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One piece of drama per week, Russia. And yesterday’s skating counted as at least two weeks worth: |
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© Giphy Via The New York Times, U.S. officials are estimating that Russia has amassed roughly 190,000 troops on the border of Ukraine, another sign of the increasing likelihood of an imminent invasion. https://nyti.ms/3H2KM5T Keep in mind: On Tuesday, President Biden said Russia had roughly 150,000 troops in position. https://bit.ly/3gQ1ZEZ What Russia is claiming: “Russia has characterized the troop buildup as part of routine military exercises, including joint drills with Belarus, a friendly nation that lies along Ukraine’s northern border, close to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Those drills, which involve Russian troops from hundreds of miles to the east, are scheduled to end on Sunday.” |
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| HAPPENING AT 4 P.M. EST: |
| President Biden will deliver an update on the evolving crisis with Russia and Ukraine. |
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| ALSO HAPPENING TODAY: |
| Biden is expected to speak with NATO allies to discuss the increasing possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. https://bit.ly/3H2uUjE |
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By the way, this could make gas prices even higher: |
| Via The Hill’s Rachel Frazin, Laura Kelly and Zack Budryk, “Uncertainty surrounding oil markets and Russia, the world’s third-largest oil producer, has already driven up prices, which were hovering at around $92 per barrel on Thursday. Experts say those prices could go higher and impact gas prices at the pump.” What to expect: https://bit.ly/3v0otvm |
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| Happy Friday! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook. Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill's 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: http://bit.ly/2UoupvN |
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| SIGN UP: |
| Stay ahead of the news cycle with The Hill’s new Evening Report, featuring the day’s top stories and a look ahead to tomorrow. |
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^ If you missed the Russian figure skating drama that I mentioned above: |
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© AP/Bernat Armangue It was a pretty emotional conclusion. Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who tested positive in a drug test, placed fourth and left the ice crying. Her teammate, Alexandra Trusova, who placed second yelled that she would never skate again. “I hate this sport,” she shouted right off the ice. A third Russian skater, Anna Shcherbakova, won the gold and looked pretty empty after the announcement. More on the emotional ending to yesterday’s figure skating event, via The Associated Press: https://bit.ly/3JGVaCb |
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| FOOTAGE OF THE DRAMATIC ENDING LAST NIGHT — I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT: |
| Via NBC Sports: https://bit.ly/3sUxW4N |
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| WHEN IS THE OLYMPIC CLOSING CEREMONY?: |
| Sunday at 6:30 a.m. EST. How to watch: https://bit.ly/3H0cGiW |
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BREAKING — The former police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright was sentenced: |
| Via The Washington Post’s Kim Bellware, “The former suburban Minneapolis police officer convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting Daunte Wright during a traffic stop last April was sentenced to two years in prison in a Hennepin County courtroom Friday.” https://wapo.st/3s2odtY A quick reminder of the story: “A Hennepin County jury in late December found Kim Potter guilty of first- and second-degree manslaughter for shooting Wright, a 20-year-old unarmed Black man in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center last April. Potter claimed she mistook her gun for a Taser when she fired on Wright to stop him from driving away.” From the judge: Potter made a “tragic mistake ... and ended up killing a young man.” The judge also said about the case: “This case is highly unusual … one of the saddest cases I’ve had in my 20 years on the bench.” The full story: https://wapo.st/3s2odtY |
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Rest in peace, congressman: |
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© AP/Bruce Kluckhohn Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.), 59, has died after his two-year fight with kidney cancer. https://bit.ly/34JJdNf A little bit about Hagedorn: He worked at the U.S. Treasury Department before running for Congress. He has served in Congress since 2019. His wife, Jennifer Carnahan, posted: “Jim loved our country and loved representing the people of southern Minnesota. Every moment of every day he lived his dream by serving others. There was no stronger conservative in our state than my husband; and it showed in how he voted, led and fought for our country.” |
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I’ve got 99 problems and morale counts as at least half: |
| Via The Hill’s Alex Gangitano and Brett Samuels, “A Biden White House struggling to find any sort of political momentum is facing a stern challenge in trying to shift the sour mood of a public fatigued by the two-year pandemic, annoyed with rising prices and uncertain over conflicts abroad.” Where Biden’s approval ratings stand: “President Biden’s approval ratings have steadily dropped since August and Democrats are headed toward a November where it seems inevitable that they will lose their congressional majorities.” What this means for Biden and Democrats: https://bit.ly/3v1fQ3A |
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Hype man Ron Klain: |
