Readers sound off on Ukraine's fight, trade war results and seniors' car insurance
Olivebridge, N.Y.: I start with the premise that Russia is our enemy. The Russians have frequently taken actions to oppose us and undermine us. And while we can debate specifics, what is not debatable is that the Russian Federation has more than 1,000 intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads aimed at us with the ability to strike us within 30 minutes of launch (see the START Treaty). I would classify that as an enemy.
Over the past three years, the Ukrainian people have been fighting a desperate battle against incredible odds against an invading Russian military. This war has weakened Russia, killing thousands of its soldiers and destroying much of its military equipment. The war diverted investment from its plans to obliterate the United States.
It's an old adage that the enemy of your enemy is your friend. The Feb. 28 meeting in the White House between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was no way for Trump to treat a friend. More importantly, Trump should be thanking Zelenskyy. The irony of that meeting is that the president of Ukraine has battled this invasion fearlessly for three years. By any standard, Zelenskyy is a warrior and a hero, and he is being insulted by Trump — who has never seen real war and who avoided military service.
Trump, on the issue of the Ukraine war, clearly signals his support for Vladimir Putin, a tyrant who leads a country with more than 1,000 ICBMs aimed at America. Warren Davis
Brooklyn: I was wondering whether any of our elected representatives were as embarrassed as I was regarding the public bullying of Zelenskyy by the president and vice president during their meeting to discuss a peace deal to end the war with Russia. What kind of message does it send to our allies throughout the world when our leadership sets out to humiliate a democratically elected friend of our country to appease a ruthless dictator who has invaded and decimated his country? Haven't Zelenskyy and Ukraine suffered enough throughout this brutal and senseless war? Donald Kempler
Bronx: Eric Trump and Don Trump Jr. are on record stating that they are working with Russian bankers. Isn't that a good reason to be nice to Putin? Has anyone in the mainstream media asked that question? Virgilio Carballo
Brooklyn: Everyone is up in arms about everything the president and his team are doing, I think mostly because people are afraid of change. They're used to being screwed by politicians and would rather leave things as they were, but we elected Trump and his team because we need to change or America will be bankrupt, if we're not already. We're living on borrowed money. Nothing has worked in all the years past. Let's rally around Americans' new bullish attitude. Stop being complacent. God bless America. Joe Many
Toronto: If the U.S.-Canada trade war gets ugly, what will be the impact on consumer goods prices if Canada were to withhold sending potash and/or oil to the U.S.A.? Potash is an integral input to agriculture production (no potash and yields immediately fall precipitously) and Canada supplies 80% of America's needs. Oil is an integral input to almost everything consumers buy or experience, and Canada supplies 60% of America's crude oil imports. Even without the tit-for-tat tariff increases that are possible, at 25% tariffs for potash and oil, does anyone think consumer prices for anything will decrease anytime soon? Going up, anyone? Peter Earle
Kew Gardens: When nations impose tariffs and get into trade wars, consumers bear the brunt via higher prices. The best strategy Americans can do to protect themselves and their families is to leave their credit cards at home in a safe place and defer all discretionary spending. No one else is going to pay off your bloated credit card balances or bank loans but you. Also, expect your household budgets to be strained by increases in the costs of necessities, so be frugal with that spending also. These trying times will pass. Those who protect themselves and their families by being smart economically will fare better than those who don't. Glenn Hayes
Middle Village: On a lighter note, let's raise a glass to June Lockhart, Lee Grant and Dick Van Dyke, who turn 100 years young this year. God bless! Robert Chirieleison
Atlanta: Many of today's Palestinians descend from families that moved to Palestine only after Zionist activity had raised the area's living standards. Many began leaving the area as Arab leaders began preparing for war. Although Arab armies did not succeed in preventing Israel's rebirth in the Jews' ancestral homeland, Arab-initiated violence produced two refugee groups. Between 400,000 and 700,000 Arabs left Palestine and found themselves and their descendants stuck in refugee limbo. They've been told that Israel will someday be forced to take them in. That's unlikely, as the 'refugees' have grown up seeing Palestinians honored and rewarded for killing Jews. The other refugee group consisted of Mizrahi Jews, driven from Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa. In the three decades following 1948, Israel absorbed and uplifted 800,000 of them. Arab nations, with vast landholdings and (some with) oil riches, certainly should have done the same for the 'Palestine refugees.' Toby F. Block
