The Full Belmonte, 2/13/2022
Erin Jackson celebrates after winning the gold medal during the women's 500m speed skating event on February 13.
“(CNN)US speed skater and world No. 1 Erin Jackson won the women's 500m gold medal at the Winter Olympics in a time of 37.04 on Sunday.
Jackson almost missed the Olympics after she had slipped during qualifying trials, but her teammate and friend Brittany Bowe gave up her own spot to ensure the world No. 1 was able to go to Beijing -- and it paid off.
The 29-year-old Jackson is the first US woman to win a speed skating gold at the Olympics since Bonnie Blair did so in 1994, as well as being the first Black American woman to win an Olympic speed skating medal, according to the Olympics website.
She finished 0.08 seconds ahead of Japan's Miho Takagi in second and 0.17 seconds ahead of the Russian Olympic Committee's Angelina Golikova in third.” Read more at CNN
Ukrainian soldiers on Saturday in the country’s east.Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
“President Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that invading Ukraine would cost Russia dearly.” Read more at New York Times
“WASHINGTON — After decades of getting schooled in information warfare by President Vladimir Putin of Russia, the United States is trying to beat the master at his own game.
In recent weeks, the Biden administration has detailed the movement of Russian special operation forces to Ukraine’s borders, exposed a Russian plan to create a video of a faked atrocity as a pretext for an invasion, outlined Moscow’s war plans, warned that an invasion would result in possibly thousands of deaths and hinted that Russian officers had doubts about Putin.
Then, on Friday, Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters at the White House that the United States was seeing signs of Russian escalation and that there was a ‘credible prospect’ of immediate military action. Other officials said the announcement was prompted by new intelligence that signaled an invasion could begin as soon as Wednesday.
All told, the extraordinary series of disclosures — unfolding almost as quickly as information is collected and assessed — has amounted to one of the most aggressive releases of intelligence by the United States since the Cuban missile crisis, current and former officials say.
It is an unusual gambit, in part because Biden has repeatedly made clear that he has no intention of sending U.S. troops to defend Ukraine. In effect, the administration is warning the world of an urgent threat — not to make the case for a war, but to try to prevent one.
The hope is that disclosing Putin’s plans will disrupt them, perhaps delaying an invasion and buying more time for diplomacy or even giving Putin a chance to reconsider the political, economic and human costs of an invasion.
At the same time, Biden administration officials said they had a narrower and more realistic goal: They want to make it more difficult for Putin to justify an invasion with lies, undercutting his standing on the global stage and building support for a tougher response.” Read more at Boston Globe
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, left, and Rams quarterback Matt Stafford.
“(CNN)It's that time of year again... Super Bowl Sunday is upon us! Whether you're in it for the game, the commercials, or the halftime show, here's everything you need to know about Super Bowl LVI.
What time is the Super Bowl and how can I watch it?
Super Bowl LVI kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 13.
It will be broadcast live on NBC and streamed on Peacock. You can also watch at NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App. NBC was originally scheduled to broadcast the 2021 Super Bowl but swapped years with CBS in order to have both the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics, which began February 4, on at basically the same time.
What teams are playing in the Super Bowl?
The Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. Both teams won their respective division championships in thrilling come-from-behind fashion, with the Bengals overcoming a huge deficit to beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-24, in the AFC Championship. The Rams mounted a fourth-quarter comeback against the San Francisco 49ers, ultimately beating them 20-17, to take the NFC Championship title.
Where is the Super Bowl being played?
A view of SoFi Stadium as workers prepare for Super Bowl LVI on February 01, 2022 in Inglewood, California.
Super Bowl LVI is being played just outside Los Angeles, in Inglewood, California, at SoFi Stadium, home to the Rams (and the LA Chargers). It's the second year a Super Bowl team will have home field advantage (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl at home last year). However, technically for uniform and coin toss purposes, the Bengals will be considered the ‘home team’ and the Rams will be the visitors since the designations alternate between AFC and NFC champions each year. Yes, it's weird, but we don't make the rules.
So, that means the Bengals will wear their standard home jersey, and the Rams will call the coin toss to open the game, as well as overtime if necessary.
What players should I know about?
The quarterbacks. Both were picked first overall in their respective NFL drafts, both wear #9, and both played at SEC schools in college, though not at the same time.