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© Giphy White House chief of staff Ron Klain is trying to pump up Senate Democrats who are worried about President Biden’s poor approval rating. https://bit.ly/34JOm81 How Klain is doing that: He is promising an uplifting State of the Union address. Klain’s message: “Klain told senators that Biden’s speech to a joint session of Congress next month will tout the president’s accomplishments from last year, which many Democrats believe are being undersold, and set a clear agenda for the rest of the year.” |
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| WHEN IS PRESIDENT BIDEN’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS?: |
| Tuesday, March 1 |
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Prince Harry doesn’t think his kids are safe in the UK: |
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© AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file Via The Associated Press, “Lawyers for Prince Harry told a court hearing on Friday that the British royal is unwilling to bring his children to his homeland because it is not safe.” https://bit.ly/3BzZWyj How this came up: “Harry has launched a legal challenge to the U.K. government’s refusal to let him personally pay for police protection when he comes to Britain. His legal team says Harry wants to bring his children — Archie, who is almost 3, and 8-month-old Lilibet — to visit his home country from the United States but thinks it would be too risky without police protection.” The full story: https://bit.ly/3BzZWyj |
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1,100 Porsches are on fire at sea: |
| Via The New York Times’s Vimal Patel, “A mammoth cargo ship believed to be carrying thousands of vehicles including 1,100 Porsches was on fire and drifting off the coast of the Azores on Thursday after its 22 crew members were rescued from the vessel.” https://nyti.ms/3Bv8iHz The trip: The luxury vehicles were on their way from Emden, Germany to Davisville, R.I. OK, so the crew evacuated the ship, and the ship is still on fire. Now, what … ?: “It was unclear how much of the 650-foot, 60,000-ton cargo ship’s inventory was lost in the fire and how the authorities would tend to the stricken ship.” Ouch, here’s an estimate of what else was on board: “The Drive, an automotive website, reported that the Volkswagen Group estimated nearly 4,000 vehicles were on board, including 189 Bentleys.” What we know: https://nyti.ms/3Bv8iHz |
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| VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE SHIP AND THE RESCUE MISSION FOR THE CREW: |
| Via The Wall Street Journal: https://bit.ly/3H1un1m |
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73 percent — not bad!: |
| Via The Associated Press’s Carla K. Johnson, 73 percent of Americans are estimated to be immune to the COVID-19 omicron variant, according to one model. https://bit.ly/3t9PqKD How that figure was calculated: “About half of eligible Americans have received booster shots, there have been nearly 80 million confirmed infections overall and many more infections have never been reported.” What this means: “This will prevent or shorten new illnesses in protected people and reduce the amount of virus circulating overall, likely tamping down new waves. Hospitals will get a break from overwhelmed ICUs, experts agree.” More on what this means for the pandemic: https://bit.ly/3t9PqKD |
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| CASE NUMBERS: |
| Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 78,279,797 U.S. death toll: 931,939 Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y |
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| VACCINATION NUMBERS: |
| Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 548 million shots have been given. Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 177,766 doses For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million. Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH |
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She states her hypothesis, and she shows her work: |
| Writer Molly Jong-Fast tweeted, “Every Ben Affleck photo is a poem” Photos to prove it: https://bit.ly/355d2aI |
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Always a rollercoaster on the Overheard District Twitter account: |
| @OverheardWDC tweeted, “Man in Dupont Circle discussing his security clearance: ‘I had a week to decide if I wanted to do paperwork or unfriend them.’” https://bit.ly/3sUBeVH I’m invested. Tell me everything. |
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| The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Washington, D.C. Vice President Harris is in Munich, Germany. Today: Vice President Harris is in Munich, Germany. She met with North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg. She then held a meeting with the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. 9 a.m. EST: A pro forma session in the Senate. 10 a.m. EST: President Biden received the President’s Daily Brief. 2:30 p.m. EST: President Biden holds a call with transatlantic leaders to discuss Ukraine. Feb. 28: The Senate returns. The Senate’s full agenda: https://bit.ly/3GZExzG |
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| 2:30 p.m. EST: White House press secretary Jen Psaki, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology Anne Neuberger and deputy national security advisor Daleep Singh hold a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3I3xasf |
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© AP/Christophe Ena Today is National “Drink Wine” Day. And for weekend planning purposes, tomorrow is National Chocolate Mint Day and Sunday is National Muffin Day. |
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| And because you read this far, here! Are! Baby! Goats!: https://bit.ly/3rYKcBO The sound of their feet is adorable. |
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