Thousands flee Ukraine for safety in Russia as cease-fire set to expire ADVERTISING Thousands flee Ukraine for safety in Russia as cease-fire set to expire IZVARYNE, Ukraine — As a shaky cease-fire in the east entered its final hours Thursday,
Thousands flee Ukraine for safety in Russia as cease-fire set to expire
IZVARYNE, Ukraine — As a shaky cease-fire in the east entered its final hours Thursday, thousands of Ukrainians in cars stuffed with belongings lined up at the border to cross into Russia, some vowing never to return.
Many said they were most frightened for their children and desperate to take them to safety.
A commander at the rebel-controlled border post outside the city of Luhansk said 5,000 people had left by evening, joining a stream that he said has continued unabated during the weeklong truce that has failed to end the gunfire and shelling.
Supreme Court strikes down 35-foot protest-free zones outside Massachusetts abortion clinics
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court unanimously struck down the 35-foot protest-free zone outside abortion clinics in Massachusetts Thursday, declaring it an unconstitutional restraint on the free-speech rights of protesters.
Authorities have less intrusive ways to deal with potential confrontations or other problems that can arise outside clinics, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. Roberts noted that most of the problems reported by police and the clinics in Massachusetts occurred outside a single Planned Parenthood facility in Boston, and only on Saturdays when the largest crowds typically gather.
“For a problem shown to arise only once a week in one city at one clinic, creating 35-foot buffer zones at every clinic across the Commonwealth is hardly a narrowly tailored solution,” Roberts said. He wrote the majority opinion after asking no questions — exceedingly rare for him — at the argument in January.
Roberts noted that no other state has a similar law and that he is aware of only five cities that have created fixed buffer zones around abortion clinics: Burlington, Vermont; Pittsburgh; Portland, Maine, and San Francisco and Santa Barbara in California.
The ruling also left intact a high court decision from 2000 that upheld a floating buffer zone in Colorado.
European leaders mark 100th anniversary of start of World War I
BRUSSELS — At a site where their countrymen once slaughtered each other with machine guns, artillery and poison gas, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and other European nations commemorated the 100th anniversary of World War I and vowed Thursday to preserve peace on the continent.
About half a million people died in the arduous battles in the flat, often muddy killing grounds in and around the small Belgian city of Ypres in western Flanders between 1914-18, one of the sites that reflected the savagery of what became known as “The Great War.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said holding a summit of the 28-nation European Union in the city that had to be rebuilt from scratch after World War I sends a powerful signal.
“I believe this shows us again in which good times we live today, because the European Union exists and because we have learned from history,” Merkel said.
World War I was unprecedented in scope and savagery: It claimed some 14 million lives — 5 million civilians and 9 million soldiers — including sailors and airmen from 28 countries, and left at least 7 million troops permanently disabled.
Giant food service contractor Sodexo backtracks after bumping thousands from health plan
WASHINGTON — A giant food service company unexpectedly reversed course Thursday after bumping thousands of college cafeteria workers from its health plan earlier this year and pointing a finger at President Barack Obama’s overhaul.
Sodexo’s experience could serve as a cautionary tale for other employers trying to pin benefit reductions on Obamacare. The company’s cutbacks fueled a union organizing drive and campus protests.
Julie Peterson, Sodexo’s vice president for benefits, said the company will make changes for next year to restore eligibility for many of those affected.
“We think that overall this is going to result in about the same number of employees being eligible as in the past,” Peterson said. The latest shift grew out of a regular review of company policy, she added.
“We’ve realized we can change the way we are determining eligibility and still remain competitive in the market,” Peterson explained.
FAA, developers clash over plan to lower building heights near airports
WASHINGTON — The government wants to dramatically reduce the allowable height of potentially thousands of buildings near airports around the country — a proposal that is drawing fire from real estate developers, local officials and members of Congress who say it will hurt property values.
The Federal Aviation Administration proposal, supported by airports and airlines, is driven by encroaching development that limits safe flight paths for planes that might lose power in an engine during takeoff. Planes can fly with only one engine, but they have less power to climb quickly over obstacles.
Business leaders, who see airports as a means to attract development, say they fear office towers and condominium complexes will have to be put on hold until developers and zoning boards can figure out what the agency’s proposal means for their communities.
By wire sources
