memeorandum: Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine nearly one year after Russia's invasion (Peter Nicholas/NBC News)

10:55 AM ET, February 20, 2023

Top Items:

Biden Visits Kyiv, Ukraine's Embattled Capital, as Air-Raid Siren Sounds — President Biden took a nearly 10-hour train ride from the border of Poland to show his administration's “unwavering support” a year into Russia's invasion of Ukraine. — KYIV, Ukraine — President Biden …

Washington Post:

On surprise trip to Kyiv, Biden vows enduring support for Ukraine — KYIV, Ukraine — President Biden made a dramatic, unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday, in a display of robust American support for Ukraine just four days before the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. — Are you on Telegram?

Associated Press:

Biden declares ‘Kyiv stands’ in surprise visit to Ukraine — 1 of 21 — President Joe Biden paid an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Monday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a defiant display of Western solidarity with a country still fighting what he called “a brutal and unjust war” …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, The Post Millennial, Digby's Hullabaloo, New York Daily News, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, The Periscope, USA Today, WGN-TV and Florida Politics

New York Times:

One Year Into War, Putin Is Crafting the Russia He Craves — In Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin's invasion has met setback after setback. But its effect at home has been very different. — Anton Troianovski reported this article from Berlin, and Valerie Hopkins from Moscow.

Discussion: NPR, Washington Post, Insider, Informed Comment, The Sun, Washington Post, CBS News, Daily Mail, Los Angeles Times and The Guardian

Peter Nicholas / NBC News:

Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine nearly one year after Russia's invasion — AMSTERDAM — President Joe Biden made a surprise and historic visit to war-torn Ukraine on Monday, a show of support and solidarity with a democratic nation battling for its survival after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded nearly a year ago.

Discussion: Fox News, Mediaite, Washington Post, BBC, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, TMZ.com, The Sun, UPI, USA Today, Al Jazeera, Forbes, New York Daily News, The Hill, NPR, Associated Press and Politico

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

White House gave Russia heads-up about Biden's Ukraine visit for ‘deconfliction purposes’ — The White House provided Russian officials with advance warning that President Biden would be traveling to Ukraine to mark the approaching anniversary of Russia's invasion to avoid escalating tensions, administration officials said Monday.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Fox News

The White House:

Statement from President Joe Biden on Travel to Kyiv, Ukraine — As the world prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, I am in Kyiv today to meet with President Zelenskyy and reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine's democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

Discussion: Bloomberg, ABC News, Reuters, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams, Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit, Insider, National Review, CNBC, Fox News, Associated Press, Politico and CBS News

Financial Times:
Western pleas over Ukraine fail to sway African and South American leaders

Discussion: Bloomberg and Insider

Financial Times:
Poland calls for Nato security guarantees to postwar Ukraine

Discussion: Fox News and UnHerd

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: McCarthy gives Tucker Carlson access to trove of Jan. 6 riot tape — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has given Fox News' Tucker Carlson exclusive access to 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 riot, McCarthy sources tell me. — Carlson TV producers …

more at Mediagazer »

Natasha Korecki / NBC News:

From the Midwest, progressive J.B. Pritzker launches anti-Ron DeSantis flares — CHICAGO — He's a governor who talks tough about Covid, has pleaded with to the College Board about an AP African American studies course and is outspoken on the issue of abortion.

Discussion: The Hill, The Last Refuge and The Gateway Pundit

Jeffrey S. Solochek / Tampa Bay Times:
4 things to know about Ron DeSantis' idea to slash AP courses in Florida

Discussion: Washington Post and Los Angeles Times

Erin Doherty / Axios:

Michigan GOP selects 2020 election denier as party leader — The Michigan Republican Party on Saturday selected Kristina Karamo, who denied the 2020 election results and has not conceded her 14-point loss in the 2022 midterm election for Michigan secretary of state, to be its next state chair.

