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Tuesday night there was a shooting in lee's summit around 1 in the morning. One man was shot and killed in his home. Suspects have been taken into custody and are no longer looking for suspects. Shooter has not been identified yet.

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FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports

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LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - The Lee's Summit Police Department is investigating an overnight shooting that left one man dead inside a home.

According to police, they were called to the 100 block of NE Chinquapin Court at about 1 a.m. Tuesday morning on reports of shots fired and a disturbance.

Once on scene, officers found a man dead inside in the home.

Police say all parties involved are in custody and are not looking for any other suspects.

LSPD remains on scene as the investigation continues.

The victim has not been identified at this time.

📲 Download the FOX4 News app to stay updated on the go.
📧 Sign up for FOX4 email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox.
💻 Find today's top stories on fox4kc.com for Kansas City and all of Kansas and Missouri.

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One man dead in overnight shooting in Lee's Summit, suspects in custody

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LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - The Lee's Summit Police Department is investigating an overnight shooting that left one man dead inside a home. According to police, they were called to the 100 block of NE Chinquapin Court at about 1 a.m. Tuesday morning on reports of shots fired and a disturbance.

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Baseball cancels the opening debut because of money and greed

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Cecil Harris, sports journalist and author

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Opinion | MLB’s lockout exposes owner greed. But baseball has a bigger problem.

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Players need to be compensated fairly. But fixing the game should be as big a concern as divvying up the money.

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NASA and Roscosmos have decided to continue the cooperation on the ISS even through the events going on in Ukraine. The joint operations between to two nations have not been impacted either but these events have made the importance of US getting it's own redundant space vehicle to decrease the reliance on the Russians

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Kathy Lueders, head of NASA's human spaceflight operations division, said Monday that joint activities on the International Space Station are continuing amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, including preparations for the return of NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei to Earth on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft March 30.

While operations aboard the station - and joint U.S.-Russian training for future expeditions - have not been impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Lueders said NASA is pursuing more "operational flexibility" to add new capability to the U.S. side of the complex.

"We are not getting any indications at a working level that our counterparts are not committed to ongoing operation of the International Space Station," Lueders said Monday. "We, as a team, are operating just like we were operating three weeks ago.

"Our flight controllers are still talking together, our teams are still talking together, we're still doing training together, we're still working together," she said. "Obviously, we understand the global situation where it is, but, as a joint team, these teams are operating together."

Four U.S. astronauts, two Russian cosmonauts, and a European Space Agency flight engineer are currently living and working aboard the station as it flies around Earth every hour-and-a-half at an altitude of more than 250 miles (400 kilometers).

Three of the crew members - the two Russians and one American - are scheduled to return to Earth on March 30 on Russia's Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft. Russian command Anton Shkaplerov, flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei are due to land in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz capsule.

Russian recovery teams will be on standby in the landing area to help the crew members out of the spacecraft. Vande Hei and Dubrov will close out a 355-day expedition in orbit, enough for Vande Hei to set a new record for the longest duration spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut.

The return of the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft March 30 will follow the launch of three fresh Russian cosmonauts on the Soyuz MS-21 mission March 18. Russian commander Oleg Artemyev will lead the three-man crew on a six-month mission on the space station.

Lueders said NASA and Roscosmos - Russia's space agency - are pressing ahead with the scheduled return of Vande Hei and his Russian crewmates in late March.

"We ... are getting ready for Mark to return, and all of the normal operations are in place for that, for us to be able to go do that," Lueders said. "As always, if you're working on space station, you continue to monitor the situation and operate."

Joint U.S.-Russian crews have landed on Soyuz spacecraft numerous times before, and Russia provided the only crew transportation capability to the space station between the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet in 2011 and the first astronaut flight on SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule in 2020.

Lueders was speaking in a press conference with Axiom Space, a Houston-based company planning to fly the first purely commercial mission to the International Space Station. Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria, a retired NASA astronaut and now an Axiom employee, will fly to the station on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with three paying passengers for a 10-day mission scheduled for launch from Kennedy Space Center on March 30.

After flying a series of commercial astronaut missions, Axiom is planning to build and launch a commercial module to link up with the International Space Station, providing private living quarters and lab resources for visiting crews and clients. Eventually, Axiom wants to detach its modules from the space station to create a standalone orbiting research complex, a privately-owned outpost the company says could be ready in 2028.

NASA officials have said the agency is not currently considering the possibility of Mark Vande Hei returning to Earth on Axiom's mission - known as Ax-1 - a move that would require one of Axiom's customers to give up his seat on the Crew Dragon capsule.

After the Axiom mission, another SpaceX crew capsule is scheduled to lift off April 15 with three NASA astronauts and an ESA astronaut to begin their own half-year expedition on the space station with the three Russian cosmonauts launching March 18. The astronauts launching April 15 on SpaceX's Crew-4 mission - under contract to NASA - will replace an outgoing team of astronauts due to return to Earth on their own Crew Dragon spacecraft in late April.

Lueders said space station operations have persevered through diplomatic crises before.

"We have operated in these kind of situations before, and both sides always operated very professionally and understands, at our level, the importance of this fantastic mission and continuing to have peaceful relations between the two countries in space," she said.

NASA wants to extend the life of the International Space Station until 2030, allowing more time for U.S. industry to develop new commercial space stations in low Earth orbit, a region of space a few hundred miles above the planet. Once a private space station is operational, NASA wants to book rides to the complex for its astronauts as needed on a commercial basis, rather owning and managing the entire program.

The U.S. space agency also wants more time with the International Space Station to demonstrate new technologies for future missions to the moon and Mars.

Although NASA officials report no near-term impacts to the station's operations, it remains to be seen how the Russian invasion of Ukraine might affect the program's planned life extension until 2030.

With SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft now operational, and Boeing seeking to have its delayed Starliner spaceship ready for astronauts within a year, NASA's work on the space station is less reliant on Russia's space program than at any point in the last decade.

But the U.S. and Russian segments of the space station remain interconnected, by design.

NASA and Roscosmos are the two largest partners on the International Space Station, which could not easily operate without critical contributions from U.S. and Russian modules. The U.S. segment of the station generates the bulk of the lab's electrical power and maintains the pointing of the complex in orbit.

Russia's modules and Progress supply ships are the primary source of propulsion, maintaining the lab's altitude and occasionally steering the space station out of the way of space debris. Russia is also planning to oversee the de-orbiting and disposal of the huge station - the largest spacecraft ever put into orbit - into the unpopulated ocean at the end of its service life, currently expected around 2030.

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo freighter that arrived at the space station last week will debut a new U.S. capability to reboost the orbit of the complex. But the Cygnus spacecraft is not intended to maneuver the space station away from space junk, or make major orbit adjustments.

"We always look for how do we get more operational flexibility, and our cargo providers are looking at how do we add different capabilities," Lueders said. "Northrop Grumman has been offering up a reboost capability, and our SpaceX folks are looking at can we have additional capability.

"It would be very difficult for us to be operating on our own," she said.

The space station was created with "joint dependencies," she said. "It's a place where we live and operate in space in a peaceful manner. That's really a model for us to be operating in the future.

"It would be a sad day for international operations if we can't continue to peacefully operate in space," Lueders said. "And, as a team, we are doing that."
Email the author. Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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NASA official says U.S.-Russian partnership continues on space station

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Kathy Lueders, head of NASA's human spaceflight operations division, said Monday that joint activities on the International Space Station are continuing amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, including preparations for the return of NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei to Earth on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft March 30.

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Lindsey Graham says “Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military?"

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U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham is under fire for proposing the idea to assassinate current russian president, Vladimir Putin do to the recent Russian invasion into Ukraine.

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A blast struck a Shia mosque during Friday prayers in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 56 people and injuring another 196, police and hospital officials said.

