Bill Chappell

The world-famous cellist made a personal stand with Ukraine on Monday, setting up his instrument on the sidewalk in Washington, D.C., next to an improvised street sign reading, "Zelensky Way."

"The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out," the South Carolina Republican said. Democrats and Republicans denounced the suggestion.

Moody's cites multiple factors for the downgrade, from sanctions by the U.S., European Union and their allies to "significant concerns" that Russia might not be willing to pay its debts.

"People are getting furious and people are ready to kill Russians," Volodymyr Omelyan told NPR on Wednesday. "Even civilians which never took any kind of gun in their hands."

The children were still clutching their flowers as they sat in custody. Police reportedly threatened mothers with losing their parental rights.

"This must be our 'whatever it takes' moment," European Parliament President Roberta Metsola says. Metsola says the EU will work with Ukraine toward its goal goal of joining the union.

The convoy is apparently being hampered by fuel and food shortages, the official says. The news comes as Russia continues to concentrate attacks on Ukraine's largest cities: Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Russia's ruble collapsed on Monday as sanctions hit, forcing President Vladimir Putin to hold an emergency meeting with his economic advisers.

On Thursday, Volodymyr Omelyan and his family awoke to the sound of missile blasts nearby. By Friday, he had said goodbye to his wife and children and enlisted to fight.

SWIFT underpins the global financial system, handling millions of secure messages every day. Cutting Russia off from SWIFT could have a major impact on its economy, experts say.

Many Ukrainians had been maintaining a state of calm as warning signs grew of a Russian invasion. But Russia's wide-scale attack on Ukraine has dramatically changed the mood in the nation's capital.

The Russian invasion stirs international condemnation, roils global markets and a promise by Ukraine's president to defend the country.

Instead of looking back to an age of empire, Russia should accept Ukraine's borders and move on, Kenya's ambassador told a session of the U.N. Security Council.

The president called Russia's recognition of two Ukrainian regions a "flagrant violation of international law" and announced sanctions targeting Russia's ability to do business with the West.

"I'm just really happy," Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa said. He is the youngest person to defeat Carlsen since the Norwegian became world champion.

The 500-pound animal is a "severely food-habituated bear," meaning that it "has lost its fear of people and is associating people with access to food," California officials say.

If Russia invades, "there will be an even greater form of brutality because this will not simply be some conventional war between two armies," President Biden's national security adviser says.

For the first time since 1948, the same U.S. athlete is chosen as flag bearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.

"That was an incredibly troubling outcome," doping expert April Henning says of Russian skating star Kamila Valieva's collapse. She says Valieva "was failed at all levels" by the adults around her.

"Coal supply will be increased and coal-fired power plants" will run at full capacity, the central government said this week.