Ukraine and Russia explore neutrality plan in peace talks  —  Fifteen-point draft deal would involve Kyiv renouncing Nato ambitions in return for security guarantees  —  Ukraine and Russia have made significant progress on a tentative peace plan including a ceasefire and Russian withdrawal …

Trump says Pence partnership over as ex-president eyes 2024 comeback bid  —  EXCLUSIVE — Former President Donald Trump is effectively ruling out tapping former Vice President Mike Pence as his running mate should he mount a third White House bid in 2024 and win the Republican nomination.

A Ukrainian Town Deals Russia One of the War's Most Decisive Routs  —  In the two-day battle of Voznesensk, local volunteers and the military repelled the invaders, who fled leaving behind armor and dead soldiers  —  VOZNESENSK, Ukraine—A Kalashnikov rifle slung over his shoulder …

Inside Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns' new Biden book  —  President Biden confessed in private that he didn't understand Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who helped stymie his biggest legislative dreams, New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns write in the first major book …

GOP senator gives trucker protesters a Capitol tour  —  Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) gave truckers in the so-called “People's Convoy” a tour of the Capitol last week — even as the building remains mostly closed to the public.  —  A senior congressional aide alerted the Department of Justice …

This Week In the Mayonnaise Clinic: Actually, Changing the Clocks Is Good  —  Plus, why Los Angeles is awesome.  —  Dear readers,  —  As you may have seen, the US Senate agreed by unanimous consent on Tuesday to abolish standard time and keep clocks on daylight saving time all year.

‘Right in the trash’: Texas ballot rejections soar, AP finds  —  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas threw out mail votes at an abnormally high rate during the nation's first primary of 2022, rejecting nearly 23,000 ballots outright under tougher voting rules that are part of a broad campaign …

Ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo considers running against Kathy Hochul despite opposition from his own party  — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been fielding calls from supporters about a possible campaign against his replacement and fellow Democrat, Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Spain seizes another Russian yacht believed to belong to an oligarch.  —  MADRID — Spain, which has pledged to seize the suspected superyachts of Russian oligarchs targeted for sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, on Wednesday impounded the third such vessel …

Federal Reserve approves first interest rate hike in more than three years, sees six more ahead  — The Fed approved a 0.25 percentage point rate hike, the first increase since December 2018.  — Officials indicated an aggressive path ahead, with rate rises coming at each of the remaining six meetings in 2022.

Why I should have listened to Garry Kasparov about Putin … A few years ago, the exalted Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov came to dinner at my house in New York.  It was a memorably intense evening.  As we dug into our desserts, Kasparov regaled the assembled group of American policymakers …

Idaho's New Anti-Abortion Law Offers Cash Bounties to Rapists' Family Members  —  The slow impending death of Roe v. Wade at the hands of the Supreme Court has encouraged red states to experiment with different approaches to tormenting abortion patients.  In the months since it became clear …

‘The Era of the Foreign Correspondent Is Over’: Justin Smith on His Media Start-Up  —  The former Bloomberg Media C.E.O. offered new details on the venture he is starting with the journalist Ben Smith.  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  It will be named for a word that is the same in dozens of languages.

Tucker Carlson favorite Douglas Macgregor on “Stone Age” Indigenous people, South Asian immigrants, “rootless cosmopolitans,” and more  —  Retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor, a frequent Fox News guest, has denigrated South Asian immigrants as insufficiently patriotic, described Indigenous Americans displaced …

Founder of Violence in Boston and husband charged with fraud in federal indictment  —  Prosecutors alleged they pocketed money intended for the needy  —  In a June 2019 ceremony at the Suffolk district attorney's office, Monica Cannon-Grant was handed a check for $6,000, a grant awarded to her nonprofit …

Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich Invested At Least $1.3 Billion With US Financiers, Secret Records Show  —  European governments have frozen the Russian oligarch's assets, including mansions and a soccer team.  But how much he poured into the US has stayed secret.  —  Copy

Kamala's comms reset  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With help from Allie Bice.  —  Vice President KAMALA HARRIS' press shop overhaul is almost complete.  —  After months filled with tough headlines …

America can't afford to forget Zelenskyy's role in Trump's first impeachment  —  When Ukraine needed U.S. backing, all it got was Donald Trump's corruption  —  It was the summer of 2019.  A soon-to-be whistleblower was stunned to learn about a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump …

Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall safely out of Ukraine after suffering serious injuries  —  Bill Hemmer told viewers, ‘Ben is alert and said to be in good spirits’  —  Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who was injured this week while covering the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine …

Hundreds of Yale Law Students Disrupt Bipartisan Free Speech Event  —  More than 100 students at Yale Law School attempted to shout down a bipartisan panel on civil liberties, intimidating attendees and causing so much chaos that police were eventually called to escort panelists out of the building.

Justice Department accuses Chinese agents of trying to intimidate critics in the U.S.  —  Justice Department to charge Chinese agents with intimidating critics in the U.S.  —  The Justice Department planned to unseal criminal charges Wednesday involving three separate efforts …

Judge orders DOJ to produce documents related to decision to prosecute Steve Bannon  —  A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to produce internal records related to its decision to prosecute Steve Bannon, a win for the former Trump adviser, who maintains that he had a sound legal basis …

Chris Cuomo Hits Back At CNN “Smear Campaign” With $125M Arbitration Demand  —  EXCLUSIVE: After months of legal anticipation following his December 2021 firing by Jeff Zucker, Chris Cuomo has just launched the official opening salvo in what looks to be protracted battle with CNN …

U.S. bars ex-spies from becoming ‘mercenaries,’ following Reuters series  —  A new law bans the United States' former spies from hiring themselves out to foreign governments right after they stop working for Washington.  —  The legislation, signed into law by President Joseph Biden on Tuesday …

Koch Industries stays in Russia, backs groups opposing U.S. sanctions  —  As hundreds of major U.S. companies exit Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Koch Industries is staying put.  —  The industrial conglomerate — the second-largest privately owned business in America …