Ukraine War: Russia warns Sweden and Finland against Nato membership  —  Russia has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato, arguing the move would not bring stability to Europe.  —  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation”.

The Backlash Over Trump's Dr. Oz Endorsement Shows His Hold on the GOP Is Slipping  —  MAGA-world's disappointment in their Dear Leader could mean they're getting ready to move on. … Donald Trump's recent endorsement of Dr. Mehmet Oz in the Republican primary race for U.S. Senate …

Why American Teens Are So Sad  —  Sign up for Derek's newsletter here.  —  The United States is experiencing an extreme teenage mental-health crisis.  From 2009 to 2021, the share of American high-school students who say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” …

Abby Finkenauer can't appear on Democratic primary ballot, Iowa judge rules … U.S. Senate candidate Abby Finkenauer cannot appear on Iowa's June 7 Democratic primary ballot, a judge ruled Sunday.  —  The late night ruling, which reverses a state panel's decision, is a major setback for Finkenauer …

Has US Rep. Kai Kahele Given Up On Washington?  —  WASHINGTON — When Kai Kahele announced he was running for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District in 2019, he vowed one thing to his future constituents — that he'd show up and do the job.  —  It was a stark contrast to the person who was sitting in the seat at the time.

White House says it expects inflation to be ‘extraordinarily elevated’ in new report  — The Biden administration is bracing for the Labor Department's consumer price index report to show that inflation is “extraordinarily elevated.”  — The consumer price index, or CPI, is one of Wall Street's favorite ways to measure inflation.

Karen Bass and Rick Caruso in dead heat, L.A. mayoral poll finds  —  Voters upset over crime and a seemingly limitless geyser of cash have propelled Rick Caruso to the front of the race for mayor, reshaping the contest and offering Los Angeles a stark contrast between the billionaire developer and his chief rival, Rep. Karen Bass.

NRA slams Biden's ‘hollow’ ghost gun rule, not ‘sincere’ until criminals are put behind bars  —  The Biden administration plans to reclassify gun kits to qualify as firearms  —  Biden administration to crackdown on ‘ghost guns’  —  The NRA slammed the Biden administration's expected …

What happens when a group of Fox News viewers watch CNN for a month?  —  A study that paid viewers of the rightwing cable network to switch shed light on the media's influence on people's views  —  atching Fox News can be like entering an alternative universe.

The city of Philadelphia will reinstate an indoor mask mandate, the first major U.S. city to do so this spring.  —  With new coronavirus cases low but rising sharply in recent days, the city of Philadelphia announced on Monday that it will reinstate an indoor mask mandate a little more than a month …

I Commanded U.S. Army Europe.  Here's What I Saw in the Russian and Ukrainian Armies.  —  The two armies at war today couldn't be more different.  —  In March 2011, I began a new posting as the Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, in command of all U.S. Army forces stationed in various countries throughout Europe.

Trump and Ukraine: Former Advisers Revisit What Happened  —  Amid the current crisis, Fiona Hill and other former advisers are connecting President Trump's pressure campaign on Ukraine to Jan. 6.  And they're ready to talk.  —  To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Stung by redistricting rulings, Republicans target state court elections  —  Republicans are vowing to spend record amounts in key state supreme court races this fall, seeking to take advantage of a favorable national political environment to elect conservative judges at the state level amid deep political divisions.

The Lerner family will explore selling the Washington Nationals  —  The family of real estate magnate Ted Lerner, which 16 years ago purchased the Washington Nationals from Major League Baseball and oversaw a rebuilding process that eventually resulted in a World Series championship …

Russia Airs Its Ultimate ‘Revenge Plan’ for America  —  Battered and infuriated by sanctions over the war in Ukraine, Putin's henchmen are plotting their master plan for revenge on live television.  —  As Russia's war of aggression continues to ravage its neighbor, the Kremlin's propaganda apparatus …

The new White House rule: Do not talk about Joe Manchin  —  The fate of President Joe Biden's domestic agenda may hinge on his administration's ability to do one simple thing: Shut up.  —  Four months after Biden's Build Back Better plan collapsed amid a bitter back-and-forth with Sen. Joe Manchin …

What I wish I'd known when I was 19 and had sex reassignment surgery  —  Corinna Cohn, a software developer in Indianapolis, is an officer in the Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network.  —  When I was 19, I had surgery for sex reassignment, or what is now called gender affirmation surgery.

Democrats are sleepwalking into a Senate disaster  —  Business as usual will produce a huge GOP majority … Traditionally, the President's party averages roughly 47.5% of the two-party vote 1 in midterms.  Right now, in FiveThirtyEight's average of public polls, Democrats are polling at 48.7%.

As Remote Work Becomes Permanent, Can Manhattan Adapt?  —  With more companies adopting hybrid work, New York City's economy, which relies on commuters and full office buildings, faces an uncertain future.  —  PwC, a global consulting firm with its American headquarters in New York City …

Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt, says S&P  —  London (CNN Business)Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt because it offered bondholders payments in rubles, not dollars, credit ratings agency S&P has said.  —  Russia attempted to pay in rubles for two dollar-denominated bonds …

Bucha's Month of Terror  —  ‘They shot my son.  I was next to him.  It would be better if it had been me.’  —  As the Russian advance on Kyiv stalled, a campaign of terror and revenge against civilians nearby in Bucha began, survivors and investigators say.  —  Russian soldiers set up in this school.

New York Latest To Lift Hurdle To Nurse Practitioners During Pandemic  —  New York is the latest in a growing number of states giving direct access to nurse practitioners thanks to legislation eliminating hurdles for patients who need primary care, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Distraught over orders to investigate trans kids' families, Texas child welfare workers are resigning  —  Other investigators don't want to follow an order they believe harms families but worry about the impact of a mass employee exodus on the state's most vulnerable children.  —  Copy link

Florida lawmakers cave to DeSantis on redistricting and will defer to him with new map  —  (CNN)Republican legislative leaders in Florida have given up trying to draw new congressional boundaries that can win Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature and, in an unprecedented move, announced Monday …

Malinowski has colossal $1 million first-quarter fundraising haul  —  Democratic congressman's cash-on-hand now at $3.5 million  —  Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) raised an astronomical $1.06 million during the first quarter of 2022 and has a massive $3.5 million warchest in his bid for re-election in New Jersey's 7th district.