Russia attacks Lviv, Boston Marathon is here: 5 Things podcast

On today’s episode of the 5 Things podcast: Last resistance in Mariupol holds out as Russia shells Lviv

We have the latest from the war in Ukraine. Plus, authorities search for answers after mass shootings in South Carolina and Pittsburgh, Tax Day is here, the NBA Playoffs roll on and the Boston Marathon is back for the second time in six months.

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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Buenos dias. I’m Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Monday, the 18th of April 2022. Today, the latest from Ukraine as we start a new week, plus a series of Easter weekend shootings, and more.

Here are some of the top headlines:

1. A boat has capsized off the coast of Libya, leaving at least 35 people dead according to the UN Migration Agency. It’s the second tragedy in less than a week involving migrants leaving north Africa, bound for Europe.
2. Two people were killed after a car tried to pass by a railroad crossing and was hit by an Amtrak train in Houston. The train traveling from New Orleans to Los Angeles had 81 people on board.
3. And a container ship stuck in the Chesapeake Bay for more than a month has been freed. There were previously two unsuccessful attempts to dislodge it.

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Explosions apparently caused by missiles hit the western Ukraine city of Lviv earlier today. The city has been spared some of the war’s worst in Ukraine, but has not been completely immune. And at least six people were killed there in today’s violence. Meanwhile, Russia’s focused offensive in Ukraine’s east is largely centered right now on taking control of the port city of Mariupol. But a few thousand fighters are holding on to a massive steel mill there, the city’s last pocket of resistance. Capturing Mariupol would be a massive victory for Russia, securing a land corridor to the Crimean peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. Russia has slowly shelled the city throughout its invasion, and Ukrainian authorities estimate more than 21,000 people have been killed there. Russia has gone after civilians, hitting a maternity hospital, and a theater where civilians had taken shelter. Russia has continued to shell Kharkiv as well, Ukraine’s second biggest city. One woman covered in blood, Valentina Ulyanova, said this.

Taylor Wilson translating for Valentina Ulyanova:

“All windows, all furniture, all destroyed. And door, too.”

Taylor Wilson:

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told ABC News yesterday that Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy if possible, but does not have intention to surrender. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer met with Russian president Vladimir Putin this past week in a first by a European leader since the invasion began in February. He said Putin is in his own war logic on Ukraine.

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Authorities in both South Carolina and Pittsburgh are still searching for answers after a series of mass shootings over the weekend. In Pittsburgh, two people were killed and eight injured after gunfire at a house party early Sunday morning. In Columbia, South Carolina, 14 people were injured when gunfire broke out inside a crowded mall. Police chief Skip Holbrook.

Skip Holbrook:

We have three people detained. What we know is at least three people were seen with firearms inside the mall, and at least one person fired a weapon. That could change. This is still early. We don’t believe this was random. I think that’s very important in situations like this. We believe that the individuals who were armed knew each other, and there was some type of conflict that occurred that resulted in gunfire. This was not a situation where we had some random person show up at a mall to discharge a firearm and just injure people.

Taylor Wilson:

And another nine people were injured at a shooting in a nightclub in Hampton County, South Carolina.

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Tax day is here. If you’ve been procrastinating, today’s the last day to submit your federal taxes. Or you can file for an extension, but you’ll have to also do that by today. Americans had an extra weekend to prepare their returns because of the observance of Emancipation Day in Washington DC on April 15th. And residents in Massachusetts and Maine have an extra day through April 19th because of the Patriots’ Day holiday in those states. Still, tax season is ending the earliest it has since 2019. In 2020, the deadline was pushed to July amid the coronavirus pandemic. And last year’s deadline was extended to May. For more on filing your taxes by the end of the day, check out a link in today’s show description.

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The NBA playoffs roll on today with three games on tap. First at 7:30 Eastern, the Philadelphia 76ers will try to extend their 1-0 lead over the Toronto Raptors on TNT. Then at 8:30, the Utah Jazz will try to do the same in Dallas against the Mavericks on NBA TV. The Mavs may again be without star Luka Dončić. That’s followed by the Golden State Warriors up a game on the Denver Nuggets at 10:00 Eastern on TNT. The action follows an eventful opening weekend that saw the Minnesota Timberwolves shock the Memphis Grizzlies on their floor, and the Boston Celtics won on a last second buzzer beater over the Brooklyn Nets in Game One. The Nets’ Kyrie Irving also gave double middle fingers to a heckling Boston crowd at one point. Irving for much of the season was not allowed to play home games because he refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19. For more coverage all playoffs long, stay with USA TODAY Sports.

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The Boston Marathon is back today. Its 126th running comes just six months after the 2021 race, which was postponed until October because of the pandemic. But it’s back to tradition, returning for the first time since 2019, to being held on Massachusetts Patriots’ Day Holiday. It’s also the 50th anniversary of the first official women’s field in the race. Spectators can expect heavy security at the event though, which comes nine years after two bombs exploded near the finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 260.