Putin leaves the west guessing as Ukraine crisis intensifies … A comically large table separated Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron last week after the French president flew to Moscow for crisis talks aimed at averting a war in Ukraine.  —  The official explanation for the yawning distance …

WHCA ANNOUNCES TREVOR NOAH AS ENTERTAINER FOR 2022 DINNER  —  The White House Correspondents' Association is pleased to announce that Trevor Noah, the host of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, will entertain at the association's annual dinner on Saturday, April 30, 2022.

Police clear ‘Freedom Convoy’ protesters from key U.S.-Canada border crossing, but it has still not reopened  —  The White House said the Canadian authorities intend to resume traffic shortly  —  OTTAWA — The White House said Sunday that it expects Canada to reopen a vital U.S.-Canada crossing …

John Eastman claims attorney-client privilege over thousands of pages sought by Jan. 6 investigators  —  Attorney John Eastman, a close ally of Donald Trump amid his effort to subvert the 2020 election, has attempted to shield more than 10,000 pages of emails and counting from congressional investigators …

Trump's latest political obsession: The baseball team owner not toeing his line  —  Donald Trump has a new fixation: a Major League Baseball scion who hails from one of the country's richest families — and who, unlike most other Republican Senate candidates, isn't bowing to the former president.

The U.S. needs a COVID forecast  —  Experts say the U.S. needs clearer, more defined standards that will help the public understand when it's safe to relax COVID restrictions — and when it might be necessary to bring them back.  —  Why it matters: Experts compare this need to a weather forecast …

The Right's Would-Be Kingmaker  —  Peter Thiel, one of Donald J. Trump's biggest donors in 2016, has re-emerged as a prime financier of the Make America Great Again movement.  —  Ryan Mac, who is based in Los Angeles, covers the intersection of technology and power.

Pelosi seeks to bury ‘defund the police’: The Note  —  “Defund” sentiments have lost steam even inside progressive politics of late.  —  It was a raging debate inside the Democratic Party in 2020.  —  The nation's top elected Democrats are doing what they can to make sure it isn't in 2022.

Why Russian Invasion Peril Is Driving Oil Prices Near $100  —  Spare supplies of oil and gas are limited globally, making a Russian move on Ukraine a serious geopolitical risk event  —  The threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is shaking up a fragile global oil market …

The low-key Democrat with the unenviable task of defending a 50-50 Senate  —  Just days after Gary Peters eked out a reelection win from a $200 million throw-down, he got a heartburn-inducing offer: Would he help run Democrats' Senate races in a merciless midterm election?