Top Items:
Sadie Gurman / Wall Street Journal:
Ex-Attorney General William Barr Urges GOP to Move On From Trump — Book recounts confrontational meeting in Oval Office and says Republicans need to focus on new leaders — Former Attorney General William Barr writes in a new book that former President Donald Trump has …
Discussion:
HillReporter.com, Raw Story, Mediaite, Althouse and Political Wire
Bojan Pancevski / Wall Street Journal:
Germany to Raise Defense Spending Above 2% of GDP in Response to Ukraine War — Decision breaks with decades of lower investment in defense than peers and a growing energy partnership with Russia — BERLIN—Germany will boost defense spending above 2% of GDP and create a strategic natural-gas reserve …
Discussion:
Euractiv and Financial Times
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Jason Horowitz / New York Times:
Putin's Aggression Leaves His Right-Wing Fan Club Squirming — The Russian strongman has for years been idolized by a Who's Who of populist, nationalist leaders. They are now stumbling over what to say. — ROME — For years, a global choir of right-wing politicians have sung the praises of Vladimir V. Putin.
Discussion:
Politico and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:
Ukraine's Defenders Hold Kyiv, Battle for Kharkiv After Night of Russian Attacks
Ukraine's Defenders Hold Kyiv, Battle for Kharkiv After Night of Russian Attacks
Discussion:
The Guardian, Financial Times, UPI, National Review, Common Dreams, Rigid Thinking, NBC4 Washington, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, ABC7 and American Purpose
New York Times:
Ukraine's President Rejects Kremlin's Offer for Talks in Belarus
Ukraine's President Rejects Kremlin's Offer for Talks in Belarus
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Dispatch, Townhall, ARB Letter, The Daily Wire, NBC News, UPI, The Washington Current, CNBC and NBC Los Angeles, more at Techmeme »
Lara Jakes / New York Times:
For Ukraine's Refugees, Europe Opens Doors That Were Shut to Others
For Ukraine's Refugees, Europe Opens Doors That Were Shut to Others
Discussion:
Voice of America, Reclaiming the Narrative, The Times of Israel and unz.com
Allahpundit / HotAir:
Is Putin trapped? — I phrase the headline as a question, wary of forming conclusions …
Is Putin trapped? — I phrase the headline as a question, wary of forming conclusions …
Discussion:
New Statesman and Conservative Brief
The White House:
Joint Statement on Further Restrictive Economic Measures — We, the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States condemn Putin's war of choice and attacks on the sovereign nation and people of Ukraine.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Euractiv, Blogs of War, Balloon Juice, The Daily Wire, UPI, The Verge, RedState, Townhall, The Daily Caller, Los Angeles Times and Insider, more at Techmeme »
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Financial Times:
Russians search for cash as west imposes sanctions on banks — People seek money in any currency, while central bank tries to calm markets and depositors — People in Moscow and other Russian cities stormed ATMs and bank branches in search of cash, both in roubles and dollars …
NBC News:
U.S., allies agree to limit Russia's access to SWIFT banking system
U.S., allies agree to limit Russia's access to SWIFT banking system
Discussion:
NPR, The Atlantic, Associated Press, James Ledbetter's FIN, New York Post, NBC4 Washington and Bloomberg
David Smith / The Guardian:
Donald Trump defends calling Putin ‘smart’, hints at 2024 presidential bid — Ex-president tells CPAC he could have stopped ‘appalling’ Russian invasion of Ukraine before giving strongest indication he will run again — Donald Trump, the former US president, has defended his description …
Discussion:
HillReporter.com and BizPac Review
RELATED:
CNN:
Trump defends praise of Putin even as he calls Ukrainian President ‘brave’
Trump defends praise of Putin even as he calls Ukrainian President ‘brave’
Discussion:
Reuters, National Review, The Racket News, Newsbusters, The Dispatch, The Colorado Sun and Metro.co.uk
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Trump warns ‘world war’ could be next as Russia continues invasion in Ukraine
Trump warns ‘world war’ could be next as Russia continues invasion in Ukraine
Discussion:
Insider, Raw Story, Mediaite and BizPac Review
Washington Post:
Post-ABC poll finds a deeply pessimistic nation, worried about the economy and Biden's leadership … President Biden will deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday to a deeply pessimistic nation, one that largely sees the economy worsening under his watch, disapproves of his leadership …
Discussion:
New York Post, The Guardian, DIRECT LEFT and Bloomberg
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Gary Langer / ABC News:
Economic concerns hurt Biden's approval, keep Democrats in peril ahead of midterms: POLL — More than 1 in 3 say they're worse off financially since Biden took office. — Economic discontent is hurting President Joe Biden and his party's midterm election prospects, with six …
Discussion:
Townhall and Yahoo Sports
Meridith McGraw / Politico:
At CPAC, Trump delivers a reminder of his muscle — ORLANDO, Fla. — Mike Pompeo was swarmed by a throng of reporters and fans as he made his way down the hallway of the luxury resort hosting this year's annual Conservative Political Action Conference. — The former secretary of state had just received a standing ovation.
