Section: The Atlantic (USA)
What We’re Following This Evening
Obama in California: At the end of a summit with Asian leaders, the president addressed the constitutional confrontation brewing back in Washington, where Senate leaders have refused to consider the candidate Obama will soon nominate to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. “I intend to do my job between now and January 20 of...
The Republicans Debate in Greenville
Jonathan Ernst / Reuters 09:37 PM Molly BallLink Kasich sounds very much like the George W. Bush of 2000, who also ran against “nation-building.” In fact, when Kasich ran for president in 1999, Bush pushed him out of the race in large part because their messages were so similar …read more Source: The...
What We’re Following This Evening
MLB issues first lifetime ban for performance-enhancing drugs: Jenrry Meija, a right-handed relief pitcher with the New York Mets, received baseball’s ultimate punishment after testing positive for boldenone, a banned substance. Meija previously received an 80-game suspension for doping in April, followed by a season-long ban for it shortly...
What Happens If Aleppo Falls?
A reporter and a rebel fighter run to avoid sniper fire in the countryside north of Aleppo in 2014. Jalal al-Mamo / ReutersThis week, the Syrian army, backed by Russian air strikes and Iranian-supported militias including Hezbollah, launched a major offensive to encircle rebel strongholds in the northern city of Aleppo, choking off one of the...
A Historic Meeting in Cuba
Gregorio Borgia / APPope Francis will meet the head of the Russian Orthodox Church for the first time next week in Havana, both churches announced. The historic meeting is an attempt to heal the 1,000-year-old rift in Christianity. Francis will meet Patriarch Kirill on February 12 at Havana’s José Martí International Airport, a statement...
Putin’s Willing Executioner
Vladimir Putin meets with Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. ReutersHe’s like a cartoon villain, except that he’s real. He can be pretty amusing, except when he’s terrifying. He’s a bit of a clown and more than a bit childish, but he’s also one of the most powerful men in Russia....
The Moment Russia Went Fully Rogue
The grave of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London Toby Melville / ReutersIn many ways it all began with the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko. Not that Vladimir Putin’s Russia was exactly a model global citizen before the November 2006 killing of the former KGB spy who defected to Great Britain. But when Litvinenko was lethally...
Vladimir Putin ‘Probably Approved’ the Murder of a Former Russian Spy
Marina Litvinenko, the widow of Alexander Litvinenko, with her son, Anatoly, in London Toby Melville / ReutersA British inquiry into the 2006 death of Alexander Litvinenko has found that the killing of the former Russian spy was “probably approved” by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of Russia’s intelligence agency. The results...
A ‘Jungle Bro Session’ and Statue-Toppling: The Week in Global-Affairs Writing
Venezuelan demonstrators use ropes to topple a Christopher Columbus statue in Caracas. Jorge Silva / ReutersThe Tragic Farce of El Chapo Patrick Radden Keefe | The New Yorker “A number of journalists who have spent years covering the border and the drug wars pointed out that whereas the [Sean] Penn interview is a bit of a stunt—a mutually...
The 2016 Oscar Nominees
APThis year’s Academy Award nominations are in. Here’s a list of the major categories. Best picture: Bridge of SpiesBrooklynMad Max: Fury RoadRoom Spotlight The Big Short The Martian The Revenant Best director: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road Lenny Abrahamson, Room Tom McCarthy, Spotlight Adam McKay, The Big Short Alejandro G....
