Atlanta

Late last night the second leg of today’s journey was delayed. By this morning I successfully had a confirmed shuttle from the airport to the hotel for the new time. So far so good. 

SO glad Kate got me to get Global Entry. I arrived at the airport with so much time that even though it had been put on my ticket info in the wrong place the agent was able to fix it AND tell me how to find the number in the future. 

Biltong. She also told me that is what I should eat in South Africa. Eyecatching, don’t look it up. Apparently it is so wonderful that vendors will vacuum seal it for you so you can bring home a bunch AND bring it with you on the plane. 

Also very good - before I left home I remembered that I’m planning to bring chocolate from Iceland. I bought it for the sole purpose of giving it to one of the people there. I looked for it in multiple shops! I bought a bunch in the airport and the grocery store! This is one of the few things they can’t get in South Africa. At the very last minute I remembered it and had plenty of room for it in my bag. 

The US is watching closely to make sure that China doesn’t cross the line in support for Russia's military in Ukraine. The Treasury has already sanctioned a Chinese firm for providing satellite imagery that helped the Wagner Group.

Speaking of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin once went to prison. When he got out he sold hot dogs but he worked his way up, running a restaurant Putin liked and now is a billionaire. But he’s gotten too big for his own good. He gave himself credit for the January capture of Soledar. He released a video bragging. Putin attributed success in Soledar to the defense ministry, making no mention of the Wagner Group.

Russia's tax revenues from oil and gas fell 46% in January as the price cap on oil exports hit and Russia’s decision to stop exporting gas to Europe began to hurt. 
Combined with a 59% increase in spending amid the war, the drop pushed the deficit to 1.76 trillion rubles ($25 billion), the worst start to a year since at least 1998. The European ban on diesel took effect Sunday. 

Norway proposed to spend 75 billion kroner ($7.3 billion) on Ukraine, spread out in equal amounts over five years. It will include civilian and military support. They still need to get support from Parliament.