DHS: ‘Freedom Convoy’-style trucker protest may disrupt Super Bowl – National & International News – FRI 11Feb2022

DHS warns “Freedom Convoy”-style trucker protest may disrupt Super Bowl. Biden urges Americans to leave Ukraine now.

NATIONAL NEWS

Trucker protest may disrupt Super Bowl

In a bulletin to law enforcement agencies, the Department of Homeland Security has warned that a “Freedom Convoy”-style trucker protest could be in the works. DHS says right-wing groups and anti-vaccination groups may be planning to follow the example of protesters that have used big rigs to bring Canada’s capital and much of its cross-border trade with the U.S. to a standstill.

The agency warns that protesters may converge near Los Angeles on Super Bowl Sunday. Protesters may then travel across the country to Washington, D.C., gathering other truckers as they go. The goal would be to arrive in D.C. by March 1, when President Biden will be delivering his State of the Union address. However, the agency qualified its warning, saying that these plans, at present, are “aspirational”. In other words, there’s no solid information “indicating the event is actually being organized”.

Cross-border bridge partially reopens

After a four day blockade, truckers blocking the Ambassador Bridge, a major U.S.-Canada trade artery, have agreed to open one of the northbound lanes. A Canadian judge will hear a request today from car manufacturers to issue an injunction against the blockade and an order for the truckers to disperse. The blockade on the Ambassador Bridge, which links Detroit with Windsor, Ontario, has forced a slow-down at auto manufacturers on both sides of the border due to parts shortages.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Biden urges U.S. citizens to leave Ukraine now

In an NBC News interview yesterday, President Biden warned that any Americans still in Ukraine “should leave now”. Biden says  the potential for a Russian invasion of Ukraine is growing by the day. “It’s not like we’re dealing with a terrorist organization. We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world”, Biden said, “It’s a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly”.

When asked if there were any possible scenario in which Biden would send in U.S. troops to rescue fleeing Americans, Biden replied flatly, “There’s not”. Biden explained that any possibility for a direct confrontation between U.S. and Russian troops would be an unacceptable escalation. “That’s a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another” Biden said. “We’re in a very different world than we’ve ever been.”

So far, the U.S. is the only nation to warn its expat citizens to leave Ukraine. However, other U.S. allies, including Britain, have been decreasing staff at their embassies in Kiev for weeks. 

Mixed messages

While the U.S. and Britain have been saying for weeks that a Russian invasion could come any day, the leadership in Ukraine and the rest of Europe have downplayed the threat. Some have argued that the alarmism by the U.S. may actually be playing into Russia’s plan to destabilize Ukraine. Ukrainian leaders have portrayed the build-up of Russian troops on their borders as a “psychological warfare” tactic by Russian President Vladimir Putin rather than as a genuine military threat.

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