10 things you need to know today: March 22, 2023

1. Xi, Putin reaffirm partnership in 2nd day of talks

Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a second day of talks in Moscow on Tuesday, strengthening their economic partnership in a show of unity against escalating criticism from the West over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Putin praised Xi's 10-point proposal for a "peaceful settlement in Ukraine," which includes no demand for Russia to withdraw its troops. The United States has dismissed the proposal as a charade intended to give Russia cover as it presses on with Putin's war in Ukraine, which has become bogged down. Xi said he had "built a close relationship" with Putin in the last decade, and that China and Russia "are crucial to the world order and all mankind's future and destiny."

The Washington Post CNN

2. Ukraine hints it destroyed Russian missiles in Crimea

Ukraine hinted Tuesday that it had destroyed Russian cruise missiles in Crimea, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the occupied Ukrainian peninsula on the Black Sea. The apparent drone attack was the latest in a series of strikes behind Russian lines in Crimea ahead of an expected push by Kyiv to reclaim the region. "The mysterious [explosions] continue the process of Russia's demilitarization and prepares the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea for de-occupation," Ukraine's defense ministry said in a Telegram post. Also on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund announced a four-year, $15.6 billion loan package to bolster Ukraine's economy, and the United States said it would speed up delivery to Ukraine of Patriot missile-defense systems and 31 Abrams battle tanks.

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3. Anti-Trump demonstrators outnumber MAGA crowd outside Manhattan court

Former President Donald Trump called for his supporters to protest his expected indictment by a Manhattan prosecutor, but demonstrators calling for Trump's arrest far outnumbered the MAGA crowd outside the Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday. "No one is above the law," the anti-Trump protesters chanted. Republican lawmakers defended Trump, saying the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was politically motivated. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Bragg, who is investigating Trump in connection with hush-money payments made on his behalf to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before his 2016 election, should "be put in jail." Bragg said his office would not be intimidated.

Politico USA Today

4. Yellen promises more action to bolster banks if needed

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday that she would take more action to prop up small banks if necessary as the Biden administration continued to reassure the public about the stability of the financial system after two midsize-bank failures. Yellen said steps the administration and regulators had taken were boosting confidence, but more action could be needed to safeguard the banking sector in general. "Our intervention was necessary to protect the broader U.S. banking system," Yellen said in remarks before the American Bankers Association, the leading industry lobbying group. "And similar actions could be warranted if smaller institutions suffer deposit runs that pose the risk of contagion."

The New York Times

5. Mexican president slams U.S. report on human rights abuses

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Tuesday harshly criticized a U.S. State Department report describing arbitrary killings by Mexican police and other abuses, saying it's "not true, they're liars." The report, released Monday, said police, military, and other officials were responsible for killings, forced disappearances, torture, and other forms of inhumane treatment. The report said the government agents acted with "impunity and extremely low rates of prosecution remained a problem for all crimes, including human rights abuses and corruption." López Obrador dismissed the report, saying the United States "believes it's the government of the world."

Reuters

6. Biden designates two new national monuments

President Biden on Tuesday designated two new national monuments. One, the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Southern Nevada, is one of the biggest to receive protection under Biden's presidency, at more than 506,000 acres. It includes Nevada's Spirit Mountain, sacred to the Fort Mojave, Cocopah, Quechan‌‌, and Hopi peoples. "It's a place of reverence, a place of spirituality, a place of healing," Biden said, adding that it will now be "preserved forever." Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the move honored Indigenous "tribes for their role in stewarding our lands and waters since time immemorial." The smaller Castner Range National Monument on Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, includes 6,600 acres the Army used for training and testing from World War II to 1966.

CNN

7. Oklahoma Supreme Court finds right to abortion when health threatened

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned part of the state's near-total abortion ban, ruling that the state constitution includes "an inherent right of a pregnant woman to terminate a pregnancy when necessary to save her life." In the 5-4 decision, the court said the state must allow a woman to terminate a pregnancy if "the woman's physician has determined to a reasonable degree of medical certainty" that continuing "the pregnancy will endanger the woman's life." Previously, the state allowed abortions only in cases of medical emergencies when the patient was "in actual and present danger in order for her to obtain a medically necessary abortion," the justices wrote.

The Washington Post The Oklahoman

8. Virginia man sentenced to 4 years over Jan. 6 attack

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Virginia man, Geoffrey Sills, to more than four years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of then-President Donald Trump's supporters. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden found Sills guilty in August after he was accused of using a stolen baton to assault police who were defending the Capitol, and using a flashing strobe light to disorient them. Sills, 31, was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon, obstruction of Congress, and robbery for his actions at the Capitol's Lower West Terrace tunnel, where officers were beaten and crushed as they tried to keep angry rioters out of the building.

The Associated Press

9. Uganda criminalizes identifying as LGBTQ

Uganda's parliament passed a law Tuesday making it a crime to identify as LGBTQ. The legislation gives authorities broad powers to deny rights to Ugandans already subjected to legal discrimination, as well as violent attacks. Uganda is one of 30 African nations already banning same-sex relations, but the new law makes it the first to outlaw even coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer, Human Rights Watch said. The law bans gay sex, and promoting or abetting homosexuality. Violations are punishable with life in prison for gay sex, and death for so-called aggravated homosexuality.

Reuters

10. New York Knicks legend Willis Reed dies at 80

Former basketball star Willis Reed, a leader on two New York Knicks championship teams in the 1970s and two-time finals MVP, died Tuesday. He was 80. One of his teammates, former U.S. senator Bill Bradley, confirmed Reed's death, and said he had congestive heart issues. Reed had been receiving treatment at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, but it wasn't immediately clear where Reed died. A 6-foot-9 center, Reed relied on exceptional skills and power to compete in an era with legendary big men like Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, making him a standout on a team filled with stars including Bradley, Walt Frazier, Dick Barnett, Earl Monroe, and Jerry Lucas. He struggled with injuries, though, and retired after 10 years at age 31.

The New York Times USA Today