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The battle for Bakhmut is raging on, and the fighting has been described as "hellish." Ukrainian troops are holding out against a relentless Russian offensive, determined to defend the city at all costs. The conflict has reached a critical point, as Moscow sees capturing Bakhmut as a major objective in its quest to seize the full territory of the surrounding Donbas region. But the stakes are even higher for Kyiv, as they see the city as a symbol of resistance against Russian aggression. The winter offensive launched by Russia has been the bloodiest fighting of the war so far, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. Despite losing ground throughout the second half of 2022, Russia made use of hundreds of thousands of reservists called up late last year to launch a fierce trench warfare campaign. The situation in Bakhmut and around it is utter hell, as it is on the entire eastern front, according to Ukrainian commander Volodymyr Nazarenko. The battle for Bakhmut has also highlighted a feud between Russia's military and the Wagner private army leading its assault, with the boss of Wagner demanding more ammunition and accusing ministry officials of "treason" for failing to supply adequate ammunition to his forces. As the world watches and waits to see how this crucial battle will affect the outcome of the war, it remains unclear whether Ukraine will pull out of Bakhmut or stay on to continue wearing down the Russian force. One thing is certain: the stakes are high, and the future course of the war could be determined by the outcome of this critical battle.

Are we on the brink of a new chapter in the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia? The United States just announced a new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine, which includes a crucial addition never before provided: tactical bridges to move tanks and armored vehicles. This move is seen as a signal of support for Ukraine's efforts to retake territory seized by Russian forces in the past year. But the aid package does not stop there. The additional ammunition being sent is expected to boost stocks in anticipation of a potential spring offensive. The package includes more ammunition for HIMARS and howitzers, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges, demolitions munitions and equipment, and other maintenance, training, and support. Why is this significant? The US has previously provided nearly $32 billion in aid to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, which invaded its pro-Western neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022. But this new aid package marks a turning point in the nature of the aid being provided. The inclusion of tactical bridges, for example, is a game-changer for Ukrainian troops who have been training in "combined arms maneuver" warfare. This is the coordinated use of artillery shelling, alongside tank and armored vehicle attack movements, which could be used to retake territory seized by Russian forces. Is this a sign that the US is preparing Ukraine for an offensive against Russia? Some experts seem to think so. Jack Watling, a Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, points out that "Assault bridging is essential for combined arms operations. It allows armored vehicles to cross narrow rivers and ditches that would otherwise cause a whole force to slow down." The aid package will be funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, or PDA, which authorizes the president to transfer articles and services from US stocks without congressional approval during an emergency. What will be Russia's response? Russia's ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, has already spoken out, claiming that the US wants to inflict a strategic defeat on Moscow but has no chance of succeeding. Tensions continue to mount between Ukraine and Russia, and the world is watching closely to see what happens next. In this video, we dive deeper into the details of this new aid package and explore what it could mean for the future of the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Stay tuned to find out more. The new aid package is the latest in a series of measures taken by the US to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. Since the start of the conflict in 2014, Ukraine has received nearly $2.5 billion in military aid from the US, including lethal weaponry such as Javelin anti-tank missiles. This latest aid package not only includes additional ammunition for Ukrainian artillery and armored vehicles, but also marks the first time that the US has provided tactical bridges to Ukraine. These bridges will be used by Ukrainian troops in "combined arms manoeuvre" warfare, allowing tanks and armored vehicles to cross narrow rivers and ditches and advance more quickly. This is a significant development in the conflict, as it suggests that the US is preparing Ukraine for a more offensive approach to retake the territory seized by Russian forces. The timing of the announcement is also noteworthy, as it comes just days after the US announced a $2 billion aid package for Ukraine on February 24th. This latest aid package will be primarily comprised of ammunition, but also includes testing and diagnostic equipment for vehicle maintenance and repair, demolition munitions, and spare parts. The announcement of the aid package was met with mixed reactions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude to the US for its continued support, saying that "Ukraine highly appreciates this important decision in the context of the ongoing aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine." However, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov accused the US of attempting to inflict a strategic defeat on Moscow, and vowed that all foreign weapons that fall into Ukrainian hands on the battlefield will be destroyed. In conclusion, the announcement of the new $400 million aid package for Ukraine marks a significant development in the conflict, as it provides Ukraine with much-needed ammunition and tactical bridges to advance more quickly on the front lines. It also signals that the US is preparing Ukraine for a more offensive approach to retake the territory seized by Russian forces. However, it remains to be seen how Russia will respond to this latest development, and whether it will lead to further escalation in the conflict. Thank you so much for watching find me here: https://linktr.ee/newsque

