memeorandum: The Grand Theory Driving Putin to War (Jane Burbank/New York Times)

8:00 AM ET, March 23, 2022

Top Items:

As Russia Stalls in Ukraine, Dissent Brews Over Putin's Leadership — Military losses have mounted, progress has slowed, and a blame game has begun among some Russian supporters of the war. — Give this article- - - Read in app — In January, the head of a group of serving …

Discussion: The Daily Wire, Washington Post, Noname's Newsletter, Politico, Mediaite, HotAir and Foreign Policy

Washington Post:

Ukraine claims it has retaken key town outside Kyiv, as defenses hold against fierce Russian onslaught — MUKACHEVO, UKRAINE — Ukrainian forces claimed Tuesday to have retaken control of a strategically important town outside of Kyiv, a nascent sign they could be beating back Russia's brutal …

Discussion: Associated Press, Russia's War on Democracy, The Guardian, One America News Network, New York Post and New York Times

Financial Times:

Russia chokes major oil pipeline in further threat to global supplies — Repairs to storm-damaged loading terminals could cut up to 1mn b/d of shipments through CPC network — Russia is throttling back capacity on a major pipeline that sends crude oil to global markets …

Alexander Ward / Politico:

Russia launched hypersonic missiles due to a low stockpile, sources say — The leading theory for why Russia launched hypersonic missiles into Ukraine last week is that it's running out of precision-guided weapons to strike faraway targets, a senior U.S. defense official and a Western official familiar with assessments told POLITICO.

Discussion: Washington Post, Quillette, Al Jazeera, U.S. Department of Defense and Foreign Policy

Politico:
Biden faces off against Putin. His other opponent is time.

Discussion: ABC News, Wide World of News, New York Post, Wall Street Journal and Roll Call

Vivian Salama / Wall Street Journal:
Biden to Sanction Hundreds of Russian Lawmakers, U.S. Officials Say

Discussion: New York Times, The Times of Israel, Outside the Beltway and Financial Times

Tom Mutch / New Lines Magazine: In Kharkiv's Rubble, Hatred for Russia Is Strong

Jack Detsch / Foreign Policy:
‘Winging It’: Russia Is Getting Its Generals Killed on the Front Lines

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Dispatch, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Daily Kos, HotAir, Chicago Boyz and Washington Post

New York Times:

Judging a Judge on Race and Crime, G.O.P. Plays to Base and Fringe — Grilling Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court, conservative senators painted her as a jurist who had coddled criminals and embraced “woke” education. — Give this article- - - Read in app

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Supreme Court Nominee Jackson's Support Tied for Highest — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Initial public support for judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation to the Supreme Court ties as the highest Gallup has measured for any recent nominee. Fifty-eight percent of Americans say the Senate should vote …

Discussion: CNN and Boston Herald

David Weigel / Washington Post:
The Trailer: How campaign rhetoric about child porn made it to the Supreme Court hearing

Discussion: Fox News, Politico, Balls and Strikes, National Review and Washington Examiner

Katie Rogers / New York Times:
Cruz and Jackson spar over antiracism curriculum at a private school.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Slate, Associated Press, Newsbusters, The Texas Tribune, The Hill, Washington Times, Bloomberg and Bolts

Kaelan Deese / Washington Examiner:
Graham walks out of Jackson's hearing after rant over indefinite detention at Gitmo

Fox News:
Ketanji Brown Jackson serves on board of school that promotes critical race theory

Discussion: Washington Examiner, BizPac Review, The Daily Wire, RedState, New York Magazine, TheBlaze, Breitbart, HuffPost, Washington Free Beacon and Mediaite

Quin Hillyer / Washington Examiner:
Judge Jackson actually sounds conservative. That's important.

Discussion: National Review, Politico, Slate, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and New York Times

Kaitlin Lange / Indianapolis Star:

Braun walks back comments that interracial marriage ruling should have been left to states … Sen. Mike Braun said during a media call Tuesday that the U.S. Supreme Court was wrong to legalize interracial marriage decades ago. — That decision should have been left to individual states, he said.

Mariel Padilla / The 19th:

Oklahoma's House passes a near-total abortion ban — Oklahoma took a step toward becoming the first state to ban most abortion — no matter how early in the pregnancy. — Oklahoma's state House on Tuesday voted 78-19 to pass a near complete ban on abortions, legislation that far surpasses Texas' six-week ban.