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Financial Times:
Kremlin propaganda machine struggles to conceal Putin's Ukraine war — Moscow spin-doctors and officials try to frame the war in Russian president's terms — As Vladimir Putin launched his military assault on Ukraine, the country's media censor issued a series of stark warnings.
Associated Press:
Russians advance on Ukraine's ports, meet resistance in city — KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Street fighting broke out in Ukraine's second-largest city and Russian troops squeezed strategic ports in the country's south Sunday, advances that appeared to mark a new phase of Russia's invasion following …
New York Times:
New Research Points to Wuhan Market as Pandemic Origin — Scientists released a pair of extensive studies on Saturday that point to a market in Wuhan, China, as the origin of the coronavirus pandemic. Analyzing data from a variety of sources, they concluded that the coronavirus …
Discussion:
Kevin Drum, BizPac Review, Zenodo, Balloon Juice, UPI and New York Post
Financial Times:
Mikhail Fridman speaks out against Ukrainian conflict in letter to staff — Businessman tells employees at private equity firm LetterOne that ‘war can never be the answer’ — Mikhail Fridman, one of Russia's richest men, said the war in Ukraine was a “tragedy” and called on the “bloodshed” …
The Daily Beast:
Ex-Prosecutor Says She Can Prove Trump Committed Two Crimes — Barbara McQuade, a former Michigan prosecutor, joins the first unlocked bonus episode of The New Abnormal to explain how Trump's big lie is a provable crime. — Did Donald Trump commit a crime on and before Jan. 6?
MSNBC:
Why Americans Should Care about the Ukraine-Russia Conflict — As Russia further invades Ukraine, the U.S. has leveled sanctions against Russia, Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Americans may soon be faced with rising gas prices. But it's a sacrifice that needs …
Discussion:
Twitchy
Jim Small / Arizona Mirror:
Wendy Rogers said white nationalists are ‘patriots’ and called for hanging political enemies — A Republican state senator fawned over the leader of a white nationalist movement on Friday and told his followers that she fantasizes about hanging her perceived enemies from gallows.
Discussion:
Insider and Rolling Stone
McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
Romney: Putin Is an ‘Authoritarian Thug’ — On October 22, 2012, Mitt Romney sat across a table from President Barack Obama for the final debate of the presidential election. The theme of the night was foreign policy. Obama's campaign had been working all year to cast Romney as out of touch …
Amanda Taub / New York Times:
Putin Seems to Sideline Advisers on Ukraine, Taking a Political Risk — Authoritarian leaders rely on elite support to govern. Jeopardizing those relationships in wartime could be risky, experts say. — Does President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia have the support he needs at home to wage a costly war in Ukraine?
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent, emptywheel and Christian Rationalism
Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:
Ukrainian border guards may have survived reported last stand on Snake Island — Ukrainian border guards who insulted Russian forces this week in a recorded exchange that went viral may not have been killed, Ukrainian officials said Saturday, contradicting an earlier claim by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent, Fox News, Washington Examiner and NPR