Russia-Ukraine live updates: Odessa braces for Russian assault as humanitarian conditions deteriorate  —  Talks between Russian and Ukrainian negiotiators, which began as the war entered its 12th day, yielded some progress on logistical arrangements for local cease-fires and evacuation corridors.

Vast Majority Of Americans Say Ban Russian Oil, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Nearly 8 In 10 Support U.S. Military Response If Putin Attacks A NATO Country  — mail_outline  —  At nearly the end of week two of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as the U.S. and its allies consider ratcheting …

Congress Gives Final Approval to Make Lynching a Hate Crime  —  The bill's unanimous passage in the Senate ended more than a century of failed attempts to explicitly criminalize lynching.  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate unanimously approved a bill that would make lynching a federal hate crime …

Judge tosses obstruction charge against Jan. 6 defendant  —  A federal judge has thrown out an obstruction charge against a defendant charged with breaching the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a ruling that could reverberate across hundreds of cases stemming from the attack on Congress.

Attorney John Eastman says ‘conflicting’ advice to Trump negates Jan. 6 committee's claims of criminal intent  —  Attorney John Eastman, a key adviser to then-President Donald Trump as he tried to overturn the 2020 election, on Monday rejected the Jan. 6 select committee's claim that his work …

Taylor Lorenz Introduces Her Brand to the Washington Post  —  Today is Taylor Lorenz's first day at the Washington Post, and she's already doing, arguably, exactly what she was hired to do: She's stirring up trouble on social media.  “Oh my God, can you stand all the drama?” she says, giggling on a phone call with me last night.

Former NC congressman registered to vote in home where he purportedly never stayed  —  RALEIGH, N.C. — Former U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, one of North Carolina's most prominent political figures, is registered to vote using the address of a mobile home in which the former property owner says the Republican never lived.

The New York Times Knowingly Published A False Smear Against Clarence Thomas' Wife  —  New information reveals the Times knowingly printed a false allegation in a hit piece on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's wife, Ginni.  —  The New York Times has smeared again …

I Came to College Eager to Debate.  I Found Self-Censorship Instead.  —  Ms. Camp is a senior at the University of Virginia.  —  Each week, I seek out the office hours of a philosophy department professor willing to discuss with me complex ethical questions raised by her course on gender and sexuality.

U.S. National Average Price of Gasoline Hits New All-Time Record High  —  Previous record of $4.10 per gallon set in 2008 has fallen as gas prices continue to rise  —  The national average price of gasoline in the U.S. today broke the existing record, rewriting the all-time high …

Texas county finds 10K uncounted ballots from primary day  —  Officials say about 10,000 mail ballots were tabulated but not counted in Texas' most populous county on the day of last week's election, adding to the delay in determining some winners in the nation's first primary of the 2022 midterms

Absurd trucker convoy jamming up the Capital Beltway has me rooting for higher gas prices  —  The truckers who make up the People's Convoy driving in circles around Washington, D.C., are making it hard for people who write satire. … OK, let me get this straight: A truckload of U.S. truckers …

Connect the antisemitic dots  —  “Putin could have written the Protocols.”  —  Not enough has been said about Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy being Jewish.  Not enough, anyway, by the mainstream press in the west.  In Russia, though, it has been the subject of intense focus.  Why?

Morgan Stanley Says Russia's Set for Venezuela-Style Default  —  The odds of Russia making its foreign debt payments are diminishing as bond prices fall, recession in the nation looms and various payment restrictions pile up after the invasion of Ukraine, according to Morgan Stanley & Co.

This Isn't Obama's Iran Deal.  It's Much, Much Worse.  —  The last thing the world needs is another nuclear-armed dictatorship flush with cash and attacking its neighbors.  But that's what President Biden and his Iran envoy Robert Malley are creating in the deal they are about to close in Vienna …

Supreme Court Allows Court-Imposed Voting Maps in North Carolina and Pennsylvania  —  State courts had ruled that earlier maps for congressional elections had been warped by partisan gerrymandering.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed maps that had been approved by state courts …

Sen. Ron Johnson says Obamacare should be repealed if GOP wins power back  —  Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said he wants to see the GOP repeal the Affordable Care Act if his party wins the White House and the House and Senate majorities again in 2024, a move that would resurrect a fight …

Florida says healthy kids shouldn't get COVID vaccine, contradicting CDC  —  State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced the recommendation Monday during a panel convened by the governor.  —  TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Department of Health is poised to officially recommend against giving coronavirus vaccines to healthy children.

The Politics of Ukraine in an Ohio Town  —  Ohio sits in the middle of what food marketers refer to as the “Pierogi Pocket of America.”  And smack dab in the middle of this pocket is the town of Parma.  —  Parma—population 80,000—is a suburb of Cleveland and has suddenly gotten a lot …