A million refugees

Also: TD Garden follows Boston's lead; Healey scrutinizes TikTok [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  March 3, 2022 ☀️ Mostly sunny, with a high near 37 Good Morning Boston, Have plans tonight? Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy is hosting an [immersive conversation at WBUR CitySpace]( with reporter Cristela Guerra and photographer Jennifer Ortiz about cities where Confederate monuments once stood — and what the north can learn from the south when it comes to navigating this moment. [Tickets are free]( But first, the news: - Just in last night: TD Garden plans to drop its ([not-always-so tightly-enforced]( mask mandate Saturday, aligning itself with Boston's [citywide move for most public indoor venues](. - Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey [has been probing Facebook and Instagram]( since late last year over their health impacts on young people. Her new social media target? The ever-addictive TikTok. - Healey's office [announced a new eight-state investigation Wednesday]( into whether TikTok designs and operates its platform in a way "that causes or exacerbates physical and mental health harms" to children, teens and young adults — and in a way that potentially violates state consumer protection laws. - Did you accidentally receive a pandemic unemployment payment you weren't supposed to get? Gov. Charlie Baker's administration wants you to keep it. State officials are asking the federal government for permission to drop their efforts to recoup over 350,000 errant overpayments. - [According to The Boston Globe]( the Baker administration already has nearly 30,000 waiver requests and they've said reviewing all of them is just not worth the work. - Of note: officials are not forgiving fraud; in those cases, they're still trying to get the money back. - Also on Beacon Hill, state lawmakers are expected to pass legislation today to support one of the Bay State's biggest emerging industries: offshore wind. - WBUR's Steve Brown reports that the bill would create tax incentives for offshore wind companies, address certain environmental and fishing concerns, and push to modernize the electric grid. The bill would also launch offshore wind job programs. - The Massachusetts pension fund has divested from countries like Iran, South Africa and Northern Ireland over past human rights crises. Why not Russia? A group of nearly 60 state lawmakers have sent a letter to Treasurer Deb Goldberg asking her to do so. - The problem? She isn't the one with that power. Goldberg sent [a letter back to state lawmakers]( Tuesday saying divesting the 0.2% of the $104 billion pension fund with exposure to Russia would require the State House to pass a bill. - So far, at least [Colorado]( and [Rhode Island]( have moved to pull pension investments from Russian stocks and bonds (Rhode Island's treasurer is doing so without legislative action). Still, the process can take time, since states have to find buyers to whom they can sell their holdings. - Baker's administration is also [reviewing its contracts with Russian companies](. P.S.— The news out of Ukraine can be hazy and contradictory at times (there's a reason for the term "fog of war"), so I wanted to highlight two recent Twitter threads I found clarifying about trajectory of the war and the narratives shaping our understanding of it. The [first thread is from a historian]( explaining how the maps with clear lines showing what parts of Ukraine are "under Russian control" don't tell the full story, and may inadvertently help Russian President Vladimir Putin. The second is from a foreign policy expert on [how Ukraine's messaging and individual heroics have rallied global support]( but also potentially clouded our collective judgement on where the war is headed next. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [A million people have fled Ukraine as Russia nears takeover of port city]( The new total of refugees amounts to more than 2% of Ukraine’s total population, as the United Nations General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution condemning Russia for invading. [Read more.]( [A million people have fled Ukraine as Russia nears takeover of port city]( The new total of refugees amounts to more than 2% of Ukraine’s total population, as the United Nations General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution condemning Russia for invading. [Read more.]( [Fewer than 10% of applicants have been granted medical parole, frustrating some Mass. lawmakers]( Critics say the Department of Correction is too reluctant to approve the release of seriously ill prisoners as the law intended. [Read more.]( [Fewer than 10% of applicants have been granted medical parole, frustrating some Mass. lawmakers]( Critics say the Department of Correction is too reluctant to approve the release of seriously ill prisoners as the law intended. [Read more.]( [How gender-affirming voice therapy helps trans people sound like who they are]( The human voice is a powerful thing. But what if your voice didn't represent who you are? Within the transgender community in Massachusetts and beyond, that is a reality for many people who are transitioning from one gender identity to another. [Read more.]( [How gender-affirming voice therapy helps trans people sound like who they are]( The human voice is a powerful thing. But what if your voice didn't represent who you are? Within the transgender community in Massachusetts and beyond, that is a reality for many people who are transitioning from one gender identity to another. [Read more.]( [What to know about the White House's new plan for getting things back to normal]( The White House unveiled a new roadmap for the COVID pandemic, one that envisions life going back to normal after two years in crisis, while staying vigilant for new variants and outbreaks. [Read more.]( [What to know about the White House's new plan for getting things back to normal]( The White House unveiled a new roadmap for the COVID pandemic, one that envisions life going back to normal after two years in crisis, while staying vigilant for new variants and outbreaks. [Read more.]( [After 2-year pause, Dot Day celebration is set to return]( Planning is underway for the return of the Dorchester Day parade on June 5 after pandemic-driven restrictions twice shut down the neighborhood celebration, which dates back to 1904. [Read more.]( [After 2-year pause, Dot Day celebration is set to return]( Planning is underway for the return of the Dorchester Day parade on June 5 after pandemic-driven restrictions twice shut down the neighborhood celebration, which dates back to 1904. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Looking for activities this weekend? WBUR's arts and culture team [has five recommendations]( including a choose-your-own-adventure show at the Museum of Science tonight and a Boston Symphony Orchestra premiere this weekend. - WBUR's Amelia Mason [writes about the Gardner Museum's new visiting curator of performing arts,]( Prize-winning theater critic Hilton Als, and how he brings a unique lens to the job. - Countless Ukrainians had fled their country in the wake of Russia's invasion. Jason Prokowiew, whose father was a Belarusian refugee in World War II, [vividly illustrates in this Cognoscenti piece]( what that looks like on a personal level. - Andrew Evans, a former Ukraine resident, [chronicles the country's long history of confronting Russian oppression](. What We're Reading 📚 - Out of the Desert, a Rare Fruit Garden and a Lasting Legacy ([The New York Times]( - The 100 Greatest Movies of the 1980s ([Rolling Stone]( - Why John Mearsheimer Blames the U.S. for the Crisis in Ukraine ([The New Yorker]( Tell Me Something Good [Braintree's Popular Konditor Meister Bakery Selling Cupcakes To Help Ukraine (WBZ)]( A popular bakery is trying to do its part to help the people of Ukraine. [Read more.]( [Braintree's Popular Konditor Meister Bakery Selling Cupcakes To Help Ukraine (WBZ)]( A popular bakery is trying to do its part to help the people of Ukraine. [Read more.]( Before you go: You can take the Marty Walsh out of Boston, but you can't [take the Boston out of Marty Walsh](. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news   Want to change how you receive these emails? 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