SUDDEN DEATH: Russian dissident Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic prison camp, according to the state news agency, Tass. He was 47.

  The Federal Penitentiary Service issued a statement saying Navalny had fallen unconscious after taking a walk. “All necessary resuscitation measures were taken, which did not lead to positive results,” the statement said. “The ambulance doctors confirmed the death of the convict.”

  The cause of death was not announced. The host of a political talk show on state television said, “In any case, the most careful investigation will be done.” It is unlikely the truth will ever be known.

  Opponents to Russian President Vladimir Putin have a habit of dying. If he was not outright killed, Navalny was treated in a way that would lead to death. He made global headlines in 2020 when he was poisoned with a nerve agent and survived. Last August he was sentenced to 19 years in prison for “creating an extremist community” and “financing extremist activists.” That was on top of an 11 ½ year sentence on other charges.

  Navalny rose to prominence as an anti-corruption crusader before the state accused him of corruption himself, beginning a 12-year fight with the legal system that ended with death. After five months in Germany following his poisoning, he returned to Russia to face immediate arrest.

  Navalny pursued his quest for democracy in Russian with determination and humor. Despite having a loving wife and two children, his life became a mission to free Russia from dictatorship and state theft. 

  In an interview with the NY Times he said: “Let’s not forget that we clearly have to deal with a person who has lost his mind, Putin. A pathological liar with megalomania and persecutory delusion. Twenty-two years in power would do that to anyone, and what we’re witnessing is a classic situation of a half-mad czar.”

TRYING TIMES: A Manhattan judge set March 25^th for Donald Trump’s criminal trial in the Stormy Daniels porn star payoff case.

  Trump arrived at court yesterday morning claiming “We’re here for something that is not a crime, nobody’s ever seen anything like this” and that the case brought by the State of New York” is “being run by Joe Biden’s White House.” 

  It’s true that paying off Stormy Daniels for silence about a sexual encounter with Trump before the 2016 election was not a crime, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is pressing charges of violating election law and business fraud for burying the payment in financial records. Part of the theory of prosecution is that Trump illegally swayed the 2026 vote by covering his Stormy Daniels affair on the eve of the election.

  In a separate development, a New York judge is expected today to announce the civil penalties for Trump and his companies for committing financial fraud.

JUST PEACHY: Georgia Prosecutor Fani Willis and her hired outside prosecutor sat for a daylong hearing yesterday questioning whether they have a conflict of interest that should disqualify them and the entire prosecutor’s office from presiding over the Georgia election meddling case against Donald Trump and 14 other defendants.

  Willis, who is the Fulton County prosecutor, and Nathan Wade developed a romantic relationship while Wade was being paid to run the case. The two travelled together and defense lawyers claim that means Willis profited from the money Wade was paid by the county.

  If the two are disqualified, the case might have to be assigned to another prosecutor, or it might just die. 

  Wade, who just settled a divorce, was peppered with questions about his dating habits. Willis answered questions about a trip to Belize and going together to a tattoo parlor. She was at times contentious saying, “I’m not on trial here.” 

  Willis said she ultimately broke up with Wade because he is a sexist who looks down on women. “We would have brutal arguments about the fact that I am your equal,” Willis said.  “I don’t need anything from a man, a man is not a plan, a man is a companion.”

THE HUNTER PAPERS: In a major blow to Republicans trying to prove that President Biden was part of a Ukraine business deal involving his son, Hunter, former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov has been charged with fabricating claims that the President and his son each sought $5 million bribes from a Ukrainian power company.

  Smirnov, 43, is accused of lying when he told the feds that Hunter Biden, who was at the time a paid board member of the energy company Burisma, demanded the payoff to protect the company from an investigation by Ukraine’s prosecutor general. 

  The criminal complaint says Smirnov’s motive was political, an effort to damage Joe Biden. House Republicans seeking to impeach Biden for corruption still say they have plenty of evidence against the President, although they have not produced it.

THE SHOOTING GALLERY: Police in Kansas City say they have custody of two teenagers they believe were involved in Wednesday’s Super Bowl celebration shooting that killed one woman and wounded 22 other people. A third youth was questioned and released.

    Police Chief Stacey Graves said the shooting appeared to have been the result of an argument between the two. 

  The woman killed was Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a popular local DJ who had a radio show, “Taste of Tejano.” News reports say she liked to watch football games in her garage with friends. She had two young adult children, a son, and a daughter. Her son was wounded in the leg during the shooting.

THE SPIN RACK: — Iowa’s Caitlin Clark hit a 3-pointer last night against Michigan to become the NCAA women’s basketball all-time leading scorer with a total of 3,528 points.

BELOW THE FOLD: A Northeast Ohio company called “Save My Ink Forever” is in the business of permanent tattoo preservation. At your request when you die, they will remove and preserve your tattooed skin, frame it, and present it to your family.  

  Right there, above the sofa.

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