We witnessed Mariupol's agony and fled a Russian hit list  —  MARIUPOL, Ukraine (AP) — The Russians were hunting us down.  They had a list of names, including ours, and they were closing in.  —  We had been documenting the siege of the Ukrainian city by Russian troops for more than two weeks …

Ex-wife accuses top Missouri GOP Senate candidate of abuse  —  COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, now a leading Republican Senate candidate, was physically abusive and demonstrated such “unstable and coercive behavior” that steps were taken to limit his access to firearms …

Senator Hawley's Disingenuous Attack against Judge Jackson's Record on Child Pornography  —  He distorts her record on ‘sex offenders.’  —  would oppose Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson because of her judicial philosophy, for the reasons outlined by Ed Whelan last week.  I address that in a separate post.

U.S. Sending Soviet Air Defense Systems It Secretly Acquired to Ukraine  —  The Pentagon over the years has acquired Soviet equipment as part of a clandestine program, and now such weapons are going to Ukraine  —  WASHINGTON—The U.S. is sending some of the Soviet-made air defense equipment …

Exclusive: Witness Claims Trump's Chief of Staff Was on Phone Call Planning Jan. 6 March on Capitol  —  Trump's team agreed it would encourage supporters to march, but try to “make it look like they went down there on their own,” Scott Johnston tells Rolling Stone

Putin's lover Kabayeva faces expulsion from Switzerland  —  Russian President Vladimir Putin's mistress Alina Kabayeva faces expulsion from Switzerland, where she is likely hiding with her children.  Citizens of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus appealed to the Swiss Confederation with a petition under the slogan …

Putin's Russia looks increasingly desperate as Ukraine war nears stalemate, analysts say  — President Vladimir Putin's forces have exerted brutal force and destruction on much of Ukraine.  — They have forced millions to flee and made millions homeless, but it has failed to achieve major military victories.

Pro-Trump group sent armed members door-to-door in Colorado to “intimidate” voters: Lawsuit  —  Lawsuit accuses Colorado group linked to Mike Lindell of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act and voting rights laws  —  Voting rights groups have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop a pro-Trump group …

Super PAC signals Pennsylvania primary could get rough  —  A super PAC backing Pennsylvania Senate candidate Conor Lamb is warning prospective donors that he is trailing frontrunner John Fetterman by 30 percentage points in the Democratic primary — and that the public's perception …

Poll: Hispanics aren't flocking to the GOP, but Democrats still have problems  —  Heading into the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans have been riding a wave of positive press about their gains among Hispanic voters as Democrats fret about hemorrhaging support from the fast-growing demographic.

U.N. secretary general says global climate target ‘is on life support’ … The head of the United Nations on Monday warned that the world is “sleepwalking to climate catastrophe,” as the ongoing pandemic, the war in Ukraine and a lack of political willpower undermine humanity's efforts to slow the warming of the planet.

How could any American patriot back Putin?  —  Where does it come from, this Trumpy admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin?  —  Is it theatrical, driven by journalistic contrarianism?  Is it simply about wanting President Joe Biden to lose?  Or is there something deeper and more malign going on?

The Democratic Party's Biggest Problem Is Its Conservative Wing  —  Rep. Stephanie Murphy got everything she wanted, and it's a disaster, so she's retiring.  —  Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) speaks during the Blue Dog Coalition news conference on tax reform on October 4, 2017.

Everyone's giving the Fed a green light for rate hikes  —  The economy has plenty of problems, both home-grown and imported from a volatile geopolitical situation.  But wherever the leaders of the Federal Reserve look right now, they're seeing flashing green lights that the world wants them to get moving on raising interest rates.

Justice Thomas misses oral arguments due to illness  —  Justice Clarence Thomas was absent from Supreme Court oral arguments on Monday due to illness.  —  Chief Justice John Roberts announced Thomas's absence from a pair of in-person hearings prior to the start of arguments.

How to defeat the MAGA cult: Build a coalition that transcends party  —  The GOP has unabashedly fanned violence, propagated a parallel universe of lies and conspiracy theories and sought to subvert elections by limiting who votes and undermining nonpartisan election administration.

Disney Drives Conservatives Into Closet  —  You see the Daily Variety story the other day about how Pixar has restored a same-sex kiss to its upcoming film Lightyear after a gay employee group denounced its corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, for not taking a tougher line against the so-called Florida “Don't Say Gay” bill.

The Takeover of America's Legal System  —  The kids didn't grow out of it. … In 2017, the super lawyer David Boies was at a corporate retreat at the Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne, Florida, hosted by his law firm, Boies, Schiller and Flexner.  Boies was a liberal legend …

The One Trump Lawyer the Rest of Trump's Legal Team Loathes  —  Alina Habba has developed quite the reputation among Trump's team of lawyers.  —  Facing high-stakes investigations that could cripple his business empire or even mean jail time for him and close associates …

It's Never a Good Time for the Hunter Biden Story  —  Gail Collins: Bret, here's one question I don't think I ever asked you before: What do you think of daylight saving time?  —  Bret Stephens: About the same way I feel about Volodymyr Zelensky.  The light of the West.