Joe Burrow: NFL's 'Joe Brrr' is proving quite a diamond for the Cincinnati Bengals
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is in just his second season as a pro and spent the latter part of his first sidelined with a torn ACL. Burrow was drafted first overall by the Bengals in the 2020 draft, and while he started his college career at Ohio State, he later transferred to Louisiana State University, where he won a National Championship and was the Heisman Trophy winner in 2019. If Burrow can pull off a Super Bowl win, he'll become just the third quarterback in history to win both a college football National Championship and a Super Bowl, joining the likes of Joe Montana and Joe Namath (yes, they'll all be named ‘Joe.’)
Rams' quarterback Matthew Stafford is in his first season with Los Angeles, after more than a decade as the Detroit Lions' signal caller. Stafford's college career at the University of Georgia was more than respectable, but he failed to lead the school to a National Championship. He ultimately chose to forgo his senior year and entered the 2009 NFL draft, where he was selected first overall by the Lions. He was traded to the Rams last year, and coach Sean McVay said a few weeks ago the team wouldn't be where it is today without Stafford's leadership.” Read more at CNN
“OTTAWA — Police largely cleared the self-styled ‘Freedom Convoy’ blocking a vital U.S.-Canada crossing Sunday morning, arresting demonstrators and towing vehicles that had been blocking the road between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit. But they were waiting to reopen the route.
‘Enforcement actions continue at the demonstration area with arrests being made. Vehicles being towed,’ police in Windsor tweeted Sunday morning, urging people to avoid the area. ‘There will be zero tolerance for illegal activity,’ police said.
The protesters continued to block parts of Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, for the third consecutive weekend and staged disruptive blockades at other border crossings in Canada. Counter-protests appeared to be picking up some steam, however.
In Windsor, Mayor Drew Dilkins told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that police were still ‘dealing with’ some activity around the crossing at Ambassador Bridge, though he hoped the border would open later today and that law enforcement would ‘remain in control of this roadway going forward.’” Read more at Washington Post
“Rudolph W. Giuliani, who as former President Donald J. Trump’s lawyer helped lead the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, is in discussions with the House Jan. 6 committee about responding to its questions, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The extent of any assistance that Mr. Giuliani might provide remains unclear and the negotiations could easily fall apart, especially as Mr. Trump continues to publicly rail against the investigation.
But Mr. Giuliani, through his lawyer, has signaled to the committee that he plans to take a less confrontational stance toward its requests than some other members of Mr. Trump’s inner circle who are fighting the committee’s subpoenas or have otherwise refused to cooperate.
Mr. Giuliani’s discussions with committee officials suggest that he may be seeking to avoid a potentially costly legal fight over a subpoena that was issued to him last month. By engaging with the committee, Mr. Giuliani could also make it more difficult for the House to issue a criminal referral of him to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress if he in the end does not comply with the subpoena.” Read more at New York Times
The new bar at Trump Tower, called 45 Wine and Whiskey Bar, which opened in late 2021 and features presidential paraphernalia along with Trump-brand wines.Credit...Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“In early December, Donald J. Trump put on a tuxedo and boarded the private jet of a scrap-metal magnate and crypto-miner for a short flight across Florida, touching down at an airport in Naples. There, a long red carpet marked the pathway into a Christmas-decorated hangar filled with supporters of Mr. Trump who had paid $10,000 to $30,000 for the privilege of attending a party and taking a photo with him.
The event had all the trappings of a typical high-end fund-raiser: a giant American flag, a lectern, chandeliers and an open bar. Frank Stallone’s band provided the music; an anti-Biden ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ banner hung from the rafters.
But the money raised did not go to Mr. Trump’s political operation. Instead, Mr. Trump’s share of the evening’s proceeds went straight into his pocket, according to a person familiar with the arrangement.
Multiple attendees said they bought their tickets from a private company, Whip Fundraising, whose founder, Brad Keltner, has asserted that ‘the lion’s share’ went to charity. But the website advertising the event listed no charitable cause. And Mr. Keltner, reached by phone, declined to discuss how money was distributed.
In the year since Mr. Trump has left the White House, he has undertaken a wide-ranging set of moneymaking ventures, trading repeatedly on his political fame and fan base in pursuit of profit. Much as he did while in the White House, Mr. Trump has thoroughly blurred the lines between his political ambitions and his business interests.
He has gone on an arena tour with the former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, where a backstage ‘V.I.P. package’ sold for more than $7,500. He has published a $75 coffee-table book, after being paid a multimillion-dollar advance by a new publishing company co-founded by his eldest son. He has turned an online Trump store into a MAGA merchandiser, with his company sending marketing missives to people on his 2020 campaign’s email list.
That store is now selling red ‘Make America Great Again’ hats for $50 each — a $20 markup from the price currently offered by his political action committee — with all proceeds going to a Trump-owned company.” Read more at New York Times