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pakistan: blast at shia mosque in peshawar kills dozens - cnn

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Dozens killed in blast at Shia mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar

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A blast struck a Shia mosque during Friday prayers in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 56 people and injuring another 196, police and hospital officials said.

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The supreme court on Friday reimposed the death sentence for the Boston marathon bomber. in a second trial the jury recommended capitol punishments. He got the death penalty.

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WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Friday reimposed the death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, reversing a federal appeals court ruling that had voided it.

The 6-3 decision rejected defense claims that the judge at Tsarnaev's 2015 trial improperly restricted the questioning of prospective jurors and was wrong to exclude evidence of a separate crime two years before the bombing.

Tsarnaev was convicted of joining his older brother, Tamerlan, in planting and detonating two pressure cooker bombs at separate spots near the marathon finish line in 2013. The blasts killed three people and left hundreds of others with serious injuries.

In a second phase of the trial, the same jury recommended capital punishment for the deaths of the two people killed by the bomb the younger Tsarnaev placed. His older brother was killed in a shootout with police four days after the bombing.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit ordered a new sentencing hearing, ruling unanimously that U.S. District Judge George O'Toole Jr. failed to allow enough questioning of potential jurors about how closely they followed extensive news coverage of the bombings.

The appeals court also said the judge should have allowed Tsarnaev's lawyers to bring up a 2011 triple homicide in the Boston suburb of Waltham that investigators suspected was committed by Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The defense wanted to use the earlier crime to show that the younger Tsarnaev was dominated by his violent older brother and therefore was less responsible for the bombings, because of his influence.

Tsarnaev's lawyers did not deny his role in the marathon bombing, but they said he was easily manipulated by his brother, who they called the mastermind.

The Justice Department said the evidence of who committed the Waltham killings was unreliable. Tamerlan Tsarnaev and another man suspected of having been at the crime scene were both dead by the time of the bombing trial, so there was no way to know for certain what happened.

The government also argued that holding a new sentencing hearing would further traumatize the Boston community, forcing the bombing victims to once again take the stand to describe the horrors that Tsarnaev inflicted on them.

As a result of the ruling, Tsarnaev, who is now 28, will remain on death row at Colorado's supermax prison. Although Attorney General Merrick Garland ordered a moratorium on executions in the federal system, the Biden Justice Department nonetheless took the same position it did under the Trump administration, defending the death sentence for the bombing.

Garland's order did not stop prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in the case.

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Supreme Court reimposes death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber

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WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Friday reimposed the death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, reversing a federal appeals court ruling that had voided it. The 6-3 decision rejected defense claims that the judge at Tsarnaev's 2015 trial improperly restricted the questioning of prospective jurors and was wrong to exclude evidence of a separate crime two years before the bombing.

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A 34-year-old Massachusetts State Police trooper was killed in a crash with a tractor trailer on I-93 overnight after just under two years of working her "dream" job.

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A 34-year-old Massachusetts State Police trooper was killed in a crash with a tractor trailer on I-93 overnight after just under two years of working her "dream" job.

Trooper Tamar Bucci, of Woburn, was struck by a tanker truck around 11:45 p.m. Thursday as she tried to pull over to help a car in the breakdown lane on the northbound side of the highway in Stoneham. The truck was carrying a full load of approximately 10,000 gallons of gasoline, Massachusetts State Police said Friday.

"I can tell you that she will be sorely missed," Colonel Christopher Mason said during a press conference Friday morning. "She always had a dream and aspiration to be a trooper. She worked very hard during the academy."

Trooper Tamar Bucci gave her life in the line of duty last night when her cruiser was struck by a gas tanker as she attempted to drive up to and assist a disabled motorist. We are heartbroken for her loss. pic.twitter.com/xeJUNonVul
- Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) March 4, 2022

Here's What We Know About Tamar Bucci, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Killed in Crash
The force of the impact pushed Bucci's cruiser, a fully marked Ford interceptor SUV with blue lights activated, off of the roadway, authorities said. Two good Samaritans who were driving by stopped and pulled her from the heavily damaged cruiser.

A Stoneham police officer who came upon the scene performed emergency first aid, including CPR, until EMS arrived. The officer was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Bucci is survived by her parents, two sisters, stepbrother and stepsister. Mason, the Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, added that she is also survived by another family, the 2,000 plus men and women of the force. Bucci is the 22nd member of the Massachusetts State Police to die in the line of duty.

"The department is devastated by our loss," Mason said. "Her death is a reminder of the dangers that troopers and police officers face each day in order to protect society. While we are heartbroken by this tragedy, we resolve to continue our mission to protect and serve by following the example set by Trooper Bucci. In her brief MSP career, she set an example for all of us to follow. Her life was cut too short, too soon."

Bucci was assigned to the Medford Barracks last month. She graduated from the State Police Academy on May 6, 2020, the ceremony for which was held at Gillette Stadium.

Before joining the Massachusetts State Police, Bucci worked in the security department at Encore Boston Harbor and also worked as a personal trainer. She graduated from Middlesex Community College and Andover High School.

The driver of the truck, a Methuen man, was not injured. Police said he has been cooperative and was interviewed early Friday morning. The truck is owned by PJ Murphy Company. No charges have been filed at this time.

The woman who was in the disabled car that Trooper Bucci was trying to help was taken to an area hospital for evaluation. Police said she has minor injuries and is expected to recover.

It was not immediately clear if the disabled car was struck by the tractor trailer or the trooper's vehicle. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.

There was an outpouring of support from local police departments and other public safety agencies on Twitter Friday, including the FBI.

"The men and women of FBI Boston offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Mass. State Police Trooper Tamar Bucci who was killed in the line of duty. It is a devastating loss and our hearts go out to them," FBI Boston wrote.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Trooper Tamar Bucci and the Mass. State Police," the Boston Fire Department said.

"The Methuen Police Department joins all of Law Enforcement in expressing our most heart felt condolences to the Mass. State Police and all of Trooper Tamar Bucci's Family and Friends," Methuen police wrote.

The scene was very active early Friday morning as crews worked to tow the vehicles from the scene. A portion of the highway was closed on the northbound side for some time, causing delays during the morning commute.

No further information was immediately available.

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Mass. State Police Trooper Killed in I-93 Crash

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A 34-year-old Massachusetts State Police trooper was killed in a crash with a tractor trailer on I-93 overnight after just under two years of working her "dream" job. Trooper Tamar Bucci, of Woburn, was struck by a tanker truck around 11:45 p.m.

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In Las Vegas at an apartment complex, 1 was killed and 7 were shot. 2 of them had suffered critical injurys and an event leading up to it was a dissagreement with a neighbor the night before.

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ABC News – Breaking News, Latest News and Videos

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during the weekend, there is a high possibility of strong winter storms in the upper midwest

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday reinstated the death sectence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who attacked the 2013 Boston Marathon in plot hatched with his older brother Tamerlan, killing three and injuring more than 200.

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday reinstated the death sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who attacked the 2013 Boston Marathon in plot hatched with his older brother Tamerlan, killing three and injuring more than 200.

It was a 6-3 decision, with the opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas. Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

"Dzhokhar Tsarnaev committed heinous crimes. The Sixth Amendment nonetheless guaranteed him a fair trial before an impartial jury. He received one," Thomas wrote in the decision, reversing the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled in 2020 that Tsarnaev deserved a new sentencing.

At issue in the case was whether the sentencing process was effectively tainted by a trial court judge, who declined to question each juror about the content and extent of his or her media consumption regarding the bombings and prevented Tsarnaev from presenting hearsay evidence of alleged triple murder committed by his brother in 2011.

Tsarnaev argued exclusion of the evidence hindered his argument for leniency based on the theory that Tamerlan had a history of orchestrating violent acts and "radicalized" his younger brother. The federal appeals court agreed, concluding the trial judge had abused his discretion.

But Thomas, writing for the majority, said the trial judge exercised "reasonable" judgment.

