Biden's fuel dilemma, DeSantis vs. Disney, Happy Weed Day: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Biden's fuel dilemma
President Joe Biden wants a clean energy agenda. How does that add up with his latest oil-related moves amid gas price surges? Washington correspondent Ledyard King examines. Plus, a few thousand Ukrainian troops hold out in Mariupol, Governor Ron DeSantis keeps fighting with Disney, health reporter Ken Alltucker looks at closed nursing homes and Happy 420.
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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Wednesday, the 20th of April 2022. Today Biden's dilemma on energy, plus a new evacuation effort in Mariupol and more.
Here are some of the top headlines:
- The Justice Department said yesterday that it plans to appeal a federal judge's ruling that voided the federal mask mandate for travelers, that's if the CDC believes masking remains necessary.
- Shanghai allowed four million people out of their homes earlier today, as strict COVID-19 controls eased, some 12 million of the city's 25 million residents are now allowed to go outdoors after the first round of easing last week.
- And South Africa has declared a national state of disaster, after severe flooding killed at least 448 people in the city of Durban and the surrounding KwaZulu-Natal province.
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President Joe Biden is facing a dilemma when it comes to energy. He's made clean energy a huge part of his agenda, but amid skyrocketing gas prices, Biden's been forced to tap into oil reserves while also pushing petroleum companies to ramp up production. Washington correspondent Ledyard King has more.
Ledyard King:
President Biden was already facing an uphill climb to meet these ambitious climate change agenda goals that he had set out during the campaign and that he had started to work on in the first weeks of his presidency. And then boom, here comes the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here comes the decision to ban the import of Russian oil, which accounts for about 8% of our own energy consumption. And you know, that oil has to be made. That lack of oil has to be made up somehow, so he's tapped into the reserves and he's urged oil companies to ramp up production, at least in the short term. But obviously it's a mixed message. Here you have a president who wants to claim the mantle of the greatest climate president ever, all of a sudden asking oil companies to produce more gas. And so it's this dilemma that he faces.
The advocates behind the climate movement have so far, been willing to acknowledge Biden's dilemma and they say, "Look, a short term release of more oil, or production, or gas, to help consumers through this very troubling time." I mean, gas approaching $6 a gallon. They have said, "We get it. Let's, the short term, ease the pain." But long term, they still expect Biden to fulfill his climate, or at least pursue his climate agenda, and Biden himself has said the same thing. You know what we're doing in the short term, won't undermine, shouldn't undermine, the long term goals of reducing climate change.
Taylor Wilson:
You can find this full story in today's episode description.
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Russia is heavily focusing on the coastal Ukrainian city of Mariupol on this Wednesday. A small group of a few thousand Ukrainian troops is holding out at the Azovstal steel mill there, but Russia dropped bombs on the plant and Ukrainian authorities say Russia also hit a hospital in Mariupol, where hundreds were staying.
A humanitarian corridor is supposed to open today to allow for more evacuations out of the city but Russia has blocked off such evacuation convoys in the past. And Russia said it sent airstrikes around Zaporizhzhia, the destination for many Mariupol evacuees. Russia also struck near Dnipro, as well as Kharkiv and Kramatorsk. Earlier this month, a strike on a train station in Kramatorsk killed nearly 60 people. Many residents still there, like Elena Panova have had to rely on aid to get by, lining up for food, while missiles hit in the background.
Taylor Wilson translating for Elena Panova:
"You see a lot of people have lost their jobs. For example, my employer is an entrepreneur and he is gone. We were left unemployed, no financial support. I've spent the money I had, yet we are trying to be here and to do like this. The charity foundations are helping."
Both Russia and Ukraine have described Russia's latest assault this week as a new phase of the war. Russia has moved its focus away from the capital of Kyiv and most of central and Western Ukraine, in an attempt to secure the Eastern Donbas region.
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Governor Ron DeSantis' battle with Disney rolls on today during a special legislative session on redistricting in the state of Florida. DeSantis expanded this scope of the session yesterday, announcing that lawmakers will consider repealing the current governing structure for Disney's Florida properties. That move could end special privileges, the company has long had, and it's likely aimed at punishing Disney for speaking out against the so-called, "Don't Say Gay" law. Officially known as the Parental Rights In Education Act, the legislation signed into law last month, states that classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through third grade. LGBTQ rights organizations say the bill could discriminate against gay and transgender individuals and even prevent students from discussing their LGBTQ families. Disney CEO, facing pressure to take a stand, called DeSantis to express disappointment in the law.
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Hundreds of nursing homes shut down or closed wings during the COVID -19 pandemic and as Health Reporter Ken Alltucker tells us, the problem could get worse as government assistance runs out.
Ken Alltucker:
Nursing homes nationwide, and particularly in some regions like rural areas in some big cities, are having trouble attracting enough workers. It's been a long standing issue that even pre-dated the COVID-19 pandemic. But what a lot of experts are telling me and homes are telling me is that it worsen during the pandemic. First of all, because you know, a lot of these workers, often low wage positions like nurses aides, were put in harm's way during the early days of the pandemic before there was enough protective equipment for them to wear and certainly before the vaccines were available. And that's when most deaths happened in nursing homes. Since then, and during the pandemic, you're seeing a broader issue in labor markets being really tight, so the unemployment rate is low right now, so people have a lot of choices, particularly for these low wage nurse aid jobs. They might have other opportunities to get raises elsewhere and higher wage jobs.
One outgrowth of that is nurse staffing agencies. These are independent staffing agencies that place workers in healthcare facilities, hospitals, outpatient centers, nursing homes, et cetera. They've played a pretty important role in getting workers into these buildings. And so, because they're so much demand for their services, they're charging rates, some homes tell me two to three times what the pre-pandemic rates were. So these are pretty expensive bills for nursing homes to pay.
Now, the federal government has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to nursing homes and in aid during the pandemic and some homes use that money to pay for these wages that they needed to hire these temporary workers, these staffing agency workers to fill shifts at their homes, so that's been that. But you know, what they're saying is it's not really a long term solution and there really needs to be more effort to attract workers there to these homes.
Taylor Wilson:
Check out Ken's full story and more of his work in today's episode description.
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Happy 4/20. Today has become known around the world as an unofficial celebration of all things cannabis related and is also known as Weed Day. Its origins can be traced back to 1971, when a group of California high schoolers agreed to meet at 4:20 PM. They had a map and a plan to search for a plot of marijuana plants, supposedly abandoned by its owner. Nowadays weed is more of a societal norm in much of the country, and there are even some civic festivities planned, including a party in Weed, California. And in places where cannabis is legal, dispensaries are offering promotions and discounts.
Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us on whatever your favorite podcast app is, seven mornings a week. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show and I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from Paste BN.