
Germany's Scholz meets Biden as the new chancellor's resolve on Ukraine is tested
CNN
As the standoff between Russia and the West enters a potentially decisive phase, President Joe Biden meets Monday at the White House with Germany's new chancellor, whose willingness to confront Moscow alongside the United States has been called into question.
Olaf Scholz took office in December, succeeding a towering figure in global politics -- Angela Merkel -- whose absence during the current crisis is being felt on both sides of the Atlantic.
Scholz arrives in Washington as Russian President Vladimir Putin has assembled 70% of the military personnel and weapons on Ukraine's borders he would need for a full-scale invasion of the country, based on US intelligence estimates -- though no one seems to know what his true intentions might be.

Cuba is going dark under US pressure. How the crisis unfolded and why its troubles are far from over
Almost three months after the US effectively imposed an oil blockade on Cuba that worsened its energy crunch, nearly every aspect of Cuban society has been feeling the strain.

The Department of Homeland Security has been ensnared by a partial government shutdown as Congress did not act to fund the agency by the end of Friday. But nearly all DHS workers will remain on the job — even if many won’t get paid until the lapse ends — and the public probably won’t notice much of a change.











