March 7, 2022

Afternoon Update:

From the Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine, also linked earlier today: "A third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine ended without a breakthrough, Ukrainian officials said, as Russia continues to press Ukraine to give up Crimea and a large slice of eastern Ukraine as a condition for Russian to stop its attacks. The talks, which began as the war entered its 12th day, yielded some progress in logistical arrangements for local cease-fires and evacuation corridors, said Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak after several days of failed efforts to enable civilians to safely leave areas under Russian attack. 'So far, there weren't results that significantly improve the situation,' said Podolyak.... Moscow is turning to Syria to help fuel its war effort as 'nearly 100 percent' of Russian troops pre-positioned around Ukraine have been sent into the country to fight, according to a senior U.S. defense official. 'We know that they're trying to recruit Syrians for the fight,' the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity...."

Yuras Karmanau of the AP: "The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine deepened Monday as Russian forces intensified their shelling and food, water, heat and medicine grew increasingly scarce, in what the country condemned as a medieval-style siege by Moscow to batter it into submission.... In one of the most desperate cities, the encircled southern port of Mariupol, an estimated 200,000 people were hoping to flee, and Red Cross officials waited to hear when a corridor would be established. The city is short on water, food and power, and cellphone networks are down. Stores have been looted as residents search for essential goods.... In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, heavy shelling slammed into apartment buildings....Russian forces also continued their offensive in Mykolaiv, opening fire on the city some 480 kilometers (300 miles) south of Kyiv, according to Ukraine's military. Rescuers said they were putting out fires caused by rocket attacks in residential areas."

Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Senior congressional Democrats and Republicans on Monday announced they had reached a deal on a bill that would punish Russia for invading Ukraine, as they seek to ban U.S. imports of Russian oil while further empowering President Biden to impose tariffs on the country's products. The announcement evinced the vast new flurry of legislative activity on Capitol Hill, even as lawmakers began to warn that the U.S. strategy threatened to further raise the cost of gas and other goods. Unveiled by the top lawmakers overseeing tax and trade on Capitol Hill, the new, bipartisan agreement would limit Russian energy imports, suspend normal trade relations between the U.S. and the Kremlin and task the Biden administration to seek Russia's suspension from the World Trade Organization. The trade penalties would also apply to Belarus.... The proposed package of punishments is only one prong of a broader congressional response to the rapidly worsening crisis in Ukraine."

David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: "In less than a week, the United States and NATO have pushed more than 17,000 antitank weapons, including Javelin missiles, over the borders of Poland and Romania, unloading them from giant military cargo planes so they can make the trip by land to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, and other major cities. So far, Russian forces have been so preoccupied in other parts of the country that they have not targeted the arms supply lines, but few think that can last." U.S. "cybermission teams' also are conducting defensive & offensive cyber-warfare on Ukraine's behalf. "It is, in many ways, a more complex effort than the Berlin airlift three-quarters of a century ago.... U.S. officials say Ukrainian leaders have told them that American and other allied weaponry is making a difference on the battlefield."

Dino Grandoni of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration on Monday proposed curbing pollution pouring out of the tailpipes of new tractor-trailers, buses and other heavy-duty vehicles that forms smog, along with emissions warming the planet. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule to cut the emission of nitrogen oxides -- poisonous and reactive gases that can cause asthma attacks -- from engines in some of the biggest vehicles on roadways. In the same proposal, the agency will also consider further limiting the amount of carbon dioxide these vehicles spew into the air. The proposed smog rule marks the first update to heavy-duty tailpipe standards in two decades and comes as Biden is seeking ways to advance his environmental agenda outside Congress. The standards would apply to not only huge 18-wheelers hauling freight on highways, but also many school buses, delivery vans and moving trucks."

David Rising of the AP: "The official global death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 6 million on Monday -- underscoring that the pandemic, now entering its third year, is far from over. The milestone, recorded by Johns Hopkins University, is the latest tragic reminder of the unrelenting nature of the pandemic even as people are shedding masks, travel is resuming and businesses are reopening around the globe."

Graham Bowley of the New York Times: "The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the bid by prosecutors in Pennsylvania to reinstate Bill Cosby's criminal conviction for sexual assault. In an order issued Monday, the court said that it had declined to hear the case filed by prosecutors last November.... The Supreme Court's decision leaves in place a ruling by an appellate court in Pennsylvania earlier last year that overturned Mr. Cosby's conviction on due process grounds. In June, Mr. Cosby walked free after serving less than three years of a three-to-10-year prison sentence."

