## Dropped cases against LA protesters reveal false claims from federal agents

Authored by theguardian.com

The officers’ testimony was cited in at least five cases filed by the US Department of Justice amid the unrest.

The justice department has charged at least 26 people with “assaulting” and “impeding” federal officers and other crimes during the protests over immigration raids.

The justice department has also dismissed at least three felony assault cases it brought against Angelenos accused of interfering with arrests during recent immigration raids, the documents show.

She said officers often call for charges that prosecutors don’t end up filing, but it was uncommon for the justice department to file, then dismiss cases, especially numerous felonies in rapid succession.

There are at least 18 cases brought by the justice department against LA protesters that prosecutors have not dismissed, covering a wide array of alleged criminal conduct, according to case records the US attorney’s office shared with the Guardian.

In six of the felony dismissals reviewed by the Guardian, the justice department has refiled lower-level misdemeanors against the defendants.

The US attorney’s office filed a joint case against five demonstrators, charging each with assaulting officers, a felony the justice department warned could carry 20-year sentences. »

### Pete Buttigieg warns Democrats can't go back to status quo after President Trump

Authored by npr.org

Pete Buttigieg warns Democrats can't go back to status quo after President Trump.

In his conversation with NPR, Buttigieg warned that Democrats can't, and shouldn't, try to restore everything in the government that President Trump has broken this year.

The Democrats, he said, have been "too attached to a status quo that has been failing us for a long time." »

### Brutal punishments are being meted out to Russian soldiers no longer willing to fight for Putin

Authored by cnn.com

Russian soldiers call the practice a sacrifice to Baba Yaga, a fearsome witch from Slavic folklore who feasts on her victims.

NATO’s secretary general said recently that 100,000 Russian soldiers had died in 2025 alone.

Sverdlin said this is what he hears voiced most often from the Russian soldiers he helps to desert. »

### Moscow starts direct flights to North Korea amid decline in options for Russian tourists

Authored by theguardian.com

Direct flights from Moscow to North Korea have begun this week, amid a strengthening of ties between the two nations and a decline in options for Russian tourists travelling abroad.

Nordwind Airlines – which used to carry Russians to holiday destinations in Europe before the EU imposed a ban on Russian flights – had tickets priced at 45,000 rubles ($570).

They signed a mutual defence pact last year when the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, visited North Korea. »

### China Doesn’t Want Russia to Win—Just to Bleed, Obey, and Keep US Distracted, The Hill Writes — UNITED24 Media

Authored by united24media.com

His framing of the United States as China’s primary threat appears to downplay a more immediate and complex challenge: Russia.

While China indeed seeks to reduce American pressure, the US is distant and not engaged in a destructive war.

While not their optimal outcome, a severely weakened Russia aligns with broader Western objectives of regional stability without direct escalation. »

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