"Dzhokar sought to divert the sentencing jury's attention to a triple homicide that Tamerlan allegedly committed years prior, though there was no allegation Dzhokar had any role in that crime. Nor was there any way to confirm or verify the relevant facts, since all of the parties involves were dead," Thomas wrote.

Of the jury questioning, Thomas dismissed concerns of potentially overlooked bias, concluding, "The Sixth Amendment guarantees the accused the right to a trial by an impartial jury. The right to an impartial jury does not require ignorance."

Despite the ruling, it is not known if or when Tsarnaev's sentence might be carried out. The Biden administration halted all federal executions in July 2021 to allow for a review of Justice Department protocols. The Department did not immediately respond to ABC's request for comment.

U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins praised the court's decision but noted other legal issues remain pending in other courts.

"Legal rulings don't erase trauma and pain," Rollins said in a statement. "Our focus today, and always, is on the hundreds of families that were deeply impacted and traumatized by this horrific act of domestic terrorism."

Breyer, in a dissent joined by Kagan and Sotomayor, said the appeals court exercised proper "supervisory authority" over the trial judge and that Tsarnaev should have been allowed to introduce evidence about his older brother's alleged crimes.

"Dzokhar conceded his guilt. The only issue was whether he deserved to die," Breyer wrote. "Tellingly, the jury's nuanced verdict reflected close attention to the relationship between the brothers... And it would have taken only one juror's change of mind to have produced a sentence other than death, even if a severe one."

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Supreme Court reinstates death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday reinstated the death sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who attacked the 2013 Boston Marathon in plot hatched with his older brother Tamerlan, killing three and injuring more than 200. It was a 6-3 decision, with the opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas.

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Ukraine has destroyed a bridge to slow down Russian convoy advance to Kyiv. The convoy is stretched about 40 miles and is trying to take over.

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What we're covering

A fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest of its kind in Ukraine, has been put out, Ukrainian authorities said. Radiation levels at the plant appear normal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian forces of intentionally firing at the plant, urging world leaders to stop Russia "before this becomes a nuclear disaster."

Videos on social media show the horrific aftermath of Russian military strikes that hit an apartment complex in Chernihiv, as invading troops lay siege to key Ukrainian cities including Mariupol and Kharkiv.

Want to help? You can learn how to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine here.

Having connection issues? Bookmark CNN's lite site for fast connectivity. You can also read updates at CNN Español here.

9 min ago
It's 7:30 a.m. in Kyiv. Here's the latest from Ukraine

A fire that broke out at Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant was extinguished early Friday following heavy shelling by Russian forces, as key cities come under attack from invading troops.

Here's what you need to know:

Nuclear plant fire: A blaze at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex in southeastern Ukraine has been extinguished, Ukrainian authorities said. The fire broke out early Friday amid heavy shelling in the area by Russian forces. Fighting has since stopped in the area, according to a spokesperson for the plant. Nuclear regulators and government bodies in Ukraine and the United States say radiation levels appear normal.

Zelensky claims Russia targeted the plant: In a Facebook post early Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of intentionally firing at the nuclear plant - and urged European leaders to "wake up now" and stop Russian forces "before this becomes a nuclear disaster."

Deadly attack on residential buildings: New videos posted to social media show the horrific aftermath of Russian military strikes that hit an apartment complex in the northern city of Chernihiv on Thursday. At least 33 people were killed and 18 others injured in the attack, Ukrainian authorities said.

Key cities under assault: Russia is laying siege to the key Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The southeastern city's deputy mayor said it was "surrounded" by Russian forces and in desperate need of military and humanitarian aid. In northeastern Ukraine, 34 civilians were killed by Russian attacks on the Kharkiv region within a 24 hour period, emergency services said. Kharkiv's mayor said the Russian military is "intentionally trying to eliminate Ukrainian people" as it targets civilian spaces. Russian troops are also advancing toward Odessa, the strategically significant city on the southern coast.

Talks end with no breakthrough: A Ukrainian negotiator on Thursday said that a second round of talks with Russia didn't deliver any results that Ukraine needed. However, humanitarian corridors for civilians were agreed on by both sides.

Growing humanitarian crisis: The UN estimates that more than 10 million people may end up fleeing their homes in Ukraine, including 4 million who may cross the border into neighboring countries. Want to help? You can learn how to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine here.

18 min ago
Zelensky urges world leaders to stop Russia "before this becomes a nuclear disaster"

In a Facebook post early Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of intentionally firing at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, after a fire broke out at the facility following heavy shelling from Russian forces.

Ukrainian authorities say the power plant has not sustained any critical damage, and that radiation levels are currently normal, though the situation remains fluid and firefighters continue to battle the blaze.

"Russian tanks are shooting at the atomic blocks equipped with thermal imagers. They know what they are shooting at. They've been preparing for this (attack)," he said in the post.

Zelensky also referred to the Chernobyl tragedy and its victims in the post. "For all Ukrainians, for all Europeans, for all people who know the word 'Chernobyl,' how many victims there were."

The 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which took place in Soviet Ukraine, is considered the worst nuclear accident in history. It was a "global catastrophe that affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of people," and had a lasting impact on the country, Zelensky said.

What's happening now: Ukrainian authorities say fighting has stopped in the area and about 40 firefighters are working to put out the blaze.

"We don't know how it is going to end with the fire at the station, if there might be an explosion, God forbid," Zelensky said, adding "our guys are keeping the atomic power station secure."

But the very fact Russia launched an attack at the plant is itself anextremely dangerous act and could cause a potential catastrophe, he said. "There are 15 nuclear reactors in Ukraine. If one of them blows, that's the end for everyone, that's the end of Europe," he added.

"No country besides Russia has ever fired upon an atomic power plant's reactors. The first time, the first time in history," he said, urging European leaders to "wake up now" and stop Russian forces "before this becomes a nuclear disaster."

The fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been put out, according to a statement from the Ukrainian State Emergency Service on Friday.

"At 06:20 the fire at the Zaporizhzhia NPP training building in Enerhodar was extinguished. There are no dead or injured," the statement said.

A fire at Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant is still burning following an attack by Russian troops, though a plant spokesman says background radiation levels are normal and fighting has temporarily ceased.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine had not sustained any critical damage in the attack, Andrii Tuz, a spokesman for the plant, told CNN on Friday, adding that when firefighters initially arrived they were blocked by Russian troops.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Ukraine's regulator had told the organization there had been no change in reported radiation levels and that the fire had had not affected "essential" equipment. The White House said it was monitoring the situation.

Attention has focused on the safety of Ukraine's nuclear power facilities as Russia's invasion of the country intensifies. The prospect of the fire causing damage at the nuclear plant has alarmed experts, though they cautioned that it was too early to gauge the full impact.

Graham Allison, Professor at Belfer Center, Harvard University told Anderson Cooper early Friday that "facts are unfolding" but "not all fires in a power plant, have catastrophic consequences."

Ukrainian officials called on Russian troops to cease fighting after reports the plant has been attacked first emerged Friday morning local time

A large number of Russian tanks and infantry "broke through the block-post" to the town of Enerhodar, a few kilometers from the Zaporizhzhia power plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said, according to a statement from the watchdog.

The agency was closely monitoring the situation, and Grossi spoke with Ukraine's Prime Minister and the country's nuclear regulator about the fire, the IAEA said on Twitter early Friday.
Read more:

New videos posted to social media show the horrific aftermath of Russian military strikes that hit an apartment complex in the northern city of Chernihiv on Thursday.

CNN has geolocated and verified the authenticity of this and other videos that show the moment of the strikes and the aftermath.

One video shows the strike as it happens, with residential buildings torn apart in a split second. Sirens echo as the camera shows parts of the building's walls torn open, exposing entire apartment rooms. The walls of one apartment complex were reduced to rubble.

A fire is seen on the ground, with smoke elsewhere still rising from the explosion.