Donald Trump writes a letter to NBC News' Lester Holt. Via Axios. ~~~

~~~ Scott Stump of NBC's "Today": "Former Attorney General Bill Barr has been called 'lazy' and 'cowardly' by ... Donald Trump, while Barr has described Trump as 'off the rails' and called his push to discredit the 2020 election 'a farce.' Yet despite the ugly back and forth between the two, Barr said on TODAY Monday that he would still vote for Trump in the 2024 presidential election if Trump becomes the Republican nominee. 'Because I believe that the greatest threat to the country is the progressive agenda being pushed by the Democratic Party, it's inconceivable to me that I wouldn't vote for the Republican nominee,' Barr told Savannah Guthrie." MB Translation: "Child care tax credits are far more dangerous than a lunatic with his finger on the nuclear button & an itch to push it to see what happens."

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Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Ukraine on Monday to expect a renewed bombardment of major cities, as Russian forces attempt to renew their assault after being stalled by stiff resistance and suffering unexpected heavy losses.Before dawn, a huge explosion on the outskirts of the coastal city of Mykolaiv lit up the sky and artillery fire rang out as Russian troops continue their push to take the city, a vital point on the road to Odessa. Here are the latest developments[.]" ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Russia said Monday morning it would allow the evacuation of civilians from several Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, and hard-hit Kharkiv and Mariupol, through humanitarian corridors -- an assertion that was immediately cast into doubt by some local leaders who said there were no confirmations of a temporary cease-fire. Ukraine accused Russia of disrupting two previous attempts to evacuate civilians over the weekend, and the latest announcement from Moscow came as its forces continued to bombard airfields and encircle cities across Ukraine.... Ukraine is set to ask the United Nations' highest court on Monday to intervene to halt Moscow's invasion. Ukraine's suit argues that Russia relied on false claims of genocide in two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed rebels have battled Kyiv for years, in an attempt to justify its invasion. The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is based in The Hague and adjudicates legal disputes between states. Its rulings are legally binding, although it has no real way of enforcing them." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Monday are here. CNN's live updates are here.

Mike Corder of the AP: "Russia has snubbed a hearing at the United Nations' top court into a legal bid by Kyiv to halt Moscow's devastating invasion of Ukraine. A row of seats reserved for Russian lawyers at the International Court of Justice was empty Monday morning as the hearing opened.... The hearing went ahead without the Russian delegation."

Lynsey Addario & Andrew Kramer of the New York Times describe Russian troops murdering a family trying to cross a bridge over the Irpin River into Kyiv. "A mother and her two children lay still on the roadway, along with a family friend.... Only a handful of Ukrainian troops were near the bridge when mortar shells began raining down. The soldiers there were not engaged in combat but in helping refugees carry their children and luggage toward the capital. The attack at the bridge was witnessed by a New York Times team, including the photojournalist Lynsey Addario, a security adviser and Andriy Dubchak, a freelance journalist who filmed the scene." ~~~

~~~ An Ode to Ukraine, by Volodymyr Zelensky" ~~~

Written down like this Zelenskiy's address tonight reads like a powerful poem. pic.twitter.com/R915iHzc0v

— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) March 6, 2022

Via the Guardian's live updates: ~~~

Road sign in Odessa

Straight on: fuck off
Left: fuck off again
Right: fuck off to Russia pic.twitter.com/2c1dzKxno9

— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) March 7, 2022

Adam Taylor of the Washington Post: "After over a week of devastating war, the race is on to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. But what world leader could earn the trust of both ... Vladimir Putin, whose Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine suggests a paranoid and aggrieved mind-set, and his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who has made clear he is willing to fight to the end for his country?... Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited Moscow this weekend for an unannounced meeting with Putin. Bennett later said Sunday that he was in touch with both Russia and Ukraine and that he hoped to help broker peace.... Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a call with Putin on Sunday.... Turkey has also said it hopes to host both Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers at a diplomacy conference in Antalya that begins Friday. Reuters reports both Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine's Dmytro Kuleba have accepted the offer, though it is not clear if either will be able to attend."

