Risk of nuke 'Armageddon' highest since 1962 crisis, says Joe Biden

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine has brought the world closer to “Armageddon” than at any time since the Cold-War Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. President Joe Biden said.

Putin celebrated his 70th birthday to a chorus of fawning praise from officials. But with his seven-month invasion unravelling, public events appeared more muted than just a week ago, when he staged a huge concert on Red Square to proclaim the annexation of nearly a fifth of Ukrainian land.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv’s forces were swiftly recapturing more territory, including more than 500 sq km in the south where they burst through a second major front this week.

Biden said the prospect of defeat could make Putin desperate enough to use nuclear weapons, the biggest risk since US.
 

“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis,” Biden said in New York. “For the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis, we have a direct threat to the use of nuclear weapons, if in fact things continue down the path they’d been going.”
 

Putin was “not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons, because his military is, you might say, is significantly underperforming,” Biden said.

The death toll from a missile attack on apartment buildings in a southern Ukrainian city rose to 11 as more Russian missiles and — for the first time — explosive packed drones targeted Ukrainian-held Zaporizhzhia on Friday.

Biden to pardon thousands for marijuana possession

Biden took his first major steps toward decriminalizing marijuana, saying he would pardon thousands of Americans convicted for possession of the drug  and ordering a review of its treatment by law enforcement authorities. Biden announced that he would pardon all prior federal offenses for simple possession of marijuana. He will also urge governors to issue similar pardons for state offenses. 

“Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit,” Biden said in a statement, noting that people of color have been disproportionately arrested, prosecuted and convicted for the crime.

The moves fulfill a Biden campaign pledge about a month ahead of midterm congressional elections, which may attract more young people and voters of color Democrats need to show up at the polls. The pardons could affect affect more than 6,500 people charged with simple marijuana possession under federal laws and thousands more under the DC Code, the officials said.
- Bloomberg