In a scathing speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN Security Council to “dissolve" itself if it doesn’t “act immediately” to punish Russia for its atrocities in Ukraine. Failure to act, Zelenskyy said, would signal that “the time of international law has passed.” You can watch the speech or read the official transcript here.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the US is calling for a vote to oust Russia from the UN Human Rights Council after the massacre of civilians in Bucha.
Abortion Ban: The Oklahoma legislature passed a ban on all abortions, with an exception only to save the life of the mother. Performing an abortion would be a felony punishable by 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The bill is headed to Gov Kevin Sitt’s desk; in 2021 he signed 9 laws limiting abortion rights. Together with Texas’ six week abortion ban, this would make abortion inaccessible across the southeast. Here’s an overview of abortion restrictions around the country.
Former President Obama, President Biden, and Vice President Harris arrive at the East Room of the White House / Getty Images
Healthcare: Former President Obama was back at the White House today as President Biden signed an executive order to close a family loophole in the Affordable Care Act. Obama jokingly referred to Biden as “Vice President” before correcting himself. He lobbed a few other jokes and celebrated the 12-year anniversary of the ACA.
Student Loans: According to administration officials, the Biden administration will extend the student loan payment moratorium until August 31. Before this extension, payments were scheduled to resume on May 1.
COVID: Congress has agreed to spend $10 billion more to fund domestic COVID relief efforts, but will no longer fund global COVID aid. Critics say that halting global funding may enable more COVID variants to develop and spread worldwide.
Jan. 6: Ivanka Trump testified today before the House committee investigating the insurrection on January 6, 2021. The testimony is not public.
Elon v. Twitter Comms: After Elon Musk was appointed to Twitter’s Board of Directors, he polled his followers asking if they’d like an edit button. Twitter Comms shaded the billionaire in a tweet announcing that the edit button is indeed rolling out in the coming months, saying “no, we didn’t get the idea from a poll 😉.”
What else is happening across the globe? Watch our 60 second reel here.
With record high inflation, rising gas prices, and soaring grocery costs, money might be stressing you out. On this week’s episode of the News Not Noise Podcast, we brought your financial questions to Tonya Rapley, a financial educator and founder of “My Fab Finance.” She is calming and clear and shares her wisdom about how to make big financial decisions in this volatile economy. Rapley is also the bestselling author of “The Money Manual: A Practical Money Guide to Help You Succeed on Your Financial Journey.”
Here is some of what Rapley had to say, edited for clarity:
What are some obvious ways to cut expenses? Don't go to Starbucks? Always eat at home?
One of the easiest ways to cut expenses is realizing: what am I willing to splurge on, and what do I need to focus on saving? So if you love Starbucks and you feel like, my day just goes south if I don't get my Starbucks fix every day, okay, let's put that into the budget. But maybe that also means that we are not going to the amusement park. That might mean that we are not going on shopping sprees or we're not ordering from our favorite online retailer daily.
So that means we need to cut back in other areas. I'm not saying that you can't do anything. You just have to be very intentional and specific about what you do so that you're not spending too much money everywhere – you just have that one category or that one item that you're allowing yourself to splurge on outside of your other expenses.
I would also say one of the best things you could do is review your spending. Look at what you spent money on for the past month and say, okay, was that a necessity or was that a want? That would also give you a clue as to what category you could be cutting down or what areas you could be reducing your spending in.
I have people who I've worked with and they say, well, I don't spend a lot at all. My budget is really tight and I'm really mindful of my spending. And then we do this exercise. I'm like, huh, looks like we spent an extra $200 at the makeup store this month. Was that necessary? Or did we already have makeup at home? A lot of people don't realize how much they are spending. So have a look at your statement of your spending for the past month and identify things that could have stayed at the store, or you didn't have to buy. That's a good way to start cutting your costs.
For her insights on crypto, keeping an emergency fund, and how to be smart about your credit cards, check out this week’s episode of the News Not Noise Podcast.
We’ve got it for you. Check out the News Not Noise Podcast: The biggest news explained by top experts. Clear. Smart. And less than 25 minutes. And see our YouTube channel for 5 quick questions with people who know the answers.
🎙️Preparing for a financial storm with Tonya Rapley.
🎙️ How to help Ukraine with Katya Marakhova, Dora Chomiak, and Bethenny Frankel.
🎙️ Why Putin didn’t invade under Trump with Amb. Marie Yovanovitch.
🎙️ How to talk to kids about war with Dr. Aliza Pressman.
🎙️ Putin Under Pressure with expert Fiona Hill.
🎙️ The Russia Ukraine Endgame with national security adviser Evelyn Farkas.
📺 5 Questions For A Russian Protester with Yulia Zhivtsova.
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