In a dramatic conclusion to a case that has captivated the nation for over 20 months, prominent South Carolina lawyer, Alex Murdaugh, has been convicted of the shocking double murder of his wife and son, sealing the downfall of a man who had wielded substantial wealth and power. The trial, which lasted nearly six weeks, revealed a complex web of lies, theft, and abuse of trust by Murdaugh, a member of a legal dynasty that had controlled a prosecutor's office in the region for over eight decades. As the case unfolded, the prosecutors presented compelling evidence that Murdaugh killed his family members to cover up his massive embezzlement of millions of dollars. The verdict brings a sense of closure to a case that had rocked the tight-knit community of South Carolina and led to investigations into two other suspicious deaths linked to the Murdaugh family. The verdict came more than 20 months after the June 2021 fatal shootings. On the stand, the prominent South Carolina lawyer admitted to lying and stealing but tearfully denied the murders. WALTERBORO, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh, the fourth-generation lawyer whose family long exerted influence in small-town courtrooms across parts of South Carolina, was convicted on Thursday of murdering his wife and son, sealing the dramatic downfall of a man who had substantial wealth and powerful connections but who lived a secret life in which he stole millions of dollars from clients and colleagues and lied to many of those closest to him. The guilty verdict followed a nearly six-week-long trial, more than 20 months after the June 2021 fatal shootings of Mr. Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, 52, and their younger son, Paul, 22, on the family’s rural estate. The grisly crime had reverberated across the state, in part because of the storied history of the Murdaugh family, which controlled a regional prosecutor’s office in South Carolina’s Lowcountry region for more than 80 years and ran an influential law firm for even longer. Here’s what cellphone and other data showed about the night of the murders. As they built their case against Alex Murdaugh, law enforcement officials used a wealth of data to detail the key moments on the night his younger son, Paul Murdaugh, and his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, were murdered. Here is a look at the roughly 25-minute period on June 7, 2021, that became the focus of the case. The jury made an unusual visit to the vast estate where the killings took place. Thank you so much for watching contact: https://linktr.ee/ghaffar_qureshi40

Newly unsealed court documents reveal a disturbing list of items seized from the family home of Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the brutal murder of four University of Idaho students last fall. From a Glock pistol to a hunting-style knife and black gloves, the inventory provides a glimpse into the evidence gathered by investigators during the search. But with no murder weapon found yet, the significance of these items in the ongoing investigation remains unclear A knife and a .40-caliber pistol were among an extensive list of personal items that authorities seized from the family home of Bryan Kohberger, the suspect currently detained and awaiting trial in connection with the grisly killings of four University of Idaho students last fall, according to documents released this week. Records filed by authorities in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, two months ago included warrants detailing investigators' search through Kohberger's belongings immediately after his arrest on Dec. 30. Kohberger was initially taken into custody at his parents' house in Albrightsville, about 90 miles north of Philadelphia, before his eventual transfer to Idaho following an extradition hearing in early January. Police in Pennsylvania had been watching him for weeks prior to the arrest itself, documents show, noting that he arrived in the area on Dec. 16 after driving cross-country from Washington for his school's winter break. Police served search warrants for the Kohberger family home one day after the suspect's arrest, on Dec. 31, according to newly unsealed documents made public this week. The records remained sealed for 60 days in accordance with standard legal practice in Pennsylvania. Investigators found and catalogued an extensive list of items uncovered when they searched the house. The warrants revealed that in addition to the knife and Glock pistol, they also discovered three empty magazines, a Smith and Wesson pocket knife, black gloves, a black hat, and a black face mask on the premises. During a concurrent search of Kohberger's car, investigators say they found a number of other personal items, including gloves, goggles, tire irons, a shovel and a wrench, as well as swabs, a Ziploc bag, wrappers, maps and documents, according to the warrant. Previous documents released on Tuesday revealed that Pennsylvania State Police swabbed Kohberger's DNA and seized a silver flashlight, four "medical-style gloves," a white Arizona Jean Co. T-shirt, a black Champion sweatshirt, a pair of black-and-white Nike shoes, black Under Armour socks, black Under Armour shorts and black Under Armour boxers. The significance of these extensive inventories in the context of the ongoing police investigation into November's quadruple murder is not clear. Search warrants unsealed on Thursday note that authorities were looking for a range of items that could prove relevant in the probe, including materials with blood or bodily fluid on them, alcohol and drugs, knives, sheaths or other weapons, and any property belonging to one of the victims. Thank you so much for watching contact : https://linktr.ee/ghaffar_qureshi40

Shocking Twist: Juror Kicked Off Alex Murdaugh Trial Moments Before Deliberations South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson said in a statement that "Alex Murdaugh's house of cards" has come tumbling down after the jury found him guilty on all counts less than three hours after deliberations began. Murdaugh, a former personal injury lawyer, was accused of murdering his wife and younger son in June 2021. Judge Clifton Newman removed one of the jurors just hours before the jury was set to begin deliberations. The juror was dismissed after she talked about the case with members of the public." The juror was dismissed just hours before deliberations were set to begin. WALTERBORO, S.C. — The judge in the double murder trial of disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh removed a juror just hours before the jury was set to begin deliberations. Judge Clifton Newman made the announcement at the start of court before the defense's closing arguments began. Before the defense’s closing arguments began, Judge Newman revealed that one of the jurors was removed and replaced by one of the alternates after the female juror was found to have talked about the case to members of the public. Defense’s counsel Dick Harpootlian wanted it noted in the record SLED agents conducted the interviews with the juror and two of her accusers and, in his opinion, it appears that SLED has compounded the mistakes they have made in the case. Judge Newman told the juror he didn’t think she did anything intentionally wrong but released her from duty. The jury was then brought in for the closing arguments after she left the courtroom. Several Murdaugh