ISIS claims responsibility for deadly Russian concert hall attack

The attack left at least 40 people dead, Russian media said

The U.S. passed a secret warning to Russia earlier this month of a plot to target large crowds ahead of an attack that killed at least 40 people and injured over 100 at a concert hall outside of Moscow, according to U.S. officials.

Explosions rocked the site and gunmen opened fire on concertgoers Friday evening, Russian authorities said, less than a week after Vladimir Putin was elected for a sixth term as the country’s president.

Russia, China veto US resolution calling for immediate cease-fire in Gaza

The Biden Administration got what it wanted Friday at the United Nations, and Israel will pay the price. Tired of being criticized for supporting an ally, the U.S. proposed a cease-fire resolution that was anti-Israel enough to draw 11 of the Security Council’s 15 votes while still baiting Russian and Chinese vetoes.

To garner meaningless votes, the Biden Administration revised its initial resolution to introduce more daylight between the U.S. and Israel. The final U.S. draft “determines the imperative of an immediate and sustained cease-fire” to protect civilians and facilitate more aid but not necessarily to free Israeli hostages. That direct linkage was dropped from a prior draft.