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 …

Sleep experts say Senate has it wrong: Standard time, not daylight saving, should be permanent  —  Sleep experts widely agree with the Senate that the country should abandon its twice-yearly seasonal time changes.  But they disagree on one key point: which time system should be permanent.

Putin Assails Russians Who Back the West, Signaling More Repression  —  President Vladimir V. Putin on Wednesday referred to pro-Western Russians as “scum and traitors” who needed to be removed from society, describing the war in Ukraine as part of an existential clash with the United States …

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

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 …

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.

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.

Former WA Rep. Matt Shea, accused of domestic terrorism, working to secure adoptions for Ukrainian children in Poland  —  Former Washington state Rep. Matt Shea, the far-right Republican who was found by a House-commissioned investigation to have planned and participated in domestic terrorism …

‘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 …

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 …

Sacramento Democratic Congressman Vic Fazio dies at 79  —  Vic Fazio, a powerful congressman who represented the Sacramento area in Washington for 20 years and became known as a Democratic stalwart who could work with Republicans, has died.  He was 79.  —  A former state assemblyman …

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.

The Real Jeff Shell-Keith Olbermann Saga  —  Behind the scenes, Olbermann has been privately jonesing to rejoin MSNBC for years, reaching out directly to Jeff Shell repeatedly.  The whole situation simply manifests how bizarre things have gotten at the soon-to-be former House of Maddow.

‘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.

Ohio Supreme Court rejects statehouse maps, ending hopes of full May primary  —  The Ohio Supreme Court struck down the third set of state House and Senate maps late Wednesday, effectively ending any hope of a May 3rd primary with both legislative and statewide races.

DOJ wants prison time for rioter who said she would ‘absolutely’ storm Capitol again  —  WASHINGTON — A Texas flower shop owner who bragged about storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and said she'd “absolutely” do it again should be sentenced to 75 days behind bars, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

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.

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 …

Kamala Harris tweet mistakenly suggests Ukraine is part of NATO  —  A now-deleted tweet from Vice President Kamala Harris stated Tuesday that the US was supporting Ukraine against invading Russian forces “in defense of the NATO alliance” — wrongly indicating that Ukraine was a member of the 30-nation bloc.

Utah Democrats face dilemma: help an independent to try to beat Sen. Mike Lee or stand with the party  —  Some Democrats want to clear the field to help independent candidate Evan McMullin defeat Republican Mike Lee, but that means kicking a Democratic hopeful to the curb.

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 …

Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin tests positive for Covid while in D.C. to meet Biden  —  Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin tested positive for Covid on Wednesday night and had to leave the Ireland Funds Gala event, where he was photographed sitting maskless beside Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

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 …

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 …