Washington

Russia deems Moscow Times ‘undesirable,’ putting writers, sources at risk

Published

2 years ago

July 10, 2024

Russia deems Moscow Times ‘undesirable,’ putting writers, sources at risk

Russia has designated the Moscow Times, a leading English-language media outlet focused on covering Russia, an “undesirable organization,” effectively banning its operations within the country and exposing anyone collaborating with it to potential criminal charges.

“A decision has been taken to declare the activities of The Moscow Times, a foreign nongovernmental organization, undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation,” Russia’s prosecutor general’s office said in a statement Monday. It accused the outlet of “discrediting the decisions of the leadership of the Russian Federation in both foreign and domestic policy.”

Russian authorities have used the “undesirable” label to force independent media and civic organizations critical of the Kremlin from the country. Some of the strongest Russian investigative projects, such as Proekt, the Insider and Important Stories, have been similarly labeled in recent years, which severely limited their ability to report inside the country and exposed reporters and potentially their interview subjects to legal risks.

The “undesirable” classification forces organizations to cease operations in Russia and puts Russians who work for, fund or collaborate with them at risk of potential prosecution, with jail terms of up to five years.

The Moscow Times, which publishes in English and Russian, is the alma mater of many accomplished correspondents who cover Russia, including Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal correspondent jailed in Russia on espionage charges the United States has dismissed as fabricated, and Ellen Barry, who went on to become a Pulitzer Prize-winning Moscow bureau chief in the early 2010s. The paper was established by Dutch publisher Derk Sauer in 1992, making it the first Western daily to be published in the country.

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The paper moved its office to Amsterdam in 2022 after Russia passed a package of laws restricting coverage of the invasion of Ukraine. A year later, the Russian Justice Ministry designated it as a “foreign agent” — usually the first step taken by the authorities to drive an organization out of the country.

Access to the paper’s website has been previously restricted in Russia, with authorities citing “systematic publication of socially significant false information aimed at discrediting the activities of state authorities of our country in conducting a special military operation,” a Kremlin euphemism for the war.

“This designation comes as no surprise — it was clear that our journalism, which is telling the world the truth about Russia and its war on Ukraine, makes the Kremlin uncomfortable,” Samantha Berkhead, an editor with the Moscow Times, told The Washington Post in a statement.

“Our jobs are going to become more difficult. Anyone in Russia who interacts with us in any way will now be at risk of criminal prosecution. But we refuse to be silenced,” she added.

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Washington

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury has announced that she and her husband Matt are expecting a baby in July.

The couple made the announcement in a video on the Spirit’s social media channels, holding a baby goalkeeper jersey on the pitch at Audi Field.

Kingsbury becomes the most recent Spirit star to go on maternity leave, following defender Casey Krueger, midfielder Andi Sullivan and forward Ashley Hatch.

Sullivan gave birth to daughter Millie in July, while Hatch welcomed her son Leo in January.

Krueger announced she was pregnant with her second child in October.

Kingsbury has served as the Spirit’s starting goalkeeper since 2018, and has been named the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year twice (2019 and 2021).

The 34-year-old has two caps with the U.S. women’s national team, and was named to the 2023 World Cup roster.

The club captain will leave a major void for the Spirit, who have finished as NWSL runner-up in back-to-back seasons.

Sandy MacIver and Kaylie Collins are expected to compete for the starting role while Kingsbury is on maternity leave.

The Spirit kick off their 2026 campaign on March 13 against the Portland Thorns.

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Washington

Washington state board awards Yakima $985,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

Published

2 days ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Washington state board awards Yakima 5,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima could soon take a major step toward redesigning Sixth Avenue after the Washington State Public Works Board awarded the city a $985,600 loan.

The loan was approved for the design engineering phase of the Sixth Avenue project. The funding can also be used along Sixth Avenue for utility replacement and updated ADA use.

The Yakima City Council must decide whether to accept the award. If the council accepts it, the city’s engineering work will move forward with the design of Sixth Avenue.

The cost of installing trolley lines is excluded from the plan. The historic trolleys would need to raise the funds required to add trolley lines.

The award is scheduled to be discussed during next week’s City Council meeting.

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Washington

Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2026

Press Room

Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Microsoft will ramp up its investment in the University of Washington.

Brad Smith, the company’s president, made the announcement at a press conference with University of Washington President Robert Jones on Tuesday.

That means hiring more UW graduates as interns at Microsoft, he said.

And he said all students, faculty, and researchers should have access to free, or at least deeply-discounted, AI.

“ Some of it is compute that Microsoft is donating, and some of it is pursuant to an agreement where, believe me, we give the University of Washington probably the best pricing that anybody’s gonna find anywhere,” Smith said. He assured the small group of reporters present that it would be “many millions of dollars of additional computational resources.”

The announcement today didn’t include any specific numbers.

But Smith said Microsoft has already invested $165 million in the UW over several decades.

He pointed to Jones’ vision to spur “radical collaborations with businesses and communities to advance positive change,” and eliminate “any artificial barriers between the university and the communities it serves.”

Microsoft’s goal is for AI to help UW researchers solve some of the world’s biggest problems without introducing new ones.

At Tuesday’s announcement, several research students were present to demonstrate how AI supports their work.

Amelia Keyser-Gibson is an environmental scientist at the UW. She’s using AI to analyze photographs of vines, to find which adapt best to climate change.

It’s a paradox: AI produces carbon emissions. At the same time, it’s also a new tool to help reduce them.

So how do those things square for Keyser-Gibson?

“ That’s a great question, and honestly, I don’t know the answer to that,” she said. “I’m highly aware that there’s a lot of environmental impact of using AI, but what I can say is that this has allowed us to make research innovations that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”

“If we had had to manually annotate every single image that would’ve been an undergrad doing that for hours,” Keyser-Gibson continued. “And we didn’t have the budget. We didn’t have the manpower to do that.”

“AI exists. If we don’t use it as researchers, we’re gonna fall behind.”

Microsoft reports on its own carbon emissions. But like most AI companies, it doesn’t reveal everything.

That’s one reason another UW student named Zhihan Zhang is using AI to estimate how much energy AI is using.

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