Beginning of Invasion: Speaking at the White House yesterday, President Joe Biden described the Russian military move into rebel-held areas of Ukraine  as “the beginning of a Russian invasion” and joined European leaders imposing sanctions.

  He said he believes Russian might still conduct a “massive invasion.”

  For his part, Putin demanded Ukraine recognize Russia’s claim to Crimea, which he seized by force in 2014, and give up its advanced weapons.

  The Russian action is “a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community.” Putin has recognized the rebel territories of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent and also claims Russia has an historical claim to all of Ukraine.

  “He’s setting up a rationale to take more territory by force,” Biden said. Putin has said he now recognizes Ukraine’s two eastern territories of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent countries. “Who in the lord’s name does Putin think gives him a right to declare new so called countries on territory that belong to his neighbors.”

  The sanctions block two major Russian financial institutions from dealing with the world prevent the Russian government from borrowing foreign money. Biden said sanctions will also be placed on Russian “elites” and their families.

  As part of the international reaction, Germany said it is blocking certification of the 750-mile Nord Stream II pipeline that would feed $15 billion a year in Russian natural gas to that country. 

The Putin Position: In a lengthy speech yesterday, Russia’s Vladimir Putin laid out his claims for why he believes all of Ukraine historically belongs to Russia. He’s rebuilding the Soviet Union:

  “Modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia or, to be more precise, by Bolshevik, Communist Russia. This process started practically right after the 1917 revolution, and Lenin and his associates did it in a way that was extremely harsh on Russia — by separating, severing what is historically Russian land.”

Putin said:

   “The disintegration of our united country was brought about by the historic, strategic mistakes on the part of the Bolshevik leaders and the C.P.S.U. leadership, mistakes committed at different times in state-building and in economic and ethnic policies. The collapse of the historical Russia known as the U.S.S.R. is on their conscience.”

Wonderful: Quick to mark his approval, former President Donald Trump described Putin’s move into Ukraine as “an act of “genius.”

  Trump said during an interview on the conservative “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show” that, “I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine, of Ukraine, Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful.” 

Guilty of Hate: Three Georgia men already convicted of murdering the 25-year-old black jogger Ahmaud Arbery were found guilty yesterday in federal court of a hate crime, denying Arbery the right to use a public street because of the color of his skin.

  Travis McMichael, 36, his father, Gregory, 66, and their neighbor William Bryan, 52, have already been sentenced to life in state prison. The could also be sentenced to life on the federal conviction.

  The three claimed they originally stopped Arbery on the street because they thought he had burglarized a house under construction, but prosecutors in both cases presented the men’s record of racial animus. 

Goal !!!!: After a six years in court,  the members of the World Cup-winning US women’s soccer team have settled their equal pay lawsuit for $24 million in payments from US Soccer. Most of that is back pay, a recognition that the women have been paid less than the men who represent US Soccer.

  The organization agreed to pay men and women equally, including in the World Cup. The deal comes as a surprise two years after the women lost their case in court. They still managed to negotiate a settlement.

Viral News: New cases of Covid-19 are down 66 percent over the last two weeks  Deaths have reduced by 24 percent, but more than 939,000 Americans have died of the coronavirus.

The Obit Page: Gary Brooker, the rocker who co-wrote and sang Procol Harum’s classic hit “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” has died of cancer at 76. The song was one of the defining tunes of the 1967 “Summer of Love.” Brooker was with the band for 55 years.

The Spin Rack: The Russia/Ukraine crisis is pushing oil prices toward $100 a barrel. Two years ago it was $42. Expect $4 gasoline before long. — Truckers are planning to jam the Washington Beltway next week in protest of pandemic restrictions. The National Guard has activated 700 soldiers. — The Winter Olympics on NBC drew their worst viewership ever, with ratings dropping more than 40% since the last Winter Games.

Bearly There: Police in California’s Lake Tahoe area are on the hunt for a 500-pound black bear named “Hank the Tank” that has broken into dozens of homes. California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Peter Tira said, “It’ll barge through garage doors, it’ll barge through front doors. It’ll go through windows.”

  The concern is that Hank has developed a taste for human food and the authorities say they may have to kill him. Maybe they could just put a refrigerator out in the woods.

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