Stephen Collinson of CNN: "Millions of lives could be destroyed to slake Vladimir Putin's Cold War obsession. Less than three weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- a historic outrage 30 years in the making -- the world is looking on in horror at the barbarity, human tragedy, appalling destruction and worldwide reverberations sparked by one man's orders. Ukraine's fate starkly underlines that even 20 years into the 21st century and despite the world's vows to learn from history, a lone autocrat who has ruthlessly fashioned a political system to eliminate dissent and reality itself has the power to cause unfathomable human loss and misery.... Sooner or later, the outside world may find itself looking on at a massacre it was powerless to prevent. This terrible possibility was raised in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's latest heartbreaking appeal for help on Sunday."

Shane Harris, et al., of the Washington Post: "The ways that Western countries would support a Ukrainian resistance are beginning to take shape. Officials have been reluctant to discuss detailed plans, since they're premised on a Russian military victory that, however likely, hasn't happened yet. But as a first step, Ukraine's allies are planning how to help establish and support a government-in-exile, which could direct guerrilla operations against Russian occupiers, according to several U.S. and European officials. The weapons the United States has provided to Ukraine's military, and that continue to flow into the country, would be crucial to the success of an insurgent movement, officials said.... The possible Russian takeover of Kyiv has prompted a flurry of planning at the State Department, Pentagon and other U.S. agencies in the event that the Zelensky government has to flee the capital or the country itself." A CNN story is here.

Russia Sabotages Iran Nuclear Deal. Patrick Wintour of the Guardian: "Russia has been accused of trying to take the Iran nuclear deal hostage as part of its wider battle with the west over Ukraine, after it threw a last-minute spanner into plans for an agreement to lift a swathe of US economic sanctions on Tehran. After months of negotiations in Vienna, a revised deal was expected to be reached within days under which US sanctions would be lifted in return for Tehran returning to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear nonproliferation deal. But diplomatic efforts have been sent into a tailspin by Russia's unexpected demand for written guarantees that its economic trade with Iran will be exempted from US sanctions imposed on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine.... The west is almost certain to reject the demand since it would open a huge loophole in the sanctions regime. It would then be up to Moscow whether to veto the nuclear deal altogether."

