White House warns Russia of consequences if Navalny dies as John Kerry apologises for Trump

The White House has warned Russia that “there will be consequences” if Alexei Navalny, a Putin critic, dies in prison, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.

This comes after President Joe Biden gave a speech on Thursday about Russia where he failed to mention the imprisoned Russian opposition leader, which angered critics. But Mr Sullivan said the White House aims to deal with the issue “privately and through diplomatic channels.”

John Kerry has also apologised for former President Donald Trump’s “non-leadership” on the effort to address the climate crisis during his four years as US leader.

Speaking on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Mr Kerry, the Biden administration’s climate envoy, said the government was “very sorry for the last four years with a president who didn’t care about science”.

Meanwhile, a number of defendants accused of storming the US Capitol Building in the 6 January insurrection are claiming to have been acting as “journalists” during the incident.

According to The Associated Press, at least eight people accused of attacking the Capitol have claimed that they were only there to record history as journalists or filmmakers – not to help incite a deadly insurrection.

The finding comes following an AP review of court records in nearly 400 cases.

The United States also hit a milestone on Sunday with half of American adults receiving at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Eligibility will open to Americans ages 16 years and older on Monday, Mr Biden said.