And unspeakable lows in presidential pardons

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to impose stiff taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isn’t reached to end the war in Ukraine, a warning that is likely fall on deaf ears in the Kremlin. The United States already prohibits the import of virtually all Russian products, and Russia has faced a multitude of U.S. and European sanctions since the invasion began almost three years ago.

With U.S.-Russian relations at their most strained since the Cold War, reducing the risk of direct military confrontation and stabilizing global security, the United States must balance firm deterrence with strategic diplomacy to turn a bitter rivalry into competitive coexistence.

OFAC has targeted Russia’s major oil companies and insurers as well as over 180 tankers in the shadow fleet. But will it make a difference?

The recent U.S. presidential election illuminates the fragility of American democracy. Decades of political and social polarization have produced a highly unsettled American electorate with a deep distrust in democratic institutions. Political and social divides, compounded by economic inequality and entrenched partisan warfare, have catalyzed the emergence of authoritarian-leaning voters and enabled more extreme ideological factions within both parties, with the Trumpist faction in the Republican Party as the most radicalized one.

A key player in coordinating U.S. military aid and marshaling international support for Ukraine has left the Pentagon just days before DONALD TRUMP takes the White House and puts its own imprint on the war.

There’s an unusual tradition in Florida courts: a judge deciding on a motion will sometimes ask each party to submit their own version of the ruling. Then, the judge will simply sign one. That’s how Judge Robert Pegg’s July ruling against 20 of America’s leading journalists imported the unusual capitalization that is part of the House Style of Trump lawsuits, in this case repeated, deadpan references to the “Russia Collusion Hoax.”

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) – Russia’s point man for arms control cautioned Donald Trump’s incoming administration on Friday against resuming nuclear testing, saying Moscow would keep its own options open amid what he said was Washington’s “extremely hostile” stance.

America’s current mix of sanctions and diplomacy isn’t working. An open letter on how to reconsider our approach to Putin—and whoever comes next.

OPINION: Within the context of a speedily devolving geopolitical roller coaster ride shaped by renewed Cold War era hostilities, an Aug. 5 Politico open letter authored by 103 American foreign policy experts calling for a reset to U.S.-Russia relations appeared to be just what the doctors of reason prescribed.