Peekskill, N.Y.: Contrary to a slipshod assumption made by the Wednesday Daily News editorial ('What sanctuary means,' March 5), there is no 'treatment' for measles. Moreover, children face far greater risks from an 'ouchie Fauci' than they do from measles. What's the current toll of jabbed U.S. interscholastic athletes dead from myocarditis? Does anybody at The News know or are you simply interested in gaslighting the public and diminishing RFK Jr.? Child has measles? Do what Bobby Jr. did and what I and we all did prior to the MMR vaccine: two days home from school watching 'Leave It to Beaver' and 'F Troop' reruns will do the trick! Joe Schatzle
Brooklyn: Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and many of her Republican colleagues have vowed to not allow any reductions to Medicaid, which means they have promised they will not support any indirect efforts to reduce Medicaid funding, such as: imposing per capita spending caps; reducing the 50% floor in the percentage of costs covered by the federal government (which would disproportionately impact states like New York and New Jersey); reducing the Affordable Care Act expansion reimbursement rate (another disproportionate impact); reducing payments to hospitals to offset uncompensated costs; lowering medical care standards; lowering nursing home staffing requirements; placing limits on provider reimbursement rates (further reducing doctors who treat Medicaid patients); and reducing benefits to the disabled, who account for 30% of Medicaid costs. Medicaid is administered by states, which are reimbursed by the federal government. Hence, many of the above items represent back-door strategies for reducing Medicaid funding, as the burden is simply shifted to states. Gregory Reiser
Brooklyn: New York is one of 12 states that mandate no-fault personal injury protection coverage. Other states make it optional. Seniors with Medicare A and B already pay part B premiums, but licensed N.Y. senior drivers must also pay a PIP premium for $50,000 coverage. Without PIP coverage, Medicare would cover the same medical expenses as PIP from the ground up instead of being secondary coverage under current law. PIP's loss-of-income coverage is generally unnecessary for seniors who don't work and have Social Security benefits. With optional rather than mandated coverage, seniors could decide for themselves instead of paying premiums for coverage they don't need. N.Y. legislators need to act on this. Brooks White
Carle Place, L.I.: In the old days, when a hydrant was blocked by a car, firefighters would just break the windows of the car and snake the hose through. Let's get back to this. Maybe entitled, arrogant drivers would think twice about where they park. Two people died, possibly due to her actions ('$4K fine for blocking hydrant,' March 1). Rudy Rosenberg
Manhattan: Re 'Kardashian's a supersized latex legend in Times Sq.' (March 5): It has been a very cold winter in New York. Times Square has just started to steam up. Alan Lehrer
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The Hill
33 minutes ago
- The Hill
Russian attacks on Ukraine kill at least 9 and injure over a dozen
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine's capital overnight killed at least six people and injured others, according to local officials, as rescue workers and firefighters sought to remove people they believed trapped under debris in a partially collapsed apartment building. Elsewhere in Ukraine, a Russian short-range drone attack killed two people and wounded 10 more in the Chernihiv region late Sunday night, authorities said. According to the regional administration head, Viacheslav Chaus, three children were among the wounded. Another person was killed and eight wounded overnight in the city of Bila Tserkva, around 85 kilometers (53 miles) southwest of the capital. The strikes came nearly a week after a combined Russian attack on Ukraine last Tuesday killed 28 people in Kyiv, 23 of them in a residential building that collapsed after sustaining a direct hit by a missile. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called that attack one of the biggest bombardments of the war, now in its fourth year. In the early hours of Monday, drones and missiles hit residential areas, hospitals and sports infrastructure in numerous districts across Kyiv, emergency services said, with the most severe damage occurring in the Shevchenkivskyi district, where one section of a five-story apartment building collapsed. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said six people were confirmed dead in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Ten others, including a pregnant woman, were rescued from a nearby high-rise that also sustained heavy damage in the blast. Dozens of vehicles, some burned out and others mangled by flying debris from the blast, formed a snarl in the courtyard in front of the building, which had collapsed down to the second floor. Onlookers, some wrapped in blankets, watched tearfully as the cleanup operation took place. Dozens of volunteers worked to remove broken glass, downed tree branches and other debris. Klitschko told reporters from the scene that 'we very much hope that the death toll will not increase,' but that rescue workers were still searching the collapsed building for further casualties. Russia fired a total of 352 exploding drones and decoys overnight, Ukraine's air force said. Russia also launched 11 ballistic missiles and five cruise missiles. Air defenses intercepted or jammed 339 drones and 15 missiles before they could reach their targets, the statement said. Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 23 Ukrainian drones overnight into Monday. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at
