Good riddance Nord Stream 2. Now Europe has a golden opportunity
CNN
Nord Stream 2 was always a terrible idea -- it shouldn't have taken the threat of war to finally grind it to a halt, writes Paul Hockenos. Now that Germany has suspended the controversial gas pipeline, Europe has an opportunity to throw off Putin's stranglehold of its energy supplies.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz' suspension of the gas pipeline's approval is one of the first sanctions that the West has imposed on President Vladimir Putin for Russia's blatant breach of Ukraine's sovereignty. Scholz made good on a threat the Germans were hesitant to invoke, given what they see as its far-reaching implications for the economy.
Elected officials, Jewish advocacy groups and civil rights leaders are vowing to “push back” against the message of a White nationalist group that staged a march last week near downtown Columbus, Ohio, calling the demonstration an act of hate unwelcome in their community – and the United States more broadly.
Senate Democrats have confirmed some of President Joe Biden’s picks for the federal bench this week in the face of President-elect Donald Trump’s calls for a total GOP blockade of judicial nominations – in part because several Republicans involved with the Trump transition process have been missing votes.