New developments from Eastern Europe. Russia claims it has pulled back troops from the border of Ukraine,

but the U.S. says the opposite is true. The question this morning, is Russia still ramping up its military presence in the region?

Plus, the latest in the battle of mask mandates, as the CDC says change is on the way.

The question is, will the agency soon catch up

with the blue state governors who have already eased some restrictions? And it would be an

understatement to say the NFL tapped a high-profile lawyer to fight allegations of racial

discrimination. The question, what is hiring former Attorney General Loretta Lynch tell us about the NFL's

defensive strategy? It's way too early for this.

Good morning and welcome to way too early, the show that's got a special announcement coming up later in the hour.

You'll want to stick around for that.

I'm Jonathan Lemire on this Thursday, February 17th.

Thanks for joining us.

Let's start with the news.

Russian troops have not been withdrawn from the border with Ukraine, despite Moscow's claim to the contrary, according to U.S. officials last

night. We now know it was false, a senior Biden official brief reporters yesterday evening,

adding that Russia has added as many as 7,000 troops to the 150,000 already stationed near

the border in recent days. The official also warned that Moscow could launch a false pretext to invade Ukraine at any moment.

Those could include, but not be limited to, the report you just referenced, claims of

crop provocation in Donbos, false state media reports, which I think you should all, everybody

should keep their eyes open and aware of that potential, faked videos, false state media reports, which I think you should all, everybody should keep their eyes

open and aware of that potential, fake videos, false accusations about chemical weapons or accounts

of attacks on Russian shoulders that have not actually occurred.

...