On the Brink: Dutch Airline KLM has begun to restrict its flights to Ukraine as fears of a Russian invasion escalate. Most foreign airlines continue to operate, but more of them are expected to stop flights to Ukraine. 

  KLM is nervous because one of its jets was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014 by pro-Russian rebels, killing, killing 298 people. The airline said in a statement, “It is not yet clear when KLM will fly to Kyiv again.”

  In a telephone conversation, President Biden over the weekend warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that invading Ukraine would result in “swift and severe” costs to Russia, diminish his country’s standing in the world and cause “widespread human suffering.” 

 White House officials said Biden talked to Putin about diplomatic solutions but there’s no word on whether Putin is ready to back off. Putin is demanding “security guarantees,” including that Ukraine not be allowed to join western countries in the NATO defense alliance.

  Despite massing troops and armor on three sides of Ukraine, the Russians are sticking to the line that they are not going to invade. Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy aide to Putin, described American “hysteria” and said, “We have repeatedly underlined that we don’t understand why the news media should be given clearly false information about Russian plans.” 

Oh Canada: Canadian authorities have finally cleared protesting truckers off the  critical Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit. Truckers protesting Covid mandates and restrictions had blocked the bridge, shutting down 25 percent of the trade traffic between the US and Canada, hurting in particular the auto industry.

  Other protests continue. Truckers have cut off Parliament, Supreme Court, and the prime minister’s office. This morning, they are also still blocking border crossings in Emerson, Manitoba and Coutts, Alberta.

Just Super: The Los Angeles Rams overcame the loss of star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to injury in the first half to win a tight Super Bowl contest 23-20. It was the Rams’ second Super Bowl title in franchise history, the first coming when they were in St. Louis.

  Trailing by four points with 1:25 yet to play, quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with receiver Cooper Kupp for a 1-yard touchdown. 

Five Ring Roundup: The International Olympic Committee decided that 15-year-old Russian skater Kamila Valieva, who tested positive for a banned drug back in December, can continue competing but will not receive medals if she wins an event.

  That means the Russians who won the team event will not get medals either. The IOC said in a statement that it would conduct “dignified medal ceremonies once the case of Ms. Valieva has been concluded.”

  The Court of Arbitration for Sport heard Valieva’s case for six hours yesterday. Her failed test was not reported until the Olympics were under way and she had become the first woman to land a quadruple jump. 

  Also on ice, after almost missing the Olympics entirely, US speed skater Erin Jackson won gold in the women’s 500 meters, becoming the country’s first woman to win gold since Bonnie Blair in 1994 and also becoming the first Black American woman to win an Olympic speed skating medal. 

 Jackson had slipped in a qualifying race and failed to make the Olympic squad, but her teammate and friend Brittany Bowe gave up her own spot to allow the world No. 1 to go to Beijing. Jackson has won four of the past eight World Cups in the 500. Ultimately Bowe also was able to compete in Beijing.

  The US men’s hockey team beat Germany 3-2 in what became a nail biter in the last two minutes when Germany pulled their goalie to put on sixth skater on the ice. The US was given a bye to the quarter final round.

  The American team is the youngest in the tournament and they are all college players, no professionals from the NHL. 

The Obit Page: Ivan Reitman, a producer and director, who made a string of goofy hit movies  including “Ghostbusters” and “National Lampoon’s Animal House”, died on Saturday at his home in Montecito, Calif. He was 75.

 Reitman produced and directed major box-office comedies that featured actors like Bill Murray, John Belushi, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was cast in the unlikely role of a police officer masquerading as a kindergarten teacher in the 1990 “Kindergarten Cop.” 

  The man who had such a feel for American humor was not born in the US. He was born in Komarno, in what is now Slovakia, to Jewish parents who survived the Nazis. His family fled Czechoslovakia to escape communism and landed in Toronto.

  “We came here penniless,” he told the CBC in 2007 as he was about to get a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. “I didn’t speak the language.”

The Spin Rack: An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., was diverted to Kansas City, Mo., after a man tried to break into the cockpit and then tried an exit door. He was subdued by crew members and other passengers. — Swiss voters yesterday approved a law banning tobacco advertising in public places. — Los Angeles Rams Safety Rams safety Taylor Rapp got down on his knee right on the field after the Super Bowl and proposed to girlfriend Dani Johnson. She said yes.

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