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Russia’s energy giant Gazprom on Thursday lost more than a quarter of its market value after the state-owned company decided not to pay out dividends. “The shareholders have resolved that in the current situation it is not opportune to pay out dividends based on the results of 2021,” Famil Sadygov, deputy chairman of Gazprom, said in a statement. “At the moment, Gazprom prioritizes the implementation of its investment program, including gas infrastructure expansion in the regions of the Russian Federation, and the preparations for the coming winter period. In addition, we undoubtedly must be ready to meet our obligations to...

The Ukrainian Navy announced Thursday it recaptured Snake Island, a critical Black Sea outpost taken by Russia early in the war, which has since galvanized Ukrainian resistance as a symbol of fortified defiance. Russia confirmed its withdrawal Thursday morning, but called the move a “goodwill gesture”... Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military’s southern command, told the New York Times on Tuesday that it destroyed three anti-aircraft missile systems that Russian had stationed on the island, as well as Russia’s radar station.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With Congress deadlocked over how to address racism and excessive use of force, President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order on policing Wednesday, the second anniversary of George Floyd’s death, according to three people familiar with the matter. The decision reflects Biden’s struggle to use the limited powers of his office to advance his campaign promises, as well as his attempt to strike a balance between police and civil rights groups at a time when rising concerns about crime are eclipsing calls for reform. The order would require federal law enforcement to review and revise...

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he continues to suffer from his childhood stutter, telling an audience he has not fully conquered it. “I didn’t really beat my stutter — still occasionally I do,” he said, recalling the struggle he experienced as a child.

The 4 p.m. remarks will come after Biden calls transatlantic leaders. President Joe Biden was set to speak to the nation Friday afternoon on what the White House said are U.S. efforts to ease tensions over Ukraine, amid increased shelling and possible false-flag attacks Russia could use to falsely justify an invasion. Biden will make remarks after he holds a call with translatlantic leaders to discuss continued efforts at deterrence and diplomacy and what the White House called "Russia's buildup of military troops on the border of Ukraine." -snip- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will participate in the call, along...

It’s very rare that a campaign commercial is memorable enough to be talked about as a work of art as it is an attempt at propaganda. In 1964, the “Daisy Ad” which depicted a little girl at ground zero before being obliterated by a nuclear blast only ran once, but it helped Lyndon Johnson drive home the message that Barry Goldwater was too dangerous to be president. The “Bear in the Woods” ad that President Reagan ran against Walter Mondale was subtle but effective in imparting the message that the former vice president would be weak against the Soviets. Now,...

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — President Barack Obama said denying climate change is like arguing the moon is made of cheese, as he issued a call to action on global warming to Saturday's graduates of the University of California, Irvine.

The president is expected to issue a call to action on global warming in a commencement address Saturday at the University of California, Irvine. Earlier this month, he announced a contentious plan to cut pollution from power plants. While in Orange County, Obama also raised money for the Democratic National Committee at a closed-door fundraiser at the Laguna Beach home of Getty oil heiress Anne Earhart. About 25 people paid up to $32,400 to participate in a roundtable discussion with the president. He's spending the rest of the Father's Day weekend on vacation at the Rancho Mirage home of White...

President Obama, appearing emboldened after his recent move to cut carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, on Saturday ridiculed members of Congress who deny climate change or plead scientific ignorance as an alibi for avoiding an inconvenient truth. Speaking in gleefully sarcastic terms to a commencement ceremony at the University of California, Irvine, Mr. Obama likened those who deny climate change to people who would have told John F. Kennedy, at the dawn of the space program, that the moon “was made of cheese.” He saved his most scathing words for lawmakers who say they are not qualified to judge...

Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama renewed his campaign to curb carbon emissions Saturday, saying the debate over climate change is over. Obama, who made the battle against climate change a core promise of his 2008 election campaign, has been stymied at the federal level by opposition from lawmakers. Congress "is full of folks who stubbornly and automatically reject the scientific evidence," Obama told a crowd of more than 30,641 people, including thousands of graduates at the University of California, Irvine. "They'll tell you climate change is a hoax, or a fad. One says the world might actually be cooling."...

Experts who track hate groups across the U.S. are growing increasingly concerned over violent rhetoric targeted at President Obama, especially as the debate over health care intensifies and a pattern of threats emerges. The Secret Service is investigating a Maryland man who held a sign reading "Death to Obama" and "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids" outside a town hall meeting this week. And in New Hampshire, another man stood across the street from a Presidential town hall with his gun on full display. Los Angeles police officers apprehended a man Thursday after a standoff with him inside...