Brittany Shammas & Reis Thebault of the Washington Post: "More than 4,500 protesters were arrested Sunday at antiwar demonstrations across Russia, according to the independent human rights organization OVD-Info, as people risked jail time to denounce the nation's war with Ukraine. The scenes joined other displays of defiance in a country that has continued to clamp down on opposition to the invasion. Crowds chanted 'No to war!' while streaming through Moscow and St. Petersburg in a pair of videos posted to Twitter. In another, a demonstrator being hauled away by law enforcement sang Ukraine's anthem." ~~~

~~~ BUT. Valerie Hopkins of the New York Times: "As Ukrainians deal with the devastation of the Russian attacks in their homeland, many are also encountering a confounding and almost surreal backlash from family members in Russia, who refuse to believe that Russian soldiers could bomb innocent people, or even that a war is taking place at all. These relatives have essentially bought into the official Kremlin position: that ... Vladimir V. Putin's army is conducting a limited 'special military operation' with the honorable mission of "de-Nazifying" Ukraine. Mr. Putin has referred to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, a native Russian speaker with a Jewish background, as a 'drug-addled Nazi' in his attempts to justify the invasion. Those narratives are emerging amid a wave of disinformation emanating from the Russian state as the Kremlin moves to clamp down on independent news reporting while shaping the messages most Russians are receiving."

Alyssa Lukpat & Zach Montague of the New York Times: "The military base in Maryland that the president and the vice president use to travel to and from Washington was put on lockdown on Sunday night when two people, at least one of whom was armed, bypassed a security checkpoint at about the time that Vice President Kamala Harris and four Cabinet members landed there, military officials said. The two people drove through the checkpoint at the main gate and 'failed to adhere to commands of security personnel,' Joint Base Andrews in Prince George's County, Md., said in a statement on Sunday night. The authorities at the base, in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, stopped the intruders' vehicle with 'barriers,' but they fled, the statement said. One of them was apprehended, and hours later, after a full sweep of the base, officials said they had found evidence the second intruder had 'departed the installation.'" A New York Post story is here. ~~~

      ~~~ Marie: Apparently security at Andrews AFB sucks (link is to a CNN story).

A Murder of Crows, a Conspiracy of Ravens, A Convoy of Loons. AP: "A large group of truck drivers and their supporters who object to COVID-19 mandates began their mobile protest in the Washington, D.C., area Sunday, embarking on a drive designed to snarl traffic and make their objections known to lawmakers. Protesters staged at the Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland during the weekend before heading down a single lane of Interstate 81. Their plan was to drive onto the Capital Beltway, circle it twice and then return to Hagerstown, news outlets reported.... The Washington Post reported that convoy organizer Brian Brase intends for protesters to travel on the beltway every day during the upcoming week until its demands are met." MB: Should endear them to everyone who has to take the Beltway to work. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Madeleine Ngo, et al., of the New York Times: "Draped in American flags and fueled by anger, hundreds of vehicles led by a group of truckers encircled the nation's capital on Sunday, hampering traffic outside the city for hours by driving at slower speeds to protest Covid-19 mandates. The convoy of vehicles -- dozens of trucks, along with minivans, motorcycles, pickup trucks and hatchbacks, with many displaying signs that read 'Freedom' -- aimed to complete two loops on Interstate 495, a 64-mile highway known as the Capital Beltway, before returning to a staging area in Maryland, with plans to potentially ramp up the demonstration in the coming days. But by the second time around, the vehicles appeared to be so spread out that the congestion took on the feel of a weekday morning commute, before opening up in the afternoon." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I cannot fathom why these boneheads think that inconveniencing people taking the Beltway on a Sunday afternoon will help whatever they think their cause is.

Katherine Huggins of Mediaite: "Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is registered to vote at a mobile home in North Carolina he appears to have never even visited, according to a report from the New Yorker. According to New Yorker writer Charles Bethea, Meadows has never owned the home and 'apparently never slept there, either.' The 14-by-62 foot mobile home was once rented out by his wife, Debbie Meadows.... Bethea wrote that Meadows' voter registration may constitute fraud, as he would have had to spent at least one night there and planned to remain there indefinitely." MB: Mark spent a lot of time and energy in 2020 & 2021 claiming that Democrats engaged in massive voter fraud. He even went down to Georgia to "oversee" a recount. So it's curious that he himself is the chief of voter fraud. But, you know, IOKIYAR.

If Trump Were Calling the Shots Again. Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump mused Saturday to the GOP's top donors that the United States should label its F-22 planes with the Chinese flag and 'bomb the s--t out of Russia.' He also praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as 'seriously tough,' claimed he was harder on Vladimir Putin than any other president, reiterated his false claims that he won the 2020 election, urged his party to be 'tougher' on supposed election fraud, disparaged a range of prominent party opponents and called global warming 'a great hoax' that could actually bring a welcome development: more waterfront property. 'And then we say, China did it, we didn't do it, China did it, and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch,' he said of labeling U.S. military planes with Chinese flags and bombing Russia, which was met with laughter from the crowd of donors...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The audience laughed. A joke, perhaps! But also one about something that might well violate international law. And that's if you can get past the idea that Russia would ever mistake F-22s -- a highly recognizable airplane that the Chinese don't use -- for Chinese aircraft." MB: Speaking of false flags! Trump's a genius. Why, think where we'd be if he made Lindsey Graham his secretary of defense and the two of them put their heads together. Okay, dead. We'd all be dead. But other than that. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here.

