which a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane causing a sudden decompression. CEO Ben Minicucci told NBC News that he’s angry about what happened. Boeing plans to have a quality stand-down tomorrow at its plant in Renton, Washington. Production will stop and employees will meet to discuss safety and quality.
U.S. airstrikes: The U.S. has carried out airstrikes on three targets in Iraq. The U.S. Central Command says the targets were facilities used by Iranian backed militias to stage attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin issued a statement in which he said he is grateful for the professionalism shown by U..S. forces. He also said the U.S. does not want to escalate the conflict in the area.
Cease-fire offer: CNN reports that Israel has offered a two-month cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war during which Hamas leaders would be allowed to leave Gaza. CNN reports that the U.S. CIA, State Department and Israeli officials have all declined to comment or confirm such an offer. Under the reported proposal, Hamas would be required to release all of the hostages it holds. Officials in Qatar report that they have been shuttling messages back and forth between Israeli and Hamas negotiators.
NATO membership: The Turkish Parliament has approved Sweden’s application to join NATO after Turkish dictator Erdogan said they could. Erdogan had previously threatened to exclude Sweden from becoming a NATO member. Approval still is needed from Hungary before Sweden can become a member of the alliance. Both Sweden and Finland applied for membership after Russia invaded Ukraine. Finland was approved for membership last year.
