1 Biden And Putin Agree To Summit With France
The office of French President Emmanuel Macron said late yesterday that President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle to a summit to discuss the situation in Ukraine. The French statement says the summit “can only be held at the condition that Russia does not invade Ukraine.” The White House confirmed the agreement in principle but said a final decision relies on the outcome of further talks between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Biden administration says nothing has changed since the President’s statement Friday that the U.S. believes Putin has already decided to invade Ukraine. A U.S. official and another person with knowledge of the matter said yesterday that intelligence the U.S. obtained shows that Russian military officials have been given an order to go ahead with an invasion. Biden convened a meeting of the National Security Council yesterday focused on Ukraine. Blinken and Lavrov will reportedly prepare for the summit at a previously scheduled meeting on Thursday.
2 Temps Plunging This Week For A Large Part Of America
An Arctic front is pushing south through the lower 48 states this week bringing below-freezing temperatures to more than an estimated 70% of Americans by Wednesday. Forecasters say some areas in the northwest will see the temp drop by over 60 degrees during the next 48 hours. It’s not just the northwest that’s expecting winter weather. The front is expected to push as far south as Kansas and northern Texas; Wichita, Kansas will have a high near 70 today and a high in the mid-20s tomorrow. The south will see above-normal temperatures, but that’s not a good thing according to forecasters. The advance of the front will lead to the right conditions for tornados, severe thunderstorms, and damaging winds and hail over the next few days. The system will bring heavy snow to some areas, with up to a foot expected by Wednesday in the Midwest and the northern plains.
3 Fourth Dose Of COVID Vaccine Being Discussed
Public health officials in the United States are reported to be “very carefully” monitoring if or when a fourth dose of the COVID vaccine might be recommended, with some officials saying the earliest a fourth shot would be recommended would be this fall. Officials say they’re more concerned with the low rate of booster doses being administered; about 65% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated with the first two shots and around 28% have received a booster shot as of Friday according to the CDC. Israel rolled out fourth doses in December for adults 60 and older, and last week Sweden announced that second booster doses are recommended for everyone 80 and over.