Russian forces are partly encircled in the town of Lyman, a pro-Kremlin proxy leader says.  —  RIGHT NOW Ukraine submits application to join NATO, with big hurdles ahead. … Putin's speech on annexation paints a stark picture of a face-off with the West.  —  President Vladimir V. Putin …

Gerrymandering Isn't Giving Republicans the Advantage You Might Expect  —  Yes, the G.O.P. has a structural edge in the House, but it isn't anything near insurmountable for Democrats.  —  There is no shortage of reasons Republicans are expected to retake the House this year …

Georgia and Nevada on their minds: Senate watchers sweat two swing states  —  The Democratic and Republican campaign chiefs agree on one thing about the battle for the Senate majority: Nevada and Georgia are at the center.  —  “If you look at the polls, Nevada and Georgia are the two logical ones” …

You thought the Supreme Court's last term was bad?  Brace yourself.  —  The cataclysmic Supreme Court term that included the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion and the end of constitutional protection for abortion would, in the normal ebb and flow, be followed by a period of quiet …

'It's My Curse and My Salvation': Trump's Most Famous Chronicler Opens Up  —  NEW YORK — Late one recent afternoon, Maggie Haberman pulled into a parking spot in the lot at Gargiulo's, the old-time Italian restaurant in Coney Island where Donald Trump's father used to eat lunch.

Dysfunction in Texas AG's office as Paxton seeks third term  —  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's staff this month quietly dropped a series of human trafficking and child sexual assault cases after losing track of one of the victims, a stumble in open court emblematic of broader dysfunction inside …

Trevor Noah to Exit ‘Daily Show’ After Seven Years  —  Trevor Noah is nearing his last laugh on “The Daily Show.”  —  The comedian, who came out of near anonymity to take over the program from Jon Stewart in 2015, plans to exit the flagship Comedy Central series after a seven-year tenure …

Trump's legal team divided over how to handle Mar-a-Lago case  —  New lawyer's advice to seek an ‘off-ramp’ with Justice Department is not being heeded, people familiar with discussions say  —  After attorney Christopher Kise accepted $3 million to represent Donald Trump in the FBI's investigation …

Trump made up audit excuse for not releasing tax returns on fly, book says  —  In eagerly awaited book Confidence Man, Maggie Haberman of the New York Times depicts scene on campaign plane in 2016  —  According to a new book, Donald Trump came up with his famous excuse for not releasing …

The Pandemic's Legacy Is Already Clear  —  Recently, after a week in which 2,789 Americans died of COVID-19, President Joe Biden proclaimed that “the pandemic is over.”  Anthony Fauci described the controversy around the proclamation as a matter of “semantics,” but the facts we are living with can speak for themselves.

It's “Oppo Dump” O'Clock: OH-09 Moves from Toss Up to Lean Democrat  —  With less than six weeks to go, it's “oppo dump” o'clock — the time when both parties start unleashing their most damning opposition research about the other side's candidates on the airwaves or leaking it to friendly (or curious) media outlets.

It Isn't Journalism's Job To Hand-Hold People To The Correct Moral Conclusions  —  Stop hating your readers  —  One of the silliest ideas to infect mainstream journalism in recent years is the notion that when journalists produce work about a bad person, they must signpost that work …

Pennsylvania 2022: Fetterman's Lead Shrinks in US Senate Race; Shapiro's Lead Expands For Governor's Seat  —  Home Polls Pennsylvania 2022: Fetterman's Lead Shrinks in US Senate Race; Shapiro's Lead Expands For Governor's Seat  —  The latest Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey …

A Prominent Federal Judge Declares He Will No Longer Hire Clerks From Yale Law School  —  And he's trying to get his fellow judges to join his boycott of YLS clerks—will it work? … Actions have consequences.  And the problematic actions of Yale Law School when it comes to free speech …

The Curious Case of Donald Bolduc  —  Is it time to rethink the political flip-flop?  —  Everyone who votes—really, everyone who so much as watches an occasional late-night monologue—is familiar with the political flip-flop.  A politician takes a position that turns out to be less advantageous …

Gavin Newsom's trolling deftly unmasks Ron DeSantis's cruelty  —  It's hard to deny that Gov. Gavin Newsom harbors garish and even cringeworthy presidential ambitions.  The California Democrat regularly trolls Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a top 2024 GOP contender, and Newsom surely knows playing foil …

The Crisis of Men and Boys  —  If you've been paying attention to the social trends, you probably have some inkling that boys and men are struggling, in the U.S. and across the globe.  —  They are struggling in the classroom.  American girls are 14 percentage points more likely to be …

NYC human rights officials are ‘closely monitoring’ allegations against the owner of a gay bar  —  NBC News previously reported that Michael J. Cohen was accused of unwanted sexual conduct and discrimination.  Cohen's attorney said he is not under investigation.

At least 12 confirmed dead as the scope of Hurricane Ian's devastation comes into focus  —  Hurricane Ian leaves Florida's southwest coast unrecognizable  —  At least 12 people have died after Hurricane Ian tore across Florida with such ferocity that President Joe Biden said it could be the deadliest in state history.