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Three active-duty U.S. Marines were arrested and charged this week with breaching the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the latest in a line of current or former members of the military associated with the riot. All three men have been enlisted in the Marines for more than four years, according to a Marine Corps spokesman. Micah Coomer, circled in red, Dodge Dale Hellonen, circled in blue, and Joshua Abate at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. "We are aware of an investigation and the allegations," a Marine Corps spokesperson said. "The Marine Corps is fully cooperating with the appropriate authorities in support of the investigation."

☆ Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego expected to announce a bid for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's seat in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Haley Talbot | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is expected to announce Monday that he's running for Senate in Arizona in 2024, according to a source familiar with his planned rollout. Gallego, a progressive Democrat, is running for the seat held by Sinema, who decided in December to leave the Democratic Party and become an independent. If she does, and Gallego wins the Democratic nomination, they'd face each other in the general election. In December, after Sinema announced she was changing her party affiliation, Gallego signaled to NBC News he was likely to launch a Senate bid. Gallego went on to say he believes if Sinema runs, “it will almost ensure the fact that the Senate seat will stay in Democratic hands” because of the GOP’s struggles to hold its coalition together.

☆ Russia says relations with U.S. at an all-time low
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that relations with the United States were at an all-time low, dismissing the idea the two sides could turn things around halfway through U.S. President Joe Biden's term in office. "Bilateral relations are probably at their lowest point historically, unfortunately," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Already poor U.S.-Russia ties became even more strained last year when Russia invaded Ukraine, prompting Washington and its allies to respond with a barrage of sanctions against Russia's economy. The United States has also provided Kyiv with substantial economic and military support, drawing condemnation from Russian officials who have accused Washington of playing a direct role in the conflict. "The past two years have been, despite initial timid hopes related to Geneva ... very bad for bilateral relations," Peskov said.

President Biden will meet at the White House on Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as the U.S. and Japan increase security cooperation to counter China’s military buildup. U.S. officials said the meeting between the two leaders will follow up on meetings in Washington earlier this week between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin , Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their Japanese counterparts. Following that meeting, the two countries announced plans to protect Japanese satellites, equip Tokyo with long-range missiles and upgrade U.S. Marine forces in the country.

☆ Marine Corps veteran reveals an acronym that helps him find the most talented people
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

What is "JJ DID TIE BUCKLE?" It's an acronym for the 14 leadership traits of the U.S. Marine Corps, and it helps Ray Lawler, the Asia-Pacific CEO for real estate investor Hines, find the best talent with the right values. "We can always hire folks with a great business acumen or a wonderful resume or the technical skills, but I have found that the best people possess these traits and qualities," the veteran told CNBC. Watch the video above to find out what the acronym stands for, and his other leadership lessons.

☆ U.S., Japan Expand Security Cooperation With New Steps to Counter China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Michael R. Gordon | William Mauldin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken took part in consultations aimed at boosting U.S. commitment to Japan. The U.S. and Japan marked a new phase in their security cooperation, announcing initiatives Wednesday to protect Japanese satellites, equip Tokyo with long-range missiles and upgrade U.S. Marine forces in the country to counter China’s full-scale military buildup. The new steps are intended to give Japan a greater role in regional defense, undergirding a new military strategy Tokyo issued last month that signaled a broad shift from the strict constraints the nation imposed on its military operations after World War II.

☆ Explainer: Why the U.S. is overhauling its marines on Japan's Okinawa
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Tim Kelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. military presence on Okinawa, which began during World War Two, includes most of the 18,000 U.S. marines stationed in Japan. MARINE LITTORAL REGIMENTSThe U.S. Marine Corps is creating 'Marine Littoral Regiments' of around 2,000 troops as part of restructuring plan proposed by the Marine Commandant General David Berger in 2020. Dispersing marine units across Okinawa, even if only temporarily, could see U.S. troops return to islands along the chain for the first time since Washington returned Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. JAPAN'S OKINAWA PIVOTTo reinforce Okinawa, Japan is building new anti-ship and air defence missile bases, and radar stations, including one on Yonaguni, it hopes will deter Chinese forces from attacking. Those weapons, along with anti-ship missiles fielded in Okinawa by the new littoral regiments, could help close a growing missile gap with China, say experts.

REUTERS/Joshua RobertsWASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The United States and Japan on Wednesday announced stepped-up security cooperation in the face of shared worries about China, and Washington strongly endorsed a major military buildup Tokyo announced last month. At the briefing, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced plans to introduce a Marine Littoral Regiment in Japan, which would bring significant capabilities, including anti-ship missiles. A senior administration official told Reuters that Biden and Kishida are expected to discuss security issues and the global economy and that their talks are likely to include control of semiconductor exports to China after Washington announced strict curbs last year. The large U.S. presence has fueled local resentment, with Okinawa's government asking other parts of Japan to host some of the force. In total, there are about 54,000 U.S. troops in Japan.

WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The United States will significantly increase its anti-ship missile capabilities in Japan as part of a broader effort to deter China, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday. The anti-ship missiles would arrive in Japan under a revamped Marine Corps regiment of 2,000 troops that will focus on advanced intelligence, surveillance and transportation, the officials said. Japan has watched with growing concern China's belligerence toward Taiwan as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims over the island. Japan hosts 18,000 U.S. Marines, the biggest concentration outside the United States. In total, there are about 54,000 U.S. troops in Japan.

☆ Russian ambassador to Washington says U.S.-Russia relations in 'ice age'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Russia's ambassador to the United States on Friday compared the state of U.S.-Russia relations to an "ice age", and said that the risk of a clash between the two countries was "high", Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported. TASS cited Anatoly Antonov as saying that it was hard to say when talks on strategic dialogue between the two sides could resume, but that talks on prisoner swaps had been "effective" and would continue. U.S.-Russia ties have fallen to their lowest point in decades amid the fallout from Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, and the consequent imposition of Western sanctions. Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Jon BoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Griner urges supporters to contact Whelan, help Americans detained abroad
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Amy Tennery | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Thanks to the efforts of many, including you, I am home after nearly 10 months," Griner wrote in a letter posted on her Instagram account. Griner said the letters she received showed the "power of collective hands". "There remain too many families with loved ones wrongfully detained," wrote Griner, who left the Brooke Army Medical Center last week and said she intends to resume her career in the WNBA next season. "I hope you'll join me in writing to Paul Whelan and continuing to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and returned to their families," she added. Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Participants look around Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force's vessel at a recruiting event in Yokosuka, Japan December 10, 2022. The five-year plan unveiled on Friday will double Japan's defence spending and add new capabilities, including long-range missiles and an expanded cyber warfare unit. "It is just a paper plan and that should be corrected," said Yoji Koda, a retired navy admiral, who commanded the Japanese fleet in 2007-2008. Koda said the plan would limit Japan's ability to fight in situations such as land invasions and sea battles, giving its foes an advantage. Japan's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

[1/2] U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, is escorted before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia July 27, 2022. Griner arrived at the medical center last Friday after U.S. officials secured her freedom from Russia in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner, 32, was arrested on Feb. 17 at an airport outside Moscow for carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. U.S. officials pressed for the release of both Griner and Whelan, who is being held on what Washington called "sham" espionage charges, a Biden administration official said. "(I) encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home," said Griner.

Hostage affairs envoy Roger Carstens told MSBNC that the president and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were personally focused on the effort to free Whelan. He told CNN the administration could soon roll out fresh sanctions under a presidential executive order signed last summer. Biden on Thursday announced a prisoner swap involving American basketball star Brittney Griner, but was unable to secure the release of Whelan. And it's not going to be too long before you see something rolled out," he told CNN. Asked what realistic options the U.S. government had to bring Whelan home, Carstens told CNN: "I would love to tell you about it, because, to me, they're very exciting and interesting.

☆ Founder of Proud Boys' Hawaii chapter, Texas man sentenced to 4 years in Jan. 6 riot
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dennis-Romero-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Dennis Romero | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The founder of Hawaii's Proud Boys chapter and a Texas man were sentenced Friday to four years each in prison for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Nicholas DeCarlo and Nicholas Ochs inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. DeCarlo’s defense team argued he didn’t participate in the events of Jan. 6 with “glee” and didn’t coordinate with other members of the far-right group Proud Boys. Several Proud Boys members have been indicted on charges in connection with the Capitol attack. More than 280 people prosecutors have connected to the attack have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

☆ Russian arms dealer says he wished Griner good luck at prisoner exchange
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 10 (Reuters) - Viktor Bout, the arms dealer freed in a prisoner swap for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, said he wished her good luck on the tarmac in Abu Dhabi where they were exchanged. "I wished her luck, she even sort of reached out her hand to me," Bout said on Saturday in an interview with Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT. You should wish everyone good fortune and happiness," he said, adding that he believed Griner "was positively inclined" towards him. Asked about Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, Bout said he wished that Moscow had been able to launch it sooner. "If I had the chance and the required skills, I'd join up as a volunteer," he said.

☆ California woman deported from Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Sarah Krivanek, a U.S. citizen ordered deported by a Russian court over a domestic dispute, has left Russia. While aboard a plane about to leave Moscow’s airport late on Thursday, she said she was flying to Los Angeles via Dubai. Her departure occurred on the same day as the release of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap with Russia. Unlike Griner, Krivanek was not part of a prisoner swap. A court in the city of Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, ruled on Nov. 10 that Krivanek was to be deported.

☆ Brittney Griner arrives in the U.S. after prisoner exchange with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 9 (Reuters) - A plane carrying basketball star Brittney Griner landed in the United States early on Friday, nearly 10 months after she was detained in Russia. Griner was released in a prisoner swap with Russia in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout and was heading home on Thursday, ending what President Joe Biden called months of "hell" for her and her wife. [1/3] The plane carrying U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner arrives, following her release from prison in Russia, in San Antonio, Texas, U.S., December 9, 2022. The swap was a rare instance of cooperation between the United States and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. The two countries also swapped prisoners in April when Russia released former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed and the United States released Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko.

