Let’s assume for a moment that Vladimir Putin succeeds in gaining full control of Ukraine, as he shows every intention of doing. What are the strategic and geopolitical consequences? The most immediate threat will be to the Baltic states. Russia already borders Estonia and Latvia directly and touches Lithuania through Belarus...
There Is More to Market Volatility Than Ukraine
It is tempting to pin the recent volatility in markets only on the fluidity of the Russia-Ukraine situation. After all, depending on which scenario is in play, the global economy would either benefit from a sharp reduction in commodity prices or, at the other end, deal with a major stagflationary...
Saudi Arabia Keeps Lid on Oil Output as US Gas Prices Rise
Saudi Arabia is signaling it isn't willing to pump more oil and won't push for changes to an agreement with Russia and other producers that has kept a lid on oil production levels. This has Washington concerned as gasoline prices rise and tensions with Russia over Ukraine fuel market uncertainty. Higher prices...
California City is Second in U.S. to Use Robots for Grocery Deliveries
A fleet of Starship robots arrived at a Lucky grocery store in Pleasanton last week. The store will use the robots to deliver food to homes in about a two to three-mile radius. There are 15 robots that dock outside. They line up and wait for new orders to be...
Finnish Cross-Country Skier Suffers Frozen Penis at Olympics
Saturday's men’s 50km mass start skiiing race at the Beijing Games was shortened to 30km but that did little to help Finland’s Remi Lindholm, who needed a heat pack at the end of the race to thaw out a particularly sensitive body part. Lindholm spent just under an hour and...
Alaska Airlines Unveils Flight Subscriptions. Travel Often for One Monthly Fee.
Alaska Airlines announced the launch of Flight Pass this week, a subscription service with two tiers to be redeemed for 6, 12 or 24 nonstop trips a year "to eligible destinations'' in the Western U.S. Flight Pass subscribers can choose between two annual plans: the "Flight Pass" starting at $49 per month...
‘Whatever Horrors They Do, They Do in Secret’: Inside the Taliban’s Return to Power
On the surface, it seemed little had changed in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sherif since the Taliban captured the city in mid-August. Taliban fighters, piled on the back of army and police pickup trucks, patrolled the city, while the new white flags of the Taliban emblazoned car windshields and flew...
Nancy Pelosi Welcomed at Israeli Parliament: ‘Israel-U.S. Friendship Is Eternal’
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived at the Knesset on Wednesday as part of her first official visit to Israel in over two years. Pelosi signed the guestbook at the Knesset's Chagall Hall, writing that the security ties between Israel and the U.S. are stable and strong, and that “our friendship...
Woman Appears Cured of HIV After Umbilical-Cord Blood Transplant
A woman in the New York City area appears to have been cured of an HIV infection, joining a small group of people whose recovery is providing researchers with road maps to beat one of nature’s most resilient viruses. The doctors said they consider her HIV to be in long-term...
War in Ukraine Would Force Israel to Get off the Fence
If Vladimir Putin orders his forces into Ukraine, Israel may be harmed in several ways, since it has always struggled to maintain its policy of straddling the fence in regional conflicts involving Russia. An invasion will entail extremely harsh sanctions on Russia by the West, including halting the purchase of...