February 14, 2022

UKRAINE | German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today before heading to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both meetings will focus on tensions along the Russia-Ukraine border amidst fears of a Russian invasion. [more]

NFL | The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, yesterday to win Super Bowl 56. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Thirty-second TV advertisements during the game are reported to have had an average cost of $6.5 million. [more]

COVID-19 | Walmart — the largest private retailer in the U.S. — announced Friday that it will drop its mask mandate for fully-vaccinated employees. The company will also end its extended sick pay policy, under which employees could be granted extra paid time off for COVID-19 infections. [more]

CANADA PROTESTS | Canadian police cleared protesters from the Windsor, Ontario, U.S.-Canadian border crossing over the weekend. The protests at the Ambassador Bridge border crossing had held up cross-border trade for almost a week. Related trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions are still being held in the Canadian capitol of Ottawa. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDING | The Senate is scheduled to vote this week on a continuing resolution to fund the government through March 11 and avoid a government shutdown. An equivalent measure was passed by the House last week ahead of this week’s February 18 funding deadline.

YEMEN | Reports say the Saudi-led military coalition fighting Houthi rebel forces in Yemen conducted an air strike overnight in which a telecommunications system used to control drones was destroyed in the city of Sanaa. [more]

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE | The Senate is scheduled to vote today on a measure that would allocate $50 billion in federal funding over 10 years to the U.S. Postal Service. An equivalent measure was passed by the House of Representatives last week. [more]

OLYMPICS | The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva can compete in this week’s women’s figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics, despite testing positive for a banned drug prior to the start of the Games. Medals for Olympic events in which Valieva participates will not be awarded until a later ruling by the International Olympic Committee. [more]

MARKETS | Inflationary pressure and the threat of war in Ukraine led to lower markets today in Europe and Asia, with similar effects expected on U.S. markets when they open the trading week today. [more]

FILM | Film director and producer Ivan Reitman died over the weekend at the age of 75. Reitman was known best for late 20th century comedies, including “Ghostbusters” and “Stripes,” which he directed, and “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” which he produced. [more]

JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE | Former President Donald Trump’s advisor and lawyer Rudy Giuliani is reportedly in talks with the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection regarding plans for Giuliani to testify before the committee. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | Today in 1946, The first general-purpose high-speed electronic digital computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, or ENIAC,  was demonstrated to the public by its creators.  [more]