The Brink of War: The US and multiple other countries have warned their citizens to get out of Ukraine ahead of a possible Russian invasion that could come any day.

  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US continues “to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border.” The State Department is set to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv.

  President Biden is expected to have a telephone conversation today with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

  In Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is urging citizens to stay calm and claimed a “strong position” against Russia. A statement from the ministry says, “Right now it is critical to remain calm, stay united and consolidated within the country, and refrain from actions that undermine stability and sow panic.”

Bridge to Nowhere: Hours after a Canadian judge set a 7 pm deadline last night for protesters to clear the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, many of them remained. Police were standing by, but did not move in.

  The bridge in normal times carries about a third of trade between the US and Canada. 

  The Ambassador isn’t the only blockade. The protesters objecting to Canada’s Covid rules and restrictions have blocked roads leading to the US border at four points — Windsor; Sarnia, Ontario; Emerson, Manitoba; and Coutts, Alberta.

  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been rejecting calls to use the military to clear the demonstrators. “Using military forces against civilian populations in Canada, or in any other democracy, is something to avoid having to do at all costs,’’ Mr. Trudeau said at a news conference in Ottawa. 

Viral News: The Supreme Court denied an emergency request by a group of New York City teachers to block a vaccine mandate over what they said was a discriminatory religious exemption policy. It came the same day as a deadline for those employees to get vaccinated or be fired.

  The plaintiffs argued that the city’s vaccination requirement unfairly denied applications for exemption and did not offer exemptions for employees with unorthodox religious beliefs.

  This morning, new cases of Covid-19 across the country are down 66 percent over the past two weeks and deaths are down two percent.

Five Ring Roundup: The two oldest American snowboarders won gold last night in a racing event called snowboard cross in which the boarders race against competitors over bumps and jumps and around curves.

  Lindsey Jacobellis, 36, and Nick Baumgartner, 40, won the first gold in the mixed team snowboard cross. For Baumgartner it was his first medal in a campaign of four Olympics. And these games have been redemptive for Jacobellis, who now has two golds after squandering a win in 2006 with a celebratory stunt and falling just short of the finish line.

  On the hockey rink, the US men’s team beat Canada 4-2 in a preliminary round. It’s the first time the Americans have defeated the Canadians in 12 years. 

  And for the time being, the figure skating competition is in the hearing room for Russian Kamila Valieva, who tested positive for a banned substance in December, a discovery that might have disqualified her from the Olympics if it had been reported at the time.  The Court of Arbitration for Sport is set to hear the case Sunday and possibly deliver a decision Monday on whether Valieva can continue to compete.

The Spin Rack: Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s libel case against The NY Times has gone to the jury. — Further adding to the mystery of the comedian’s death, an autopsy on Bob Saget says he died after a severe blow to the head that fractured his skull in several places and caused bleeding across both sides of his brain. Saget was found dead in a hotel bed, as if he had just gone to sleep. How he was injured is unknown. The report by a Florida medical examiner said, “It is most probable that the decedent suffered an unwitnessed fall backwards and struck the posterior aspect of his head.” 

Just Super: Super Bowl LVI kicks off at 6:30 pm eastern time tomorrow as the Cincinnati Bengals meet the Los Angeles Rams on their home turf in LA. For the purposes of the coin toss, though, the Bengals will be considered the home team. And let’s just establish right now that we don’t care about the hyper-produced commercials even if Scarlett Johansson is in them.

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