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Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with US lawmakers to maintain military support for Ukraine on Thursday, as Republicans signalled that they would try to block a new funding package put forward by Joe Biden.The Ukrainian president addressed senators in a private meeting on Capitol Hill, warning that his country would “lose the war” without US support, before meeting the US president in the White House.His second visit to Washington since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion comes as Ukraine attempts to push through Russian defensive lines in the south and east as part of a major counteroffensive that Kyiv says requires more...

The Pentagon announced another $400 million weapons package for Ukraine on Thursday as Russia ramps up attacks on critical infrastructure with winter getting closer. The new aid includes four Avenger air defense systems, missiles for HAWK air defense systems, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, artillery rounds, and hundreds of grenade launchers. It comes one week after the Pentagon announced a separate $400 million package, bringing the total aid that the Biden administration has sent to Ukraine to over $19 billion.

With Russia’s war in her home country continuing to rage, Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, the wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky, addressed a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday, the third day of her high-profile Washington, D.C., trip. "I know this is the first time when the wife of the president of a foreign country has the honor to address you within these walls,"...Zelenska presented images of young girls and boys killed by Russian missile strikes, including 4-year-old Lisa, whom she had met around Christmas. "I remember her just like she is here, a cheerful, playful little rascal,"...

A Russian military convoy that was outside of Ivankiv, Ukraine, on Sunday has since made it to the outskirts of Kyiv, satellite images show.On Sunday, the convoy was roughly 40 miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital, according to images provided by Maxar Technologies.Maxar said that roughly 17 miles of roadway is chocked full of the convoy, which consists of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistical vehicles. The private US company said the convoy was located on the T-1011 highway at Antonov air base around 11:11 a.m local time.Antonov is roughly 17 miles from the center of the Ukrainian...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just announced new coronavirus guidelines that said some people, some people with vulnerabilities, some people with compromised immunities, may indeed, should indeed, may very well mightily should indeed get — get this — a fourth shot. ... First came the “two weeks to flatten the curve” argument, the one that turned into, “oh, oops, we meant two years.” ... Then came the “if one face mask is good, two face masks are better” lines of science... Then came U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams and his videotaped instructional on how to fabricate a face...

Online shoppers could find costs going up after the Supreme Court did away Thursday with a decades-old precedent limiting the ability of states to collect sales tax on certain out-of-state Internet purchases. The 5-4 ruling called the current rules “unsound and incorrect.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says states can force online shoppers to pay sales tax. The 5-4 ruling Thursday is a win for states, who said they were losing out on billions of dollars annually under two decades-old Supreme Court decisions that impacted online sales tax collection. The high court ruled Thursday to overturn those decisions. snip “Each year the physical presence rule becomes further removed from economic reality and results in significant revenue losses to the States. These critiques underscore that the physical presence rule, both as first formulated and as applied today, is an incorrect interpretation of...

The Savior, the Master Teacher    By Elder Jay E. JensenOf the Presidency of the SeventyJay E. Jensen, "The Savior, the Master Teacher", Ensign, Jan. 2011, 42–47   We are to feast upon the words of Christ—the scriptures—and, as He did, use them to teach and strengthen others.  Under the direction of His Father, Jesus Christ created worlds without number. He was the great Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. He was born of a mortal mother, Mary, and of God the Eternal Father. He was the greatest being to live on earth. He said He came “to do the will of him...

His frustration over Olympic outcome was apparent at volunteers' final gathering ### When Mayor Richard Daley spoke at the private and final meeting of Chicago 2016 volunteers, he was, according to one attendee, "in rare form." Another described him as "on a rant. It was straight off the cuff. ... He looked angry, and he was angry." Now, we weren't there. The press was barred from last week's meeting at the Aon Center and the reception that followed at the private Mid-America Club on the top floor of the building. About 150 to 200 volunteers attended, and four shared their...

Long recognized as one of America's savviest -- and most splashy -- advertisers, Apple Inc. is looking to seal another flashy pact with the CTA. A CTA spokeswoman confirmed that the transit authority is in talks with the computer and iPhone behemoth about a deal that could net the cash-strapped CTA as much as $4 million in funding from Apple to pay for an upgrade of the run-down subway station at North and Clybourn, which is adjacent to an Apple retail store now under construction and expected to open next year.

Two aldermen are floating the idea of putting a casino and entertainment complex where Chicago had hoped to build an Olympic Village for the 2016 Games. Alds. Richard Mell, 33rd, and George Cardenas, 12th, have not yet broached the idea with Mayor Richard Daley, who for years has wavered on the notion of bringing land-based gambling to Chicago. In the week since the city lost its Olympic bid to Rio de Janeiro, Daley has said he is confident the 37-acre parcel site of the abandoned Michael Reese Hospital would be attractive to developers. The city recently bought the Near South...

Here's a heads up for the Giuliani campaign. It's coming. It's coming very soon. Beware. Run for your lives! As I write this, there is plotting going among grassroots religious conservatives in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and many other states. They want to take down Rudy and they plan to do everything in their power to do it. I received this email from an influential Republican activist who, lets just say, has an extensive mailing list among the conservative grassroots network. Here's what he told me: "If Rudy Giuliani is put up for President by the Stupid Party, I...

Music taste 'linked to drug use' Club music fans are more likely to take drugs, the study says More than a quarter of classical music fans have tried cannabis, says a study from the University of Leicester. Researchers were trying to find out what people's taste in music revealed about their lifestyles. They discovered that fans of every style of music had taken drugs, with those who preferred DJ-based club music topping the list. The study also revealed that blues buffs are the most likely to have received a driving penalty. Mild-mannered fans More than 2,500 people were interviewed for...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As CIA Director Porter Goss tries to rebuild the agency's global operations, he faces a shortage of experienced spies created by a post-September 11 stampede to the private sector, current and former intelligence officials say. Goss, who a year ago inherited a CIA wracked by criticism of intelligence failures over Iraq and the September 11, 2001, attacks, has come under fire from critics about the publicized departures of several high-level clandestine officers. Reform advocates see the loss of senior officials as a natural consequence of changes intended to root out an old guard blamed for lapses that...

The time has now come for fiscal conservatives to publicly admit the truth: the Republican complicity in the great spending spree of the early 21st century has placed our agenda on life-support. By failing to cut spending while implementing tax cuts and fighting a war, we now find ourselves in a predicament. The beast has not been starved, the deficit has once again become a political issue, and the chances of acceptable Social Security reform, overhaul of the tax code, and the permanence of the previous tax cuts are all in jeopardy. This dismal situation harkens back to events in...

I honestly believe that the threat of lawsuits against individual downloaders was and is bogus. I have not seen one shred of evidence to the contrary. I've downloaded tons of songs beginning back with Napster. It never hurt the recording industry one ounce. What hurts them is when there is no interest. Luckily for them, Napster and Kazza kept the interest alive. When Napster first came out everyone loved it and there was no talk of lawsuits. The recording industry was booming. Sales were up and I remember news pundits and other talking heads say that the reason sales of...