ST. PATRICK, PUTIN AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
While today is St. Patrick’s Day, shamrocks, rivers and parades aren’t the only news circulating through the airwaves on this Trending News Monday. Check out the headlines below for some of the weekend’s biggest stories.
Obama Sends Message to Putin
The Ukraine Crisis continues to escalate as Crimeans voted for a referendum over the weekend while they remained under Russian military intervention. Yesterday, the International community was sent into an uproar over the suspicious referendum where 97 percent of Crimeans voted for Russian annexation, a vote which violates both Ukrainian and international law.
This morning, President Barack Obama declared that the United States and international community will never recognize the referendum, and then President Obama issued 11 sanctions against Russians and Ukrainians involved in the crisis that he warned “could cost Russians.” The European Union issued 21 additional sanctions, with the international community joining together to encourage Russia to de-escalate its presence in Crimea. Under the US Sanctions, all of those named will have their US assets frozen and will not be allowed to do business with Americans.
Ignoring the sanctions, President Vladimir Putin “signed a decree today formally recognizing Crimea as a ‘sovereign and independent state,'” reported the New York Times.
While President Obama has a scheduled visit to Europe next week, Vice President Biden will leave for Eastern Europe this evening to discuss the Ukraine crisis with European leaders.
Homicide Leads to Chase on Lake Shore Drive
Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive was shut down yesterday after police chased murder suspect Joseph Andrew Felton Jr. from the city’s South Side. Felton is suspected of killing his wife, Sheray Latriest Felton, in Georgia earlier this month. After police zeroed in on Joseph Felton, he fled in his car until he cashed into a car carrying a women and a boy yesterday afternoon. Felton remained in his vehicle, threatening to kill himself or any officer who approached the car, for nine hours until a flash-bang grenade forced him out. After being treated for self-inflicted wounds to his wrists, Felton was taken into custody.
Earthquake Just Makes the Morning News
The morning greeted Southern California with a 4.4 magnitude earthquake followed by seven smaller temblors. The initial quake occurred at 6:25 AM PST, literally crashing the morning news. While the quake and aftershocks didn’t cause any serious damage, today’s Shamrock Shake was the most significant seismic activity in Southern California since 2008 and may mark the end of the area’s earthquake drought.
L’Wren Scott Found Dead
The Twittosphere blew up this morning when the news broke that fashion designer L’Wren Scott was found dead in her Manhattan apartment. Authorities pronounced her dead on arrival after they found her hanging in what appears to be a suicide, but a note has yet to be found. Scott leaves behind her long-term boyfriend, Mick Jagger, the front man of the Rolling Stones.
Cover Photo Source: PromesaArtStudio