trial jurors have had to leave but mainly those were due to illness. This was the first for someone who may have violated court rules. Murdaugh, 54, is accused of killing his wife Maggie and son Paul at the family's Moselle estate back in June of 2021. Prosecutors say he's the sole person responsible while the defense says the state never seriously looked for any other potential witnesses. You can find trial updates here every day. Watch live streaming testimony and coverage on wltx.com, on the WLTX+ streaming app on Amazon Fire and Roku TV, and on the News19 WLTX YouTube page. AG Alan Wilson, top prosecutor Creighton Waters weigh in on Murdaugh verdict Alex Murdaugh was convicted on all counts less than three hours after the jury went into deliberations on Thursday. WALTERBORO, S.C. — South Carolina's attorney general said on Thursday night that Alex Murdaugh's "house of cards" had come tumbling down following an all-guilty verdict handed up by a jury on the first day of deliberations. Attorney General Alan Wilson released a statement in the evening hours commending the efforts of state prosecutors to have Murdaugh convicted. “Today’s verdict proves your position and power in life do not matter: no one is above the law, and that includes Alex Murdaugh," Wilson said. "It’s been a long six weeks, but Maggie and Paul Murdaugh deserved justice, and they certainly did not deserve to brutally die at the hands of someone who was supposed to love and protect them." The jury deliberated for little more than two hours to convict the disgraced former attorney of murdering his wife and son. He now faces a possible life sentence pending what a judge finds during sentencing on Friday morning. "Alex Murdaugh’s house of cards, built on the foundation of lies, manipulation, and theft, came crashing down," Wilson said in Thursday night's statement. "Let this be a warning: no matter who you are, if you break the law, the truth will come out and you will be brought to justice.” Assistant Deputy Attorney General Creighton Waters, who led the prosecution in the trial, described the process leading up to Thursday's conviction as a "long and exhaustive effort." "Alex Murdaugh tried one last con to prevent the accountability he has never had to face in his life, but the jury saw through that and properly found he murdered his wife and son in cold blood," Waters said. Waters also thanked all the agencies involved in the process including the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the "entire South Carolina Grand Jury team" for their role in the process. Thank you so much for watching contact : https://linktr.ee/ghaffar_qureshi40

Is TikTok really a threat to America's national security? That's the question at the center of a heated debate unfolding in Washington. On one side, lawmakers are pushing forward with a bill that would make it easier to ban TikTok and other China-related economic activity, citing concerns about user data being transferred to the Chinese government. On the other side, civil liberties advocates and some lawmakers argue that the proposal is unconstitutional and threatens free speech online. With the fate of the popular app hanging in the balance, tensions are running high as the US government grapples with how to address the potential risks posed by TikTok and its parent company ByteDance. A powerful House committee voted to advance legislation on Wednesday that would make it easier to ban TikTok from the United States and crack down on other China-related economic activity, amid vocal objections from some lawmakers and civil liberties advocates who argue the proposal is unconstitutionally broad and threatens a wide range of online speech. The legislation — introduced Friday and fast-tracked by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul — would empower the Biden administration to impose a nationwide TikTok ban under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The bill’s text specifically names TikTok and its parent, ByteDance, and requires President Joe Biden to impose penalties against the companies, up to and potentially including a ban, if the administration determines they may have knowingly transferred TikTok’s user data to “any foreign person” working for or under the influence of the Chinese government. Sanctions would also be required if the Biden administration finds the companies helped the Chinese government engage in surveillance, hacking, censorship or intelligence-gathering; facilitated election meddling in the United States or in another democratic ally; or helped the Chinese government influence US policymaking, among other things. The bill, known as H.R. 1153 or the Deterring America’s Technological Adversaries Act, also weakens a 35-year-old law, known as the Berman Amendment to IEEPA, that prohibited the US government from restricting the free flow of “informational materials” such as movies, photos, news and eventually electronic media to and from foreign countries, even those under US sanction. Legal experts and even some TikTok creators have cited the Berman Amendment as a potential barrier to a nationwide TikTok ban because it may violate the Berman Amendment’s protections for electronic information. national security,tiktok,tiktok ban,tiktok national security,national security threat tiktok,tiktok security,tiktok china,national security threat,us national security,tiktok security threat,tiktok security threats,tiktok canada,security,tiktok ban axios,the national,tiktok government ban,cbc the national,tiktok china algorithm,communications security establishment,tiktok ban in america,china tiktok,us ban tiktok,tiktok banned,tiktok ban fcc Thank you so much for watching find me here: https://linktr.ee/newsque

As winter continues its onslaught, the snow keeps pounding California's mountains, hitting even the most popular resorts and communities. From Lake Tahoe to Arrowhead, people are struggling with closed highways and dwindling supplies. The situation is so severe that the governor has declared a state of emergency in 13 counties, and the National Guard has been called in to help with rescue efforts. Snowplow drivers are expected to spend the next week trying to clear the roads, and officials have responded to nearly 100 rescue calls because of the snow. Meanwhile, Yosemite National Park is also closed after a record-breaking snowfall. As the situation deteriorates, emergency officials are urging people to stay home and avoid the roads at all costs. Late Wednesday, Gov. Newsom declared a state of emergency in 13 counties — Amador, Kern, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Nevada, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sierra, Sonoma and Tulare. The governor also activated the California National Guard to help in storm response efforts, including in San Bernardino County, where Guard members and personnel from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection were set to “go door to door” to