The United States and NATO on Friday roundly rejected Russian demands that the alliance not admit new members amid growing concerns that Russia may invade Ukraine, which aspires to join the alliance.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia would have no say over who should be allowed to join the bloc. And, they warned Russia of a “forceful” response to any further military intervention in Ukraine.

Their comments amounted to a complete dismissal of a key part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands for easing tensions with Ukraine. Putin wants NATO to halt membership plans for all countries, including Ukraine. The former Soviet republic is unlikely to join the alliance in the foreseeable future, but NATO nations won’t rule it out.

Blinken and Stoltenberg spoke separately following an extraordinary virtual meeting of NATO foreign ministers. The meeting of the North Atlantic Council was the first in a series of high-level talks over the next week aimed at easing the tensions.

The Supreme Court on Friday will take up challenges to President Joe Biden’s most aggressive attempts so far to combat the spread of Covid-19 — vaccine or testing requirements for large businesses and many health care workers — as the number of infections soar and 40 million adults in the US are still declining to get vaccinated.

Although the justices have been receptive to past attempts by states to mandate vaccines, the new disputes center on federal requirements that raise different legal questions.

Two set of rules were issued in November. The first would impact some 80 million individuals and requires large employers to mandate that their employees either get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. A second regulation requires certain health care employees who work for facilities that participate in Medicare or Medicaid programs to obtain vaccinations.

The Supreme Court is taking up two major Biden administration efforts to bump up the nation’s vaccination rate against COVID-19 at a time of spiking coronavirus cases because of the omicron variant.

The justices on the conservative-oriented court are hearing arguments Friday about whether to allow the administration to enforce a vaccine-or-testing requirement that applies to large employers and a separate vaccine mandate for most health care workers. The arguments were expected to last at least two hours.

Legal challenges to the policies from Republican-led states and business groups are in their early stages, but the outcome at the high court probably will determine the fate of vaccine requirements affecting more than 80 million people.

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Friday appeared ready to reject one of President Joe Biden’s most aggressive attempts so far to combat the spread of Covid-19 — a vaccine or testing requirement aimed at large businesses.

But in a separate challenge, some justices seemed more open to a vaccine mandate aimed at certain health care workers.

The court heard arguments for almost four hours as the number of infections is soaring, and 40 million adults in the US are still declining to get vaccinated.
The three liberal justices on the court expressed clear approval for the administration’s rules in both areas.

For the first time , seven of the justices appeared in the majestic chamber wearing masks, though Justice Neil Gorsuch chose not to. Before arguments began, the court announced that Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who suffers from diabetes, would hear arguments remotely from her chambers even though a spokeswoman said she was not ill. Sotomayor sits next to Gorsuch on the bench under normal circumstances.

Two of the lawyers representing states challenging the rules were not present due to Covid protocols. Ohio Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers, who is vaccinated, contracted Covid after Christmas, and has fully recovered, the state’s office said. However, the PCR test required to enter the courtroom detected the virus.

The strongest voices lobbying Joe Manchin to change Senate rules and advance elections reform aren’t liberal activists or die-hard filibuster opponents. Instead, they’re a small group of his friends who once shared his reluctance.

It’s no accident that the same trio of centrist Democrats has nudged Manchin throughout the past month’s flurry of talks about the future of the filibuster. Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Angus King (I-Maine) were all resistant to loosening chamber rules that empower the minority party. Now, they’re leading the campaign to sway the West Virginia Democrat.

Tester, Kaine and King have met at least a dozen times with Manchin to talk about Senate rules, sometimes joined by other Democrats, according to participants. They’re the vanguard of a delicate effort to chip away at Manchin’s steadfast opposition to changing the filibuster.

Manchin has told colleagues that his phone line has been lighting up with prominent names outside the Senate in recent days. He’s heard from former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and talk-show legend Oprah Winfrey, plus former staffers to both Manchin and former Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), according to a person familiar with the talks. Manchin’s office declined comment on those calls.