As Russia's Military Stumbles, Its Adversaries Take Note  —  President Vladimir Putin could still reduce cities in Ukraine to rubble, officials say.  But European countries that once feared Russia say they are not so scared anymore.  —  CONSTANTA, Romania — When it comes to war, generals say that “mass matters.”

Biden Set to Announce Ban on U.S. Import of Russian Oil Today  —  The Biden administration will impose a ban on U.S. imports of Russian energy on Tuesday without the participation of its European allies, according to people familiar with the matter.  —  The ban will include Russian oil …

Shell won't buy any more Russian oil and gas  —  London CNN Business —  Russia is finding it ever harder to sell its oil and gas.  —  Shell (RDSA)said Tuesday it was breaking completely with Russia's giant energy industry, halting all purchases of Russian crude oil immediately and shutting its service stations in the country.

Two Days of Russian News Coverage: An Alternate Reality of War  —  To watch news broadcasts of the fighting in Ukraine on the main state channels in Russia is to witness the extent of the Kremlin's efforts to sanitize its war.  —  At a televised gathering with female pilots and crew members from Aeroflot …

Biden's Approval Rating Improves After State of the Union as More Back His Tack in Ukraine  —  45% approve of Biden's job performance; 46% support his handling of Ukraine  —  President Joe Biden posted his best approval rating in months following his first State of the Union address …

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 …

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 …

Clarence Thomas' Strange Pick to Promote His Book Says It All  —  Right-wing judicial activist Leonard Leo has been exerting influence over the Supreme Court for three decades.  So why is Clarence Thomas hiring Leo's firm to do public relations?  —  When Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas …

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.

How Did This Many Deaths Become Normal?  —  The United States reported more deaths from COVID-19 last Friday than deaths from Hurricane Katrina, more on any two recent weekdays than deaths during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, more last month than deaths from flu in a bad season …

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.

Millions of Palm-Sized, Flying Spiders Could Invade the East Coast  —  A huge invasive spider that invaded Georgia from East Asia could soon take over most of the U.S. East Coast, a new study has revealed.  —  New research, published Feb. 17 in the journal Physiological Entomology …

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.

States Aren't Waiting for the Supreme Court to Tighten Abortion Laws  —  In anticipation of the court's decision, a frenzy of legislative activity to shut down access to abortion forms a picture of a post-Roe America.  —  Both sides of the abortion debate anticipate that come July …

Beijing is re-writing the Ukraine narrative  —  The Chinese government is scrubbing the country's internet of sympathetic or accurate coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and systematically amplifying pro-Putin talking points. … - Online comments expressing sympathy for Ukraine have been deleted …

A 459-Foot Mystery in a Tuscan Port: Is It a Russian's Superyacht?  —  As European authorities seize the luxury assets of oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin, a superyacht cloaked in secrecy has come under investigation.  —  From Germany's North Sea ports to the French Riviera, open season has been declared on superyachts.

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.

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 …