America Has a Free Speech Problem  —  The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values.  It is separate from the newsroom.  —  For all the tolerance and enlightenment that modern society claims …

Biden and Xi hold first call since Russia invaded Ukraine  —  President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke for nearly two hours on Friday in a video call that came as the U.S. tries to convince Beijing to distance itself from Russia's war in Ukraine.

Specialist Ukrainian drone unit picks off invading Russian forces as they sleep  —  An elite Ukrainian drone unit has destroyed dozens of “priority targets” by attacking Russian forces as they sleep, The Times can reveal.  —  Aerorozvidka, a specialist air reconnaissance unit within the army …

J.D. Vance Gets Canceled  —  It seems J.D. Vance's “No BS Tour” is skipping a stop in Minnesota.  The Ohio Senate hopeful, currently polling in third place, was slated to speak at the Minnesota GOP's annual Lincoln-Reagan dinner fundraising event.  Then, without explanation, he was pulled.

POLITICO Playbook: A retiring moderate Democrat unloads on the party  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  SCOOP: DEMS TO HAUL BIG OIL TO THE HILL AMID GAS SURGE — As prices at the pump soar, House Democrats are readying a strategy to try to redirect the nation's ire away from President JOE BIDEN and toward oil companies.

GOP shrugs off Trump impeachment echoes in Russia-Ukraine war  —  Republicans clamoring to accuse President Joe Biden of slow-walking support for Ukraine don't see a shred of comparison with Donald Trump's impeachment for withholding aid from the very same nation.

Ukraine is getting Switchblade.  It should be just the first wave of loitering munitions for Kyiv.  —  Loitering munitions — essentially small suicide drones capable of tracking a target and then striking it — have been around for years, but the technology emerged as a key weapons in the 2021 conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Inside the transfer of foreign military equipment to Ukrainian soldiers … ON THE POLAND-UKRAINE BORDER — There were no passport officers on the dirt road, no customs lane, no signs marking this isolated patch of farmland for what it has become: a clandestine gateway for military supplies entering Ukraine.

Jan. 6 trial centers on lingering mystery: Where was Mike Pence as riot raged?  —  Where precisely was Mike Pence while a mob descended on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021?  —  A defendant set to face just the second trial in the nearly 15 months since the attack intends to make that question the centerpiece of his defense Monday.

House passes CROWN Act banning discrimination against Black hairstyles  —  CROWN stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.  It prohibits “discrimination based on an individual's texture or style of hair.”  —  The House on Friday passed the CROWN Act, which would ban hair-related discrimination.

What the Russia Invasion Teaches Us About the Right  —  Contrarians aren't critical thinkers.  They're gullible reactionaries, vulnerable to conspiracy theories. … I want to share with you two remarkably similar numbers.  At first glance, they should have nothing to do with each other.

Paul Manafort |  3-16-22  —  Paul Manafort, longtime political consultant, former Chairman of the Trump Campaign and the author of the new book, Political Prisoner: Persecuted, Prosecuted, but not Silenced joins Frank.  Manafort talks about his prosecution & his book, and comments on the war in Ukraine & domestic politics.

GOP leader says Republicans will boot Schiff from Intel panel  —  House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Friday said Republicans would boot House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) from the committee altogether if they attain the majority in the midterm elections.

Virginia School Covered Up Sexual Assault That Left Victim Hospitalized  —  An Alexandria high school withheld details from parents about a reported multiple-assailant rape on school grounds.  —  SPORTS  —  Tears and Tension as the NCAA Awards a Women's Championship to Lia Thomas  —  By MADELEINE KEARNS

How the US should deter Vladimir Putin's nuclear brinkmanship  —  Lacking the force capacity, logistics train, morale, and combat power to remove Ukraine's ability to resist, Vladimir Putin has a big problem.  —  The Russian president has staked a great deal of political capital …

Ukraine conflict: Putin lays out his demands in Turkish phone call  —  Turkey has positioned itself with great care to be the go-between with Russia and Ukraine - and this seems to be paying off.  —  On Thursday afternoon, President Vladimir Putin rang the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan …

‘Madison is wrong’: GOP backlash over Cawthorn grows after Zelensky insult  —  (CNN)When House Republicans gathered on the baseball field Friday morning for their weekly practice, members were abuzz about one topic: Rep. Madison Cawthorn.  —  The North Carolina Republican infuriated members …

Covid and the ‘Very Liberal’  —  There's a schism among Democrats.  And the latest on Ukraine.  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  The left-right divide over Covid-19 — with blue America taking the virus more seriously than red America — has never been the pandemic's only political divide.

Cheney Says Greene One of Kremlin's ‘Useful Idiots’ After Ukraine Remarks  —  Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, slammed Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, after she equated Ukraine's actions with those of Russia, saying “both sides” had violated peace agreements.

Baseless OAN attack on Ketanji Brown Jackson echoes QAnon conspiracy theory  —  RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JASMINE GEONZON & GIDEON TAAFFE  —  Following Sen. Josh Hawley's (R-MO) Twitter rant yesterday against Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a segment on OAN took …

Ivermectin Didn't Reduce Covid-19 Hospitalizations in Largest Trial to Date  —  Patients who got the antiparasitic drug didn't fare better than those who received a placebo  —  Researchers testing repurposed drugs against Covid-19 found that ivermectin didn't reduce hospital admissions …

EU has ‘very reliable evidence’ China is considering military support for Russia  —  EU leaders are in possession of “very reliable evidence” that China is considering military assistance to Russia, a senior EU official told POLITICO, threatening potential trade measures if weapons' deliveries go ahead.