Ukraine Live Updates: Putin Speaks as He Holds Meeting With National Security Officials  —  Here's what you need to know:  —  Putin says he will consider recognizing the independence of two separatist territories in Ukraine.  —  MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Monday …

How Donald Trump Played Himself  —  Donald Trump has survived multiple investigations by following the same playbook: blasting them as “witch hunts” and refusing to testify under oath.  His strategy backfired last week, as a New York state judge ordered him and two of his children to sit for depositions in 21 days.

Who is dying of COVID?  It's still mainly the unvaccinated  —  Recent CDC data shows unvaccinated people are 20 times more likely to die.  —  When the recent COVID-19 wave fueled by the omicron variant hit the U.S., no one expected it would lead to the number of deaths it did.

Democrats are engaged in a ‘new politics of evasion’ that could cost them in 2024, new study says … Three decades ago, Democratic policy analysts William A. Galston and Elaine Kamarck published a bracing critique of their party, warning against a “politics of evasion” that they said ignored electoral reality …

Voters would cut grocery tax; require vaccines for first responders, teachers, medical pros but not for students; keep teaching impact of racism on society, not ban CRT  —  Summary of Key Findings  — A majority of Virginia voters prefer spending the state budget surplus …

Havana Syndrome: High-level national security officials stricken with unexplained illness on White House grounds  —  Since 2016, U.S. government officials overseas and their families have reported sudden, unexplained, brain injuries with symptoms of vertigo, confusion and memory loss.

This Is How Big Pharma Wins  —  Two years into the pandemic, the industry has evaded reforms a supermajority of voters want.  —  On September 19, 2019, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act.  The bill, known as H.R. 3, was a shot across the bow …

Nearly half of Washingtonians don't like Commanders name, Post poll finds  —  Washington hasn't warmed up to the Commanders just yet.  —  According to a citywide Washington Post poll, close to half of D.C. residents have a negative view of the team's new name, with 32 percent disliking it and 17 percent saying they “hate” it.

Trump's Truth Social Debuts in Apple's App Store  —  Some people who downloaded the social media app received error messages when they tried to create an account.  Others were placed on a waitlist. … Former US President Donald Trump's social media app Truth Social became available …

Biden needs a Trump substitute  —  Searching for a strategy to avoid a 2022 midterm disaster, advisers to President Biden have discussed elevating a unifying Republican foil not named Donald Trump. … - Biden isn't on the ballot in November. … - Biden advisers and Hill allies told Axios voters …

The Next Affordable City Is Already Too Expensive  —  In Spokane, Wash., home prices jumped 60 percent in the past two years.  The increase is fueled by buyers fleeing the boom in cities like Austin.  Who will have to flee next?  —  Maybe it was the date night when he and his wife spent …

Mexico to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz: At least our presidential candidates accept defeat  —  Mexico's president and U.S. ambassador needle Texas senator over Donald Trump's ongoing lies about 2020 election after Cruz claims ‘deepening civil unrest in Mexico.’  —  MEXICO CITY — Sen. Ted Cruz …

Black Farmers Fear Foreclosure as Debt Relief Remains Frozen  —  Lawsuits from white farmers have blocked $4 billion of pandemic aid that was allocated to Black farmers in the American Rescue Plan.  —  Alan Rappeport covers economic policy issues for The Times.

This ‘Could Kill Far More Afghans Than the Past 20 Years of War’  —  Ninety-five percent of Afghans don't have enough to eat.  Nearly nine million are at risk of starvation.  The U.N.'s emergency aid request, at more than $5 billion, is the largest it has ever made for a single country.