Biden readying sanctions against Putin's inner circle ahead of this week's key call
CNN
US officials are currently weighing a wide set of sanctions on Russia meant to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from launching an invasion into Ukraine, according to people familiar with the discussions.
They include new actions against members of Putin's inner circle and on Russian energy producers, and one potential "nuclear option" -- disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT international payment system used by banks around the world.
The officials said final decisions hadn't been made on whether and when to apply the new sanctions, and said the Biden administration is currently in talks with European partners — many of whom have closer economic relationships to Russia — in the hopes of coordinating action.
Speaker Mike Johnson is a political survivor, weathering crisis after crisis since his unlikely ascent two years ago.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elena Kagan are well matched, rhetorically forceful opposites. And they have been clashing for more than a decade over an increasingly relevant question of presidential power: How easy should it be for the president to fire the heads of independent agencies?
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The US military carried out a strike Thursday on a suspected drug boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing four people on board, according to a social media post from US Southern Command.
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