This could be the month that determines the success or collapse of Vladimir Putin's strategic plan for Russia. Even as shrewd Russian diplomacy runs rings around a stumbling White House on Syria, and as NSA revelations by Mr. Putin's honored guest Edward Snowden continue to strain U.S. ties with allies, the Russian president's imperial dream is hanging by a thread.

His problem is Ukraine, which since the early 1990s has resisted multiple attempts by Russia—some diplomatic, some subversive, some bellicose—to bring it back under...BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Former CFL star Lawrence Phillips has been charged with murder in the death of his cellmate at a Central California prison.

Phillips is suspected of killing 37-year-old Damion Soward at Kern Valley State Prison in April. Officials determined Soward was strangled. Soward is the cousin of former USC and Toronto Argonauts receiver R. Jay Soward.

The Kern County district attorney’s office says Phillips, 40, faces a first-degree murder charge.

Phillips was once one of U.S. college football’s top players at Nebraska. He played for the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers during a three-year NFL career.

Phillips ran for 1,022 yards and 13 TDs with Montreal in 2002, helping the Alouettes win the Grey Cup that year. He was released during training camp in ’03 for