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

Trump White House aide was secret author of report used to push ‘big lie’  —  Report on Dominion voting machines produced after 2020 election was not the work of volunteer in Trump's post-election legal team  —  Weeks after the 2020 election, at least one Trump White House aide was named …

Chris Cuomo blasts CNN for ‘selectively enforcing’ its rules, points to Lemon, Tapper, Toobin controversies  —  The ex-anchor slammed CNN's ‘long-established pattern’ of policy ‘exceptions’ in his $125M arbitration demand  —  Chris Cuomo goes after Don Lemon for CNN cash

With legislation languishing and midterms approaching, Democratic lawmakers pressure Biden to issue executive orders  —  Liberal House Democrats realized late last year that many of their policy ideas for improving the lives of Americans had little chance of passing through the party's narrow majorities …

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 …

Biden interacted with Taoiseach before positive coronavirus test  —  President Biden interacted with Micheál Martin, the Taoiseach of Ireland, on Wednesday night, shortly before the Irish leader disclosed a positive coronavirus test, a U.S. official said.

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 …

Hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett marches out of prison after serving just six days of 150-day sentence: Actor is released on $150,000 bond following order from appeals court  — Disgraced ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett was released from jail at 8pm local time on Wednesday after serving just six days of his 150-day sentence

POLITICO Playbook: Scoop: RNC down to two 2024 convention finalists  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  ZELENSKYY'S APPEAL FALLS SHORT (FOR NOW) — No one was surprised by the request: a no-fly zone — and if not that, then access to those Soviet-style fighter jets in Poland that could help them “close the sky.”

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

White House fumes over stagnant gas prices as crude oil tumbles  —  President Joe Biden is frustrated that massive drops in the price of crude oil are not quickly translating to lower gas prices for Americans.  —  Oil prices peaked around $140 per barrel after Russia first invaded Ukraine …

UK to clamp down on libel ‘lawfare’ by the rich in English courts  —  Claimants will have to prove malice, as government seeks to curb ‘Slapps’ that use wealth to deter scrutiny  —  Ministers have set out plans to cap the costs of libel lawsuits and force claimants to prove “actual malice” …

The Ukraine Speech Biden Should Give Now  —  Americans want and need to hear from the president. … My fellow Americans, our country has been through several tough years.  The pandemic was a severe blow.  But even more serious than the disease was the fraying of our national spirit.

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 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.