#Putin turns to smear campaign in power move

#Putin turns to smear campaign in power move

Russian President Vladimir Putin is turning to a familiar playbook in shoring up his authority: a smear campaign against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group military leader who led a brief mutiny against the Kremlin.  Public opinion against Prigozhin dropped sharply in the days after the rebellion. So Putin moved quickly to discredit Prigozhin’s public image. Putin…

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#Zelensky marks 500 days of Russia-Ukraine war

#Zelensky marks 500 days of Russia-Ukraine war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky marked 500 days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a pre-recorded public address Saturday. Speaking from Snake Island — the small Black Sea landmass which Russian warships bombarded in the first day of the war, capturing its small Ukrainian garrison who resisted surrender — Zelensky pledged neither the island nor…

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#Biden digging for dollars in wealthy Democratic enclaves

#Biden digging for dollars in wealthy Democratic enclaves

President Biden has targeted blue strongholds ahead of his first fundraising deadline, raking in cash from reliable Democratic donors to give his reelection bid an early boost. The president has fundraised in high-income ZIP codes in Chicago, Maryland, San Francisco, Connecticut and New York City just in the last month — all friendly places for Democrats.  The sprint…

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#Trump indictment live updates: Undeterred in campaigning

#Trump indictment live updates: Undeterred in campaigning

Former President Trump will be arraigned in a Florida court on Tuesday on federal charges of willfully possessing documents with national security implications, but that has had little impact on his campaign to return to the White House. After speaking at Republican Party events in two states on Saturday, Trump on Sunday stood firm in…

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#Nikki Haley bets on retail politics in Iowa

#Nikki Haley bets on retail politics in Iowa

It’s Thursday lunchtime in Iowa and, upstairs in a boathouse on the banks of the Cedar River, Nikki Haley is making her case to be president. The modestly sized venue is packed. The crowd is polite and receptive, and also notably upscale.  These aren’t country club Republicans as such but they are clearly more prosperous…

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