The person filming the video moves out into the street, which is littered with debris and damaged cars. The video shows an injured woman on the ground, beside two people who appear burned and unmoving. "Kids ... little kids," she can be heard saying.

CNN does not know the condition of the woman seen in the video.

A second before the military strikes, the roar of a projectile is heard on a surveillance video from a nearby house in Chernihiv, which shows at least five explosions.

Deaths reported: The Ukrainian Emergency Services said on Twitter that as of 6:20 p.m. local time, they had pulled 33 bodies from the rubble of the complex in addition to 18 injured people.

There are no military facilities nearby, only civilian structures like residential buildings and schools, the Chernihiv Regional State Administration told CNN.

Will China help Russia cope with the fallout from economic sanctions?

That has been the big question since Russia invaded Ukraine last week. The two nations have forged close ties in recent years,with Chinese leader Xi Jinping calling Russian President Vladimir Putin his " best and bosom friend" in 2019. During Putin's visit to Beijing last month, the two states proclaimed that their friendship has" no limits."

That was before Russia launched its war in Ukraine, and was hit with unprecedented sanctions from Western countries. Now, China's ability to help itsneighbor is being sorely tested. Experts say Beijing's options are limited.

"China's leaders are walking a very difficult tightrope on Ukraine," said Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a DC-based think tank.

Beijing has not rushed to help Russiaafter its economy was slammedby sanctions from all over the world. On Wednesday, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said that the country won't participate in sanctions,but he didn't offer any relief either.

Earlier this week, China's foreign minister spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, and said that China was "deeply grieved to see the conflict" and that its "fundamental position on the Ukraine issue is open, transparent and consistent."

And the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a development bank backed by Beijing, said Thursday it was suspending all its activities in Russia as "the war in Ukraine unfolds."

"China's complicated messaging suggests that Beijing will continue to blame Washington and its allies for provoking Russia," Singleton said.

However, "such moves will fall far short of further antagonizing the United States on account of Beijing's desire to avoid a complete breakdown in US-China relations," he added.
Read the full analysis:

Three schools shelled, one of them with a gaping hole on the side of the building. Multiple rockets raining on panicking shoppers outside a supermarket. People walking through a park forced to rush to safety as shells explode around them.

These were some of the attacks that residents of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, endured in recent days as Russian forces targeted residential areas, hitting civilian infrastructure such as schools, shops, hospitals, apartment blocks and churches.

CNN has geolocated and verified 13 incidents involving civilians over the past three days, as attacks intensified on Kharkiv, a city of about 1.5 million people. following Ukraine's resistance.

Most of the attacks took place in the northeastern part of Kharkiv in the residential area of Saltivka. But other districts in the northwest, southeast and southwest of the city were also affected. The city's Freedom Square, the center of public life in Kharkiv, was hit with was believed to be a cruise missile, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister said.

In 24 hours, 34 civilians were killed and 285 injured - including 10 children - in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said on Thursday morning.

As the Kharkiv offensive ramped up, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague announced on Wednesday that he had launched an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky referred to Russia's relentless bombardment of Kharkiv, including the deliberate targeting of residential areas with "jet artillery," as a "war crime" in a late-night address on Monday.

CNN has analyzed and verified digital evidence, including videos and photos, of several indiscriminate attacks in Kharkiv.
Read more:

Hundreds of international students trapped in the Ukrainian city of Sumy by Russia's invasion have appealed to the world: "Help us, we are stranded."

Vivian Udenze, 21, a Nigerian medical student at Sumy State University told CNN: "This is the 8th day since the crisis began. A lot of places have been evacuated. There are more than 600 of us who are foreigners and students."

She said most of the group are medical students, and they are from Nigeria, Morocco, Tanzania, Congo and India, among other countries.

Sumy lies in the northeast of Ukraine, only around 30 miles from the border with Russia.

As fierce battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces rage across the country, Udenze told CNN via phone that she woke up to two loud explosions around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, and heard gunshots on Thursday. "I am so scared and time is running out. "We don't want the Russians to enter the city and meet us here. We need a humanitarian corridor so we can get out," she said.

As the second round of talks between a delegation from Russia and Ukraine in Belarus ended Thursday, the head of Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky told Russian media the two sides have agreed on humanitarian corridors for civilians.

Udenze later told CNN that more explosions were heard on Thursday evening at around 6:30 p.m local time. The students no longer have electricity or water following the blast, she said.
Read more:

The White House announced new sanctions on Russian oligarchs Thursday, in US President Joe Biden's latest attempt to squeeze Russian President Vladimir Putin as the invasion of Ukraine advances.

The new list of individuals described as "Putin's cronies and their family members" will be cut off from the US financial system, their assets in the US will be frozen, and their property will be blocked from use, according to a fact sheet from the White House.

There will be full blocking sanctions on eight Russian elites, plus their family members and associates.

It includes a move to target Putin ally Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov, "one of Russia's wealthiest individuals," according to the White House, and will include his super-yacht and private jet.

The US is also sanctioning Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, whom the White House describes as "a top purveyor of Putin's propaganda."

"The United States and governments all over the world will work to identify and freeze the assets Russian elites and their family members hold in our respective jurisdictions -- their yachts, luxury apartments, money, and other ill-gotten gains," the fact sheet said.
The individuals who will be subject to full blocking sanctions are:

Nikolai Tokarev (along with his wife Galina, daughter Mayya and his two luxury real estate companies)

Boris Rotenberg (along with his wife Karina, and his sons Roman and Boris)

Arkady Rotenberg (along with his sons Pavel and Igor and daughter Liliya)

Sergei Chemezov (along with his wife Yekaterina, his son Stanislav and stepdaughter Anastasiya)

Igor Shuvalov (along with his five companies, his wife Olga, his son Evgeny and his company and jet, and his daughter Maria and her company)

Yevgeniy Prigozhin (along with his three companies, his wife, Polina, his daughter Lyubov, and his son Pavel),

Peskov, Putin's press secretary

Alisher Usmanov (His super-yacht, one of the world's largest and just seized by our ally Germany, and his private jet, one of Russia's largest privately owned aircraft)

The US will also impose visa restrictions on 19 oligarchs and 47 of their family members and close associates, the fact sheet from the White House said.
Read more about the latest sanctions here.

What we're covering

A fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest of its kind in Ukraine, has been put out, Ukrainian authorities said. Radiation levels at the plant appear normal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian forces of intentionally firing at the plant, urging world leaders to stop Russia "before this becomes a nuclear disaster."

Videos on social media show the horrific aftermath of Russian military strikes that hit an apartment complex in Chernihiv, as invading troops lay siege to key Ukrainian cities including Mariupol and Kharkiv.

Want to help? You can learn how to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine

Having connection issues? Bookmark CNN's lite site for fast connectivity. You can also read updates at CNN Español here.

9 min ago
It's 7:30 a.m. in Kyiv. Here's the latest from Ukraine

A fire that broke out at Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant was extinguished early Friday following heavy shelling by Russian forces, as key cities come under attack from invading troops.

Here's what you need to know:

Nuclear plant fire: A blaze at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex in southeastern Ukraine has been extinguished, Ukrainian authorities said. The fire broke out early Friday amid heavy shelling in the area by Russian forces. Fighting has since stopped in the area, according to a spokesperson for the plant. Nuclear regulators and government bodies in Ukraine and the United States say radiation levels appear normal.

Zelensky claims Russia targeted the plant: In a Facebook post early Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of intentionally firing at the nuclear plant - and urged European leaders to "wake up now" and stop Russian forces "before this becomes a nuclear disaster."

Deadly attack on residential buildings: New videos posted to social media show the horrific aftermath of Russian military strikes that hit an apartment complex in the northern city of Chernihiv on Thursday. At least 33 people were killed and 18 others injured in the attack, Ukrainian authorities said.

