USA

WASHINGTON/LONDON/MOSCOW, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The United States and its allies have prepared a list of Russian elites in or near President Vladimir Putin's inner circle to punish with sanctions if Russia sends troops into Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.

Britain urged Putin to "step back from the brink" after the Russian buildup of troops near Ukraine stoked fears of war, and warned any incursion would trigger sanctions against companies and people close to the Kremlin. 

ATLANTA (AP) — The prosecutor who’s investigating whether Donald Trump and others broke the law by trying to pressure Georgia officials to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential election victory is asking the FBI for security help after the former president railed against prosecutors investigating him.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators on Monday granted full approval to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, a shot that’s already been given to tens of millions of Americans since its emergency authorization over a year ago.

The action by the Food and Drug Administration means the agency has completed the same rigorous, time-consuming review of Moderna’s shot as dozens of other long-established vaccines.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have proposed a plea agreement that would avert a hate crimes trial for the son and father convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. His parents denounced the deal on Monday, and the judge proceeded with plans to summon potential jurors next week.

Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, will ask the judge when the pretrial hearing resumes Monday afternoon to reject the deal, her lawyer, Lee Merritt, told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Brunswick.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The mayor of Pittsburgh has announced plans to sign a declaration of disaster emergency for the city in light of last week’s collapse of a bridge in a city park.

Mayor Ed Gainey said the declaration would increase availability of federal funds and speed cleanup and reconstruction of the Frick Park bridge, improving coordination between the state transportation department and the city.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is hosting the ruling leader of Qatar at the White House on Monday as he looks for the gas-rich nation to step up once again to help the West as it faces the prospect of a European energy crunch if Russia further invades Ukraine.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Evidence about Minneapolis Police Department policies and training is expected to be the focus as testimony resumes for a second week in the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations has received “credible allegations” that more than 100 former members of the Afghan government, its security forces and those who worked with international troops have been killed since the Taliban took over the country Aug. 15, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. worked Sunday to ramp up diplomatic and financial pressure on Russia over Ukraine, promising to put Moscow on the defensive at the U.N. Security Council as lawmakers on Capitol Hill said they were nearing agreement on “the mother of all sanctions.”

The American ambassador to the United Nations said the Security Council will press Russia hard in a Monday session to discuss its massing of troops near Ukraine and fears it is planning an invasion.

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Canada will temporarily withdraw non-essential Canadian employees and remaining dependents from its embassy in Ukraine, the foreign ministry said on Sunday, amid an international standoff over Russian troops massed on the country's borders.

"As we continue to closely monitor the situation, our highest priority remains the safety and security of Canadians. Our officials stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadian citizens, as required," the ministry said in a statement.

The embassy in Kyiv remains open, it said.