memeorandum: The U.S. needs a COVID forecast (Tina Reed/Axios)

7:35 AM ET, February 14, 2022

Top Items:

European, U.S. leaders race to defuse Ukraine crisis amid warnings of imminent Russia attack — MOSCOW — Ukraine's Foreign Ministry Monday ruled out any compromise on its aim of joining NATO and called for security guarantees to deter a Russian invasion, as diplomatic efforts continued …

Discussion: Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Euractiv and TheJournal.ie

Financial Times:

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 …

Discussion: Bloomberg, New York Times and Politico

Ros Atkins / BBC:

Ukraine seeks meeting with Russia within 48 hours to discuss build-up — Ukraine has called for a meeting with Russia and other members of a key European security group over the escalating tensions on its border. — Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia had ignored formal requests to explain the build-up of troops.

Discussion: The Guardian, Metro.co.uk, MyNorthwest.com, NBC4 Washington and progressum@substack

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

Putin's impending ‘march of folly’ in Ukraine — The world will be watching in horror if Russia invades Ukraine this week — but just watching. Ukraine will fight alone, as Russian tanks roll across the flat, frozen terrain; precision bombs destroy key targets near Kyiv and other cities …

Discussion: The American Conservative, Washington Times and WHDH-TV

David K. Shipler / Washington Monthly:

How America's Broken Promises May Lead to a New Cold War — As he threatens to invade Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is citing 1990s-era assurances that NATO would not expand to Russia's borders. — The new Cold War, which now grips Europe and the United States, is not all Russia's fault.

Discussion: Persuasion

The Economist:

To Russian denials, America warns of an imminent invasion of Ukraine — But Russia's military build-up continues — THE DRAMA started three months ago with American intelligence leaks showing a huge Russian military build-up on Ukraine's borders. It has been unfolding ever since in a flurry of summits …

Discussion: USA Today, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Dax Trading Ideas, Al Jazeera, Cutting Through, Euractiv and The Hill

Wall Street Journal:
Ukrainian Airline Grounds Fleet as Warnings Over Russia Cause Insurers to Pull Cover

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, The Moscow Times, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, KSG Intelligence Services, Fox News and NBC10 Philadelphia

Associated Press:
US: Over 130,000 Russian troops now staged outside Ukraine

Tina Reed / Axios:

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 …

David Pugliese / Ottawa Citizen:

Two members of military counter-terrorism unit under investigation for allegedly taking part in convoy protests — “The Canadian Special Operations Forces Command does not condone its members supporting and/or actively taking part in causes that jeopardize the apolitical imperative associated with their functions.”

Josephine Harvey / HuffPost:
Mike Lindell Says He's Sending MyPillows To The Ottawa Anti-Vaccine Trucker Mob

Discussion: Insider

Washington Post:
Police clear ‘Freedom Convoy’ protesters from key U.S.-Canada border crossing, but it has still not reopened

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

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.

Discussion: Political Wire

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

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 …

Wall Street Journal:

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 …

Washington Post:

‘Survival mode’: Inflation falls hardest on low-income Americans — Higher costs for the basics — rent, groceries, paper towels — leave families to make hard choices — After 15 years, Jacqueline Rodriguez had almost saved enough for a down payment on a house. Then the pandemic hit.

Charles Robinson / Yahoo Sports:

Book: Donald Trump said Bill Belichick ‘chickened out’ in rejecting Freedom medal and they later made up at a golf course — A forthcoming book chronicling a turbulent 18-month snapshot of American politics will claim some new details surrounding one of the higher-profile rejections …

Discussion: New York Post

Billings Gazette:

Guest opinion: A letter from Marc Racicot to current GOP chair — Editor's note: This letter from former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot to GOP National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel is published with the author's permission. — Dear Chairwoman McDaniel, — It is a sad day, indeed.