Key cities under assault: Russia is laying siege to the key Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The southeastern city's deputy mayor said it was "surrounded" by Russian forces and in desperate need of military and humanitarian aid. In northeastern Ukraine, 34 civilians were killed by Russian attacks on the Kharkiv region within a 24 hour period, emergency services said. Kharkiv's mayor said the Russian military is "intentionally trying to eliminate Ukrainian people" as it targets civilian spaces. Russian troops are also advancing toward Odessa, the strategically significant city on the southern coast.

Talks end with no breakthrough: A Ukrainian negotiator on Thursday said that a second round of talks with Russia didn't deliver any results that Ukraine needed. However, humanitarian corridors for civilians were agreed on by both sides.

Growing humanitarian crisis: The UN estimates that more than 10 million people may end up fleeing their homes in Ukraine, including 4 million who may cross the border into neighboring countries. Want to help? You can learn how to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine

18 min ago
Zelensky urges world leaders to stop Russia "before this becomes a nuclear disaster"

In a Facebook post early Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of intentionally firing at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, after a fire broke out at the facility following heavy shelling from Russian forces.

Ukrainian authorities say the power plant has not sustained any critical damage, and that radiation levels are currently normal, though the situation remains fluid and firefighters continue to battle the blaze.

"Russian tanks are shooting at the atomic blocks equipped with thermal imagers. They know what they are shooting at. They've been preparing for this (attack)," he said in the post.

Zelensky also referred to the Chernobyl tragedy and its victims in the post. "For all Ukrainians, for all Europeans, for all people who know the word 'Chernobyl,' how many victims there were."

The 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which took place in Soviet Ukraine, is considered the worst nuclear accident in history. It was a "global catastrophe that affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of people," and had a lasting impact on the country, Zelensky said.

What's happening now: Ukrainian authorities say fighting has stopped in the area and about 40 firefighters are working to put out the blaze.

"We don't know how it is going to end with the fire at the station, if there might be an explosion, God forbid," Zelensky said, adding "our guys are keeping the atomic power station secure."

But the very fact Russia launched an attack at the plant is itself anextremely dangerous act and could cause a potential catastrophe, he said. "There are 15 nuclear reactors in Ukraine. If one of them blows, that's the end for everyone, that's the end of Europe," he added.

"No country besides Russia has ever fired upon an atomic power plant's reactors. The first time, the first time in history," he said, urging European leaders to "wake up now" and stop Russian forces "before this becomes a nuclear disaster."

The fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been put out, according to a statement from the Ukrainian State Emergency Service on Friday.

"At 06:20 the fire at the Zaporizhzhia NPP training building in Enerhodar was extinguished. There are no dead or injured," the statement said.

A fire at Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant is still burning following an attack by Russian troops, though a plant spokesman says background radiation levels are normal and fighting has temporarily ceased.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine had not sustained any critical damage in the attack, Andrii Tuz, a spokesman for the plant, told CNN on Friday, adding that when firefighters initially arrived they were blocked by Russian troops.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Ukraine's regulator had told the organization there had been no change in reported radiation levels and that the fire had had not affected "essential" equipment. The White House said it was monitoring the situation.

Attention has focused on the safety of Ukraine's nuclear power facilities as Russia's invasion of the country intensifies. The prospect of the fire causing damage at the nuclear plant has alarmed experts, though they cautioned that it was too early to gauge the full impact.

Graham Allison, Professor at Belfer Center, Harvard University told Anderson Cooper early Friday that "facts are unfolding" but "not all fires in a power plant, have catastrophic consequences."

Ukrainian officials called on Russian troops to cease fighting after reports the plant has been attacked first emerged Friday morning local time

A large number of Russian tanks and infantry "broke through the block-post" to the town of Enerhodar, a few kilometers from the Zaporizhzhia power plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said, according to a statement from the watchdog.

The agency was closely monitoring the situation, and Grossi spoke with Ukraine's Prime Minister and the country's nuclear regulator about the fire, the IAEA said on Twitter early Friday.
Read more:

New videos posted to social media show the horrific aftermath of Russian military strikes that hit an apartment complex in the northern city of Chernihiv on Thursday.

CNN has geolocated and verified the authenticity of this and other videos that show the moment of the strikes and the aftermath.

One video shows the strike as it happens, with residential buildings torn apart in a split second. Sirens echo as the camera shows parts of the building's walls torn open, exposing entire apartment rooms. The walls of one apartment complex were reduced to rubble.

A fire is seen on the ground, with smoke elsewhere still rising from the explosion.

The person filming the video moves out into the street, which is littered with debris and damaged cars. The video shows an injured woman on the ground, beside two people who appear burned and unmoving. "Kids ... little kids," she can be heard saying.

CNN does not know the condition of the woman seen in the video.

A second before the military strikes, the roar of a projectile is heard on a surveillance video from a nearby house in Chernihiv, which shows at least five explosions.

Deaths reported: The Ukrainian Emergency Services said on Twitter that as of 6:20 p.m. local time, they had pulled 33 bodies from the rubble of the complex in addition to 18 injured people.

There are no military facilities nearby, only civilian structures like residential buildings and schools, the Chernihiv Regional State Administration told CNN.

Will China help Russia cope with the fallout from economic sanctions?

That has been the big question since Russia invaded Ukraine last week. The two nations have forged close ties in recent years,with Chinese leader Xi Jinping calling Russian President Vladimir Putin his " best and bosom friend" in 2019. During Putin's visit to Beijing last month, the two states proclaimed that their friendship has" no limits."

That was before Russia launched its war in Ukraine, and was hit with unprecedented sanctions from Western countries. Now, China's ability to help itsneighbor is being sorely tested. Experts say Beijing's options are limited.

"China's leaders are walking a very difficult tightrope on Ukraine," said Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a DC-based think tank.

Beijing has not rushed to help Russiaafter its economy was slammedby sanctions from all over the world. On Wednesday, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said that the country won't participate in sanctions,but he didn't offer any relief either.

Earlier this week, China's foreign minister spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, and said that China was "deeply grieved to see the conflict" and that its "fundamental position on the Ukraine issue is open, transparent and consistent."

And the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a development bank backed by Beijing, said Thursday it was suspending all its activities in Russia as "the war in Ukraine unfolds."

"China's complicated messaging suggests that Beijing will continue to blame Washington and its allies for provoking Russia," Singleton said.

However, "such moves will fall far short of further antagonizing the United States on account of Beijing's desire to avoid a complete breakdown in US-China relations," he added.
Read the full analysis:

Three schools shelled, one of them with a gaping hole on the side of the building. Multiple rockets raining on panicking shoppers outside a supermarket. People walking through a park forced to rush to safety as shells explode around them.

These were some of the attacks that residents of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, endured in recent days as Russian forces targeted residential areas, hitting civilian infrastructure such as schools, shops, hospitals, apartment blocks and churches.

CNN has geolocated and verified 13 incidents involving civilians over the past three days, as attacks intensified on Kharkiv, a city of about 1.5 million people. following Ukraine's resistance.

Most of the attacks took place in the northeastern part of Kharkiv in the residential area of Saltivka. But other districts in the northwest, southeast and southwest of the city were also affected. The city's Freedom Square, the center of public life in Kharkiv, was hit with was believed to be a cruise missile, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister said.

In 24 hours, 34 civilians were killed and 285 injured - including 10 children - in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said on Thursday morning.

As the Kharkiv offensive ramped up, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague announced on Wednesday that he had launched an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky referred to Russia's relentless bombardment of Kharkiv, including the deliberate targeting of residential areas with "jet artillery," as a "war crime" in a late-night address on Monday.

CNN has analyzed and verified digital evidence, including videos and photos, of several indiscriminate attacks in Kharkiv.
Read more:

Hundreds of international students trapped in the Ukrainian city of Sumy by Russia's invasion have appealed to the world: "Help us, we are stranded."

