(TRNS) – As tensions between the United States and Russia continue to rise over the situation in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will impose his own sanctions on high-ranking U.S. officials, according to a report from The Daily Beast.

U.S. Senators and Obama administration officials are said to be on the list in a direct response to the new round of sanctions imposed on Russia by President Obama on Monday. Among those included is Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the second ranking Democrat in the Senate.

“My Lithuanian-born mother would be proud her son made Vladimir Putin’s American enemies list,” Durbin told The Daily Beast. Durbin is assumed to be on the list because of his recent actions in the Senate where he helped write a resolution that criticized Russia’s military intervention in Crimea.

Durban is the only U.S. official that was confirmed in the report, but Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said that he expects to be named as well.

“You think I’m not going to be on it?” McCain said. “I would be honored to be on that list.”

McCain went on to dismiss the effects any potential sanctions would have on him personally, joking that he was “going to have to try to withdraw my money from my secret account in St. Petersburg.”

The sanctions are sure to only increase with Russia’s declaration today that they had annexed Crimea.

talkSPORT 2, a new 24-hour sports radio station and part of the UTV Media (GB) brand portfolio, has today announced that the station will start broadcasting on the opening day of The Cheltenham Festival, from the festival itself, on Tuesday 15th March 2016.

Bringing the much-loved talkSPORT style to a wide range of sports, talkSPORT 2 will concentrate on coverage of live sport, including rugby, cricket, tennis, golf, football and horseracing, plus some US sport. It will also offer a range of specialised magazine programming that hasn’t had a home on national commercial radio before, bringing listeners and sports fans a wider variety of sporting news and features than ever before.

talkSPORT 2, which will be available nationally on DAB digital radio and online, has already secured a number of major partnerships for rights to live sporting commentary, many of which have never been broadcast on commercial radio before. Individual partnerships will be announced in due course.

In addition, the launch of talkSPORT 2 signifies the beginning of an exciting new partnership with Sky Bet, which is also today announced as the station’s official betting partner. The opening broadcast from talkSPORT 2 will take place live from Sky Bet’s box at The Cheltenham Festival.

Liam Fisher, National Radio Controller for UTV Media, said: “talkSPORT 2 is going to bring sports fans across the UK a much wider choice of sports coverage than they have ever had before. This is going to include live coverage from some of the world’s greatest sporting events, some of which we’ll be bringing to British commercial radio for the very first time.”

A major concern before the Court was the effect on class-action certifications and the issue of mootness.(TRNS) — In the Supreme Court’s first oral argument of the day on Wednesday, the Justices heard arguments on Article III of the U.S. Constitution regarding mootness.

Article III sets forth the requirements for hearing cases in federal courts, among those justiciability. Justiciability involves the ability of the case to come to a complete end. Within justiciability, mootness is a prime component. Mootness occurs when the injury is no longer present and there are no adverse parties. Adverseness was the true issue before the Court on Wednesday.

In California, Jose Gomez received unwanted text messages from a subcontractor hired by a company (Campbell-Ewald Co.) who in turn was hired by the U.S. Navy for recruiting purposes.

As a result, Gomez sued Campbell-Ewald under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991. The TCPA bans “any person” from using an automated dialing system from calling any cellphone user without consent or outside of an emergency. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in turn, applied this to text messages and voice calls.

The FCC regulation also gave citizens a private right of action to sue on their own behalf for violations of the act. The private right gave the plaintiff the right to recover at least $500 in damages for each violation.

Crafted as a class-action lawsuit, Gomez’s suit proceeded through the federal courts. Gomez wanted payment for injuries incurred, a permanent injunction, attorneys’ fees, and class-action status. Campbell-Ewald countered with an offer of settlement for approximately $1,500 and a permanent injunction. Not satisfied, Gomez let the offer expire. Upon expiring, Campbell-Ewald moved to have the case dismissed because the case was moot.

The district court judge did not agree, but did dismiss the case on the grounds the Campbell-Ewald had derivative immunity, meaning as it was working on behalf of the federal government, it is immune from suits of this nature. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed citing error by the district court in granting derivative immunity. The court also rejected Campbell-Ewald’s mootness arguments.

Gregory Garre, advocating for Campbell-Ewald, maintained that because Gomez was offered everything he was entitled to under the TCPA in the settlement offer, the case should be moot. Garre argued Gomez received “complete relief” through Campbell-Ewald’s offer. He asserted even though Campbell-Ewald did not give everything Gomez asked for (attorneys’ fees and class certification) but only what he was entitled to (damages and a permanent injunction), Campbell-Ewald had satisfied its obligation and the controversy was over.

Justices Kagan and Sotomayor did not agree. Justice Kagan argued that because the plaintiff had asked for certain items and Campbell-Ewald only agree to what it thought Gomez was entitled, it left the door open for the claims to be adjudicated. She argued “there’s no history of a tender offer mooting a case.”

Justice Sotomayor believed the arguments should be done in the context of a motion for summary judgment rather than for mootness. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 56, a party can ask the court to find and make certain determinations of fact and rule a particular way based on the facts and law under summary judgment.

Jonathan Mitchell, arguing on behalf of Gomez, said, “A mere offer of complete relief doesn’t moot a case.” His position was that plaintiffs needed the judicial determination to enforce any type of settlement judgment.

A major concern before the Court was the effect on class-action certifications. At times dispensed of during the hypothetical questions posed from the Bench, the Justices seemed concerned on the effect this might have in those situations. What if defendants could “pick off” each named plaintiff? In a prior case heard by The Court in 2012, Genesis Healthcare v. Symczyk, The Court said potential class certification wasn’t a sufficient concern when deciding if there is a potential stake in the litigation.

Anthony Yang, Assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General, argued on behalf of the federal government for Gomez. Yang’s argument approached the matter that for any determination, it would be a merits based determination on the facts of the case and as a result a court order of mootness would not be an appropriate remedy under the Rules of Federal Civil Procedure.

What the Court is likely to do is never really known, but from the arguments of law and procedure, Gomez might get his $1,500 and a court order making him accept it. Will he get the attorneys’ fees and class action certification? Only time will tell.