Senate votes to repeal Iraq war authorization 20 years after the invasion – National & International News – WED 29Mar2023

Senate votes to repeal Iraq war authorization 20 years after the invasion.

Pennsylvania: Woman sues owners of chocolate factory that exploded, killing 7.

Russia deploys tactical nukes to Belarus, begins missile tests.

NATIONAL NEWS

Senate votes to repeal Iraq war authorization 20 years after the invasion

Today, the Senate voted 66-30 to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, or AUMFs. If the measure becomes law, it will officially end the Gulf and Iraq wars. For that to happen, the Republican-controlled House must approve the measure and Biden must sign it.

Biden has said he will sign it if it reaches his desk. But the bill may face more resistance in the House. All the dissenting votes in the Senate were Republicans. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (who is recovering from a fall and concussion earlier this month), issued a statement against repealing the AUMFs.

While the repeal is largely symbolic, it represents a larger push for Congress to reclaim its Constitutional role in declaring wars. Congress’ role in formally declaring wars has been severely eroded in the decades since WWII with much of the power devolving to the executive branch (mainly the President). These AUMFs never expire and give wide latitude to authorize new deployments of troops if they can make a case that the deployment is even remotely consistent or related to the mission previously approved by Congress.

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Pennsylvania: Woman sues owners of chocolate factory that exploded, killing 7

Last Friday, the R. M. Palmer & Co. chocolate factory in West Reading, PA exploded, completely destroying the building and killing 7 workers. R. M. Palmer is best known for its seasonal novelty chocolates, such as chocolate Easter bunnies.

Betty Wright, who lived next to the factory, claims in a lawsuit that the explosion caused her to be “lifted from her feet and blown across the room causing severe and permanent injuries”. The suit claims Wright suffered cervical, lumbar, hip and leg injuries. The explosion also damaged her property and several others around it. Wright blames the negligence of factory managers who failed to “properly inspect, repair and/or test the property to prevent this catastrophic explosion”. She is seeking $50,000 in damages.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. Explosions and fires at chocolate factories were once surprisingly common because of the combustibility of some of the ingredients, such as starch dust. In recent decades, workplace safety regulations have drastically reduced the number of catastrophic incidents.

Initially, many speculated that such a mishap had occurred again at the R. M. Palmer facility. However, investigators are now examining the possibility of a leak from a gas pipeline under the factory. In the days before the explosion, workers had mentioned smelling gas, although the local utility says no reports were filed. 

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Russia deploys tactical nukes to Belarus and begins tests

Months of intense fighting in Eastern Ukraine has strained resources and resolve both on the Ukrainian and Russian side. Both sides have had heavy losses, particularly in the fighting around Bakhmut. The shelling has also increased the danger to nuclear power facilities in the area, raising concerns at the IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog.

Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would be stationing tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, which also borders Ukraine. Tactical nukes have a smaller yield than strategic nukes and are meant for use on the battlefield.

 Russia has also helped Belarus convert 10 of its aircraft to make them capable of carrying tactical nuclear warheads, Putin said. They’ll begin training pilots on these modified planes next month. Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine’s Western allies have feared that pro-Russian Belarus would join in the fighting.

After rescinding one of the last remaining nuclear pacts with the US last month, Russia has ceased providing advance notice of missile tests. Russia is now conducting missile drills in Siberia, some of which involves intercontinental ballistic missiles. These are the type of long-range missiles capable of delivering a warhead into the next hemisphere,

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