Ukraine war briefing: Russian drone alert in Poland before Belarus border closure Warplanes scrambled after warning from Ukraine; Poland to seal border over Russian and Belarus’s ‘very aggressive’ Zapad war games. What we know on day 1,295 Warplanes were scrambled early on Wednesday after Ukraine’s air force warned that Russian drones had entered Nato-member Poland’s airspace. “Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness,” Poland’s operational command said. The Ukrainian air force said drones were heading west and threatening the city of Zamosc in Poland. Ukrainian media reported that one was heading towards the western Polish city of Rzeszow, and said airports were being temporarily closed. Poland will close its border with Belarus on Thursday as a result of the “very aggressive” Zapad military exercises taking place in Belarus involving Russia, Donald Tusk has announced. The Polish prime minister said it was also a response to a growing number of provocations from Russia and Belarus. Separately, Poland’s president, Karol Nawrocki, warned that “we do not trust Vladimir Putin’s good intentions.” Nawrocki continued: “While waiting, of course, for a long-term peace, permanent peace, which is necessary to our regions, we believe that Vladimir Putin is ready to also invade other countries.” The US Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal challenged Congress and Donald Trump to adopt a bipartisan bill imposing “scorching” secondary sanctions on countries buying Russian oil like China, India and Brazil. The long-proposed bill is co-sponsored by Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator. “I believe the president should be supportive,” Blumenthal told NPR on Tuesday. “The time has come for action. The president’s been mocked and played by Putin, and I think the president ought to be furious that Putin has stalled and stonewalled in this way. And about this bill, there are 85 co-sponsors, evenly divided – Democrat and Republican – which I think shows the level of support in the Congress for these kinds of sanctions.” Trump said on Sunday he was ready to impose further sanctions targeting Russia, but appears now to be stipulating that the EU must do so at the same time. The EU has already enacted 18 rounds of sanctions and is preparing a 19th round, which it has said should include more secondary sanctions targeting countries helping Moscow. A US official told Agence France-Presse that on Tuesday Trump raised with European representatives the possibility of tariffs of between 50% and 100% on Russian oil customers. Officials also discussed the issue of immobilised Russian government money as the EU sanctions envoy, David O’Sullivan, led a delegation to Washington. Trump dialled in for discussions on Tuesday alongside Ukraine’s prime minister, a US official said. Also involved in talks were Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and officials from the US trade representative’s office and state department. A Russian strike killed 24 elderly people collecting their pensions on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said. “A brutally savage Russian airstrike with an aerial bomb on the rural settlement of Yarova in the Donetsk region,” said the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Directly on people. Ordinary civilians. At the very moment when pensions were being disbursed.” Prosecutors announced a war crime investigation. The Ukrainian military said the Russians had dropped a glide bomb – a heavy bomb fitted with wings so it can fly rather than falling straight down. There was no immediate comment from Moscow or the Kremlin. Ukraine’s air defences were responding to a Russian drone attack on Kyiv early on Wednesday, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital posted online. Members of the European parliament in Strasbourg have accidentally passed a motion criticising the EU for a failed “militaristic strategy” in Ukraine. The amendment from an MEP from Germany’s radical left was nodded through by party floor chiefs who later admitted making a mistake – delighting populist groupings like Italy’s Putin-friendly Five Star Movement. Continue reading...

Ukraine war briefing: Russian drone alert in Poland before Belarus border closure

🤣 She never disappoints

I want to tell you why the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia should matter to you.

The one power you cannot give the executive is the ability to imprison or expel anyone regardless of their legal rights. That is our key check against autocracy. And we are watching it disappear.

A whistleblower's disclosure details how DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data A whistleblower tells Congress and NPR that DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data and hid its tracks. "None of that ... information should ever leave the agency," said a former NLRB official.

NEW from me: A whistleblower says DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data...and then someone posted a threatening letter to his door.

www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...

English Cream Golden Retriever smiling with mini cucumber in mouth.

When you give your dog a mini cucumber...

www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

Hands OFF! In St Joseph, MI today. Good showing.

A street in downtown St Joseph, MI is lined with Hands Off protesters. I took this photo because I noticed someone wearing a progressive pride flag as a cape.

We had a great crowd in St Joe Michigan. This is what democracy looks like. #HandsOff

Hands Off 2025 in Walnut Creek, California.

A crowded protest with a sign that says "Mein Trumph."

A protest sign that says "No kings in America. Hands off our democracy."

A crowded protest with signs that say "Trans rights are human rights" and "Remove, Reverse, Reclaim."

I've never seen a protest of this scale outside of DC before. This is in freaking Walnut Creek, which is basically a suburban shopping center. People are fucking pissed, and everyone is pissed about something different

#handsoff #indivisible #joy #resistance @indivisresistcoco.bsky.social

Hands Off! Contra Costa Fights Back
April 5, 2025
5000+ in Walnut Creek, CA
Resistance + Joy

🎶 Hostile Government Takeover EDM Remix AGiftFromTodd Vinny March

Even before Donald Trump single-handedly destroyed U.S. and world markets, the American people were already not please with his performance in office.

Senator Cory Booker -- nearly 23 hrs into this -- is more coherent than your average elected official speaking (while seated) at an average legislative hearing.

Even if you haven't been watching all along, dip in for a moment -- he is making considerable sense:

www.c-span.org/event/us-sen...

English Cream Golden Retriever wet from a bath sitting nicely for the photo.

Happy, clean doggie.

Hi Wilson! What a perfect name. ❤️

English cream golden retriever lying down in a field with her head poking into a ground squirrel hole.

Oh...the determination.

They showed no grace; no magnanimity of spirit; no diplomatic acumen. They were small bullies with big titles and they disrespected the history and legacy of the nation they lead.

Today, Donald Trump acted more like Russia's Putin than America's President.

This is Excellent. 😆🤣

Detroit seniors gain skills for an evolving digital age St. Patrick Senior Center, a long-time community pillar, offers a mix of tech support and classes to overcome digital skills gap

"I was humiliated every time I tried and I couldn’t figure something out. I just felt like I couldn’t ask a question.”

“I want to learn ... It’s been fun because I’m thinking, ‘I’m in a movie.’ Everything is, like, high-tech.”

Love this @bridgedet313.bsky.social story by @ecatolico.bsky.social

English Cream Golden Retriever licking gray couch.

There's nothing like a good lick of the couch first thing in the morning.

English Cream Golden Retriever with nose snuggled against my arm.

Korra's being extra cute and snuggly today.

English Cream Golden Retriever resting in dog bed with face nuzzled beneath stuffed dog.

Korra feels the same.

Guilty as charged!

English Cream Golden Retriever sleeping/snuggling against the gray couch.

Not quite ready to wake up ...

Opinion | How Doctors and Nurses Can Protect Undocumented Immigrants Doctors have a responsibility to reassure their patients, regardless of immigration status, that they are welcome and protected.

Doctors and Nurses Should Get Ready for Mass Deportations www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/o...

She almost made it to midnight...

Just darling!

Where do you find magnetic doggies?