RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin (Wikipedia/Kremlin.ru).

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday criticized the release of a list of Russian officials and business leaders under U.S. sanctions, deriding it as a “stupid” and “unfriendly” act. Putin, who is seeking re-election in March, said he nevertheless would not retaliate.

The list and sanctions were intended to punish Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. The issue has remained a major point of controversy between Democrats and Republicans.

Putin added that he believed that the motive for the list was political. “They are assailing the U.S. president,” according to the Associated Press.

The list included 114 Russian government officials and 96 “oligarchs.”

Trump to deliver “State of the Union” address

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP will deliver his “State of the Union” address on Tuesday evening.

President Donald Trump will deliver his first “State of the Union” speech Tuesday before both houses of Congress, guests and other government officials, and the American people.

According to some sources at a pre-speech lunch, the President said “I would love to be able to bring back our country into a great form of unity.”

The speech is slated to begin at 6 p.m. Pacific time. The Democratic response will be given by Rep. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts. Both will be televised by the major networks.

False missile alert claims victims

The worker who sent out an alert of a non-existent missile attack against Hawaii earlier this month did so believing the attack was real, according to state and federal officials. The employee, who has been discharged, disregarded the cautionary words of “exercise” and texted that it was “not a drill.”

Vern Miyagi, administrator for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, resigned on Tuesday. An investigation into the incident showed that the worker failed to immediately send a “cancel” message after he transmitted the erroneous “attack” alert.