German Chancellor rejects calls to sanction Russia now — argues the West should keep Putin guessing  — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday rejected calls to sanction Russia now, saying that Moscow should not be sure “exactly” how the West will react.

Jean-Luc Brunel, held on suspicion of supplying girls to Epstein, found hanged  —  Former model agency boss accused of rape and suspected of trafficking minors has died in prison  —  The former boss of a French model agency accused of rape and questioned on suspicion of supplying underage girls …

Who Is Behind QAnon?  Linguistic Detectives Find Fingerprints  —  Using machine learning, separate teams of computer scientists identified the same two men as likely authors of messages that fueled the viral movement.  —  “Open your eyes,” the online post began, claiming, “Many in our govt worship Satan.”

Trump properties in talks to host lucrative Saudi golf events … Former president Donald Trump's company is angling to host events at his golf courses for the controversial Saudi golf league, according to three people familiar with the matter, potentially handing Trump a lucrative business partnership …

Biden extends the national pandemic emergency first declared in March 2020.  —  President Biden said on Friday that he would extend the national emergency that was first declared in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  The additional authority had been set to expire on March 1.

Families of U.S. troops killed in Kabul airport bombing question whether Pentagon distorted investigation findings  —  As the sun faded on another anxious, adrenalized day, Kareem Nikoui, a 20-year-old U.S. Marine from Southern California, balanced on top of a concrete traffic barrier and scanned the crowd.

CNN's Problems Are Bigger Than Jeff Zucker  —  How an upcoming merger at Time Warner could upend life at the cable news network.  —  In 1973, Tele-Communications Inc., a cable company headed by a thirty-two-year-old named John Malone, was having trouble getting the city of Vail, Colorado, to accept its rates.

California NAACP Calls For Spitzer's “Immediate Resignation”  —  Earlier today, Rick Callender, President of the California State Conference of the NAACP, told OC Watch that the organization is calling for the “immediate resignation” of Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer …

GOP Rep. Will Introduce Bill to Provide Temporary Asylum to Canadian Trucker Protesters, Compares Trudeau's Actions to an ‘Authoritarian Regime Like Venezuela’  —  Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-NM) compared Canada's handling of vaccine mandate protesters to “an authoritarian regime like Venezuela” …

‘The Washington Post’ takes new approach to national coverage with a ‘Democracy Desk’  —  The Washington Post is about to unveil a Democracy Desk to report on the front lines of battles over voting, access to the polls, and the people caught up in these fights.

A New Sheriff in Town  —  New Orleans' newest jailer won't get us out of our crisis of mass incarceration.  But her election still matters as we build a safer, healthier community.  —  In December, New Orleans, once known as the most incarcerated city in the most incarcerated state …