At Putin’s annual news conference, a Russian journalist pops the question — to his girlfriend

MOSCOW (AP) — The young journalist in a red bow tie stood during President Vladimir Putin's annual news conference Friday and displayed a sign saying he wanted to get married. But his main question wasn't directed at Putin — it was to his girlfriend, Olga, proposing marriage.

Putin complimented Kirill Bazhanov of Yekaterinburg’s Channel 4 on his snazzy tie, saying, "You’re ready to go to the registry office!” Bazhanov told Putin “we’d be very glad to see you at the wedding.”

The Russian leader’s year-end media session had serious questions, of course, about late pension payments, construction projects gone wrong, and the fighting in Ukraine, where Putin sent troops nearly four years ago.

But every year — amid the weighty questions from the domestic and international media — there are also odd and lighter moments, like this year when people asked Putin what his license plate number was and whether love at first sight existed.

It’s all part of the spectacle of the tightly orchestrated event — an opportunity for Putin, who has ruled Russia for 25 years, to expound on a wide array of subjects as well as to burnish his image as a fatherly figure to address the concerns of ordinary Russians who submit questions in advance.

Bazhanov did actually have a question for Putin — about greater support for young families. Later in the 4 1/2-hour news conference, one of the anchors passed along the news that Bazhanov's girlfriend had said yes. Putin promptly quipped about collecting money for the wedding.

For those inside Moscow’s Gostinny Dvor amphitheater, the most important task was to get Putin's attention. Most brought signs and some wore national dress. One reporter brought a clutch of Labubu dolls personalized to look like Russian officials and one in the form of U.S. President Donald Trump.

One reporter asked whether a comet approaching Earth could be a UFO, and reassured Putin that the city of Tyumen would be ready to welcome any extraterrestrial guests.

Putin seemed unfazed throughout, although Tajik journalist Shamsudin Boboyev caused a brief commotion when he tried to give Putin a book. Two security officials quickly stopped him from going onstage, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested Boboyev should simply describe the gift, which would be given to him later.

Toward the end of the session, a journalist who noted that Putin had said earlier he believed in love at first sight asked him if he was in love. The Russian leader, whose private life remains closely guarded, answered simply, “Yes.”

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Davies reported from Manchester, England.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, thanks a group of volunteers who worked preparing his call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, thanks a group of volunteers who worked preparing his call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

A TV assistant attaches a microphone to Russian President Vladimir Putin's suit prior to his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a journalist's question during his annual news conference and call-in show at Gostinny Dvor, in Moscow, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sided with immigration judges on Friday, rebuffing the Trump administration for now in a case with possible implications for federal workers as the justices weigh expanding presidential firing power.

The decision is a technical step in a long-running case, but it touches on the effects of a series of high-profile firings under President Donald Trump. The justices let stand a ruling that raised questions about the Trump administration's handling of the federal workforce, though they also signaled that lower courts should move cautiously.

Immigration judges are federal employees, and the question at the center of the case is about whether they can sue to challenge a policy restricting their public speeches or if they are required to use a separate complaint system for the federal workforce.

Trump's Republican administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene after an appeals court found that Trump’s firings of top complaint system officials had raised questions about whether it's still working as intended.

The Justice Department said the firings are within the president’s power and the lower court had no grounds to raise questions. The solicitor general asked the Supreme Court to quickly freeze the ruling as he pushes to have the immigration judges’ case removed from federal court.

The justices declined, though they also said the Trump administration could return if the lower courts moved too fast. The justices have allowed most of Trump’s firings for now and are weighing whether to formally expand his legal power to fire independent agency officials by overturning job protections enshrined in a 90-year-old decision.

A union formerly representing immigration judges, who work for the Justice Department, first sued in 2020 to challenge a policy restricting what the judges can speak about in public. They say the case is a free-speech issue that belongs in federal court.

In recent months, Trump's administration has fired dozens of immigration judges seen by his allies as too lenient.

While the order is not a final decision, the case could eventually have implications for other federal workers who want to challenge firings in court rather than the employee complaint system now largely overseen by Trump appointees.

The decision comes after a series of wins for the Justice Department on the high court’s emergency docket. The court has sided with the Trump administration about two dozen times on issues ranging from immigration to federal funding.

Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

FILE - The Supreme Court facade is seen in Washington, Nov. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)