New York Times
33 minutes ago
- New York Times
Live Updates: Fears Run High as Iran Weighs Response to U.S. Strikes
Demonstrators hold signs against the U.S. strikes against Iran in Washington outside the White House on Sunday. Before he ordered strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, President Trump did not seek permission from Congress, to which the U.S. Constitution grants the sole power to declare war. Many Democrats and even some Republicans say that the attack was tantamount to a declaration of war and that Mr. Trump acted illegally. Several Trump aides say they disagree, calling the strike a limited action aimed solely at Iran's nuclear capabilities that does not meet the definition of war. 'This is not a war against Iran,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News on Sunday. Vice President JD Vance argued that Mr. Trump had 'clear authority to act to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.' However, later on Sunday, Mr. Trump wrote online that his military aims could be much more expansive: 'If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' Criticisms of the attack, which came less than two weeks after Israel began its bombing campaign against Iran, include Mr. Trump not giving American policymakers, lawmakers and the public enough time to debate a role in a conflict that experts warn could grow quickly if Iran retaliates. The furor over the sudden strikes follows years of bipartisan efforts in Congress to try to place greater limits on a president's ability to order military action, efforts that arose because of disastrous American wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. So is the United States at war with Iran? And did Mr. Trump have the authority to order his attack without consulting Congress? What does the U.S. Constitution say about war? Image A demonstrator holds a shredded copy of the Constitution of the United States on Sunday. Credit... Eric Lee for The New York Times Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution assigns Congress dozens of powers like collecting taxes and creating post offices, as well as the power to 'declare war' and to 'raise and support armies.' The Constitution's framers considered that clause a crucial check on presidential power, according to an essay by the law professors Michael D. Ramsey and Stephen I. Vladeck for the National Constitution Center. Early in American history, Congress approved even limited conflicts, including frontier clashes with Native American tribes. But the question is complicated by Article II of the Constitution, which delineates the powers of the president, and which designates the U.S. leader as the 'commander in chief' of the U.S. military. Presidents of both parties, relying heavily on legal opinions written by executive-branch lawyers, have cited that language to justify military action without congressional involvement. Congress tried asserting itself with the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which says the American president must 'consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situation where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances.' But presidents have repeatedly disregarded that language or argued for a narrow definition of the 'introduction' of forces. Congress has done little to enforce the resolution. What are members of Congress saying about the U.S. strikes? Image President Trump walking across the South Lawn as he returned to the White House on Sunday. Credit... Anna Rose Layden for The New York Times Democrats have almost uniformly criticized Mr. Trump for acting without legislative consent, and a few Republicans have as well. 'His actions are a clear violation of our Constitution — ignoring the requirement that only the Congress has the authority to declare war,' Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, said in a statement echoed by many of his colleagues. Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, told CBS News that there was no 'imminent threat to the United States' from Iran. Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, said on the same CBS program that Congress must act this week to assert a role in any further U.S. military action. 'Would we think it was war if Iran bombed a U.S. nuclear facility? Of course we would,' Mr. Kaine said. 'This is the U.S. jumping into a war of choice at Donald Trump's urging, without any compelling national security interests for the United States to act in this way, particularly without a debate and vote in Congress.' Some Democrats say Mr. Trump has already gone unforgivably far. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York called on Saturday night for Mr. Trump's impeachment. Hawkish Republicans rejected such talk. 