5 things to know for April 11: Ukraine, Covid, French elections, Shootings, Masters

By Alexandra Meeks, CNN

White House officials are getting anxious about a massive migrant surge that will likely occur at the US-Mexico border next month. On May 23, the Biden administration is set to lift a Trump-era border policy that cited pandemic concerns to justify denying people entry to US. President Joe Biden and the CDC have determined the restriction is no longer necessary — but once it’s repealed, up to 60,000 people could seek entry within hours, a federal law enforcement official said.

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1. Ukraine

Russian troops are amassing forces in eastern Ukraine as Western and Ukrainian officials warn a major assault on the region is imminent. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is “ready” for an offensive, but urged civilians to evacuate the region. Many people, however, are getting trapped in areas of fighting where access to some towns is being blocked by Russian forces. This comes as nine evacuation corridors were agreed on Sunday, following a deadly Russian missile strike last week that hit a train station packed with evacuees. Meanwhile in Russia, President Vladimir Putin is maintaining his heavy-handed approach and recently appointed a new general to direct the war in Ukraine after his troops failed to take the city of Kyiv, according to US and European officials.

2. Coronavirus

In addition to vaccines, boosters, handwashing and masks, some of the most powerful tools against Covid-19 are ventilation and filtration, experts say. Filtration — just like it sounds — is filtering or cleaning the air by removing the infected particles. But think of ventilation as “diluting” the air — or bringing in more fresh air in to reduce the concentration of those particles. Opening doors or windows at opposite ends of your home will create cross-ventilation, the Environmental Protection Agency advises. Opening the highest and lowest windows, especially if on different floors of a home, can also increase ventilation. Separately, several members of President Biden’s cabinet and various lawmakers are among at least 67 people known to have contracted Covid-19 after attending the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, DC. New York City Mayor Eric Adams tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday after attending the dinner, but it is unclear exactly where he contracted the virus.

3. French elections

Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are projected to advance to the second round of the French presidential election, an analysis of early results showed, setting up a rematch of the 2017 contest. Macron, France’s current president, is in first place with 28.6% following a preliminary count of the votes from the first round of the election yesterday. Le Pen, a long-time standard-bearer for the French far-right, is on track to come in second with 23.6%. Twelve candidates ran for the top job. Since none of them received more than 50% of the ballots in the first round, the top two candidates will face each other in a runoff on April 24. Macron is seeking to become the first French president to win reelection since Jacques Chirac in 2002, but Le Pen’s support has steadily risen in recent weeks.

4. Shootings

Gun violence plagued the US again this weekend following several deadly shootings that took place across the country. Four people, including two teens, were shot shortly after an MLB game in Washington, DC, on Saturday night, police said. In Illinois, six people were found injured after a shooting occurred in a residential neighborhood. Police are also investigating a shooting at a birthday party in Indianapolis where six people were shot and one person was killed. Two people were also killed and 10 hospitalized after a “targeted attack” at a Cedar Rapids nightclub, police say. This comes as President Biden is expected to announce a new firearm regulation as soon as today meant to contain the use of privately made weapons known as “ghost guns” that are unregulated and untraceable.

5. The Masters

Scottie Scheffler won the 2022 Masters golf tournament yesterday following a dominant performance at Augusta National. This is his first major title after finishing ahead of Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy. Over the four days at the sprawling golf club in Augusta, Georgia, the 25-year-old produced some excellent golf, refusing to falter under the pressure of being the tournament’s leader for nearly three days. Tiger Woods also notably made a comeback at the Masters. Although it didn’t end with a big win, many say Woods displayed incredible grit and determination. His injuries and lack of match fitness seemed to catch up with him though after he carded a six-over par 78 on Saturday, his worst score in a Masters round, and finished with the same score yesterday.

BREAKFAST BROWSE

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are engaged again

Bennifer: a true love story! The couple found their way back to one another after almost two decades, and we couldn’t be more overjoyed.

Traveler told TSA he had ‘no idea’ a sword was hidden in his cane

A clever design nonetheless… but definitely not making it through security.

The search for the 2022 Gerber Baby is on

Do you have an irresistibly cute baby? Enter the competition to see if your little one has what takes to become Gerber’s next “Chief Growing Officer.”

Adorable baby pademelon born at Chester Zoo

What’s a pademelon, you ask? Picture a kangaroo, but mini!

‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ has best opening ever for a video game movie

The movie sped past box office predictions, bringing in an estimated $71 million domestically during its opening weekend.

TODAY’S NUMBER

75.7 million

That’s how many passengers Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport saw in 2021, reclaiming its title of world’s busiest airport. The Atlanta airport was knocked from its No. 1 spot in 2020 by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China. The 2021 rankings released today by Airports Council International show the Atlanta airport is back on top, a sign of recovery from the plunge in air traffic when the pandemic took hold two years ago.

TODAY’S QUOTE

“Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input.”

— Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, on Elon Musk’s decision to not join the social media company’s board. Musk recently disclosed he had purchased a more than 9% stake in Twitter, making him the company’s largest shareholder. When the news of his board appointment broke, Musk tweeted he was “looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months.”

TODAY’S WEATHER

Check your local forecast here>>>

AND FINALLY

Parrot sings along to “Here Comes The Sun”

Check out this parrot’s rendition of a classic Beatles song! (Click here to view)

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