Live Updates: At Least 39 Killed in Strike on Train Station, Ukraine Says, as Thousands Flee From East  —  The station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk had been a main point of evacuation as the region braced for a scaling up of Russia's offensive.  The European Union formally approved …

Expulsion of Russian ‘diplomats’ may strangle Moscow's spying  —  In the international game of spy vs. spy, Europe has dealt Russia a potentially crippling blow.  —  Nearly two dozen European countries have expelled hundreds of Russian government personnel from embassies …

‘Gutted’: Inside the Manhattan DA's Unraveling Trump Probe  —  The Manhattan DA's case against Donald Trump increasingly seems to be going nowhere. … Over the last several weeks, the Manhattan District Attorney's investigation into former President Donald Trump has appeared to be unraveling …

F.B.I. Preparing to Investigate How Classified Material Went to Trump's Home  —  Federal authorities want to know more about how sensitive national security information came to be in 15 boxes of documents and mementos sent to Mar-a-Lago from the White House.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

Rep. Gonzales on how the GOP can win more Hispanic voters  —  Good morning, Early Birds.  Congress has skipped town, but we're still here.  Send us your best tips: earlytips@washpost.com.  Thanks for waking up with us.  —  In today's edition: Why Black voters who celebrated Ketanji Brown …

Yakuza Boss Arrested at Manhattan Steakhouse for Alleged Rockets-for-Heroin Scheme  —  “The drugs were destined for New York streets, and the weapons shipments were meant for factions in unstable nations.”  —  A Japanese organized crime kingpin conspired to broker massive deals …

Men accused of impersonating federal agents being investigated for possible ties to Iranian intelligence  —  The two men accused of impersonating federal agents over the course of several years will remain in jail pending a detention hearing Friday, a federal magistrate judge ruled Thursday.

‘If we do this right...’: The new Dem organizing strategy catching fire ahead of the midterms  —  A group of Democratic strategists is trying to spread a novel organizing tactic in this year's election.  Technically, it's called “paid relational organizing,” but it boils down to this …

GEICO apologizes, reverses course after inviting Linda Sarsour to speak at company event  —  The pro-Palestinian activist has been widely accused of anti-Semitism  —  Property and casualty insurer GEICO landed in hot water with several Jewish advocacy groups this week after inviting pro-Palestinian activist …

If the Senate can't help workers, maybe unions and states can  —  For now, legislative proposals to reduce costs and improve the lives of workers, such as expanding paid leave, subsidizing child care and making prekindergarten universal, is kaput.  Support for such a comprehensive package …

Texas leads among 26 states with book bans, free speech group says  —  (CNN)More than a 1,000 books have been banned in 86 school districts in 26 states across the United States, a new PEN America analysis shows.  —  PEN America, a literary and free expression advocacy organization …

Journalism's Twitter Problem Is the Journalists  —  Today, New York Times honcho Dean Baquet ordered a company-wide “reset” in how his staff should think about Twitter.  Mostly, he'd like them to never look at it again.  —  You can see why.  Most of the people who work for him are very bad …

Disrupting cyberattacks targeting Ukraine  —  Tom Burt - Corporate Vice President, Customer Security & Trust  —  Today, we're sharing more about cyberattacks we've seen from a Russian nation-state actor targeting Ukraine and steps we've taken to disrupt it.

Request for investigation sent before alleged abuse by Greitens  —  Missouri state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed grew concerned enough about Gov. Eric Greitens' potential for violence in April 2018 that she sent a letter asking the Department of Public Safety to investigate rumors of an incident involving …

The Gridiron Club outbreak shows what living with covid-19 looks like  —  At least a dozen high-profile guests who attended Saturday's Gridiron Club dinner have tested positive for the coronavirus, including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Reps. Adam B. Schiff …

Supreme Court Highlights: Senate Confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson  —  The 53-47 vote elevated the first Black woman to the pinnacle of the judicial branch as senators erupted in cheers.  Three Republicans joined Democrats in supporting President Biden's nominee.  —  Here's what you need to know:

As Ukraine braces for a second round, the West has a duty to step up  —  With the second bloody round of the war in Ukraine about to begin, the West should step up its assistance and move quickly to provide Kyiv with heavier weapons to resist a savage new Russian assault on the southeastern part of the country.

U.S. cracks down on Russian airlines after flights violated export controls  —  The U.S. Commerce Department stepped up its crackdown against Russian airlines on Thursday, slapping Aeroflot (AFLT.MM), Azur Air, and UTair (UTAR.MM) with enforcement actions for violating American export controls issued after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Right-wing populists are thriving — even when they're friends of Putin  —  When Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, a wide variety of commentators believed there was at least one silver lining in this catastrophic cloud.  Vladimir Putin's assault on the liberal order, they hoped …

Is Trump's hold on the GOP waning?  We're about to find out.  —  The former president will see his influence tested in a series of primaries.  —  A former president who famously claimed he would win so much that his followers would be “sick and tired of winning” faces the prospect of something …

Alabama Lawmakers Approve Ban on Medical Care for Transgender Youth  —  Legislators also approved a measure restricting discussion of L.G.B.T.Q. issues in public schools.  — Give this article- - - Read in app  —  Alabama lawmakers voted on Thursday to criminalize medical care …

Eric Boehlert Got Everything Right About Our Petty, Self-Congratulating Media  —  From his early coverage of political reporters' savaging Al Gore to his incisive critique of their Joe Biden coverage right before he died, he got it.  And he will be missed.  —  I am brokenhearted over the news …