Business Tucker Carlson, the fired Fox News star, makes bid for relevance with Putin interview The right-wing provocateur flew to Moscow to interview the Russian president, becoming the first American to do so since the invasion of Ukraine. They spoke for two hours. David Folkenflik
Business State-backed Russian hackers accessed senior Microsoft leaders' emails, company says Microsoft says hackers broke into its corporate email system and accessed the accounts of members of its leadership team, as well as those of employees on its cybersecurity and legal teams. The Associated Press
World Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds of prisoners of war in biggest release so far Ukrainian authorities said 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home in the first exchange in almost five months. Russia's Defense Ministry said 248 Russian servicemen have been freed. The Associated Press
World Russia strikes residences and a supermarket in Ukraine's capital and other cities Russia launched dozens of attack drones and missiles — including its advanced Kinzhal hypersonic missile — according to Ukrainian officials. Elissa Nadworny Claire Harbage Alex Leff
World More Ukrainian children from Russia-held regions arrive in Belarus despite outrage Belarus' authoritarian president attended a government-organized meeting with children brought from Russia-controlled areas of Ukraine, openly defying an international outrage over such deportations. The Associated Press
World Missing Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is located in an Arctic penal colony Associates of the imprisoned Russian opposition leader said Monday that he has been located at a prison colony above the Arctic Circle nearly three weeks after contact with him was lost. The Associated Press
World A pro-peace Russian presidential hopeful is blocked by election commission Yekaterina Duntsova is a former journalist-turned-politician who opposes the Ukraine war and hopes to challenge Putin, but her efforts to run stalled after election officials rejected her nomination. The Associated Press
World In a 4-hour press conference, a confident Putin vows the Ukraine war will go on Russian President Vladimir Putin resumed his traditional year-end press conference, after canceling last year, when Russia was doing badly on the battlefield. He combined it with a call-in program. Charles Maynes
World Ukraine is trying to keep its lights on this winter. Russia aims to turn them off Utility workers have raced to repair Ukraine's damaged energy grid. Russia has resumed targeted attacks on Ukraine's energy system — and parts of it may be more vulnerable than ever, experts warn. Nathan Rott Claire Harbage Hanna Palamarenko
World What North Korea's shift toward Russia means for its global strategy Since the collapse of nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington in 2019, analysts see a major shift in North Korea's foreign relations. It has turned increasingly to Moscow. Anthony Kuhn