help rescue people trapped in their homes. In the community of Blue Jay, about a mile from Lake Arrowhead Village, a structure fire injured two people, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department. The structure was “fully involved to the ground” and only accessible by snow cat, the department said on Twitter, noting firefighters had to dig through snow to get to the hydrant. Lake Arrowhead has received 2.5 feet of snow in the last 48 hours, according to the National Weather Service, and the surrounding area has seen over 6 feet of snow in the last week. Goodwin’s Market in Crestline was closed Wednesday after the additional snowfall overnight collapsed part of its roof. “We know many of you are counting on us and we will do everything we can to get open as soon as possible,” the market said in a Facebook post. Rowe acknowledged that the risk to structures was also a concern for the county heading into the sixth day of snowfall. Mounds of snow reached rooftops in the mountain communities and made it nearly impossible to get around by car or on foot. “We hear you. We know that you are concerned and we know that this is changing with the additional snow that fell last night,” Rowe said. Snowplow drivers were expected to be clearing the roads for the next week, Rowe said. Some residents posted videos on social media of their journeys up the mountain highways with escorts from Caltrans before they were put on pause. state of emergency,california,california weather,northern california,buffalo snowfall,president of the united states,heavy snowfall,northern california winter storm,northern california weather,california weather update,california winter storm,heavy snow,snowfall in ny,northern california rain,california rainfall,snowfall,northern california storm update,northern california storm warning,southern california,atmospheric river california Thank you so much for watching find me here: https://linktr.ee/newsque

The Biden administration wants to wipe out $400 billion in student debt, but the court’s conservative majority questioned its power to do so. Six Republican-dominated states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina — and two individuals sued to stop the plan. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed deeply skeptical on Tuesday of the legality of the Biden administration’s plan to wipe out more than $400 billion in student debt, heightening the prospect that the justices would thwart efforts to forgive the loans of tens of millions of borrowers. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. indicated that the administration had acted without sufficiently explicit congressional authorization to undertake one of the most ambitious and expensive executive actions in the nation’s history, violating separation-of-powers principles. “I think most casual observers would say,” the chief justice said, that “if you’re going to give up that much amount of money, if you’re going to affect the obligations of that many Americans on a subject that’s of great controversy, they would think that’s something for Congress to act on.” The court’s three liberal members said Congress had already acted, by passing a law in 2003 that authorized the secretary of education to address emergencies. “Congress could not have made this much more clear,” Justice Elena Kagan said, adding: “We deal with congressional statutes every day that are really confusing. This one is not.” By the end of about three and a half hours of arguments in two separate cases, the court’s conservative majority seemed likely to dash the hopes of the 26 million borrowers who have already applied for loan relief, including millions who have received approval. If the administration is to prevail, it would probably be on the ground that none of the plaintiffs in the two cases had established standing to sue, but that outcome did not seem likely, either. The chief justice, joined by other members of the court’s six-member conservative majority, invoked the “major questions doctrine,” which requires that government initiatives with major political and economic consequences be clearly authorized by Congress. There was something close to a consensus that the debt forgiveness program qualified as major. “We’re talking about half a trillion dollars and 43 million Americans,” Chief Justice Roberts said, referring to the number of affected borrowers. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. indicated that the ordinary colloquial meaning of “major questions” encompassed “what the government proposes to do with student loans.” Even Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a liberal, said the sums involved were legally significant. “That seems to favor the argument that this is a major question,” she said. Hundreds of protesters outside the court, many of whom were college students from across the country, underscored that point. Mr. Biden’s plan would relieve them of vast amounts of debt, they said. Kaylah Lightfoot, a sophomore at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., described the prolonged court fight over the program as stressful. “I’m truly just trying to stay focused and keep on going,” she said. The administration was spurred to act because of the pandemic and its lingering effects. The law the administration relied on, the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003, usually called the HEROES Act, gives the secretary of education the power to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision” to protect borrowers affected by “a war or other military operation or national emergency.” Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas were skeptical that the words “waive or modify” allowed outright cancellation. “It doesn’t say modify or waive loan balances,” the chief justice said. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh said that Congress “could have in 2003 referred to loan cancellation and loan forgiveness, and those are not in the statutory text.” supreme court,student loans,student loans supreme court,student loan forgiveness,supreme court student loans,student debt,supreme court student loan forgiveness,federal student loans,supreme court student loans live,student debt relief,supreme court live today student loans,student loans cancellation,supreme court student loan,biden student loans,student loans biden,supreme court student debt,student debt relief supreme court,student loan debt