'He had all the authority he needs under the Constitution,' Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told NBC News on Sunday. Mr. Graham cited Mr. Trump's power as commander in chief under Article II of the Constitution. 'Congress can declare war, or cut off funding. We can't be the commander in chief. You can't have 535 commander-in-chiefs,' Mr. Graham said, referring to the combined number of U.S. representatives and senators. 'If you don't like what the president does in terms of war, you can cut off the funding.' Mr. Graham noted that Congress has made formal war declarations in only five conflicts, and none since World War II. However, there has been a legal equivalent from Congress that President George W. Bush was the last American leader to successfully seek: an authorization for the use of military force, often called an A.U.M.F. What are legal scholars saying? Image Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran called the U.S. attack an 'outrageous, grave and unprecedented violation' of international law and of the United Nations charter. Credit... Khalil Hamra/Associated Press Several lawyers and scholars who have studied the international law of armed conflict say the United States is without a doubt at war with Iran for purposes of application of that law, and that Mr. Trump acted in violation of international conventions. 'The short answer is that this is, in my view, illegal under both international law and U.S. domestic law,' said Oona Hathaway, a professor of international law at Yale Law School who has worked at the Defense Department. Brian Finucane, a former lawyer at the State Department, agreed that Mr. Trump needed to ask Congress for authorization beforehand. He also said 'there is certainly a U.S. armed conflict with Iran, so the law of war applies.' On Sunday, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, called the U.S. attack an 'outrageous, grave and unprecedented violation' of international law and of the United Nations charter, which forbids U.N. members from violating the sovereignty of other members. Mr. Araghchi did not specifically say that his country is now at war with America. Mr. Finucane also said the United States had violated the U.N. charter. Ryan Goodman, a law professor at New York University who has also worked at the Defense Department, said 'one important matter for both domestic law and especially international law is the issue of 'imminence.'' The Trump administration is justifying the U.S. attack by saying Iran's development of a nuclear weapon was imminent, Mr. Goodman noted. But 'the law would require that the attack would be imminent,' he said, and 'it is very hard to see how the administration can meet that test under even the most charitable legal assessment.' Even if one were to focus on the question of a nuclear bomb, U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran had not yet decided to make such a weapon, even though it had developed a large stockpile of the enriched uranium necessary for doing so. How often have presidents sought congressional approval for war? Image The furor over the sudden strikes also follows years of bipartisan efforts in Congress to try to place greater limits on a president's ability to order military action, efforts that arose because of disastrous American wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. Credit... Eric Lee/The New York Times In the decades since Congress declared war on Japan and Germany in 1941, U.S. presidents have repeatedly joined or started major conflicts without congressional consent. President Harry S. Truman sent U.S. forces into Korea. President Ronald Reagan ordered military action in Libya, Grenada and Lebanon; President George H.W. Bush invaded Panama; President Bill Clinton ordered the bombing of mostly Serbian targets in Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War; President Barack Obama joined a 2011 NATO bombing campaign against the government of Muammar Qaddafi in Libya and led a military campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Mr. Obama broke with this trend in September 2013 when he decided against launching a planned strike against Syria without first seeking congressional authorization. The strike was unpopular in Congress, which never held a vote, and Mr. Obama did not act. President George W. Bush won separate congressional authorizations for the use of military force against Afghanistan and Iraq before ordering invasions of those countries in 2001 and 2003. In the years since the Al Qaeda attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, several presidents have also ordered countless airstrikes and special operations raids on foreign soil to kill accused terrorists. Those have largely relied on broad interpretations of the two authorizations for the use of military force that Congress granted the executive branch for the so-called war on terror. Emma Ashford, a scholar of U.S. foreign policy at the Stimson Center, said that in the post-9/11 wars, 'some presidents have largely stopped asking permission at all.' In January 2020, Mr. Trump chose not to consult Congress before ordering an airstrike that killed a senior Iranian military commander, Qassim Suleimani, while he was visiting Iraq. Many members of Congress