Jeff Zients to Leave as Biden's Covid Czar and Be Replaced by Ashish Jha  —  The choice of Dr. Jha, an outspoken public health expert, is a sign that the White House believes the country is entering a new phase of the pandemic.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

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 …

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

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Scoop: Biden officials fear “mass migration event” if COVID policies end  —  U.S. intelligence officials are privately bracing for a massive influx of more than 170,000 migrants at the Mexico border if COVID-era policies that allow instant expulsions during the public health emergency are ended …

Exclusive: Secret CIA training program in Ukraine helped Kyiv prepare for Russian invasion  —  Ukrainian snipers had a problem: Russian forces in eastern Ukraine were trying to blind them.  —  As the Ukrainians were looking through their scopes in order to find their targets …

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.

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.

Russia says it made a payment to avoid default  —  New York (CNN Business)Russia says it has ordered the $117 million in interest payments it owes Wednesday to be sent to investors, attempting to avoid its first international default in more than a century.  But it's not out of the woods yet.

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 …

Biden calls Putin a ‘war criminal’ … President Biden explicitly called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” Wednesday, after weeks of avoiding the term and at a time when his administration is still determining whether that label officially applies.

Outmatched in military might, Ukraine has excelled in the information war  —  When President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday, aired a video documenting the human toll of Russia's assault on Ukraine, the images were so graphic they prompted an apology from a cable news anchor …

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.

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.

Broke Oligarch Says Sanctioned Billionaires Have No Sway Over Putin  —  When I first called Mikhail Fridman to ask if he would talk about what it's like to be sanctioned, he all but hung up on me.  A couple of days later, he said he still didn't think it was a good idea.

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 feared trapped in Ukraine theater hit by airstrike  —  KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities struggled to determine the fate of hundreds of civilians who had been sheltering in a theater smashed by a Russian airstrike in the besieged city of Mariupol as officials …

Even if Zelenskyy Accepts a Humiliating Peace Deal, Putin Won't Abide by It  —  Would a peace deal severely limiting Ukraine's sovereignty be in its best interest or play into Putin's quest to snuff out the country's independence?  —  Zen Read  —  Funeral procession of Ukrainian military …

‘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 …

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.