Strengthening Russian-Iranian ties threaten the security not only of Ukraine, but also of Israel, according to senior politicians. JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long leaned into his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, leveraging it to act as an intermediary between the Kremlin and Washington and to help secure Israel’s northern border with Syria. What a difference 18 months makes. Netanyahu returned to power in late December amid expectations that he would pivot Israel in the direction of Russia. He has instead shored up his country’s backing of Kyiv under pressure from Israel’s most significant ally, the U.S. Now he has to weigh alienating Putin by providing defensive arms to Ukraine, a move he has yet to agree to and which Russia has already made it clear would be a red line. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly asked Israel for its advanced David’s Sling system in his virtual address to the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 17, expressing confidence that Israel would eventually acquiesce. “We do not have yet the David’s Sling from Israel, but I believe it is just temporary,” Zelenskyy said. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also laid out his country’s demands when he met with his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, in Kyiv on Feb. 16. “Israel knows perfectly well the list of our military and defensive requests which we have provided … to this government, and we will be waiting for some decisions to be taken,” he said. “We are talking about the provision of the Ukrainian skies.” Cohen, who was the first high-level Israeli official to visit Ukraine since the start of the war, went to Kyiv on a solidarity trip that included a meeting with Zelenskyy, but he left without promising defensive military help. Senior Israeli lawmakers have already called on Netanyahu to provide Ukraine with anti-drone and anti-missile systems. Yuli Edelstein, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party who heads the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, traveled to Ukraine and met with Zelenskyy on Feb. 20, along with opposition legislator Ze’ev Elkin, with a message that was markedly different from Cohen’s. They promised Zelenskyy to do everything possible to help ensure Israel sends defensive weapons. “Israel can and should do much more than it has done so far,” they said in a statement after the meeting. “We must stop being afraid, and take an active unequivocal position in accordance with the basic moral values, as would be expected from any Western country.” Automatic sympathy Elkin and Edelstein both immigrated to Israel from Ukraine decades ago and say they feel automatic sympathy with its citizens under fire. But they also add that they broke ranks with their government, both from a moral position and then a policy one, given Russia’s growing military alliance with Iran, which has said it wants to see Israel wiped off the map. Tehran has already shown its enmity to Kyiv by providing Russia with battlefield weapons such as armed drones, which Moscow has used against Ukraine, a move that has automatically tightened ties between Netanyahu and Zelenskyy. So the strengthening of the Russian-Iranian alliance threatens the security not only of Ukraine, but also of Israel, Edelstein and Elkin said, saying both countries were now on the same side when it came to defending their citizens against Iran.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday vowed there would be “real costs” for China if the country went forward with providing lethal aid to Russia in its war on Ukraine. “From our perspective, actually, this war presents real complications for Beijing. And Beijing will have to make its own decisions about how it proceeds, whether it provides military assistance. But, if it goes down that road, it will come at real costs to China. And I think China’s leaders are weighing that as they make their decisions,” Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” In diplomatic conversations with China, he added, the US is “not just making direct threats. We’re just laying out both the stakes and the consequences, how things would unfold. And we are doing that clearly and specifically behind closed doors.” Sullivan’s comments come at a critical juncture in the war in Ukraine. The US has intelligence that the Chinese government is considering providing Russia with drones and ammunition for use in the war, three sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN. It does not appear that Beijing has made a final decision yet, the sources said, as negotiations between Russia and China about the price and scope of the equipment are ongoing. Since invading Ukraine, Russia has repeatedly requested drones and ammunition from China, the sources familiar with the intelligence said, and Chinese leadership has been actively debating over the last several months whether or not to send the lethal aid, the sources added. “I can level with the American people in saying that war is unpredictable,” Sullivan said Sunday when asked if the US could continue supporting Ukraine at current levels a year from now. “One year ago, we were all bracing for the fall of Kyiv in a matter – in a matter of days. One year later, Joe Biden was standing with President Zelensky in Kyiv declaring that Kyiv stands.” “So, I cannot predict the future, and nor can anyone else. And anyone who is suggesting they can define for you how and when this war will end is not leveling with the American people or anyone else,” he said. Sullivan also reiterated Biden’s Friday remarks that the administration was ruling out providing F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine “for now.” “This phase of the war requires tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, artillery, tactical air defense systems, so that Ukrainian fighters can retake territory that Russia currently occupies,” Sullivan said. “F-16s are a question for a later time.” House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul said Sunday that Congress “can certainly write into our appropriations bills, prioritizing weapons We intend to do that,” the Texas Republican said on ABC when asked what Congress could do to push the Biden administration to provide longer-range missile systems, such as ATACMS, or F-16s to Ukraine. “I know the administration says, ‘As long as it takes.’ I think with the right weapons, it shouldn’t take so long,” McCaul said. “This whole thing is taking too long. And it really didn’t have to happen this way.” Sunday also marked the nine-year anniversary of Russia’s occupation of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea. The US State Department on Sunday reasserted that “Crimea is Ukraine.” “The United States does not and never will recognize Russia’s purported annexation of the peninsula,” department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement, calling Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea “a clear violation of international law and of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Sullivan, however, would not say whether the Biden administration would support Ukraine deciding that victory would mean retaking Crimea. “What ultimately happens with Crimea, in the context of this war and a settlement of this war, is something for the Ukrainians to determine with the support of the United States,” he said to Bash. Thank you so much for watching contact : https://linktr.ee/ghaffar_qureshi40

