Three Things for January 16
1. Ukraine undergoes its worst civilian attack in months
Russia issued a deadly missile strike on an apartment building in Dnipro, Ukraine, claiming at least 30 civilian lives on Saturday, Jan. 14. Rescue services worked through the night to uncover the dead and injured, now continuing to work as the number of injured and missing civilians increases.
According to Ukrainian officials, an estimated 1,700 people lived in the apartment building before the attack. The estimated death toll made the missile strike the deadliest attack on Ukraine since the September 30 attack on the Zaporizhzhia region, according to the Associated Press.
The January 14 strike, along with an attack on Kyiv on the same day, ended a two-week period without an air strike from Russia. Although the country has taken responsibility for other missile strikes, Russia denies responsibility for the January 14 attack and continues to deny attacking civilians in the war.
As of Sunday, Jan. 15, there were at least 73 people wounded and 39 people rescued, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. An additional 43 people were reported missing.
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2. Classified documents found in Biden’s home
President Joe Biden’s lawyers found more classified documents in the president’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Thursday, Jan. 12. On Saturday, Jan. 14, the White House acknowledged these findings.
According to White House lawyer Richard Sauber, these documents were comprised of six pages. Before the January 12 search of Biden’s home library, only one page had been found in the president’s possession. Biden’s personal lawyers stopped their search after finding the single page on Wednesday, Jan. 11, and Sauber found the remaining five pages on the following day.
In addition to this discovery are documents found in Biden’s possession in November and December from his time served as vice president. According to the Associated Press, the Obama administration’s alleged misuse of classified documents is under investigation by Robert Hur, who was recently appointed a special counsel.
The White House is facing backlash for concealing the discovery of the documents found in November and December and for waiting two days to release an update on the documents found on Jan. 12.
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3. Crumbl Cookies fined for violating child labor laws
A recent federal investigation found 11 Crumbl Cookies locations to be in violation of child labor law regulations. The U.S. Department of Labor has fined the company nearly $60,000 for the violations.
According to TODAY, the Department of Labor found violations at franchise locations across six states, including California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Utah and Washington. Among those locations is the company’s franchise in Hixson, Tennessee.
Violations included allowing employees under the age of 18 to work long and late hours and making them operate dangerous machinery. Some employees affected by the violations were as young as age 14. According to U.S. labor laws, workers under the age of 16 cannot work more than eight hours per day or 40 hours per week. Additionally, they are not permitted to work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
According to TODAY, the company issued a statement saying that it is “actively working to understand what has occurred at these specific store locations and will take appropriate action to ensure that all of our franchisees are fully compliant with the law.”
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