Discussion: Associated Press, Michigan Advance, Reuters, Raw Story, RedState, Nikki Haley's Road …, New York Magazine, MLive.com, Detroit Free Press and Mercury News

Rolling Stone:

Charges Against Trump Lawyer ‘Very Likely,’ Colleagues Warn Donald — As the feds continue to probe the ex-president's handling of confidential documents, his legal team is urging him to distance himself from one of his top attorneys … Some of the former president's lawyers …

Discussion: Raw Story

Scott Jaschik / Inside Higher Ed:

Professor's Job Endangered for Teaching About Race — Scholar at Palm Beach Atlantic University says he's been accused of indoctrinating students. — (Palm Beach Atlantic U) — An English professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University said his teaching contract has been put on hold …

Ankit Panda / NK PRO:

North Korea's latest ICBM launch signals new phase of long-range missile drills — Military reportedly launched Hwasong-15 on short notice, as DPRK shifts focus from development to operational exercises — North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch of 2023 wasn't a test; it was an exercise.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Associated Press, El País, CBS News, Bloomberg, UPI, WGN-TV, KCNA Watch, TASS, HotAir, Al Jazeera, Reuters, The Hill, Fox News, New York Times, Breitbart and Sputnik News

Amanda Chu / Financial Times:

Joe Biden's planned US building boom imperilled by labour shortage — Half a million more construction workers needed as public money floods into infrastructure and clean energy — A shortage of construction workers is putting at risk the Biden administration's ambitious plan to fuel …

Lachlan Cartwright / The Daily Beast:

Don Lemon Benched on Monday Over Sexist Remark Scandal, Insiders Say — CNN sources told Confider that the network changed its Monday lineup to proceed without Lemon while “conversations about Don's future” are ongoing. … Don Lemon will not appear Monday on CNN This Morning as his future …

Discussion: HotAir, Mediaite, Breitbart, Louder With Crowder, Deadline, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, New York Post, The Western Journal, Variety, RedState, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Fox News, TMZ.com, The Post Millennial and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Bharatha Mallawarachi / Associated Press:

Sri Lankan police disperse protesters demanding election — 1 of 5 — Sri Lankan police fired tear gas and a water cannon at opposition supporters who marched in the capital on Monday demanding that the government hold next month's local council elections as planned.

Discussion: Bloomberg

Eduardo Medina / New York Times:

Councilman Who Uses a Wheelchair Is Asked to Hoist Himself Onto a Debate Stage — A Denver city councilman who is paralyzed from the chest down said he felt like a “circus monkey” trying to climb onto a stage that was not accessible by wheelchair. — A debate for Denver's District 10 City Council seat …

Discussion: Fox News

Dana Defosse / HuffPost:

I Coined The Term ‘Cisgender’ 29 Years Ago. Here's What This Controversial Word Really Means. — “Before now, I have not spoken publicly, or even disclosed my role in the origin of the word cisgender to anyone beyond a few close friends and colleagues.” — I coined the term “cisgender” in 1994.

Soleil Ho / San Francisco Chronicle:
The New York Times can't stop doubling down on its dangerous obsession with trans people

Discussion: Common Dreams and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Laurence Norman / Wall Street Journal:

Near Weapons-Grade Enriched Uranium Detected in Iran — Diplomats say they had been informed Iran doesn't appear to be accumulating a stockpile of 84% material — United Nations atomic agency inspectors have detected uranium that has been enriched to near weapons-grade in Iran in recent weeks …

Discussion: Al Jazeera

Jonathan Tirone / Bloomberg:
Iran's Uranium Enrichment Hits a New High, Testing Diplomacy

Discussion: Reuters, Sputnik News, Haaretz, The Dispatch, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Fox News, TASS and Japan Times

Gary Leff / View from the Wing:

United's New Family Seating Policy Helps Customers, Hurts Competitors, And Curries Political Favor — United Airlines airlines has announced a new family seating policy that makes it easier for families to have assigned seats together without extra cost. This puts them out ahead of competitors …

Garrett M. Graff / New York Times:

What Ford's Pardon of Nixon Means (and Doesn't Mean) for Trump — The release on Thursday of parts of a report from a grand jury in Georgia that investigated election interference by Donald Trump and his allies offers the most recent evidence of his growing legal exposure.

Discussion: Raw Story

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel / Washington Post:

40 years of debt: Student loan borrowers' struggles expose flaws in system — When C.W. Hamilton took out his first student loan in 1977, the Education Department wasn't even a federal agency. The $5,250 he borrowed to complete an associate's degree at Cochise College in Arizona was supposed …

Discussion: Insider, The Hill and New Jersey Online, more at Mediagazer »