US Energy Department's Updated Report Suggests Low Confidence in Natural Origin of Covid-19 The US Department of Energy has assessed that the Covid-19 pandemic most likely came from a laboratory leak in China, according to a newly updated classified intelligence report. Two sources said that the Department of Energy assessed in the intelligence report that it had “low confidence” the Covid-19 virus accidentally escaped from a lab in Wuhan. Intelligence agencies can make assessments with either low, medium or high confidence. A low confidence assessment generally means that the information obtained is not reliable enough or is too fragmented to make a more definitive analytic judgment or that there is not enough information available to draw a more robust conclusion. The latest assessment further adds to the divide in the US government over whether the Covid-19 pandemic began in China in 2019 as the result of a lab leak or whether it emerged naturally. The various intelligence agencies have been split on the matter for years. In 2021, the intelligence community declassified a report that showed four agencies in the intelligence community had assessed with low confidence that the virus likely jumped from animals to humans naturally in the wild, while one assessed with moderate confidence that the pandemic was the result of a laboratory accident. Three other intelligence community elements were unable to coalesce around either explanation without additional information, the report said. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the new assessment from the Department of Energy. A senior US intelligence official told the Journal that the update to the intelligence assessment was conducted in light of new intelligence, further study of academic literature and in consultation with experts outside government. A Department of Energy spokesperson told CNN in a statement: “The Department of Energy continues to support the thorough, careful, and objective work of our intelligence professionals in investigating the origins of COVID-19, as the President directed.” The Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence is one of 18 government agencies that make up the intelligence community, which are under the umbrella of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Thankyou so much for watching contact: https://linktr.ee/ghaffar_qureshi40

A powerful winter storm that swept down the West Coast with flooding and frigid temperatures shifted its focus to southern California on Saturday, swelling rivers to dangerous levels and dropping snow in even low-lying areas around Los Angeles. The National Weather Service said it was one of the strongest storms to ever hit southwest California and even as the volume of wind and rain dropped, it continued to have significant impact including snowfall down to elevations as low as 1,000 feet (305 meters). Hills around suburban Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, were blanketed in white, and snow also surprised inland suburbs to the east. Rare blizzard warnings for the mountains and widespread flood watches were ending late in the day as the storm tapered off in the region. Forecasters said there would be a one-day respite before the next storm arrives on Monday. After days of fierce winds, toppled trees and downed wires, more than 120,000 California utility customers remained without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us. And Interstate 5, the West Coast's major north-south highway, remained closed due to heavy snow and ice in Tejon Pass through the mountains north of Los Angeles. Multiday precipitation totals as of Saturday morning included a staggering 81 inches (205 centimeters) of snow at the Mountain High resort in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles and up to 64 inches (160 centimeters) farther east at Snow Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains. Rainfall totals as of late Saturday morning were equally stunning, including nearly 15 inches (38.1 centimeters) at Los Angeles County's Cogswell Dam and nearly 10.5 inches (26.6 cm) in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles. "Quite a remarkable storm the last few days with historic amounts of precip and snow down to elevations that rarely see snow," the LA-area weather office wrote. The Los Angeles River and other waterways that normally flow at a trickle or are dry most of the year were raging with runoff Saturday. The Los Angeles Fire Department used a helicopter to rescue four homeless people who were stranded in the river's major flood control basin. Two were taken to a hospital with hypothermia, said spokesperson Brian Humphrey. In the Valencia area of north Los Angeles County, the roiling Santa Clara River carried away three motorhomes early Saturday after carving into an embankment where an RV park is located. No one was hurt, KCAL-TV reported, but one resident described the scene as devastating. The storm, fueled by low pressure rotating off the coast, did not depart quietly. Lightning strikes shut down LA County beaches and scattered bursts of snow, showers and thunderstorms persisted. Derek Maiden, 57, who lives in a tent in LA's Echo Park neighborhood, collected cans in the rain to take to a recycling center. He said this winter has been wetter than usual. "It's miserable when you're outside in the elements," he said. Meanwhile, people farther east were struggling to deal with the fallout from storms earlier this week. More than 350,000 customers were without power in Michigan as of early Saturday afternoon, according to reports from the the two main utilities in the state, DTE and Consumers Energy. Both said they hope to have the lights back on for most of their customers by Sunday night. Brian Wheeler, a spokesman for Consumers Energy, said half an inch (1.27 centimeters) of ice weighed down some power lines — equivalent to the weight of a baby grand piano. "People are not just angry but struggling," said Em Perry, environmental justice director for Michigan United, a group that advocates for economic and racial justice. "People are huddling under blankets for warmth." winter storm,winter storm warning,winter weather,weather,winter storm coverage,massive winter storm,current events,winter storm olive,white house,winter storm ambience,los angeles,storm,winter,strangest places in the world,california weather,scariest natural events,weirdest places in the world,dangerous natural events,big bear weather and more,weather forecast,michigan weather,wisconsin weather,weather update today,california weather foreca Thankyou so much for watching contact: https://linktr.ee/ghaffar_qureshi40