called that a clear act of war that was likely to begin wider hostilities. Iran responded by firing 27 missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq, inflicting traumatic brain injuries on about 100 U.S. troops. But the conflict did not expand further. Last year, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. ordered U.S. airstrikes against the Houthi militia in Yemen without getting congressional permission, and Mr. Trump did the same this year. Advances in military technology, including drones and precision-guided munitions, have allowed presidents to take action with minimal initial risk to U.S. forces. Military officials say that Saturday's strike in Iran, carried out by B-2 stealth bombers, encountered no resistance. But critics say the action invites Iranian retaliation that could escalate into full-scale war. What happens next Image Advances in military technology, including drones and precision-guided munitions, have allowed presidents to take action with minimal initial risk to U.S. forces. Credit... Eric Lee for The New York Times G.O.P. leaders in the House and Senate have signaled support for the strike, but Democrats and a few Republicans are demanding that Congress approve any further military action. Mr. Kaine, who serves on the committees on armed services and foreign relations, introduced a Senate resolution last week requiring that Mr. Trump get explicit congressional approval before taking military action against Iran. Mr. Kaine on Sunday said the measure was still relevant and that he hoped it would come to a vote this week. Mr. Massie, the Kentucky Republican, introduced a similar war powers resolution last week in the House with Ro Khanna, Democrat of California. 'When two countries are bombing each other daily in a hot war, and a third country joins the bombing, that's an act of war,' Mr. Massie wrote on social media on Sunday. Mr. Massie said he was 'amazed at the mental gymnastics' Mr. Trump's defenders have employed to argue the United States was not entering a war by attacking Iranian nuclear facilities. Megan Mineiro contributed reporting.
CBS News
38 minutes ago
- CBS News
Russian strike on Ukraine's capital kills 5, with more possibly trapped under damaged Kyiv apartment building
Kyiv, Ukraine - A Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine's capital overnight killed at least five people and injured others, according to Ukraine's emergency services. Emergency crews were still working Monday morning to rescue people they believed to be trapped under the debris of one partially collapsed apartment building in Kyiv. Elsewhere in Ukraine, another person was killed and eight injured in the city of Bila Tserkva, around 53 miles southwest of the capital. The strikes came nearly a week after a combined Russian attack on Ukraine last Tuesday killed 28 people in Kyiv, 23 of them in a residential building that collapsed after sustaining a direct hit by a missile. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called that attack one of the biggest bombardments of the war, now in its fourth year. Firefighters continue a search and rescue operation in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 23, 2025, after at least five people were killed in a Russian strike that hit an apartment building. State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Anadolu/Getty In the early hours of Monday, drones and missiles hit residential areas, hospitals and sports infrastructure in numerous districts across Kyiv, emergency services said, with the most severe damage occurring in the Shevchenkivskyi district, where one section of a five-story apartment building collapsed. Five people were confirmed dead in the attack on the building while 10 others, including a pregnant woman, had been rescued from a nearby high-rise that also sustained heavy damage in the blast. Dozens of vehicles, some burned out and others mangled by flying debris from the blast, formed a snarl in the courtyard in front of the building, which had collapsed down to the second floor. Onlookers, some wrapped in blankets, watched tearfully as the cleanup operation took place. Dozens of volunteers worked to remove broken glass, downed tree branches and other debris. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told reporters from the scene that "we very much hope that the death toll will not increase," but that rescue workers were still searching the collapsed building for further casualties. President Trump is last known to have spoken with Russian leader Vladimir Putin several days before Moscow's previous major attack on Kyiv. After that June 14 call, Mr. Trump said he and Putin had spent most of their time discussing the ongoing Israeli strikes on Iran, and "much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week." That was before the U.S. joined Israel in attacking Iran's nuclear sites over the weekend — a decision by Mr. Trump that the Kremlin said on Monday it "strongly condemns" and considers "irresponsible." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Putin had no plans to speak again with Mr. Trump in the wake of the U.S. strikes on Iran - a country that Moscow has increasingly aligned with in recent years – "but if necessary, such contacts can now be organized quite quickly."