Vivian Udenze, 21, a Nigerian medical student at Sumy State University told CNN: "This is the 8th day since the crisis began. A lot of places have been evacuated. There are more than 600 of us who are foreigners and students."

She said most of the group are medical students, and they are from Nigeria, Morocco, Tanzania, Congo and India, among other countries.

Sumy lies in the northeast of Ukraine, only around 30 miles from the border with Russia.

As fierce battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces rage across the country, Udenze told CNN via phone that she woke up to two loud explosions around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, and heard gunshots on Thursday. "I am so scared and time is running out. "We don't want the Russians to enter the city and meet us here. We need a humanitarian corridor so we can get out," she said.

As the second round of talks between a delegation from Russia and Ukraine in Belarus ended Thursday, the head of Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky told Russian media the two sides have agreed on humanitarian corridors for civilians.

Udenze later told CNN that more explosions were heard on Thursday evening at around 6:30 p.m local time. The students no longer have electricity or water following the blast, she said.
Read more:

The White House announced new sanctions on Russian oligarchs Thursday, in US President Joe Biden's latest attempt to squeeze Russian President Vladimir Putin as the invasion of Ukraine advances.

The new list of individuals described as "Putin's cronies and their family members" will be cut off from the US financial system, their assets in the US will be frozen, and their property will be blocked from use, according to a fact sheet from the White House.

There will be full blocking sanctions on eight Russian elites, plus their family members and associates.

It includes a move to target Putin ally Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov, "one of Russia's wealthiest individuals," according to the White House, and will include his super-yacht and private jet.

The US is also sanctioning Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, whom the White House describes as "a top purveyor of Putin's propaganda."

"The United States and governments all over the world will work to identify and freeze the assets Russian elites and their family members hold in our respective jurisdictions -- their yachts, luxury apartments, money, and other ill-gotten gains," the fact sheet said.
The individuals who will be subject to full blocking sanctions are:

Nikolai Tokarev (along with his wife Galina, daughter Mayya and his two luxury real estate companies)

Boris Rotenberg (along with his wife Karina, and his sons Roman and Boris)

Arkady Rotenberg (along with his sons Pavel and Igor and daughter Liliya)

Sergei Chemezov (along with his wife Yekaterina, his son Stanislav and stepdaughter Anastasiya)

Igor Shuvalov (along with his five companies, his wife Olga, his son Evgeny and his company and jet, and his daughter Maria and her company)

Yevgeniy Prigozhin (along with his three companies, his wife, Polina, his daughter Lyubov, and his son Pavel),

Peskov, Putin's press secretary

Alisher Usmanov (His super-yacht, one of the world's largest and just seized by our ally Germany, and his private jet, one of Russia's largest privately owned aircraft)

The US will also impose visa restrictions on 19 oligarchs and 47 of their family members and close associates, the fact sheet from the White House said.

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By Jessie Yeung, Julia Hollingsworth and Adam Renton, CNN

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Russia has ramped up assaults on key Ukrainian cities, as President Zelensky pleads for more international assistance and a second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia are set to take place. Follow here for live news updates from on the ground in Ukraine.

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Fire breaks in a nuclear power plant in Ukraine, it is deadly because it has lots of radiation.

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Russian troops have occupied Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant, with managers working at "gunpoint" after a fire caused by their attack was extinguished, according to Ukrainian nuclear officials.

Countries around the world swiftly condemned the episode, with the United States embassy in Ukraine warning an attack on a nuclear plant was a "war crime" and the United Nations Security Council convening an emergency meeting.

In a statement Friday morning local time, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate (SNRI) confirmed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine was occupied by Russian military forces, but said officials remained in contact with plant management.

The power plant's six reactors remained intact, though the compartment auxiliary buildings for reactor unit 1 had been damaged, the SNRI said in its statement. Four of the remaining units were being cooled down while one unit is providing power, the statement said.

Petro Kotin, head of Ukraine's nuclear power operator Energoatom, later reported that management were operating at "gunpoint." He said on Telegram that Russian forces "entered the territory of the nuclear power plant, took control of the personnel and management of the nuclear power plant."

"Today there is no connection, the station management works at invaders' gunpoint," Kotin continued.

"As for the staff, they were admitted in the morning to perform their duties. We do not currently have a direct connection to the station. We get information from the sources at the station."

Kotin warned that although the reactors are safe, further attacks could lead to "disaster."

Ukraine's State Emergency Services (SES) had earlier confirmed several dozen firefighters had extinguished a blaze that had started in a training building outside the main reactor complex, following shelling from Russian military forces.

Reports of the fire raised concern from world leaders and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - who called for a stop to fighting around the facility - though the IAEA said Ukrainian authorities had reported background radiation levels were normal and the fire had not affected "essential" equipment.

However the ongoing military operation around the site meant the situation was "very fragile," IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned.

Speaking at a press conference in Vienna on Friday, the IAEA's Rossi said the safety of the reactors had not been affected.

"We are fortunate there has not been a release of radioactive material and the integrity of the reactors has not been compromised," he said. However, the operator and regulator have relayed to the IAEA that the situation on the ground is "extremely tense and challenging," he warned.

He explained that a Russian projectile had hit a building within the site, causing a localized fire, but none of the reactors were affected and radiation monitoring systems are fully functional.

Ukrainian staff are still at the helm of operations at the plant, but "effective control" of the site was in the hands of Russian forces, Grossi said, adding: "I hope the distinction is clear." He said that what happens next at Zaporizhzhia is "a situation that is very difficult to sustain, very fragile" while there is an active military operation and Russian forces in control. "This is unprecedented," he said. "Completely uncharted waters."

Grossi later told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that although radioactive material was not released, it was a "close call."

He told Amanpour that he had warned both sides that "the utmost restraint is to be exercised in and around this type of facility. Because wittingly or unwittingly, you can very quickly go into a disaster, and this is why we're so concerned."

The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the meeting that the world "narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe last night."

She called Russia's reactions "reckless" and "dangerous," saying it put Europe's largest nuclear power plant at grave risk and threatened the safety of civilians in Russia, in the UK and across the European continent. Russian forces were also 20 miles away from Ukraine's second largest nuclear facility, she noted.

"Nuclear facilities cannot become part of this conflict," Thomas-Greenfield said. "Mr Putin must stop this madness, and he must stop it now."

Zelensky pushes for no-fly zone

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian troops of committing a "terror attack" by intentionally firing at the power plant - potentially risking the lives of millions.

He later condemned NATO's decision to rule out the implementation of a no-fly zone over the country.

NATO's chief said Friday that a no-fly zone over Ukraine is not an option being considered by the alliance. "We've agreed that we should not have NATO planes operating over Ukrainian airspace or NATO troops on Ukrainian territory," Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference earlier in Brussels.

In a Facebook post, Zelensky questioned what the alliance's members were thinking, saying, "All the people who will die from this day will also die because of you, because of your weakness, because of your disunity." However, he also expressed his gratitude to NATO countries that have shown support for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the establishment of a no-fly zone in Ukraine by the US and it's NATO allies could lead to a "full-fledged war in Europe," but said Washington would continue to work with it's allies to provide Ukrainians with the means to defend themselves from Russian aggression.

Nuclear plant under attack

Reports of the attack on the facility emerged early Friday morning, with video of the scene showing bursts of gunfire apparently directed at the Zaporizhzhia facility before dawn.

Flames could also be seen on video footage, though for some time it was unclear where the fire was or the scale of the threat posed to the facility.

Ukrainian authorities released video later on Friday from inside the facility's control room, with an announcement ringing out on a PA system aimed at the Russian forces outside.

"Stop shooting at a nuclear dangerous facility. Stop shooting immediately! You threaten the security of the whole world!" the announcement says.

The Russian government hasclaimed Ukrainian "provocation" led to a firefight around the nuclear power plant.

