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Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Sanctions news: “The Biden administration announced Friday it would join the European Union in directly sanctioning President Vladimir Putin, as Russian forces continued a brutal invasion of Ukraine, threatening to take over the capital city of Kyiv.”
* Ukrainians aren’t easily defeated: “Two days in, the Russian offensive appeared to be stymied by stiffer-than-expected resistance from highly motivated Ukrainian armed forces. Despite an overwhelming advantage in manpower and equipment, the Russian advance lost some of its momentum Friday and the quick victory Russian President Vladimir Putin was counting on is no longer assured, a senior United States defense official told NBC News.”
* Big news from the CDC today: “Most Americans are safe going without a mask in indoor settings, including in schools, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.... The new guidance puts more than half of U.S. counties under low or medium risk, where masks are no longer necessary. That accounts for roughly 70 percent of Americans.”
* A cultural backlash: “Within hours of bombs falling on Ukraine, major world sports and cultural institutions moved to isolate Russian athletes and artists — banning them from platforms that have long brought glory to Vladimir Putin’s regime.”
* This probably wasn’t part of Putin’s plan, either: “Thousands of people from around the world, from London to Paris to New York, took to the streets Thursday with chants, signs and a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin: We stand with Ukraine.”
* I’m not sure the pope will change Moscow’s direction, but the visit seems like a relatively bold move: “Pope Francis visited the Russian Embassy in Rome on Friday in an extraordinary gesture to convey his personal concerns about the conflict in Ukraine. The Vatican confirmed to NBC News that the pope had made the visit, which appears to have no recent precedent. Typically, popes receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican, with the Vatican foreign minister expected to summon the ambassador under expected diplomatic protocol.”
* A story we’ve been following: “Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) has asked his investigations chief to oversee the ongoing probe into former president Donald Trump and his business practices, a day after the abrupt resignations of two veteran attorneys who had been leading the case.”
* This faces long odds: “Roger Stone, a staunch Trump ally, filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to prevent AT&T from turning his phone records over to the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.”
* Remember him? “A Florida man who grabbed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s podium and posed for photographs with it during the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Friday to more than two months in prison. The image of Adam Johnson smiling and waving as he carried Pelosi’s podium went viral after the pro-Trump mob’s attack on Jan. 6, 2021.”
Have a safe weekend.