The Ukraine Threat: A dramatic spike in artillery shelling between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists might give Russia an excuse for invading Ukraine.     The separatists claim they came under fire first from the Ukrainians, the kind of thing Moscow would use as an excuse for a full invasion. The head of the Russian separatists accused the Ukrainian Armed Forces of  “massive strikes on civilians.”

  The Ukrainians said separatist artillery fire hit a kindergarten, injuring three adults.

  President Biden said, “We have reason to believe that they are engaged in a false flag operation to have an excuse to go in.”

  Further rattling its sabers, Russia announced that it will conduct major drills this weekend that will include the launch of ballistic and cruise missiles. It will include the Black Sea fleet. 

  On the diplomatic front, Russia’s government expelled the deputy US ambassador in what American officials called an “escalation that could limit diplomatic solutions to the crisis.”

Trumps to Face Questions: A New York judge has given the state’s attorney general approval to question Donald Trump and his children Ivanka and Don Jr. as part of a civil investigation into Trump company business practices, rejecting the former president’s attempt to block the interviews.

  Attorney General Letitia James and the Manhattan district attorney have parallel investigations into whether Trump improperly pumped up the stated value of his assets to receive favorable loans. James’s office wants to interview the former president and the two adult children within the next three weeks. The DA’s office is pursuing possible crimes.

  The combination of events puts Trump and his progeny in the position of possibly having to invoke their 5^th Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination. Eric Trump did just that under oath in 2020.

  Earlier this week news broke that Trump’s accountants had resigned from his account, saying they could no longer stand by the declarations that had made on his behalf.

  Yesterday’s hearings on whether the Trumps must testify also broke out into a moment of Trumpian absurdity. The family’s lawyers brought up the recent conservative conspiracy theory that former presidential candidate and First Lady Hillary Clinton had been conducting a spying campaign on Trump.

  The former president’s lawyer asked the lawyer for the attorney general’s office whether they would “go after Hillary Clinton” saying that “she spied at Trump Tower in your state? Are you going to look into her business dealings?”  

  Judge Arthur Engoron put a stop to that saying “The Clintons are not before me.” 

Ice Cold: In a major upset, Russian skating star Kamila Valieva stumbled in the final program yesterday, eliminating herself from Olympic medal contention.

  The gold and silver went to Anna Shcherbakova, and Alexandra Trusova, also of the Russian Olympic Committee team. Kaori Sakamoto of japan won the bronze and Valieva was fourth.

  The aftermath of the event was bizarre. Valieva was crying and comforted by everyone around her. The winner was left standing alone, uncongratulated. The silver medalist was sobbing because she had not won gold and vowed never to skate again.

  The 15-year-old Valieva stumbled twice and fell twice skating to “Bolero” and left the ice sobbing. Her elimination also allows for the medal ceremony to proceed, which would not have happened if she had finished in the top three while her positive drug test is still under investigation. 

Viral News: The last holdouts on statewide mask mandates are dropping. New Mexico’s Democratic Gov. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a surprise announcement that the state would immediately lift its indoor mask mandate, including for schools.

  Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington State, also a Democrat, said he would eliminate the state’s mask mandates, including for schools, at the end of March.

  It’s not over until it’s over. Scientists in Japan have discovered a variant of the Omicron variant that is more contagious and causes more severe disease. 

Five Ring Roundup: American-born Eileen Gu, who was born in the US and competes for China, won her third Olympic medal, gold this time in the  freeski halfpipe. She had already won gold in big air stunt jumping and silver in slopestyle skiing. 

  Gu was already a star on another front. She has become a professional model, representing Louis Vuitton and Tiffany. She is a ubiquitous presence in Chinese advertisements. 

The Spin Rack: Police in Ottawa began arresting organizers of the self-styled “Freedom Convoy” demonstrations against Covid mandates that have clogged the city. — Brad Pitt is suing ex-wife Angelina Jolie, accusing her of illegally selling off her share of their French estate, Château Miraval, to a Russian businessman. Pitt claims they agreed that neither would sell their share of the Château where they married in 2014. — A cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury cars including Porsches, Audis, and Lamborghinis, is abandoned and burning in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Some drivers are going to be stuck driving the same old Porsche they’ve had for years.

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