In a video briefing, Russian Ministry of Defense spokesperson Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Russian forces took the city of Enerhodar, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the territory adjacent to it on February 28. Konashenkov claimed the plant's technical staff continued regular work on the facilities, but that Ukrainian forces attempted a "monstrous provocation" in the early hours of Friday. Konashenkov also claimed the Ukrainians had set fire to the training building themselves.

CNN could not immediately verify any details of the firefight on the territory of the plant.

The Russian government has routinely and without evidence claimed the Ukrainian government is staging "provocations" to provoke a military response by Western governments.

It's the not first nuclear plant to come under threat from the Russian invasion. On the first day of the assault, Russian forces seized control of the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, according to Ukrainian officials.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant reactor exploded in 1986, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union - sparking a disaster that affected, directly or indirectly, nine million people, due to radioactive materials released into the atmosphere.

The IAEA said in a statement that Ukraine had informed it staff held at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant since Russian military forces took control of the site a week ago were facing "psychological pressure and moral exhaustion."

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international relations and national security

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state departments and diplomatic services

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Ukrainian nuclear power plant attack condemned as Russian troops 'occupy' facility | CNN

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Russian troops have occupied Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant, with managers working at "gunpoint" after a fire caused by their attack was extinguished, according to Ukrainian nuclear officials. Countries around the world swiftly condemned the episode, with the United States embassy in Ukraine warning an attack on a nuclear plant was a "war crime" and the United Nations Security Council convening an emergency meeting.

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Olathe East School Shooting. Police say the suspect was a student. There was a male school administrator was shot and injured.

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FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports

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Olathe East shooting: Police say suspect was a student

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According to Olathe police, the student suspect was shot and injured and is in custody.

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putin threats that he will open pandoras box in ukraine

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Antony Blinken warns Russia: we don't seek conflict but are ready for it - live

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US secretary of state in Brussels for Nato meeting on Ukraine crisis where he condemns Russian 'attacks on civilians'

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Olathe East highschool had a school shooting today and an SRO, a student and Administrator were shot. None of their injuries are life threatening. The suspect is now in custody.

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Assistant principal identified as victim in Olathe East High School shooting

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An administrator and school resource officer at Olathe East High School were shot by a student in an altercation Friday morning. The student suspect was also shot. All three are expected to survive.

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New York City will lift mask mandates in public schools, teachers are saying we can see our students smiling now. Nobody has to show their vaccination proof while entering a restaurant anymore.

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NEW YORK -- New York City and Los Angeles are lifting some of their strictest COVID-19 prevention measures as officials in big cities around the U.S. push for a return to normalcy after two grueling years of the pandemic.

New York City, which has long prided itself as having the nation's toughest COVID-19 safety protocols, will do away with several of its mandates next week, including required masking in public schools and vaccination requirements at restaurants, entertainment and cultural venues, the mayor announced Friday.

On the other side of the country, residents in Los Angeles County were no longer required as of Friday to wear masks at restaurants, bars, gyms, shops and other businesses, though the city of Los Angeles is still requiring many indoor businesses to verify that their patrons are fully vaccinated.

The moves to ease the mandates comes as government officials around the U.S. have been easing COVID-19 guidelines and signaling that the risk of virus spread is retreating - at least for now.

Illinois lifted face mask requirements for many indoor spaces on Monday, and Boston will lift similar rules on Saturday. Chicago stopped requiring proof of vaccination to dine in restaurants. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that most Americans can now safely take a break from wearing masks, including students.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, declaring it was time to "celebrate" as he stood in Times Square on Friday, said the city needed to recover and that "we are not going to allow COVID to define us."

"We're far from out of the woods. COVID is still here. But we are beating it back," Adams said.

He invited "people from Canada, from Arkansas, from New Zealand, from anywhere else," to visit and spend money and implored New Yorkers to "go out this weekend and go dine."

The Democratic mayor said he was confident that it would be safe, starting Monday, to send children and teachers to school unmasked and no longer require some businesses to check guests' vaccine cards.

The decision to ease rules in Los Angeles County aligns with new California guidelines unveiled allowing vaccinated or unvaccinated people to choose to go without face coverings in most places.

Masks are still required in all K-12 school districts until March 12. After that, districts may maintain their own mask requirements. Business owners also can choose to require masks for customers and employees.

At Coffee Fix in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, owner Tae Kim said the change in masking rules has been a bit confusing for customers.

One customer Taylor Lewis, who was wearing her mask, said it was "so nice seeing people's faces" but she would continue to wear her mask out of habit in indoor places.

"With the ever-changing facts that are given to us I see the good in wearing it," she said.

In New York City, the elimination of the school mask requirement is a striking turnaround from just a few months ago, when some parents and teachers were agitating for a return to remote learning as the omicron wave swept through schools and attendance plummeted. The teachers union said Friday it supports the move to lift the rule.

Children under age 5 would still have to wear masks because they are not eligible for the vaccine.

The city's vaccine mandate, imposed last year in a program called Key2NYC, required New Yorkers and tourists to show proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and bars, work out in gyms, catch a movie, attend a Broadway show, go to a convention or visit a museum.

Not all of those places are ready to drop the restrictions. The Broadway League has said it will maintain mask and vaccination requirements in all its theaters at least through April 30.

Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance representing restaurants, bars and nightclubs, said Friday that he thinks few venues will continue to impose vaccine rules on their own because their staff had to enforce the rules with customers and, at times, weather their frustrations.

"Regardless of what someone's opinion is of the vaccination requirement, it's put restaurant workers in an extraordinarily difficult position," he said. "We hoped that people would respect workers but it's been really tough."

The rules also barred star Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving from playing home games with the team. But Adams said that he plans to preserve a rule requiring private employers to ensure their workers are vaccinated, which would apply to Irving.

By lifting the Key2NYC rule, Irving would be allowed to attend the Nets' home games as a spectator but not play.

Recently, New York City has been averaging just under 680 new coronavirus cases and 25 deaths each day, down from nearly 41,000 new cases and nearly 130 deaths per day at the height of the omicron wave in January.

The virus continues to hospitalize and kill New Yorkers with greater frequency now than it did last summer and through much of the fall, when many of the vaccination and school masking rules were imposed.

Around 4,000 city residents have died of the virus since Jan. 1, more than in the previous nine months combined.

Not everyone agreed with the move.

The city's public advocate Jumaane Williams, who served as an elected ombudsman, called it "unnecessary and unwise" to remove the vaccine requirement while lifting other rules and people needed to feel safe.

Adams, responding to critics on Friday, said "there's no decision you can make in New York that you're going to get 100% of New Yorkers" to agree with.

He said some people may be reluctant to dine out without vaccine rules but said he thinks most New Yorkers are ready.

"We are all right, folks," Adams said. "We're doing the right things."

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Associated Press writers John Antczak and Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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Big cities drop more COVID-19 measures in push for normalcy

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NEW YORK -- New York City and Los Angeles are lifting some of their strictest COVID-19 prevention measures as officials in big cities around the U.S. push for a return to normalcy after two grueling years of the pandemic.

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The Russian currency crashed after they stopped getting support from Western countries and banks. One US dollar is now worth 106 Ruples

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yandex: russian search engine warns it could default - cnn

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Russia's answer to Google warns it may not be able to pay its debts

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Russia's biggest search engine could collapse as financial fallout from the invasion of Ukraine spreads.

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After threatening it for weeks, Russia finally did it. They invaded Ukraine. Ukraine wanted to join N.A.T.O(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and Russia was afraid of the threat that that would create. So they invaded.

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Russian saboteurs want to bring panic to Kyiv, mayor says

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Sunday that authorities in his city are searching for possible Russian saboteurs who may have entered in disguise.

"They want to make (a) terror attack and to bring the panic to our city," Klitschko said, according to the Associated Press. He described them as small groups of armed troops dressed as civilians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier said that sabotage groups had entered the city of 2.8 million people with the aim of killing government officials.