Discussion: KFOR-TV

Politico:

When Anna Wintour pissed off Kamala — Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice. — Tensions between Vice President KAMALA HARRIS and President JOE BIDEN and their teams began before inauguration …

Discussion: The Daily Wire, Insider, New York Post, RADAR, National Review, The Western Journal, Twitchy, Washington Examiner, Townhall, Louder With Crowder, The Daily Caller, RedState and Fox News

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Debra Meadows appears to have filed three false voter forms — “What we do know is a number of times as we have mail-in ballots, if there is not a chain of custody that goes from the voter to the ballot box, mischief can happen.” — Then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, in an interview on ABC's “This Week,” July 26, 2020

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Raw Story and Political Wire

Protean Magazine:

Motivated Reasoning: Emily Oster's COVID Narratives and the Attack on Public Education — Abigail Cartus, Ph.D, MPH Justin Feldman, Sc.D, MPH — Of the numerous political battles sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, some of the most bitterly contested have taken place over K-12 education.

Discussion: New Republic

Elizabeth Faddis / Washington Examiner:

Hillary Clinton tests positive for COVID-19 — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced on Tuesday evening that she has tested positive for COVID-19. — “I've got some mild cold symptoms but am feeling fine,” Clinton said in a statement posted to Twitter, adding that she was …

Discussion: BizPac Review, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, The Sun, RADAR, Deadline, New York Post, CBS News, The Daily Beast, Mercury News, Hollywood Reporter, America First Report, The Western Journal, ABC News, Insider, The Hill, Politico, ABC7, USA Today, Joe.My.God., NPR, UPI and Forbes

CNN:
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tests positive for Covid-19

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

Trump shares his misguided ideas for resolving the war in Ukraine — Trump suggested he had a secret plan to end the crisis in Ukraine. Now that he's elaborated on the details, he probably should've kept it under wraps. — About a month ago, a reporter asked Donald Trump …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Raw Story and Vanity Fair

New York Times:

Russia and Far-Right Americans Find Common Ground With Ukraine War — Some conservatives have echoed the Kremlin's misleading claims about the war and vice versa, giving each other's assertions a sheen of credibility. — After President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia claimed that action …

Discussion: Bloomberg, USA Today and Dominic's Newsletter

Dan Pfeiffer / The Message Box: Why the MAGA Movement Loves Putin

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

BuzzFeed investors have pushed CEO Jonah Peretti to shut down entire newsroom, sources say — Several large shareholders have urged BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti to shut down the company's news organization. — BuzzFeed News has won awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, but is now shrinking through voluntary buyouts.

Discussion: New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, Gawker, The Hill and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

A month into war, Putin's mind-set is complex — and dangerous — As the Ukraine war nears a month of brutal fighting, Vladimir Putin is obsessed with Ukraine, angry at his generals, paranoid about enemies at home and abroad, and wrapping his bloody deeds in spiritual language almost mystical in its vision of Russia's past and future.

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Trump's vendetta against Kemp escalates ahead of his Georgia rally — Donald Trump's vow to exact revenge on Brian Kemp has morphed into an all-out effort to also punish the governor's closest allies. — For the second time in as many weeks, the former president endorsed …

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

Aleksei Navalny Found Guilty of Fraud by Russian Court — A Russian court sentenced Aleksei A. Navalny to nine years in a high-security prison on Tuesday, imposing a new punishment on the imprisoned opposition leader at a time when the war in Ukraine has made him even more of a liability for President Vladimir V. Putin.

Discussion: The Times of Israel, The Moscow Times, Washington Examiner and Reuters

Henry Olsen / Washington Post:

Mitt Romney's refusal to endorse Mike Lee is a betrayal of his party — Trump acolytes have long labeled Sen. Mitt Romney a “RINO” — “Republican in Name Only.” This is an unfair charge, given Romney's conservative credentials. But Romney is lending credence to his critics by not endorsing …

Discussion: Today's Edition Newsletter

Hannah Rabinowitz / CNN:

Capitol riot suspect is granted refugee status in Belarus after fleeing US — Jan. 6th rioter flees US for asylum in Belarus — (CNN)A US Capitol riot suspect who fled the United States has been granted refugee status in Belarus, according to Belarusian state-owned television BelTA.

Discussion: Morning Before Work