Ticker – Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged immediate release of two Americans detained in Russia

Russian security officials took Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, 31, into custody on Thursday and accused him of spying. The newspaper denied the charge and demanded his release. President Joe Biden on Friday urged Russia to release Gershkovich, the first American correspondent to be detained on spying accusations since the Cold War.  Also another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, has been imprisoned in Russia since December 2018, serving a 16-year sentence.