Klitschko said that the presence of possible saboteurs was one reason for residents to obey a curfew. "We try to hunt these people. It will be much easier if nobody is in the street," he said.

The mayor told the AP that nine civilians in Kyiv had been killed so far, including one child. NBC News has not independently verified those figures.

Dow futures fall as much as 500 points

U.S. stock futures moved lower in overnight trading on Sunday as investors grew concerned about the economic ramifications of the fighting between Russia and Ukraine.

Dow futures dropped as many as 500 points. S&P 500 futures fell as much as 2.12% and Nasdaq 100 futures lost as much as 2.37%.

U.S. and global equities experienced volatile trading last week as geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated.

The Russian ruble was set to tumble at least 19% with banks offering it at about 100 rubles per dollar, according to Reuters. It closed Friday at 84 rubles per dollar.

Blinken: U.S. to provide $54 million for 'ordinary Ukrainians'

The U.S. will provide nearly $54 million in additional humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday.

"It is with the welfare of ordinary Ukrainians in mind that we are announcing the provision of nearly $54 million in humanitarian assistance to those affected by Russia's further invasion," Blinken said in a statement.

The aid, which will go through independent organizations, will be spent on providing food, safe drinking water, shelter, emergency health care, winterization and protection, the State Department said. It brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance in the Russia-Ukraine crisis to $405 million since 2014.

Blinken said U.S. diplomats were working with Ukraine's neighboring countries to keep borders open for refugees and to assist refugees.

"As with any refugee situation, we call on the international community to respond to the needs of those seeking protection in a way consistent with the principle of non-refoulement and our shared obligations under international law," he said. ( Non-refoulement is the principle that no one should be returned to a country where they would face irreparable harm.)

E.U. diplomat says Ukraine conflict 'is a defining moment for European history'

The Russia-Ukraine conflict will help to define the history of Europe, Josep Borrell, the E.U.'s foreign policy chief, said Sunday.

"They are unprecedented times because the war is back in our borders. And that's why it is a defining moment for European history," Borrell said at a briefing with reporters, explaining the E.U.'s decision to finance a package of lethal assistance to Ukraine.

He said there had been a "taboo" against the E.U.'s using collective resources to provide arms to a country that's at war with another, but, he said, "Another taboo has fallen these days."

The total package would be more than 556 million Euros, and Poland has agreed to serve as a logistical hub for the delivery of aid.

Zelenskyy, in call with U.K.'s Johnson, says next 24 hours will be 'crucial' for Ukraine

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a call with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the next 24 hours will be a "crucial period" for Ukraine, according to a readout of the call.

"The Prime Minister said he would do all he could to help ensure defensive aid from the UK and allies reached Ukraine," a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement. "The leaders agreed to continue to stay in close contact and the Prime Minister reiterated the UK's staunch support for Ukraine's sovereignty."

Johnson also praised Zelenskyy's leadership and lauded the resistance of the Ukrainian people as "heroic."

Kids with cancer shelter in Kyiv hospital basements with limited access to meds, food and water

Kids with cancer and the staff members treating them are huddled in the basements of two children's hospitals in Kyiv with waning access to medication, food and water, an official with Ukraine's largest children's cancer charity said.

Pharmacies and warehouses with medication that the children need have closed down, Yuliya Nogovitsyna, the director of programming for the charity Tabletochki, said in an interview.

The kids have access to only basic forms of chemotherapy, she said. Other treatments have been interrupted, raising concerns that the children could relapse, not achieve remission and grow sicker.

"When we speak about casualties in war, we just count those who are killed in the fighting," Nogovitsyna said. "These children, they have been also killed by it, but slowly, because their treatments are interrupted."

A further challenge is finding drivers to deliver food and water, she said. The hospitals have made deals for food and water, but not many people are willing to drive through the conflict-ravaged city of Kyiv.

A truck taking water to the children Saturday was shot at and the driver has had to shelter at the hospital, she said.

Thirteen children with cancer at the older of the two hospitals are being treated by four doctors, two nurses and two assistant nurses, who have decided to stay there. The basement is humid and moldy, Nogovitsyna said.

The organization hopes to move some of the children by bus to a hospital in Lviv in western Ukraine as soon it is safe. After that, the kids have been offered beds and treatment if they can reach Poland. The logistics remain challenging, however.

"It's not possible to leave Kyiv for the moment - there is a curfew," Nogovitsyna said. "Nobody is allowed to move outside of the buildings because every person will be regarded as an enemy and will be shot."

Ukraine's U.N. ambassador condemns Putin's 'nuclear blackmail' and claims of genocide

Russian President Vladimir Putin has resorted to "nuclear blackmail" and perverted the basis of the international Genocide Convention for his own agenda, Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, said at a public Security Council meeting Sunday.

Kyslytsya detailed attacks in Ukraine on residential areas and the country's infrastructure from "bloody and mad Russian leadership" in his speech to fellow U.N. ambassadors Sunday. He said the world must take Putin's threat of nuclear armament very seriously.

Ukraine has filed a case with the International Court of Justice on the basis of the Genocide Convention and asked the world court to issue provisional measures against Russia, Kyslytsya announced.

"Russia, however, has twisted the concept of genocide and perverted the solemn treaty obligation to prevent and punish genocide," Kyslytsya said. "It has made an absurd and unfounded claim of alleged genocide as a justification and pretext for its own aggression against Ukraine and violation of the sovereignty and human rights of the Ukrainian people."

Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian diplomat assigned to the U.N., denied accusations that Russian armed forces were targeting Ukrainian civilians. He continued to push the narrative that crimes by Ukrainian nationalists were the catalyst for Putin's invasion.

The Russian Federation blocked a previous resolution denouncing Russia's invasion, which Nebenzya said was "imbalanced." He asserted that any attempt to "circumvent" the Russian Federation's position on the Security Council would undermine the U.N. Charter.

"This is precisely why the council has the vested right for permanent members to block a decision," Nebenzya said. "This is not a privilege. This is a mechanism for ensuring the balance of interests, which is of such paramount importance for the entire world, and through this balance of interest for the achievement of global stability."

U.S. citizens should consider leaving Russia immediately, State Department says

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow warned U.S. citizens Sunday that they should consider leaving the country immediately as more countries impose airspace restrictions on Russia.

"An increasing number of airlines are canceling flights into and out of Russia, and numerous countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines," the embassy said in a statement. "U.S. citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available."

The embassy added that U.S. citizens should have a contingency plan "that does not rely on U.S. government assistance." Americans also should monitor local and international media, keep in contact with family and friends, stay alert of their surroundings when in public, review security plans and always carry their passports with current Russian visas, the embassy said.

Since January, the State Department has said Americans should not travel to Russia because of "ongoing tension along the border with Ukraine, the potential for harassment against U.S. citizens, the embassy's limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia, COVID-19 and related entry restrictions, terrorism, harassment by Russian government security officials, and the arbitrary enforcement of local law."

Ukrainians pack church for first Sunday service since Russian invasion

The St. Paraskeva church in the Ukrainian town of Kalynivka was packed with people for the first Sunday service since the Russian invasion.

"Bullets kill people, children die, these explosions. This is crazy," the Orthodox priest told the congregation.

As she left the church after the service, Svitlana Khvostoriezova, 64, said she had heard sirens as she walked to attend the service but that they had not deterred her from attending.

She added that she hid at least three or four times a day in the basement of the 10-story building where she lives in the small town, around 150 miles southwest of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

There, she said, she was joined by five or six families, including one with a 3-month-old baby. It used to be a hookah bar, she said.

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Russia-Ukraine conflict live updates: U.S. says Americans should leave Russia, E.U. to arm Ukraine

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Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Sunday that authorities in his city are searching for possible Russian saboteurs who may have entered in disguise. "They want to make (a) terror attack and to bring the panic to our city," Klitschko said, according to the Associated Press.

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Heavy rain in Australia's third-most populous city caused a flood to take 8 lives as of monday.