A derecho is forecast to bring damaging hurricane-force winds to the central US today The storm system that brought blizzard warnings to Southern California on Friday and Saturday will produce a significant damaging wind event across the central US on Sunday. By midday Sunday the Storm Prediction Center was forecasting a derecho to develop Sunday afternoon and evening. A derecho is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line windstorm associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms. “A derecho is forecast with widespread damaging winds and embedded swaths of significant severe gusts from 80-110 mph, centered on parts of Oklahoma this evening into tonight,” the storm center said. “Embedded tornadoes are anticipated as well, with the greatest potential for strong (EF2-EF3) tornadoes across southwest Oklahoma this evening.” Winds of 80 to 110 mph are equivalent to a Category 2 Atlantic hurricane. If a swath of damaging winds extends more than 240 miles and includes wind gusts of 58 mph or greater along most of its length, then the event may be classified as a derecho, according to the National Weather Service. The highest severe storm risk today, a Level 4 out of 5 or moderate risk, has been issued across portions of western Oklahoma and Texas. Cities under this risk include Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lawton, and Enid in Oklahoma. This area is where the highest chance of a strong tornado will be late Sunday afternoon. This is the first Level 4 out of 5 risk issued so far this year, the last Level 4 risk was issued on December 14, 2022, when a tornado touched down in New Orleans. Overall, more than 20 million people are under the threat of severe storms Sunday from western Texas to Illinois, including Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Kansas City, Fort Worth, and St. Louis. “A significant damaging wind event is expected from the eastern Texas Panhandle into much of Oklahoma and southeast Kansas late this afternoon through this evening,” the Storm Predication Center wrote in their forecast discussion early Sunday morning. Damaging wind gusts of more than 75 mph will be possible, as well as a couple strong tornadoes. Frequent lightning and hail are also possible. The greatest tornado threat will be “early in the event” according to the storm center, meaning late this afternoon as storms track across portions of western-north Texas and southwestern Oklahoma. This will then quickly transition into a damaging wind event this evening and into the overnight hours as the storms form into a squall line, which is a continuous and narrow band of thunderstorms that form ahead of a cold front. “The storms will eventually evolve into a squall line,” the National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma, said. Adding that embedded tornadoes within this squall line will still be possible as the storms track east. The storms will also be moving rather quickly, racing east and northeast at 60 to 80 mph which will only add to the damaging wind threat. Thank you so much for watching contact : https://linktr.ee/ghaffar_qureshi40

House Republicans’ installation of some of their most incendiary conservatives on the Oversight Committee is sparking an unexpected feeling inside the White House: unbridled glee. The panel tasked with probing Biden policies and actions, as well as the president’s own family, will be stocked with some of the chamber’s biggest firebrands and die-hard Trumpists — including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) — ideal figureheads for a White House eager to deride the opposition party as unhinged.No administration wants to feel the heat of congressional investigations, and Biden’s team is no different. But privately, the president’s aides sent texts to one another with digital high fives and likened their apparent luck to drawing an inside straight. One White House ally called it a “political gift.” The jubilation was tempered, somewhat, by Democrats on the Hill who expressed more apprehension about the posting. “The English language runs out of adjectives to describe the debasement, cynical debasement of the whole process these appointments represent,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a senior Oversight panel member, said in an interview. “And it is, I think, a huge black mark on Kevin McCarthy.” Another longtime Oversight panel member, Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), warned that the GOP appointments were “frightening,” adding: “As someone who has been on this committee the entire time I’ve been in Congress, I am very concerned.” But underlying Democrats’ worry was the same sense of schadenfreude about the committee’s GOP makeup that they showed as now-Speaker Kevin McCarthy struggled through 15 ballots to win his post. With House GOP leaders set to go on offense over Biden world’s handling of classified documents, the Oversight seats handed to some of their biggest ongoing headaches gave Biden world a clear confidence boost.“[W]ith these members joining the Oversight Committee,” White House oversight spokesperson Ian Sams said in a statement, “it appears that House Republicans may be setting the stage for divorced-from-reality political stunts, instead of engaging in bipartisan work on behalf of the American people.”The Oversight panel is where many of the most explosive political battles engulfing an opposition White House are waged. They are tasked with probing an administration, exposing potential malfeasance — and may well end up setting the campaign agenda for the rest of the party to follow. They can knock a White House off its bearings: from the Obama administration’s Solyndra headaches to the Trump administration’s ongoing struggle over the former president’s financial documents. GOP lawmakers insist they have ample fodder to do the same with Biden, pointing to the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan to Biden family-linked business entanglements and name-trading involving the president’s son Hunter. Indeed, Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) offered no hint of worry about his members, telling POLITICO that he is “excited about” the roster. “I think it’s full of quality members, who are passionate about rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.” Yet Greene and Gosar, booted by Democrats from previous committee assignments because of violent rhetoric aimed at colleagues, were also among the lawmakers most closely associated with Donald Trump’s challenges to the 2020 election. Both also spoke at a conference hosted by white nationalist Nick Fuentes’ America First PAC. Another incoming Oversight panel member, House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-Pa.), was a central figure in Trump’s push to contest his loss to Biden. Perry’s phone was seized by the FBI last year, and he refused to comply with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee. Democrats haven’t yet named their members to the top House investigative committees, but they’re already confident the Republican-led panels will self-destruct. “The Republicans have brought the QAnon caucus to the Oversight Committee, and you can expect them to run with the most ludicrous