Russian hackers penetrated U.S. electricity grid through a utility in Vermont

A code associated with the Russian hacking operation dubbed Grizzly Steppe by President Barack Obama's administration has been detected within the system of a Vermont utility, according to U.S. officials. While the Russians did not actively use the code to disrupt operations of the utility, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a security matter, the penetration of the nation's electrical grid is significant because it represents a potentially serious vulnerability.

Putin says Russia won’t expel diplomats; Trump offers praise – Fri, 30 Dec 2016 PST

President Vladimir Putin castigated the United States on Friday for trying to punish Russia but said his country will not immediately retaliate and instead will wait for a new U.S. approach by Donald Trump. The president-elect praised Putin's move and called him "very smart."

Putin says Russia wona t expel US diplomats in hacking flap

President Vladimir Putin castigated the United States on Friday for imposing sanctions and expelling Russian diplomats amid allegations of Russian meddling in the American presidential election, but said no U.S. diplomats will be ousted in reprisal for President Barack Obama's moves in the wake of hacking attacks. In a burgeoning controversy surrounding complaints from the Obama administration about a cyberattack against America's political system, the White House on Thursday unleashed a string of sanctions and coupled them with an order that 35 Russians be expelled.

Putin says Russia won’t oust US diplomats in hacking flap

President Vladimir Putin has condemned a new round of U.S. sanctions against Russia but said Moscow will not retaliate by expelling American diplomats. U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday imposed sanctions on Russian officials and intelligence services in retaliation for Russia's interference in the U.S. presidential election by hacking American political sites and email accounts.

Putin: Russia won’t expel US diplomats — report

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow will not expel American diplomats in response to US sanctions against Russia, according to Russian state media. The Russian Foreign Ministry had earlier recommended the Kremlin send home 35 US diplomats in response to a similar move by Washington on Thursday.

Rep. Gohmert: Obama’s Russia Orders Not ‘Much of a Punishment’

Rep. Louie Gohmert Friday dismissed President Barack Obama's order for sanctions and the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats accused of spying as not being "all that much of a punishment" and amount to a middle school-style "slap back." "If you're going to punish somebody, what he did is not all that much of a punishment," the Texas Republican told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" program.

Russia holds off retaliation over US hacking sanctions as it waits for Donald Trump

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Friday suggested that President Vladimir Putin expel 35 US diplomats and close two properties used by the US Embassy in Moscow as part of the growing diplomatic slugfest over Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential elections. However, Putin says he'll hold off taking action until after US President-elect Donald Trump - who looks set to become a close Russian ally - is inaugurated on January 20. The tit-for-tat measures were suggested one day after US President Barack Obama announced he would expel 35 Russian diplomats from the United States and order the closure of Russian-owned facilities on Maryland's Eastern Shore and on Long Island in New York believed to have been used for intelligence purposes.

new Putin says Russia wona t oust US diplomats in hacking flap

President Vladimir Putin has condemned a new round of U.S. sanctions against Russia but said Moscow will not retaliate by expelling American diplomats. U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday imposed sanctions on Russian officials and intelligence services in retaliation for Russia's interference in the U.S. presidential election by hacking American political sites and email accounts.

Trump Has Tough Choice After Obama Sanctions on Russia Hack

President Barack Obama is forcing his successor, Donald Trump, into a difficult choice: reverse the sanctions the departing president just imposed on Russia for hacking e-mails in the U.S. election or put at risk his campaign vow to improve relations with Vladimir Putin. Hours after Obama imposed penalties on Russian agencies, individuals and companies and ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian operatives Thursday, Trump issued a terse statement far milder than his previous assertions that Democratic e-mails may well have been stolen and leaked by "somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds."

How Russia sanctions may put Trump in political bind: experts

The latest round of sanctions issued by the Obama administration against Russia may present a politically sticky situation for President-elect Donald Trump , who has both praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and said it was important for the U.S. to have a better relationship with the country. Trump, who called for Russian hackers to find Hillary Clinton 's deleted emails during the election, may be inclined to use the powers of the executive office to revoke the newly imposed measures, but it may cause issues within his own party.

US expels 35 Russian diplomats in response to election hacking

In a sweeping response to election hacking and other bad behavior, President Barack Obama on Thursday sanctioned Russian intelligence services and their top officials, kicked out 35 Russian officials and shuttered two Russian-owned compounds in the US. It was the strongest action the Obama administration has taken to date to retaliate for a cyberattack.

Return of Nevada nukes?

Donald Trump's talk and tweets of upgrading U.S. nuclear arms and possibly restarting the arms race raises the issue of whether nuclear testing in Nevada could return. "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes," Trump wrote on Twitter on Dec. 22. Trump's stance would be an extreme change in U.S. policy if he carried it out in the White House.

What does Putin really want? Trump’s presidency will show us.

A billboard by a pro-Serbian movement in the town of Danilovgrad, Montenegro, shows U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. On the campaign trail and in his appointments, Donald Trump has been suggesting a very different U.S. policy toward Russia than his White House predecessors have had.

Trump Imitates Putin, but the U.S. Isn’t Russia

If Vladimir Putin gave a damn about American public opinion, he'd encourage Donald Trump to make at least a symbolic gesture to prove he's not the Russian strongman's vassal. So far, there's no sign either party to their oddly one-sided alliance feels the need.

Gingrich: Trump ‘Brilliant’ With ‘140 Characters’ Foreign Policy

President-elect Donald Trump's U.S. foreign policy pivot from the "failed" Obama administration that has "weakened" America internationally - even as it comes via Twitter - will serve "notice" to Russia and the world "we can outproduce everybody." "This is the same Donald Trump the liberals were terrified was going sell out to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, who's now pivoted and said, 'Look - to quote Gen.

Thanassis Cambanis: Moscow is ready to rumble

It should come as no surprise that many Russians will mourn this month, a quarter century after Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union and overnight, one of the great world empires simply dissolved. Today a tense realignment is underway, as a resurgent Russia jostles to the table and upends American nostrums about the post-Cold War order.