1 Families Of Diplomats, Non-Essential Staff Told To Leave Ukraine
The U.S. is ordering family members of embassy personnel serving in Ukraine to leave the country. In a statement, the State Department cited the "threat of Russian military action" for the departure order. Non-essential staff are also being told they can leave the country. The situation between Russia and Ukraine has been growing more tense in recent weeks as troops continue to be shipped to the Ukrainian border, and diplomatic talks have yet to produce any results. Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said "if a single additional Russian force goes into Ukraine in an aggressive way, that would trigger a swift, a severe, and a united response from the U.S. and from Europe." Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, who also appeared on the program suggested sanctions should start now.
2 Former AG Bill Barr Has Spoken To Jan 6th Committee
As everyone waits to see if former First Daughter Ivanka Trump will testify before the House committee investigating the January 6th Capitol Riot, Representative Bennie Thompson is confirming that they’ve already spoken to former President Trump's attorney general, Bill Barr. Appearing on CBS' “Face the Nation,” Thompson said there were already conversations with Mr. Barr over the possibility that the military was involved in a plan to seize voting machines. This comes on the heels of a “Politico” report which published the draft of an executive order presented to Trump to have the defense secretary seize voting machines in battleground states. "We've [talked to Barr]. We have talked to Department of Defense individuals," Thompson offered. "We are concerned that our military was part of this big lie on promoting that the election was false. So if you are using the military to potentially seize voting machines, even though it's a discussion, the public needs to know.”
3 Fauci: We’re Going In The Right Direction
White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci is sharing some encouraging news amid the Omicron surge. Appearing on ABC's “This Week,” Fauci said it looked like the progression the highly-transmissible variant is 'going in the right direction.' The observation comes after the UK, Israel and South Africa shared data about declining COVID infection rates. But also, as a number of countries in Europe are relaxing restrictions. The Northeast and Midwest also seem to have reached peaks in their number of cases. Fauci added that he hopes in the coming weeks the coronavirus will fall into the 'area of control' and join other common respiratory infections that don't greatly impact everyday life. "You never want to be overconfident when you're dealing with this virus," Fauci offered. “We don't want to get overconfident, but they look like they're going in the right direction