Biden's first round of sanctions invites calls for more aggressive measures
CBSN
Washington — Sanctions rolled out by the Biden administration this week that aim to deter further aggression by Russian President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine stop short of penalties that will hamstring Russia's economy, experts say, and instead leave room for harsher measures.
The U.S. and Western allies have made clear the sanctions they've imposed thus far are just an initial response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's recognition of two regions in eastern Ukraine as independent and ordering of so-called "peacekeeping" forces to the breakaway republics. But if Putin escalates further, Western leaders are poised to impose more severe penalties on Russia, they've stressed.
"If you look at where the U.S. is on the sanctions escalation ladder, it's on rung three of 10 right now," said Chris Miller, an assistant professor at the Fletcher School of Tufts University and co-director of its Russia and Eurasia Program.
The Trump administration hopes to upgrade and replace the nation's entire air traffic control system, with President Trump saying Thursday morning that he'll work with Congress on a bill to that end.
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Police in Sierra Leone have said they are hunting a Dutch drug trafficker who is one of Europe's most-wanted fugitives and believed to be hiding out in the west African country.
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The CIA confirmed Wednesday that it offered buyouts to employees who volunteer to resign, the latest group of federal workers to receive such a proposal as President Trump pushes to transform the federal government.
More employees of the Environmental Protection Agency were informed Wednesday that their jobs appear in doubt. Senior leadership at the EPA held an all-staff meeting to tell individuals that President Trump's executive order, "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," which was responsible for the closure of the agency's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office, will likely lead to the shuttering of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights as well.
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At least four cattle herds in Nevada have tested positive for a strain of H5N1 bird flu never before seen in cows, state agriculture officials confirmed Wednesday, and respiratory symptoms like coughing and sneezing have been reported.
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Washington — Senate Republicans said Wednesday that they intend to move forward with their own plan to approve key components of President Trump's agenda beginning next week, as the House efforts to start the budget reconciliation process have stalled.
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