RT Anchor Quits on Live Show over Russia/Ukraine row

American journalist Liz Wahl just made Vladimir Putin’s enemies list. RT anchor Liz Wahl said she could no longer be "part of a network that whitewashes the actions of Putin."

RT America is a TV channel based in Washington, D.C and Russia. It is part of the RT network, previously known as Russia Today, a Russian government-funded global multilingual television news network based in the Russian Federation. RT America focuses on covering the Americas from an international and Russian perspective.The network was founded in 2005 as Russia Today, by the government-owned RIA Novosti. There is also a news bureau in Houston, Texas.

Russian President Putin defends anti-gay law

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered new assurances to gay athletes and fans attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics next month. Yet he defended Russia's anti-gay law by equating gays with pedophiles and said Russia needs to "cleanse" itself of homosexuality if it wants to increase its birth rate.

Putin's comments in an interview broadcast Sunday with Russian and foreign television stations showed the wide gulf between the perception of homosexuality in Russia versus the West.

A Russian law passed last year banning "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" among minors has caused an international outcry.

Putin refused to answer a question from the BBC on whether he believes that people are born gay or become gay. The Russian law, however, suggests that information about homosexuality can influence a child's sexual orientation.

The law has contributed to growing animosity toward gays in Russian society, with rights activists reporting a rise in harassment and abuse.

International worries about how gays will be treated in Sochi have been met with assurances from Russian officials and Olympics organizers that there will be no discrimination in Sochi, and Putin reiterated that stance.