Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed yesterday that he has decided to withdraw some troops from the border with Ukraine and is prepared to re-enter security negotiations with NATO and the US. This is the first sign of de-escalation since Russia began its mobilization near Ukraine last year, but Mr. Putin also made it clear that the threat is not over. A Russian spokesman said troops had begun loading up their gear to return to their bases, but he gave few... Read more

Valentina Constantinovska is a great-grandmother in Ukraine. A tweet showing her training with an AK-47 to defend against a possible Russian attack is making headlines. She explained: “Your mother would do it too.” According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zalenskyy, she may not have to wait long to defend her country. In a speech to his nation yesterday, Mr. Zalenskyy stated: “We are told that February 16 will be the day of attack.” He added, “We will make it a union... Read more

The Los Angeles Rams are world champions after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals last night in Super Bowl LVI. Quarterback Matthew Stafford enhanced his chances to be elected to the Hall of Fame one day and his team will now be part of football immortality. The stock market may also be stronger as a result. Strangely, a National Football Conference winner produces a positive year for the S&P 500 79 percent of the time, while the index has been up only... Read more

Actor and comedian Bob Saget died from accidental head trauma, a Florida medical examiner declared yesterday. “His injuries were most likely incurred from an unwitnessed fall,” according to Dr. Joshua Stephany, who added that no illicit drugs or toxins were found in his system. Mr. Saget was found in his Orlando hotel room by hotel security on January 9 and pronounced dead at the scene. We also learned yesterday that Prince Charles has tested positive for COVID-19 for the second... Read more

Canadian truck drivers have been blocking a key US–Canada border crossing for several days to protest their government’s pandemic control measures. They are specifically demanding an end to federal COVID-19 mandates for cross-border traffic. Are these truckers “trying to blockade . . . our democracy,” as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleges? Or does the self-named “Freedom Convoy” have “legitimate concerns,” as a Parliament member said in speaking out against Mr. Trudeau’s handling of the pandemic? It depends on whom you... Read more

The recent volcanic eruption in the South Pacific island kingdom of Tonga was hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb, according to NASA scientists. As Morgan Lee reports in Christianity Today, the blast generated waves that reached estimated heights of fifty feet. Coastline villages and resorts were swept away. Rushing water buried roads under boulders and debris. Yet only three people died and, despite the ash that covers large parts of the islands, life is returning to... Read more

Kyle Mullen was a football star at his New Jersey high school and for Yale (where he was a second-team All-Ivy League selection) and Monmouth University. He was also an honor society student described by a former coach as a “great athlete but a better person.” The coach added that Mullen was “probably one of the best kids I ever had. Great, great kid on the field but even better off the field.” Mullen, age twenty-four, died last Friday during... Read more

When King George VI of Great Britain died on February 6, 1952, his oldest child, Princess Elizabeth, succeeded him to the throne. Yesterday, the queen became the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee “marking seventy years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms, and the Commonwealth.” However, this celebration has been eclipsed by remarks she made in time for yesterday morning’s front pages: she expressed a “sincere wish” that Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla, should... Read more

Greetings from the Arctic tundra known as Dallas, Texas. A major winter storm brought rain, freezing rain, ice, and snow to the middle section of the US yesterday. More than one hundred million people in twenty-five states have been under winter weather alerts. Thousands of flights have been canceled, schools and businesses are closed, and officials are urging us to stay off roads. I am writing this article inside a house covered in snow surrounded by roads covered in ice.... Read more

The funeral for New York City Police Officer Wilbert Mora was held yesterday morning at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan. He and his partner, Officer Jason Rivera, were fatally shot while responding to a domestic violence call last month. Officer Rivera’s service was held last week. In what is being called “a final act of heroism” and at his request, Officer Mora’s organs were donated to save the lives of others. In related news, a memorial service was held... Read more