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Vlad sure has a flare for the dramatic: |
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© Giphy Via The New York Times’s Valerie Hopkins and Anton Troianovski, “President Vladimir V. Putin kept an anxious world guessing about whether he plans to invade Ukraine, announcing on Monday that he would decide by the end of the day whether to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions of Ukraine.” https://nyti.ms/3h4ZheN Why it’s a bit worrisome if Putin does recognize those two regions as independent: “The United States and its allies have worried that if Moscow recognizes the two enclaves, in the region known as the Donbas, it could open the door for Russia to move more forces into Ukraine.” Keep in mind — U.S. officials have warned that Russia will come up with fake reasons to aggress: “With Russian state media issuing an ominous drumbeat of unsubstantiated reports about aggression by Ukraine — which U.S. officials have warned Moscow would use as a pretext for a military intervention — Mr. Putin used a televised meeting of his Security Council to declare that a peace agreement for the Russia-backed separatist territories was in effect dead.” The full story: https://nyti.ms/3h4ZheN |
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| ‘A RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE WOULD BE UNLIKE MOST WARS IN 80 YEARS.’: |
| How so, from The New York Times’s David Leonhardt: https://nyti.ms/3v1E0uV |
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| ‘PUTIN MAY GO TO WAR TO CAPTURE UKRAINE. WITH BELARUS, HE DID IT WITHOUT FIRING A SHOT.’: |
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© Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo via AP Via The Washington Post’s Robyn Dixon and Mary Ilyushina: https://wapo.st/3p3alO8 |
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| TIDBIT: |
| Financial Times’s Henry Foy tweeted: “Putin turns to all his top advisers, the country's most senior officials, and asks if anyone has any opinion dissenting from the idea of [recognizing] the independence of breakaway eastern Ukrainian regions. You can hear a pin drop as nobody moves.” Read the full thread: https://bit.ly/3h31ffP |
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Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations |
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Paige is one of many experts working on privacy at Facebook—to give you more control over your information.
Hear more from Paige on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet’s most pressing challenges, including federal privacy legislation. |
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This statement comes with roughly *stops to calculate* 4,651 asterisks, conditions, ifs and buts: |
| President Biden has agreed “in principle” to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Ukraine, but only if Russia hasn’t invaded Ukraine (!) https://bit.ly/3BLhtUw White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement: "As the President has repeatedly made clear, we are committed to pursuing diplomacy until the moment an invasion begins.” Psaki also said: "We are always ready for diplomacy. We are also ready to impose swift and severe consequences should Russia instead choose war. And currently, Russia appears to be continuing preparations for a full-scale assault on Ukraine very soon. |
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| THE MEETING BEFORE THE MEETING: |
| Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, are meeting on Thursday. https://bit.ly/3BLhtUw ^ Well: Blinken told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union”: “The meeting’s on provided Russia doesn’t invade Ukraine in the interim. So it all depends what Russia does in the coming days.” More from Blinken: https://cnn.it/3v6fhpd |
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| THE LATEST FROM BIDEN’S NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER JAKE SULLIVAN: |
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© AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta “White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday the U.S. believes Russia is planning an ‘extremely violent’ invasion of Ukraine, saying Moscow will seek to ‘crush’ the Ukrainian people.” What we know: https://bit.ly/3h3IN6O |
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| It’s Monday. Happy President’s Day! 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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| COMING SOON: |
| 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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This quote is how we all feel, Sen. Leahy.
‘Oh god, no … Good lord, no.’: |
| After passing a third (!) short-term bill to keep the federal government funded while congressional negotiators work through the sticking points, lawmakers, once again, have just a few weeks to pass a funding package. https://bit.ly/3s4RvYI How long the government is funding this time: Until March 11 What about passing a fourth short-term bill to buy more time? Leahy’s reaction made me laugh: “ ‘Oh, god, no,’ Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said last week when asked about the prospect of a fourth funding Band-Aid. ‘Good lord, no.’ ” What still needs to happen: https://bit.ly/3s4RvYI |
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| LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS | |
Lift it up, up, up: |
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© Giphy Via The New York Times’s Stephen Castle, “Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was expected on Monday to lift the remaining coronavirus restrictions in England, including a legal requirement that those who test positive self-isolate, making the country an outlier in its handling of the pandemic.” https://nyti.ms/3v6U0M6 |
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| SIDE NOTE — THE QUEEN HAS COVID-19: |
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© Steve Parsons, pool via AP, file Via BBC’s Dulcie Lee and Adam Durbin, Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. https://bbc.in/3BAWaVA How is she feeling?: She has "mild cold-like symptoms,” according to the palace. Keep in mind: “Her eldest son and heir, the Prince of Wales, tested positive on 10 February, after meeting his mother on 8 February.” |
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| CASE NUMBERS: |
| Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 78,479,838 U.S. death toll: 935,336 Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y |
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| VACCINATION NUMBERS: |
| Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 550 million shots have been given. Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 211,825 doses For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million. Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH |
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Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations |
|
Paige is one of many experts working on privacy at Facebook—to give you more control over your information.
Hear more from Paige on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet’s most pressing challenges, including federal privacy legislation. |
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Learning that ‘Putin’ is spelled ‘Poutine’ in French is the best discovery I’ve made today: |
| NPR’s David Gura tweeted a screenshot of a French statement on the potential summit between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. https://bit.ly/3JHISt3 The Washington Post’s Seung Min Kim added, “Big news here on Biden agreeing to a summit w Putin (if no invasion, per Psaki) but also, Putin in French is ‘Poutine’ ” https://bit.ly/3JKzSmS |
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Well, this is adorable and hilarious: |
| Writer and producer Bess Kalb tweeted, “My oldest child was 6 months old when the pandemic started and he’s 2 and a half now which means he’s been effectively quarantined with me his entire sentient life so it’s my fault his go-to expression when he sees something that pleases him is ‘Ugh I am loving that!’ ” https://bit.ly/33Hr3Ly |
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Spotted — Joe Biden getting brunch with his granddaughters: |
| CNN’s DJ Judd tweeted a photo of President Biden at The Hamilton in Washington, D.C. Photo: https://bit.ly/3p4rIOl Another photo from C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman: https://bit.ly/36tNAwl |
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| The House and Senate are out. President Biden has no public events scheduled. |
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| Tuesday, March 1: President Biden’s State of the Union address |
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© AP/Bebeto Matthews Today is National Sticky Bun Day. |
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| And to keep you in long weekend mode, I’ll leave you with this: here’s a dog finally meeting his absolute HERO: https://bit.ly/3I9I7sy |
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