U.S. Intelligence Tells Congress Putin Is ‘Unlikely to Be Deterred’  —  Top U.S. intelligence officials told Congress that the Russian leader had underestimated Ukrainian resolve and Western cohesion but was “doubling down” to achieve his goals.  —  WASHINGTON — Top U.S. intelligence officials …

Giant spiders expected to drop from sky across the East Coast this spring  —  An invasive species of spider the size of a child's hand is expected to “colonize” the entire East Coast this spring by parachuting down from the sky, researchers at the University of Georgia announced last week.

How Western Firms Quietly Enabled Russian Oligarchs  —  Investment, law and lobbying firms have helped enmesh Kremlin-linked oligarchs into the Western financial and legal systems.  —  Behind a set of imposing metal doors in an easy-to-miss office building in a New York City suburb …

Pulitzer Prize Winning New York Times Reporter: January 6 Media Coverage ‘Overreaction,’ FBI Involved, Event Was Not Organized Despite Ongoing Narrative  — NYT National Security Correspondent, Matthew Rosenberg, contradicts his own January 6 reporting: “There were a ton of FBI informants amongst the people who attacked the Capitol.”

A strange new defense of Trump's coup effort is both wrong and dangerous  —  Ever since Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol, we've heard endless variations of a particularly pernicious claim: Trump and many GOP voters really believed the election was stolen from him.

Cardiff Philharmonic removes Tchaikovsky from programme in light of Russian invasion of Ukraine  —  The orchestra had an all-Tchaikovsky concert scheduled for next week, but has decided to change the programme having deemed it to be ‘inappropriate’ at this time

Trump's man in North Carolina struggles in Senate primary  —  Donald Trump's pick in North Carolina's contentious Republican Senate primary is struggling to gain traction, raising concerns among his powerful backers about his prospects in a race that is key to control of the Senate.

Do Covid Precautions Work?  —  Yes, but they haven't made a big difference.  —  Daily life in red and blue America has continued to be quite different over the past few months.  It's a reflection of the partisan divide over Covid-19.  Consider:  — In the country's most liberal cities, many people are still avoiding restaurants.

Trump Refinances $100 Million Mortgage On Trump Tower With A Bank Headed By A Political Supporter  —  Donald Trump refinanced Trump Tower in February, taking out a $100 million loan, according to documents recorded Tuesday by New York City's Department of Finance.

A judge uses Tucker Carlson's own words against Fox News  —  It's a pretty remarkable state of affairs when a judge is approvingly citing Tucker Carlson's journalistic rigor, but that's precisely the situation we find ourselves in now.  —  And rather ironically, that could be bad news for Fox News.

Endurance, Ernest Shackleton's Ship, Lost in 1915, Is Found in Antarctica  —  Explorers and researchers, battling freezing temperatures, have located Endurance, Ernest Shackleton's ship that sank in the Antarctic in 1915.  —  The wreck of Endurance has been found in the Antarctic …

GOP pushes for an ‘earthquake in American electoral power’  —  A legal argument lurking in two Supreme Court cases could give Republican legislators in battleground states sweeping control over election procedures, with ramifications that could include power over how states select presidential electors.

Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:  —  Section 1.  Policy.  Advances in digital and distributed ledger technology …

House panel flags Amazon and senior executives to Justice Department over potentially criminal conduct  —  A bipartisan group of members of the House Judiciary Committee has alerted the Justice Department to “potentially criminal conduct” by Amazon and senior executives in relation …

Crossover voting will remain in Wyoming after party affiliation bill dies in Legislature  —  The Donald Trump-endorsed crossover voting bill died Tuesday in the Wyoming House after it was not considered by a legislative deadline.  —  The bill aimed to end same-day party affiliation changes …

Montreal Symphony Orchestra drops Russian piano prodigy from concerts amid backlash  —  A young Russian pianist who was set to perform with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra this week has been struck from the schedule after protest.  —  However, the orchestra maintained its praise …

A new iron curtain descends on Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine … An economic and cultural iron curtain is descending on Russia as President Vladimir Putin proceeds with his invasion of Ukraine, reversing decades of integration with Western economies and threatening to isolate Russians to an extent unseen since the Soviet era.

Thank God Trump Isn't President Right Now  —  Biden isn't perfect, but he beats the alternative.  —  Joe Biden is not a very good president.  His communication skills are subpar, e.g. when he found himself praising the “Iranian” instead of the Ukrainian people in his State of the Union speech.

Graham signals he's a likely no on Biden SCOTUS pick  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), an influential Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is signaling he's leaning toward voting “no” on President Biden's nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court …

Colorado clerk is indicted for election tampering and misconduct  —  A grand jury in Colorado has indicted Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters and her deputy on counts related to election tampering and misconduct.  —  The indictment of Peters and Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisley on felony …

The Short, Strange, Very Predictable Story of Caroline Calloway's Snake Oil  —  As the controversial online personality says she's leaving New York, complaints about Calloway's latest business venture pursue her out the door.  —  Anna Merlan  —  To know about Caroline Calloway is to be deeply …

Why Isn't Brittney Griner the Biggest Sports Story in the Country?  —  The second-best player in every sport is a superstar at a level that 99.999 percent of professional athletes — who are already the elite of the elite of the elite — will never come close to achieving.

Israeli officials say Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks at critical point  —  The ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine are at a critical juncture, Israeli officials said today. … - Israeli officials said they hope these are signs that more progress toward a diplomatic solution might be possible.