Author: ALN Staff

Vladimir Putin’s leading critic, Alexei Navalny, has been sentenced to nine years in a maximum-security prison. A visibly gaunt Navalny, 45, crossed his arms and whispered to his attorneys as the judge sentenced him over allegations he stole from his anti-corruption organization. WATCH: https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1506282047882551296 Reading the verdict aloud, Judge Margarita Kotova said Navalny “committed fraud, that is embezzlement of other people’s property through deception.” Kotova allegedly received a promotion from Putin last week. As NPR reports: Journalists from Russia’s independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper said Navalny’s lawyers were detained by police after the ruling.The court also charged Navalny with contempt of court, for…

House Republicans have requested that the Senate Judiciary Committee investigate President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee over her lenient sentences for sex offenders. A group of conservative representatives sent the Committee a letter asking it investigate three child pornography cases where Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson “deviated from federal sentencing guidelines in favor of the offenders” when she served as vice-chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The cases are U.S. v. Hawkins, U.S v. Stewart and U.S. v. Chazin. In U.S. v. Hawkins, “Jackson sentenced a man convicted of possessing child pornography to three months when sentencing guidelines called for 10 years.” The…

Russia has lost another military leader. The Russian governor of Sevastopol has announced that Black Sea Fleet deputy commander Captain Andrey Paliy, 51, died in combat near Mariupol. The Russian naval chief grew up in Kiyv, Soviet Ukraine. He is the first maritime commander to have perished in Ukraine, although five Russian Army generals have died in the invasion. Ukrainian forces reportedly shot Paliy dead outside of Mariupol, around the same time Ukraine rejected Russia’s ultimatum to surrender the strategic port city. According to reports, Paliy had expected to be promoted to rear admiral. https://twitter.com/JackDetsch/status/1505587605500575744 The Daily Mail reports on…

One day after Russia launched the first hypersonic, nuclear-capable missile in combat and hours after its air force bombed a school sheltering hundreds in Mariupol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged he’s “ready for negotiations” with Vladimir Putin. Despite the heroic Ukrainian defense, bolstered the U.S. and Great Britain’s fire-and-forget anti-tank missiles and cheap but lethal Turkish drones, Zelenskyy told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that “without negotiations, we cannot end this war.”  Still, the besieged leader warned that it could mean a wider war if talks failed. WATCH: https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1505534087800537091 CNN’s Chandelis Duster reports on the exclusive interview: “I’m ready for negotiations with him. I…

Alaska Congressman Don Young has died. Young was the Dean of the House, having represented the people of his state since winning a special election in 1973. Young, 88, died Friday night at Los Angeles International Airport while on his way home. He was running for his 26th term. Alaska Public Media has more from an interview with lobbyist Jack Ferguson, Young’s close friend and very first chief of staff: “I’m shocked. I’m sad. I got a pit in my stomach,” Ferguson said. “I just so wanted him to serve out those last years, you know? When the Republicans (would…

The United States and European Union fear that despite Beijing’s squeamishness over the optics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s communist leaders are about to provide Russia with much needed assistance. The development, allegedly from “very reliable evidence” contrasts sharply with President Xi Jingpin’s reassurances earlier today that war in Ukraine “is not something China wants to see.” As The Washington Examiner reports: “EU leaders have very reliable evidence that China is considering providing military aid to Russia. All the leaders are very aware of what’s going on,” an anonymous senior EU official told Politico. “We are concerned about the fact that…

Russian authorities will continue to detain WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner for at least another two months. Russian state news agency TASS reported that a Moscow court granted a petition to extend Griner’s detention to May 19, as an investigation into the drug charges against her proceeds. The basketball superstar has remained in custody since last month when a drug-sensing dog alerted its handler to Griner’s luggage as she made her way through security at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. According to officials, a search of her luggage found vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis. The charges…

Tucker Carlson isn’t backing down in his confrontation with fellow conservatives who want to provide Ukraine with more military assistance. Indeed, fireworks between Carlson and Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) began immediately last night. WATCH: https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1504281657645445130 Per Mediaite: Last week Salazar was asked if the United States should impose a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace, which would require shooting down Russian aircraft. She enthusiastic replied “Of course!” in what appeared to be an impromptu interview, as ALN’s Paul Crespo described at the time. The reporter then pressed Salazar further, asking “So, conventional war with Russia?” At that point, she politely…

A new book alleges that longtime ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) privately joined the chorus of Republicans calling for the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump. According to an excerpt from “This Will Not Pass” by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, a furious Graham called White House Counsel Pat Cipollone on the afternoon of the United States Capitol riot. The South Carolina senator raised the prospect of invoking the 25th Amendment if Trump didn’t aggressively denounce the violence. Per Mediaite: “[W]e’ll be asking you for the 25th Amendment,” Graham reportedly told Cipollone, on the condition…

In an emotional address invoking Pearl Harbor and 9/11, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed members of Congress this morning from Kyiv. WATCH: WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1504085915702263808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1504085915702263808%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fsarahd-313035%2F2022%2F03%2F16%2Fwatch-heres-the-ukraine-footage-that-volodymyr-zelensky-showed-to-congress-reducing-them-to-tears-video%2F The besieged president’s aim? To provide Ukraine with more lethal military aid to resist the Russian invasion of his country. Zelenskyy ended his speech with a direct appeal to President Biden, saying “You are the leader of your grand nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.” As CNN reports: The Ukrainian President expressed gratitude to Biden for…