promoearn: A Twosday unlike any other

Tuesday, February 22

A man shows a poster in support of Ukraine as he attends a demonstration along the street near the Russian embassy to protest against the escalation of the tension between Russia and Ukraine in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022.

Yo, banana boy! Not calling you names – like today's date, it's a palindrome. Here's Tuesday's biggest news.

Ahmaud Arbery's killers were all found guilty in a federal hate crimes trial. "Wind chill near 50 below" doesn't sound like a real thing, but it's happening. And we're waving goodbye to Arthur the aardvark.

👋 Hey! Laura here. Here's Tuesday's news, forward and backward.

But first, tacocat! 😹 That's my favorite palindrome. In case you didn't know, a palindrome reads the same forward and backward. Just like today's date – 2/22/22 – no matter where you are in the world.

The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here.

Biden begins sanctions on Russia over Ukraine invasion

It's official from the White House: Russia has invaded Ukraine. Russia deployed troops to two regions in eastern Ukraine, calling it a "peacekeeping force" after declaring their independence. President Joe Biden announced severe sanctions on Russia, putting it bluntly during a speech on Tuesday: "Who in the Lord's name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belongs to his neighbors?" Russian President Vladimir Putin has up to 190,000 Russian troops surrounding Ukraine on three sides. Putin has multiple ways he can strike Ukraine, and he can take as much of Ukraine as he wants. But he cannot hold it: 45% of Ukrainians will fight back with weapons. Ukrainians will resist, and there will be many dead Russian soldiers. Putin knows this, and the strengthening of Ukraine's insurgency constrains Putin's ability to take all of Ukraine.

👉 So, what happens next? No matter what, there will be major consequences. Here are a few ways it could play out.

•	Transcript: President Biden delivers remarks on U.S. sanctions, Putin's advancements into Ukraine.
•	Chaotic scenes in Donetsk and Luhansk as Russian troops enter the region.
•	'War is my biggest horror': Russians brace for deadly conflict, economic hardship.
•	What the Russian invasion of Ukraine could mean for energy prices, global security and more.
•	Pandemic, insurrection and now a new Cold War? For Joe Biden, a presidency full of crises. \| Analysis

Arbery's killers found guilty of federal hate crimes

A jury found three white men guilty of hate crimes and attempted kidnapping for the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery after determining the men targeted Arbery because he was Black. Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan — all already serving life in prison for Arbery's murder — could each face an additional life sentence. The jury found each man guilty of one count of interference with rights and attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels were also convicted of using, carrying and brandishing — and in Travis McMichael's case, firing — a gun during a crime of violence.

•	What the hate crime verdicts in Arbery's death say about justice and race in America.

Attorneys and family of Ahmaud Arbery raise their arms in victory after three men were found guilty of hate crimes charges in his death, on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the federal courthouse in Brunswick, Georgia. Greg McMichael, Travis McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan face another life sentence for the murder.

Lewis M. Levine, AP

What everyone's talking about

•	A woman said she was 'raped' in the metaverse. When will it matter?
•	Trayvon Martin's mom remembers her son and talks about the future, 10 years after his death.
•	What happens when a 'body positivity' influencer loses weight? Fans revolt.
•	Without Roe v. Wade, their abortions wouldn't have been possible. Women and other people of color share their stories.

📰 Did you hit a paywall? The Short List is free, and made possible by financial support for our journalism. Several stories we linked to are subscriber-only. Please consider subscribing! All the cool kids are doing it. We're even having a sale!

Think it's time to move on from COVID? Not so fast.

Mandates are lifting. Employers are calling us back to offices. And even some of the strictest and most vigilant among us have decided that enough is enough. Americans are moving on from COVID-19 – can you honestly fault them? It's been a horrible two years as we watched this pandemic pillage the world of life and common sense. And while I will be one of the last to take off my mask and get near people again, I understand why many of you are rushing back to "normal." But. Medically speaking, the pandemic isn't over. That's just the facts of it. There's a lot to talk about here: Why "normal" will never be what any of us remember. The cultural impact of COVID-19. The things we lost and what that will mean for generations of us. Read on.

👉 Hong Kong will test entire population of 7.5M people three times in March; Trucker convoys inspired by Ottawa protests heading for Washington, D.C.: Latest COVID-19 updates.

COVID-19 signs in Buffalo Grove, Ill., on Feb. 10, 2022.

Nam Y. Huh/AP

A bone-numbing blast

A powerful storm continued to wreak havoc across the nation on Tuesday as winter refused to relinquish its icy grip on the U.S. The storm walloped the Upper Midwest with snow and ice, creating dangerous travel conditions, closing scores of schools and causing a chain-reaction accident that injured at least six people in North Dakota. By Tuesday morning, more than 20 inches of snow had fallen in Washburn, Wisconsin, just east of Duluth, Minnesota, AccuWeather said. That same storm also ushered in bitterly cold air across much of the central U.S. Wind chills approached 50 degrees below zero in some locations, which doesn't even sound like a real thing that could happen. 🌨 Forecast and latest weather updates here.

Workers toil to clear snow from Larimer Square as the first of a pair of winter storms sweeps over the intermountain West Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, in Denver.

David Zalubowski, AP

Real quick

•	AT&T shut down its 3G network Tuesday. Will it impact your car's navigation system?
•	A teen ate leftover rice and noodles. Hours later, doctors amputated his legs and fingers.
•	Heads up, bird nerds! A bat falcon was spotted in the US for the first time in history.
•	A college student tried to make 'homemade rocket fuel' on his stove. He made an explosion instead.

So long, Arthur

There's "a lot of crap" on TV, but "'Arthur' just isn't that." Several generations of people would agree with Michael Yarmush, who was the voice of Arthur for the show's first five seasons. The final new episodes of the PBS Kids animated series "Arthur" aired Monday (and will re-air throughout the week), bringing the show to a close after an unprecedented 25-season run. Long before Arthur became a TV treasure and an internet meme, he was an aardvark with nose insecurities in a popular book series. But in 1996, author and illustrator Marc Brown turned "Arthur" into what eventually became the longest-running animated children's TV series, gently diving into serious topics, from divorcing parents to same-sex marriage and a grandparent with memory loss. In an environment where some kids' shows aim for cheap laughs or advertising, "Arthur" stood out.

"Arthur" featured a same-sex wedding during a 2019 episode.

PBS

A break from the news

•	🗣 Ask HR: How do I deal with a chatty co-worker who is disrupting work?
•	💻 This computes: The best MacBook Pro we've ever tested is $200 off right now.
•	🎫 Museum fans, it's your time to shine: What are the best museums across the country? Cast your vote.

This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here.