Gazette Daily News Podcast, February 24

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, February 24.

It looks like we’re getting one more dose of snow before another nice thaw period next week. According to the National Weather Service there will be snow in the Cedar Rapids area on Thursday, mainly between 2 p.m. and tapering off by the end of the day. 1 to 4 inches of accumulation are possible. The high will be near 25 degrees, and the low will come in at 15 degrees, with thankfully mild wind.

For the record, the forecast also looks cold on Friday, but will warm up quite a bit again by Saturday.

As of early Thursday morning Russia had begun what many feared they would do, beginning an invasion of Ukraine with the help of nearby Belarus. Russian President Vladimir Putin is maintaining that these attacks are special military operations and that an invasion is not taking place, even as Russian military vehicles have crossed into Ukrainian territory and Ukrainian military targets have been attacked. 8 people have been confirmed killed as the fighting has only just begun.

For now, the United State and Europe are lining up economic sanctions against Russia while also condemning the invasion. It remains to be seen how any other country’s military involvement could escalate, but in the short term this fighting will likely unsettle markets and raise gas prices due to Ukraine’s status as an energy distribution hub connecting Western and Eastern Europe to countries to the east.

The State of Iowa squared off against advocates for abortion as they argued before the Iowa Supreme Court Wednesday. At stake is whether the court should overturn a District Court judge’s ruling on a state law requiring women to wait at least 24 hours before obtaining an abortion.

The state is asking the justices to overturn the permanent injunction on the 2020 law, and in doing so, also overturn a similar ruling on a 2018 law that not only struck down a 72-hour waiting period but also affirmed women’s fundamental right to abortion under the Iowa Constitution.

The opposing attorney argued the court should continue to block the 2020 law because state legislators violated legislative regulations when adding the measure as an amendment to an unrelated law and rushing it through the final hours of the session.

This current lawsuit over an Iowa abortion case also comes as the rest of the nation prepares to hear the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on a separate abortion case, which is expected in June. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has called this case the “best opportunity yet” for the Supreme Court to overturn the landmark abortion rulings such as Roe v. Wade.

Iowa State University police have arrested two freshmen in connection with recent social media posts warning people to avoid specific campus buildings, officials announced Wednesday morning.

Officers at 6 p.m. Monday received a report about an anonymous post on the social media network Yik Yak advising people to “not come to Carver tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.,” a reference to Carver Hall — an academic building situated in central campus, west of the Campanile, in Ames.

A second anonymous post — coming a few hours later — warned people to avoid Parks Library, a few buildings north of Carver Hall.

Iowa State police worked overnight Monday with the FBI and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation to identify and monitor individuals believed to be responsible for the posts.

Investigators determined Iowa State didn’t need to close campus and instead worked with building administrators to implement precautionary safety measures.

Because the posts involved a specific location, referenced a time and “used the same language associated with other prior acts of violence,” ISU police and the Story County attorney found probable cause to arrest and charge ISU freshman Abdullateef Malallah, 18, of Ames, and ISU freshman Ty Jerman, 19, of Ames, with “threat of terrorism.”

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Support for this news update was provided by New Pioneer Food Co-op. Celebrating 50 years as Eastern Iowa’s destination for locally and responsibly sourced groceries with stores in Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids; and online through Co-op Cart at newpi.coop.