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.

As Russian Troop Deaths Climb, Morale Becomes an Issue, Officials Say  —  More than 7,000 Russian troops have been killed in less than three weeks of fighting, according to conservative U.S. estimates.  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  WASHINGTON — In 36 days of fighting …

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 …

‘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 …

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.

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 …

Court orders Jussie Smollett release from jail during appeal  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Jussie Smollett was ordered released from jail Wednesday by an appeals court that agreed with his lawyers that he should be free pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to Chicago police about a racist and homophobic attack.

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 …

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.

Fact Sheet on U.S. Security Assistance for Ukraine  —  President Biden today announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, bringing the total U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine to $1 billion in just the past week, and a total of $2 billion since the start of the Biden Administration.

Russia's state TV hit by stream of resignations  —  When Marina Ovsyannikova burst into Russian living rooms on Monday's nightly news, denouncing the war in Ukraine and propaganda around it, her protest highlighted a quiet but steady stream of resignations from Russia's tightly controlled state-run TV.

‘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.

Ukraine's old air defense proves unexpectedly effective in combat  —  No one really expected it — but after three weeks of Russia's all-out war, Ukraine's air defense is still exceeding expectations.  —  This branch of service not only managed to largely survive Russia's massive missile attacks in the invasion's early hours.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Hunter Biden Paid Tax Bill, but Broad Federal Investigation Continues  —  The Justice Department inquiry into the business dealings of the president's son has remained active, with a grand jury seeking information about payments from around the world.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

Dr. Oz will renounce his Turkish citizenship if elected to Senate: ‘I will only be a U.S. citizen’  —  Dr. Oz currently holds a dual-citizenship with Turkey  —  Dr. Oz discusses his Senate campaign platform and vision for America's future  —  EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Mehmet Oz on Wednesday told Fox News …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

The evidence is clear: it's time to prosecute Donald Trump  —  On the supposedly difficult question of ‘criminal intent’, prosecutors should have no trouble convincing a jury.  Full speed ahead is the only proper course  —  n 8 March, a jury took three hours to render a guilty verdict against Guy Reffitt, a January 6 insurrectionist.

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 …