News Lede

New York Times: "More than 1,100 homes have been evacuated in several counties on the Florida Panhandle after three fast-moving wildfires on Sunday continued to resist containment efforts. The Adkins Avenue fire, which broke out on Friday and began near Panama City, Fla., had burned more than 1,400 acres and was 35 percent contained in Bay County, the Florida Forest Service said. A much larger fire, the Bertha Swamp Road fire, had swept into Bay and Calhoun Counties after it began on Friday, the Forest Service said. It had burned around 9,000 acres and was 10 percent contained as of Sunday afternoon, Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news briefing."

March 6, 2022

Afternoon Update:

A Murder of Crows, a Conspiracy of Ravens, A Convoy of Loons. AP: "A large group of truck drivers and their supporters who object to COVID-19 mandates began their mobile protest in the Washington, D.C., area Sunday, embarking on a drive designed to snarl traffic and make their objections known to lawmakers. Protesters staged at the Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland during the weekend before heading down a single lane of Interstate 81. Their plan was to drive onto the Capital Beltway, circle it twice and then return to Hagerstown, news outlets reported.... The Washington Post reported that convoy organizer Brian Brase intends for protesters to travel on the beltway every day during the upcoming week until its demands are met." MB: Should endear them to everyone who has to take the Beltway to work.

If Trump Were Calling the Shots Again. Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump mused Saturday to the GOP's top donors that the United States should label its F-22 planes with the Chinese flag and 'bomb the s--t out of Russia.' He also praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as 'seriously tough,' claimed he was harder on Vladimir Putin than any other president, reiterated his false claims that he won the 2020 election, urged his party to be 'tougher' on supposed election fraud, disparaged a range of prominent party opponents and called global warming 'a great hoax' that could actually bring a welcome development: more waterfront property. 'And then we say, China did it, we didn't do it, China did it, and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch,' he said of labeling U.S. military planes with Chinese flags and bombing Russia, which was met with laughter from the crowd of donors...." ~~~

     ~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The audience laughed. A joke, perhaps! But also one about something that might well violate international law. And that's if you can get past the idea that Russia would ever mistake F-22s -- a highly recognizable airplane that the Chinese don't use -- for Chinese aircraft." MB: Speaking of false flags! Trump's a genius. Why, think where we'd be if he made Lindsey Graham his secretary of defense and the two of them put their heads together. Okay, dead. We'd all be dead. But other than that.

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Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Sunday in Russia's war are here: "... President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Sunday called on the entire nation to resist the Russian invasion. He cheered the courage of protesters who filled the streets of occupied cities and towns, saying that 'every meter of our Ukrainian land won by protest and humiliation of the invaders is a step forward, a step toward victory.' Russian forces appeared to be struggling in their primary objective of encircling and capturing Kyiv, the capital. There has been fierce fighting just north of the city, where the Ukrainian military says it is successfully defending its position. The Ukrainians say they are also halting the Russian advance from the east, with the Russians bogged down in clashes around an airport.... Zelensky ... warned the residents of Odessa to be ready for an aerial bombardment." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates are here: "Pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine's National Guard accused each other of failing to establish a humanitarian corridor out of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Sunday, the second time the sides have attempted to arrange it. Ukraine 24 television showed a fighter of the Azov Regiment of the National Guard who said Russian and pro-Russian forces that have encircled the port city of about 400,000 continued shelling the areas that were meant to be safe. The Interfax news agency cited an official of the Donetsk separatist administration who accused the Ukrainian forces of failing to observe the limited ceasefire." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates are here: "More than 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine have crossed into neighboring countries in 10 days, UN refugee agency commissioner Filippo Grandi said Sunday. In a Twitter post, Grandi called it 'the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.'... The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed 'several attacks on health care [centers] in Ukraine, causing multiple deaths and injuries,' WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sunday."

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Eleven days after it began, the war in Ukraine is entering a more treacherous phase, with Russian forces employing siege tactics and pummeling civilian infrastructure in an attempt to suppress Ukrainian resistance. A rocket blast ripped through homes south of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Russia is responding to the surprising 'scale and strength' of Ukrainian resistance by targeting populated areas of several cities -- Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Mariupol -- in an apparent effort to 'break Ukrainian morale,' Britain's Defense Ministry said Sunday, noting that Russia deployed 'similar tactics' in Chechnya in 1999 and in Syria in 2016.... The financial fallout for Russia continued to mount, with Visa and Mastercard announcing Saturday that they would suspend transactions in Russia."

Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "With a line of refugees streaming into Poland behind them, the top American and Ukrainian diplomats met at Ukraine's border on Saturday in a brief but extraordinary encounter to assess what additional support and protection the United States might deliver to address Russia's invasion, which appeared certain to continue. The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, thanked U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken for 'coming here to Ukraine, literally.' The two men stood at the border where, over the course of one hour, hundreds of refugees had crossed into Poland by foot in bone-chilling temperatures. For Mr. Blinken, the brief meeting was a chance to take stock of the humanitarian disaster -- Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II -- caused by the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, in his invasion of Ukraine. For Mr. Kuleba, it was a moment to remind the world anew, in stark terms, of the possibility of an enduring conflict with high numbers of human casualties and the rupture of the global order if foreign assistance stopped short of what Ukraine was demanding."

Alexander Ward & Paul McCleary of Politico: "The U.S. remains in discussions with Poland to potentially backfill their fleet of fighter planes if Warsaw decides to transfer its used MiG-29s to Ukraine, four U.S. officials tell Politico. The ongoing talks, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleads with Congress for help, underscore the frantic push to find weapons to equip Ukrainian forces as they continue to fight off the massive Russian invasion. As Poland weighed sending its warplanes to Ukraine last week, Warsaw asked the White House if the Biden administration could guarantee it would provide them with U.S.-made fighter jets to fill the gap. The White House said it would look into the matter. The Biden administration didn't oppose the Polish government giving Kyiv the MiGs, which could potentially escalate tensions between NATO and Moscow. Poland, for now, has held on to its fighter jets."

AFP: "Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in cities including Santiago, Vancouver Paris and New York in support of Ukraine, demanding an end to Russia's invasion. The protesters rallied on Saturday against Russian ... Vladimir Putin's attack.... One of the largest rallies to demand the withdrawal of Russia's troops from Ukraine on the invasion's 10th day was in Zurich, where organisers believed 40,000 people took part, Switzerland's ATS news agency reported."

The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "As his troops continued to run into stiff resistance in Ukraine..., Vladimir V. Putin of Russia delivered an ominous message to Ukrainians on Saturday, telling government leaders they might lose their statehood and likening the withering sanctions imposed on his country to a 'declaration of war.' 'The current leadership needs to understand that if they continue doing what they are doing, they risk the future of Ukrainian statehood,' Mr. Putin said. He also said any third-party countries that tried to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be considered enemy combatants. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has beseeched Western countries to declare such a no-fly zone." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ An AP story is here.

From CNN live updates Friday: "The US Embassy in Kyiv said on Friday that Russia committed a war crime by attacking a nuclear power plant in Ukraine." Marie: Later Friday, I heard on the teevee that the U.S. was downplaying the accusation, even to the point of telling other U.S. embassies not to retweet it. According to the same CNN item, "There is a loud and growing chorus of calls for the International Criminal Court to pursue Vladimir Putin. On Wednesday, the court said it would ;immediately proceed with an active investigation of possible war crimes following Russia's invasion of Ukraine." But this seems to be a general charge against Russia. Could we please stop being so squeamish? Let every country on Earth charge Putin personally with war crimes. Let him know that if he leaves Russia, any other country where he lands will lock him up & try him, in that order. He needs to understand that sanctions are going to him him in places outside his pockets. Trying to avoid hurting his puti-putin feelings is not working, is it? Unlike Lindsey Graham, I don't want to deprive him of his life; I want to deprive him of his freedom for the rest of his sickening natural life. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy implored U.S. lawmakers on Saturday to do more to force Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and end the war on his country -- including the establishment of a no-fly zone, additional direct aid and a ban on oil imports from Moscow. In a private Zoom call with Senate and House members, Zelenskyy expressed appreciation for the actions taken so far by the U.S. and NATO allies as Russia continues assaulting Ukraine, including sanctions and weapons transfers, according to five people who participated in the call. But Zelenskyy made a direct appeal for more, those people said, including planes, drones and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. The Ukrainian leader also urged the U.S. to ban Russian oil imports -- a cause with bipartisan support on the Hill but plenty of domestic political volatility -- and target its sanctions regime directly at the Russian people, the people said. He called on lawmakers to pressure eastern-flank NATO partners to approve the transfer of planes that Ukrainian pilots are already trained to fly." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ WTF Is the Matter with These Asses? Haley Talbot, et al., of NBC News: "Two Republican senators are facing criticism after tweeting photos of a video call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even though participating lawmakers were told to not share pictures on social media while it was in progress. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Steve Daines of Montana posted pictures of Zelenskyy on their Twitter accounts during the Zoom meeting Saturday morning, writing that they were on a call with him. Democratic Reps. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and Jason Crow of Colorado criticized the senators on Twitter. Phillips noted that the 'Ukrainian ambassador very intentionally asked each of us on the Zoom to NOT share anything on social media during the meeting to protect the security of President Zelenskyy.' 'Appalling and reckless ignorance by two U.S. Senators,' Phillips wrote." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Someone should warn Marco & Steve not to put their fingers in a light socket because lives might depend upon it. With any luck, both of them will run, not walk, to the nearest outlet.

