CNN 5 Things for 5/11/22 in News stories

Ukraine

The House of Representatives yesterday passed a roughly $40 billion bill to deliver aid to Ukraine as it continues to face Russia’s brutal assault. The measure will next need to be passed by the Senate before it can go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. According to the measure, billions of dollars will be used to send military equipment and weapons from US stocks to Ukraine and to purchase weapons from contractors, among several other allocations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the “friends” of his country for approving the bill. This comes as Belarus, an ally of Russia, said it will deploy special forces to the border of Ukraine because “the United States and its allies continue to increase their military presence at the state borders,” a military official said.

2
Primaries

West Virginia and Nebraska held primary elections yesterday, and former President Donald Trump suffered his first big loss of 2022 in Nebraska after his chosen candidate for governor in the Republican primary lost to the state party’s choice. Trump fared better in West Virginia, where his pick in a hotly contested GOP House primary cruised to victory in a battle of Republican incumbents. The first few rounds of 2022 primaries have doubled as a proving ground for Trump’s ability to bend the Republican Party to his will. That theme will continue into next week’s slate, especially in Pennsylvania, where his endorsed Senate candidate is heading into a three-way race for the GOP nomination.

3
Gas prices

The national average price for regular gasoline soared to new a record high yesterday at $4.37 a gallon, according to AAA. That tops the prior record of $4.33 set on March 11. In several states, that price is even higher. California, Hawaii and Nevada have all exceeded $5 a gallon, the latest readings show. With prices up 17 cents in the past week alone, some experts say this will only add to inflationary pressures that have raised recession fears, rocked financial markets and soured Americans’ views on the economy. Gas prices are up about 25% since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine roiled global energy markets, and some analysts fear even higher prices are coming.

4
Sri Lanka

Protesters in Sri Lanka have burned down homes belonging to 38 politicians as the crisis-hit country plunged further into chaos, with the government ordering troops to “shoot on sight.” Police in the island nation said yesterday that in addition to the destroyed homes, 75 others have been damaged, as angry Sri Lankans continue to defy a nation-wide curfew to protest against what they say is the government’s mishandling of the country’s worst economic crisis since 1948. The Ministry of Defense yesterday ordered troops to shoot anyone found damaging state property or assaulting officials. Violence has left at least eight people dead since Monday, although it is unclear if all of the deaths were directly related to the protests. More than 200 people have been injured.

5
Elon Musk

Elon Musk said yesterday that he would restore former President Donald Trump’s banned account on Twitter if his $44 billion deal to acquire the company is completed. The comments come after Musk previously said he thinks Twitter should be more “reluctant to delete things” and “very cautious with permanent bans.” Yesterday, he called Twitter’s decision to ban Trump in January 2021 a “mistake.” Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s cofounder and former CEO, tweeted yesterday following Musk’s remarks that he does “agree” there shouldn’t be permanent bans on Twitter users. Trump has said he would not return to Twitter even if his account were restored, instead promoting his own social media venture, Truth Social, which has so far appeared to struggle to get off the ground.