WASHINGTON — Month after month, as American diplomats pushed for the release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan from Russian prisons, they received the same, infuriating answer: If you want both prisoners, we want Vadim Krasikov as part of the deal. Mr. Krasikov is an assassin who murdered a Chechen fighter in a park in Berlin in broad daylight in 2019, a brazen killing that the German authorities say was committed at the behest of Russia’s intelligence services. Convicted and sentenced to life in prison in Germany, Mr. Krasikov was not in U.S. custody to be traded to Russia. It was, the Americans thought, hardly a viable request for a swap that would include Ms. Griner, a W.N.B.A. star, and Mr. Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, who were being detained on what Biden administration officials considered trumped-up charges.

Persons: Griner, Paul Whelan, Vadim Krasikov, Krasikov, Whelan, Berlin, Vladimir V, Putin, Biden Organizations: U.S . Marine, Biden Locations: WASHINGTON, Chechen, Berlin, Germany, Russia, U.S, United States, Washington

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Thursday's release of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in exchange for a convicted Russian arms dealer has resurfaced an old question: Do prisoner swaps do more harm than good? The details of Griner's release highlight the painful trade-offs confronting the Biden administration. In one such case in 2016, North Korea detained American college student Otto Warmbier during a dispute with the international community over that country's missile launches. Many of the families argue that the U.S. should be willing negotiate and discount the argument that prisoner swaps lead more countries to grab Americans. Those hard choices meant Washington could either leave Whelan in Russian custody or else return empty-handed after months of negotiations.

[1/3] Suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is escorted by members of a special police unit after a hearing at a criminal court in Bangkok October 5, 2010. "Everyone will forget about Griner tomorrow," Russian state television host Yevgeny Popov wrote on Telegram on Thursday. "Bout's life is only beginning." Bout arrived in Moscow late on Thursday after Russia and the United States swapped the arms dealer for Griner at Abu Dhabi airport. U.S. anger at Bout's release has been widely covered in the Russian media, with the pro-Kremlin tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets claiming that Department of Defense officials were "disturbed" by the exchange, citing U.S. media reports.

☆ Griner lands in U.S. as Russia's Bout greets family in Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Basketball star Brittney Griner landed in the United States on Friday after 10 months in Russian detention that ended with a prisoner swap with arms dealer Viktor Bout who flew home hours earlier to embrace his family on the airport tarmac in Moscow. The two countries had swapped prisoners in April when Russia released former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed and the United States released Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko. Griner, 32, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and star of the Women's National Basketball Association's Phoenix Mercury, flew in to San Antonio, Texas. She had been arrested on Feb. 17 at a Moscow airport after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is banned in Russia, were found in her luggage. As Griner flew back home, Bout arrived in Moscow and hugged his mother and wife after stepping onto the tarmac, television images showed.

"Grateful for the long-overdue release of Brittney Griner today from Russian custody. "Thank you to every single person that kept Brittney Griner’s name alive #WEAREBG," tweeted one of her Phoenix Mercury teammates, Brianna Turner. The Biden administration wasn't able to secure Whelan's release because the Russian government is treating his case differently than Griner's, Biden said. “While we celebrate Brittney’s release, Paul Whelan and his family continue to suffer needlessly,” Blinken said. Share this -Link copiedWho is Viktor Bout, Russian arms dealer that the U.S. exchanged for Brittney Griner?

☆ WNBA star Brittney Griner released from Russian custody in a high-profile prisoner swap between the U.S. and Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Andrea Mitchell | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

WASHINGTON — WNBA star Brittney Griner is free Thursday after the Biden administration negotiated her release from a Russian penal colony in exchange for an arms dealer, according to a senior administration official. People familiar with the negotiations for his release say the Russians refused to release Whelan without getting a Russian spy in return. The entrance to the Russian penal colony IK-2 on Nov. 19, 2022, where Griner began serving her sentence. The Biden administration has faced tremendous pressure to help bring home the 6-foot-9 Houston native. Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP fileGriner’s release is the second publicly known U.S. prisoner swap with Russia since the war in Ukraine started.

☆ Brittney Griner live updates: WNBA star released from Russia in a prisoner swap for Viktor Bout
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Tom_Winter_Nbc_News.Jpg | Zoë Richards | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Biden criticized Russia for “treating Paul’s case differently” than Griner’s and said that negotiations are ongoing. Biden’s administration had sought the release of both Griner and Paul Whelan. Griner’s release also marks a stunning turn of events from last month, when she began serving a nine-year sentence at a Russian penal colony more than 200 miles east of Moscow. The Whalen family has publicly criticized the Biden administration for not doing more to secure his release. People familiar with the negotiations for his release say the Russians refused to release Whelan without getting a Russian spy in return.

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