Michael Crowley & Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times: "Russia said on Saturday that it had detained an American basketball player -- later identified as Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner -- on drug charges, entangling a U.S. citizen's fate in the dangerous confrontation between Russia and the West over Ukraine.... Also on Saturday, the State Department, which for weeks had warned Americans against traveling to Russia, released an updated advisory urging U.S. citizens to leave the country immediately, citing the invasion in Ukraine, the 'potential for harassment against U.S. citizens by Russian government security officials' and the limited ability of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to assist American citizens in the country.... Video released by Russia's Customs Service showed ... [footage of events that] occurred in February, according to the Customs Service, raising the possibility that Griner, 31, has been in custody for at least several days." An ABC News story is here. MB: Stupid to think it was okay to travel to Russia.

Ten Days in February. Mark Landler, et al., of the New York Times: "In a few frantic days, the West threw out the standard playbook that it had used for decades and instead marshaled a stunning show of unity against Russia's brutal aggression in the heart of Europe.... [Ten] days in February shook the world, upending long-held assumptions, sundering decades of productive engagement, and wiping out billions of dollars of investment in Russia. It was anything but normal. Much as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 set off a tumultuous cascade of changes across Europe, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has brought the West to a comparable, if far more ominous, historical reckoning.... It has reverberated not just in the councils of state, but also in corporate suites, cultural institutions and sports leagues -- to say nothing of city streets from Mexico City to Madrid, where tens of thousands of demonstrators have waved the yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag and chanted against Russia's aggression."

Dave Phillips of the New York Times: "... a surge of American veterans ... say they are now preparing to join the fight in Ukraine, emboldened by the invitation of the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who earlier this week announced he was creating an 'international legion' and asked volunteers from around the world to help defend his nation against Russia.... After years of serving in smoldering occupations, trying to spread democracy in places that had only a tepid interest in it, many are hungry for what they see as a righteous fight to defend freedom against an autocratic aggressor with a conventional and target-rich army.... A number of mainstream media outlets, including Military Times and Time, have published step-by-step guides on joining the military in Ukraine.... The risk of unintended escalation has led the U.S. federal government to try to keep citizens from becoming freelance fighters, not just in this conflict, but for centuries.... Despite the risks -- both individual and strategic -- the United States government has so far been measured in its warnings."

Kelsey Ables of the Washington Post: "In the wake of Russia's crackdown on news coverage and the imposition of a new law criminalizing reporting that accurately characterizes the Ukrainian invasion, some international news outlets have taken to technology to circumvent the news blackout, pointing readers to VPNs (virtual private networks), the encrypted Tor browser and even old-fashioned radio.... Media outlets including the BBC, Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) have been blocked by the Kremlin, along with several Ukrainian sites, Twitter and Facebook.... But some outlets are refusing to be silenced.... Circumventing censorship is sometimes low-tech. In China, social media users have taken to posting upside-down screenshots of articles on platforms such as Weibo (akin to Twitter). Russian readers still have access to RFE/RL's newsletter 'The Week In Russia,' for instance, because email has not been restricted." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Turning my laptop upside-down? That's about my speed. (In fact, I did it once when somebody sent me an upside-down document, until it dawn on me I could flip the doc 180 degrees.)

Ben Collins & Natasha Korecki of NBC News: "Twitter has banned more than 100 accounts that pushed the pro-Russian hashtag #IStandWithPutin for participating in 'coordinated inauthentic behavior,' days after the hashtag trended on Twitter amid the invasion in Ukraine." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Laura & TuKKKer host SNL's cold open (with special guest stars!). (See also Akhilleus' commentary below.):

Senate Republicans Threaten U.S. Faith & Credit, Ukraine. Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Senate Republicans have issued a series of early threats against a still-forming deal to fund the federal government, signaling that they could delay the package -- which may include emergency aid to Ukraine -- over concerns about excessive spending and vaccine mandates.... In the first letter, sent Thursday, eight GOP [senators] ... demanded 'appropriate time' to read and review any funding bill. It also called for an official analysis by the Congressional Budget Office to assess the impact of the legislation on inflation and the federal debt.... In the second note, sent Friday, 10 Republicans revived their campaign against federal vaccine and testing requirements." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "The founder of America's Frontline Doctors, an activist group known for spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories about the pandemic and Covid vaccines, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 last year. According to a filing from the Justice Department, the doctor, Simone Gold, stood by as a Capitol Police officer was assaulted and dragged to the ground in front of her. She then entered the Capitol and delivered a speech in the National Statuary Hall denouncing vaccine mandates and lockdowns. On Thursday, according to the filing, Dr. Gold pleaded guilty to one count of entering a restricted building...