conspiracy theories one can ever imagine,” said Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.). “And I think our job is very simple, which is to make sure that we ground our work and any of these investigations in reality.” Goldman, who played a prominent role in the House’s first impeachment inquiry against Trump, predicted Republicans would pay a political price for empowering the fringe of their conference: “I don’t think that any moderate Republican is going to win reelection because of an investigation into Hunter Biden’s laptop.” A spokesperson for Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the panel, declined to comment. One Biden administration official involved in planning for possible investigations cautioned that the members were “extreme and crazy, yes, and easy to dunk on in the media,” but said “they’re also dangerous.” “We are clear eyed about the kind of scorched earth tactics and mud fighting they want to engage in,” the official said. “We are going to follow the law and the rules of the game, and we won’t shy away from calling them out for flagrantly assaulting norms, order and facts themselves.” Both the Oversight and Judiciary committees have long contained some of the House’s fiercest partisans on both sides of the aisle, many of whom hail from safe congressional districts. The committees have sweeping investigative authority but often take on polarizing topics that members from swing districts tend to eschew. Notably, McCarthy, under pressure from other conference conservatives, established a new investigative body — a “select subcommittee” housed within the Judiciary Committee that’s expected to gobble up some of the most politically potent future GOP probes.This new panel — ostensibly to investigate “weaponization” of the government will mostly be guided by Judiciary chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a Freedom Caucus co-founder who has become a trusted McCarthy ally. Democrats are privately betting that the select subcommittee’s broad scope — the coronavirus, the Justice Department, the Department of Education and the FBI are all among the GOP’s stated areas of interest — will ultimately spark “blowback” in a conference where some moderates still feel burned by a lackluster midterm election. And while Jordan is respected within the GOP conference, sitting at the center of every Trump-related congressional probe since 2017, he brings his own political baggage; like Perry, he refused to comply with a Jan. 6 committee subpoena. One House Democratic aide, speaking candidly on condition of anonymity, said the Ohio Republican’s leadership of the panel would only help Democratic efforts to “discredit” it. Meanwhile, some GOP members privately acknowledged the pitfalls of putting controversy-baiting members on investigative panels. But they said Jordan and Comer are respected enough within the conference to keep wayward members in line. And they also remarked on the entertainment value of the committees, noting that it’d be interesting to see members of the progressive “Squad” — who are expected to rejoin the Oversight Committee — go toe-to-toe with members like Boebert and Greene. Some GOP members also brushed off Democrats’ cries of “extremism” by noting that they sounded similar alarms during House GOP-led probes in 2018 into the FBI’s launch of the investigation into links between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. While many of rank-and-file Republicans’ most extreme claims fell apart, the party still felt vindicated by an inspector general’s scathing report that found the FBI misused its surveillance powers to spy on a former Trump campaign adviser. Still, the presence of Greene, Gosar, Boebert and Perry, on the oversight panel has already allowed the White House and its allies to go on the attack. David Brock, a Democratic activist behind the Facts First group that is helping lead a counteroffensive to the House GOP investigations, called the Oversight appointments “the clear culmination of the corrupt bargain” McCarthy struck with the conservative members that he went on to describe as “the core group behind every conspiracy theory and lie.” “This collective group has the credibility of a sentient My Pillow commercial,” Brock said. Eric Schultz, a top White House spokesman under former President Barack Obama, said they found over the course of the administration that the most effective and challenging Oversight members to deal with “were the ones who take their jobs seriously and don’t look for attention.” “The more unserious people performing congressional oversight the easier this is going to be for the [Biden] administration. And in that regard, I think the White House hit the jackpot. This is a crowd that will make [former House Oversight chair] Darrell Issa look intellectual.”

The White House on Wednesday condemned the addition of far-right Republicans to the House Oversight Committee, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.). Why it matters: The blistering statement foreshadows the tension that will fester in Washington over the next two years, with the Oversight Committee set to be ground zero for investigations and high-profile standoffs between House Republicans and the Biden administration. Driving the news: "[I]t appears that House Republicans may be setting the stage for divorced-from-reality political stunts, instead of engaging in bipartisan work on behalf of the American people," White House spokesperson for oversight Ian Sams said in a statement to Axios. "Chairman Comer once said his goal was to ensure the Committee's work is 'credible,' yet Republicans are handing the keys of oversight to the most extreme MAGA members of the Republican caucus who promote violent rhetoric and dangerous conspiracy theories," he added. Sams called on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to "reveal transparently once and for all what secret deals" he made with Republican rebels to secure their support during the speaker election. Between the lines: The White House did not explicitly name the four members, but cited examples of Greene and Gosar promoting violence against other members of Congress that led to them being stripped of their committee assignments in 2021. The statement also accused Perry of defying a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee and Boebert of downplaying the severity of the insurrection. What they're saying: Democrats on the Hill are reacting to the new committee assignments in similar fashion. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said he was "horrified," tweeting: "A QAnon conspiracy theorist + Jan 6 insurrectionist doesn't belong on a committee that exists to fight extremism," in reference to Greene's new role on the House Homeland Security Committee. What's next: The House Oversight Committee is preparing to ramp up its investigations into Hunter Biden, the Afghanistan withdrawal and COVID origins, among other issues.