Five Things to Know, April 25, 2022

1.   Top American officials pledged Monday to help ensure Ukraine wins its fight against Russia following face-to-face talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, while Britain said Moscow has yet to achieve a significant breakthrough in its offensive in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.

2.   A lawyer and a lyricist, a presidential candidate and an amateur boxer. Orrin Hatch was many things, but he’ll be most remembered as a seven-term U.S. senator and Utah’s political godfather, starting or furthering the careers of generations of Republicans. Hatch died Saturday in Salt Lake City surrounded by family members. He was 88. He leaves behind his wife, Elaine, his six children and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. American Legion National Commander Paul E. Dillard called Hatch – the 2000 recipient of The American Legion’s Distinguished Service Medal – “a true champion for veterans”.

3.   The name of a Texas National Guard member who remains missing after going into the river along the U.S.-Mexico border to help two migrants who appeared to be drowning was released on Sunday by officials. The Texas Military Department identified the missing Guard member as Specialist Bishop E. Evans, 22, from Arlington.

4.   “The key is deterrence, and I think you’re standing onboard a large piece of that deterrence.” U.S. fighters put on a display of naval airpower Saturday over the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Philippine Sea for two VIPS, and a sent a message to potential adversaries. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi watched from the aircraft carrier’s flight deck as F-18 Super Hornets and F-35C Lightning II stealth fighters roared through maneuvers about 140 miles off the coast.

5.   Johnnie A. Jones Sr., a Louisiana civil rights attorney, World War II veteran and member of American Legion Post 502 in Baton Rouge who was wounded during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, has died. Jones was 102 years old. Jones’ goddaughter, Mada McDonald, told WAFB-TV that Jones died Saturday at the Louisiana War Veterans’ Home in Jackson, Louisiana. It took decades for Jones’ sacrifice and courage during World War II to be recognized. In 2021 — at age 101 — he finally received a Purple Heart, which is awarded to U.S. service members killed or wounded in action.