RUSSIAN troops in Crimea, Ukraine in 2014 (VOA).

Russia may invade Ukraine within days, the United States is warning. Emergency diplomatic efforts are still underway, but the U.S. and other nations are advising their citizens now in Ukraine to leave immediately.

In response, the U.S. is sending 3,000 more troops to Poland as a show of support to its NATO allies.

According to the Associated Press, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned that the conflict might begin with missile and aerial attacks.

“Russia has all the forces it needs to conduct a major military action,” he said, adding that it might begin within 48 hours.

A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry called such predictions “hysteria” and accused the “Anglo-Saxons” of trying to provoke a war.

Sports: Rodgers is MVP once again

AARON RODGERS (Wikipedia).

Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers’ superstar quarterback was named Most Valuable Player for the National Football League on Thursday evening. It was his second consecutive MVP honor and his fourth overall.

Cooper Kupp, the Los Angeles Rams’ wide receiver, was named Offensive Player of the Year based on his record-breaking performance.  T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers was named Defensive Player of the Year.
Rookie of the Year is wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals; Coach of the Year is Mike Vrabel of the Tennessee Titans.

• The medal count for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games has Norway and Austria tied for most medals with 14 each. Germany has the most golds with seven. The United States has 10 medals overall and four golds.

Weather: Warm weather may peak

The forecast for West Orange County for daytime Saturday is a season-high 90 degrees, 54 overnight. There’s a heat advisory for the area. But after that, the weather is expected to cool daily. Sunday’s daytime high is expected to slip to 88 (52), then to 78 (53) on Monday then all the way to 65 (46) on Tuesday with a 24 percent chance of rain.

Business: Ukraine worries slam Wall Street

Worries about the possibility of an imminent invasion of Ukraine by Russia sent stocks down on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 503.53 points and the S&P 500 fell by 85.44 points. Nasdaq closed with a loss of 394.49 points. Additionally, the price of oil increased by 3 percent, since Russia is a major exporter of oil and natural gas.