 U.S. officials on Friday accused Russia of sending operatives into Ukraine to stage an incident that would give Russian President Vladimir Putin the pretext to invade. Intelligence officials said they had analyzed communications and operative movements that point to upcoming "sabotage activities" that Russia would blame on Ukrainian forces. The U.S. has provided some of its intelligence to allies, but did not share any documents with the media. More: - Exposing Russia's plan is apparently an attempt to prevent the attacks, as officials say a similar playbook was followed in Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
- National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday that Russia was "laying the groundwork to have the option of fabricating the pretext for an invasion."
- Ukraine's Ministry of Defense also released a statement Friday saying that Russian operatives would provoke Russian forces and Moscow would later blame Ukraine for the attack.
- One official referred to an upcoming "false-flag operation in eastern Ukraine" with saboteurs who are "trained in urban warfare and in using explosives to carry out acts of sabotage against Russia’s own proxy forces."
- Russia has positioned about 100,000 troops around Ukraine's border, and diplomats from the U.S., Russia, and NATO could not come to terms in talks this week to deescalate tensions.
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U.S. retail sales dropped 1.9% in December from the previous month, though the dip was somewhat buoyed by strong early holiday shopping in October. Sales were up 16.9% over December 2020, when the pandemic's first winter surge kept many restaurants closed and in-person shopping stunted. However, consumer spending was down across most categories in December from November, including an 8.7% drop in online spending, suggesting that most shoppers ordered gifts in October and November to beat supply chain issues and avoid shipping delays. More: - Sales were up 1.8% in October from the previous month, and another 0.3% in November.
- Economists expect a sales rebound after the omicron wave subsides.
- Overall, consumer spending in 2021 was up 19.3% over 2020.
- Department store sales were down 7% in December, but restaurant sales were only down 0.8% from November.
- Some analysts believe a significant number of sales were made in gift cards, but those numbers won't show up in the data until the cards are redeemed.
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 Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey The Treasury Department has threatened to rescind $170M in pandemic aid to Arizona if the state does not reconfigure a program that would spend some of the funds to discourage schools from requiring masks. In a letter to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, the department said Arizona has 60 days to reallocate the funding in a way that helps prevent coronavirus spread. In August, Ducey announced that $163M in funding would only go to schools committed to in-person instruction and that didn't require students to wear masks. More: - The Biden administration has typically not specified how funds from a $350B American Rescue Plan program are to be spent.
- However, this move follows an initial threat from the Treasury Department in October, arguing that Arizona's ban on mask mandates puts public health at risk.
- Some school districts in Arizona had required masks despite the state's ban on in-school mandates. The Arizona Supreme Court threw out the state's ban in November.
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 GOOD NEWS: A large spinning ice disc has once again formed in the Presumpscot River in Maine, delighting local residents. A similar disc formed in Westbrook, Maine, in 2019, by a whirlpool effect in the frigid river. City officials shared photos of the stunning and eerie disc on social media, and encouraged other visitors to do the same. The 100-meter wide circle, which will disappear once the local temperature rises, may be striking to look at, but officials warned anyone against attempting to go into the river or climb on the ice. "It is not safe," they said.
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 A message from ADOBE COMMERCE Strong in digital commerce and a Leader in the Magic Quadrant. In the 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Commerce, Adobe was named a Leader among 17 vendors. Gartner® evaluates digital commerce vendors on their “completeness of vision” and “ability to execute.” Find out why Adobe was named a Leader for Digital Commerce among 17 vendors in the Q3 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant report. Learn more about: - Global reach: Adobe has the most diverse geographic presence of all the vendors evaluated in this Magic Quadrant. It also has the largest number of service partners spread across all major markets, making it easier for organizations to find partners in their local markets.
- Out-of-the-box functionality: Adobe has comprehensive OOTB functionality that can fulfill requirements from basic to medium levels of complexity. It supports multiple user roles, multistores, catalog management, marketplace integration, promotions and discounts, language, and currencies, all with good granular control. It has a native CMS (Page Builder) and a Progressive Web Apps (PWA) studio with reference storefront.
- Admin UI: Adobe has a modern and intuitive UI that can be configured based on user role. It supports multiple import mechanisms for product data, and can integrate with multiple sources and analytics tools, making it easy for admins to focus on outcomes.
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 New evidence strongly suggests that the Epstein-Barr virus is what causes people to develop multiple sclerosis, or MS. Researchers found that infection with Epstein-Barr resulted in a 32-fold increase in the likelihood of developing MS, though it's likely one of many factors. Epstein-Barr is best known for causing mononucleosis, and about 90% of adults have antibodies showing they've previously been infected with the virus. More: - It's not clear why MS develops in some people and not others.
- One theory, "molecular mimicry," suggests that Epstein-Barr proteins may look similar to proteins in the nervous system, causing the immune system to attack the coating of nerve fibers in MS patients.
- To conduct the research, scientists looked at stored blood samples from 10 million people who served in the U.S. military from 1993 to 2013.
- Moderna recently began a study in the development of a vaccine to protect against Epstein-Barr infection.
- MS is estimated to affect about 36 out of every 100,000 people globally.
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 North Korea fired two missiles on Friday in its third weapons test this year — a response to new sanctions levied by the Biden administration. The short-range ballistic missiles flew 267 miles before landing in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. Hours before the launch, North Korea criticized the Biden administration's "confrontational stance," referring to sanctions targeting five North Koreans for obtaining missile technology and equipment. More: - Cheong Seong-Chang, a senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute, said the new launch was likely a sign of frustration at the sanctions. He said the afternoon launch was probably "improvised," as recent launches have taken place in the early morning.
- Former President Donald Trump's negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un faltered in 2019 after the two sides could not agree to terms to lighten sanctions.
- President Biden has offered to resume talks, but North Korea says it can't reenter negotiations as long as strict sanctions remain in place.
- Pyongyang said it recently conducted a successful hypersonic missile test, weapons that can evade missile defense systems due to their high speed.
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- The Ohio Supreme Court threw out the state's recently-submitted congressional map, with the court arguing that Republicans "stack[ed] the deck" to secure themselves 75-80% of seats in the Ohio Congress. The General Assembly will now have 30 days to draw a new map.
- New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy enacted a bill Thursday guaranteeing the right to get an abortion. Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., have enshrined the right to abortion into law in advance of a Supreme Court ruling, expected this June, that could overturn the federal guarantee of that right.
- The Associated Press released its 2021 NFL All-Pro Team. Five players were unanimous selections from all 50 voting media members – Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp, Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams, Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt, and Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.
- San Francisco residents can now enter a program called "Text Before Tow," which will alert them if their cars are about to be impounded.
- A Vatican reporter snapped a photo of Pope Francis discretely stopping into a Rome record store on Tuesday night. A fan of classical music, he apparently used to visit the store regularly before being pope.
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 |  | Jonathan Harris is a writer and editor who lives in Los Angeles. |  | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is writing an illustrated book about climate change that will be published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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