Russia Says It Has American Basketball Player in Custody  —  The Russian Federal Customs Service said that its officials had detained an American basketball player after finding vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in her luggage at the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow.

Russian cease-fire attempt in Ukraine falters amid shelling  —  LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — A limited cease-fire that Russia declared to allow civilians to evacuate two cities in Ukraine quickly fell apart Saturday, and Ukrainian officials blamed Russian shelling for blocking the promised safe passage …

The Emptiness Inside Donald Trump's New Social Media Platform  —  Around 9:02 a.m. on Friday, an unexpected flash of purple appeared on my iPhone's lock-screen.  —  “Your wait is over!  Tap here to start using Truth Social.”  —  Tap I did, and inside the new social media platform created …

How the West Marshaled a Stunning Show of Unity Against Russia  —  In a few frantic days, the West threw out the playbook it used for decades against the Kremlin and isolated Russia with unparalleled sanctions and penalties.  —  LONDON — The day after Russian tanks and troops poured across …

John Bolton: Putin was ‘waiting’ for possible US withdrawal from NATO  —  Former national security adviser John Bolton said on Friday that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin was “waiting” for a possible United States withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) …

How the Manhattan D.A.'s Investigation Into Donald Trump Unraveled  —  The criminal investigation into the former president crashed amid a disagreement about the merits of bringing a case.  The debate pitted a new district attorney against two veteran prosecutors who had pursued a case against Mr. Trump for years.

Putin Has Already Suffered a Strategic Defeat  —  The question is how many people will die before the consequences of that defeat come to bear.  —  Every week I highlight three newsletters that are worth your time.  —  If you find value in this project, do two things for me: (1) Hit the like button, and (2) Share this with someone.

Pence hits Trump: No room in GOP ‘for apologists for Putin’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence will urge Republicans to move on from the 2020 election and will declare that “there is no room in this party for apologists for Putin” as he further cements his break from former President Donald Trump.

Donald Trump looks increasingly like a stray orange hair to be flicked off the nation's sleeve  —  Floundering in his attempts to wield political power while lacking a political office, Donald Trump looks increasingly like a stray orange hair to be flicked off the nation's sleeve.

What it's like at the border, delivering Javelins and Stingers to Ukraine  —  NEAR THE UKRAINE BORDER — Javelin antitank missiles, the American-made weapons that can destroy Russian tanks, are stacked in steel racks awaiting quick shipment into Ukraine.  A giant C-17 transport is parked on a nearby runway.

Russia - Level 4 - Do Not Travel  —  Home Главн ая стран ица |  U.S. citizens should depart Russia immediately.  —  U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart immediately.

Stoli vodka announces rebrand  —  New York (CNN)The maker of Stolichnaya vodka announced a major rebrand Friday, in direct response to its founder's “vehement position” against the Putin regime and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  —  The vodka, famously marketed as Russian …

Iran Nuclear Deal Threatened by Russian Demands Over Ukraine Sanctions  —  Western and Iranian officials have said they were very close to reaching a deal to restore the nuclear pact  —  Fresh demands from Russia threatened to derail talks to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal …

Twitter bans over 100 accounts that pushed #IStandWithPutin  —  Twitter has banned more than 100 accounts that pushed the pro-Russian hashtag #IStandWithPutin for participating in “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” days after the hashtag trended on Twitter amid the invasion in Ukraine.

Trump's private schedule reveals no plans for him to join 6 January march  —  Ex-president said he would join crowd to US Capitol but his schedule indicates he deliberately lied to his supporters  —  Donald Trump was aware long before he took the stage at the “Save America” …

Yes, We Can Live Without Russian Oil  —  This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an oil shock of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions.  Sign up here.  —  Today's Agenda  — We can live without Russian oil.  — Russia's economy wasn't in great shape to begin with.  — There are few good outcomes likely in Ukraine.

Rich oligarchs with private jets may be able to evade a U.S. ban on Russian planes … Government watchdogs have repeatedly warned in recent years that the Federal Aviation Administration often lacks information about the true owners of planes even on its own registry, a gap that highlights …

Sky News team's harrowing account of their violent ambush in Ukraine this week  —  On Monday, near Kyiv, chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay and his team were attacked.  Camera operator Richie Mockler took two rounds to his body armour, Stuart was wounded.  Their experience illustrates the scale …

Ukraine President Zelenskyy requests more lethal aid during virtual meeting with US senators  —  Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held Saturday morning meeting with the full Senate  —  Senate action to help Ukraine would ‘carry a lot of weight’: Military analyst

'I Just Can't Stand By': American Veterans Join the Fight in Ukraine  —  All across the country, small groups of military veterans are hungry for what they see as a righteous fight to defend freedom against an autocratic aggressor.  —  Hector served two violent tours in Iraq as a United States Marine …

An Anti-Vax Judge Is Preventing the Navy From Deploying a Warship  —  Admirals are desperate to remove an insubordinate anti-vaxxer from command of a guided-missile destroyer.  A judge won't let them.  —  At this moment, the United States Navy is preparing to deploy a 10,000-ton warship …

Several Western news organizations suspended operations in Russia.  —  Several Western media organizations moved on Friday to suspend their journalistic operations in Russia in the wake of a harsh new crackdown on news and free speech by President Vladimir V. Putin's government.