A year in a Russian prison for a U.S. reporter
One year ago today, the Russian authorities detained Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and accused him of spying for the U.S. government. He is the first American reporter since the end of the Cold War to be held on espionage charges in Russia.
The Journal and the U.S. government have vehemently denied that Gershkovich is a spy, saying he was an accredited journalist doing his job. But he is still incarcerated today, held in the same notorious prison as the people arrested in connection with last week’s terror attack in Moscow.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia said in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson that he wanted to trade Gershkovich for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian citizen imprisoned in Germany for an assassination in a Berlin park.
Putin is practicing “transactional diplomacy,” but countries worry that such exchanges could potentially encourage more incarcerations, said my colleague Valerie Hopkins, who covers Russia.
“The White House has raised Evan’s case, President Biden talked about it in the State of the Union,” Hopkins said, adding, “But it’s incredibly difficult to make any kind of agreement at this time with Putin.”
Earlier this week, Gershkovich’s detention was extended for a further three months. A trial date has not been set.
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Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange who was convicted of stealing billions of dollars from his customers, was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in prison.
His sentence was a fraction of the maximum penalty of 110 years he faced, but it still ranks as one of the longest imposed on a white-collar defendant in recent years.
The sentencing signified the finale of a sweeping fraud case that exposed the rampant volatility and risk-taking across the loosely regulated world of cryptocurrencies. In November 2022, FTX imploded virtually overnight, erasing $8 billion in customer savings. At a trial last fall, Bankman-Fried was convicted of seven counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.
Bankman-Fried vowed to appeal his conviction, but in remarks after his sentencing he appeared to recognize that he would be in prison for some time. “My useful life is probably over now,” he said.
Related: How Bankman-Fried’s sentence compares to those of other white-collar fraudsters, like Bernie Madoff and Elizabeth Holmes.
A ‘cataclysmic situation’ in Haiti
Gang violence in Haiti has killed more than 1,500 people this year, the U.N. human rights office said, the result of what it described as a “cataclysmic situation” in the country.
Armed gangs have taken control of most of the capital, Port-au-Prince, destroying police stations and government offices, as well as looting banks and hospitals and killing and kidnapping dozens of people. There is also widespread, deadly vigilantism, with community groups attacking people suspected of petty crimes or gang affiliation.
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Dachshunds, the German dog breed known for their distinctive long bodies and short legs, face an uncertain future in Germany if changes to an animal protection law are approved, the country’s kennel club said.
The club is concerned that the current draft of the law could ban the breeding of dachshunds because their characteristics could cause them to suffer. But don’t despair, doxie fans — a spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture and Food said that the bill was likely to be modified.
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SPORTS NEWS
A celebration of Rodri: The soccer player went an entire year without suffering a defeat.
Barcelona looming: Chelsea looks like a different team than it did a year ago.
Searching for an edge: Novak Djokovic has split with his coach, Goran Ivanisevic.
ARTS AND IDEAS
The 25 pieces of furniture that defined the last century
T, The Times’s style magazine, convened a panel of experts that included architects, interior designers, curators and the actress Julianne Moore to make a list of the most influential furniture from the past 100 years.
The jurors were determined to largely avoid the usual collectors’ items, though they couldn’t omit Charles and Ray Eames or Le Corbusier. Their list includes outré pieces, like Ettore Sottsass’s Ultrafragola illuminated mirror, and the instantly recognizable, like the ubiquitous plastic Monobloc chair.
You can peruse the whole list here.
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Cook: This Easter egg nest cake features a voluptuous mixture of whipped cream and melted chocolate in a cracked cake shell, topped with candy Easter eggs.