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times write an account of how the Manhattan D.A.'s criminal investigation into Donald Trump's business practices unravelled. It is "drawn from interviews with more than a dozen people knowledgeable about the events [and attempts to pull] back a curtain on one of the most consequential prosecutorial decisions in U.S. history. Had the district attorney's office secured an indictment, Mr. Trump would have been the first current or former president to be criminally charged. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Donald Trump was aware long before he took the stage at the 'Save America' rally on 6 January that he would not march to the Capitol to protest the congressional certification of Joe Biden's election win, according to his White House private schedule from that day. The former president started his nearly 75-minute long speech at the Ellipse by saying he would go with the crowd to the Capitol, and then repeated that promise when he said he would walk with them down Pennsylvania Avenue towards the Capitol.... The newly-released private schedule indicates Trump deliberately lied to his supporters, raising the spectre that he made a promise he had no intention of honoring so that they would descend on the Capitol and disrupt Congress from certifying Biden as president."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

New Jersey, Where Murder & Politics Mix. Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "... in May 2014, [Sean Caddle, a New jersey campaign consultant,] ... hired two men to kill a friend and colleague, Michael Galdieri. Mr. Caddle, 44, has been cooperating with the F.B.I. since at least the fall, federal court records show, but the motive for the murder remains unclear. The revelations, combined with a family's request to reopen an investigation into the unsolved 2014 deaths of a couple prominent in state Republican politics, in light of what relatives called 'eerily similar' circumstances to the murder-for-hire killing, have sent tremors through New Jersey political circles.... At the center of the mystery are Mr. Caddle and Mr. Galdieri, both of whom built careers in the shadows of powerful senators, mayors and councilmen in Hudson County, N.J., a famously bare-knuckle political proving ground. Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, and Raymond Lesniak, a retired Democratic state senator, were among his many clients, election records show."

News Ledes

We Are Iowa: "Officials said seven people were killed, including two children, when tornado-spawning thunderstorms swept through central Iowa. Emergency management officials in Madison County said four were injured and six people were killed Saturday when the tornado touched down near the town of Winterset. Among those killed were two children under the age of five.Another death was confirmed in Lucas County."

March 5, 2022

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "As his troops continued to run into stiff resistance in Ukraine..., Vladimir V. Putin of Russia delivered an ominous message to Ukrainians on Saturday, telling government leaders they might lose their statehood and likening the withering sanctions imposed on his country to a 'declaration of war.' 'The current leadership needs to understand that if they continue doing what they are doing, they risk the future of Ukrainian statehood,' Mr. Putin said. He also said any third-party countries that tried to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be considered enemy combatants. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has beseeched Western countries to declare such a no-fly zone."

From CNN live updates Friday: "The US Embassy in Kyiv said on Friday that Russia committed a war crime by attacking a nuclear power plant in Ukraine." Marie: Later Friday, I heard on the teevee that the U.S. was downplaying the accusation, even to the point of telling other U.S. embassies not to retweet it. According to the same CNN item, "There is a loud and growing chorus of calls for the International Criminal Court to pursue Vladimir Putin. On Wednesday, the court said it would immediately proceed with an active investigation of possible war crimes following Russia's invasion of Ukraine." But this seems to be a general charge against Russia. Could we please stop being so squeamish? Let every country on Earth charge Putin personally with war crimes. Let him know that if he leaves Russia, any other country where he lands will lock him up & try him, in that order. He needs to understand that sanctions are going to him him in places outside his pockets. Trying to avoid hurting his puti-putin feelings is not working, is it? Unlike Lindsey Graham, I don't want to deprive him of his life; I want to deprive him of his freedom for the rest of his sickening natural life.

Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy implored U.S. lawmakers on Saturday to do more to force Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and end the war on his country -- including the establishment of a no-fly zone, additional direct aid and a ban on oil imports from Moscow. In a private Zoom call with Senate and House members, Zelenskyy expressed appreciation for the actions taken so far by the U.S. and NATO allies as Russia continues assaulting Ukraine, including sanctions and weapons transfers, according to five people who participated in the call. But Zelenskyy made a direct appeal for more, those people said, including planes, drones and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. The Ukrainian leader also urged the U.S. to ban Russian oil imports -- a cause with bipartisan support on the Hill but plenty of domestic political volatility -- and target its sanctions regime directly at the Russian people, the people said. He called on lawmakers to pressure eastern-flank NATO partners to approve the transfer of planes that Ukrainian pilots are already trained to fly." ~~~

~~~ WTF Is the Matter with These Asses? Haley Talbot, et al., of NBC News: "Two Republican senators are facing criticism after tweeting photos of a video call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even though participating lawmakers were told to not share pictures on social media while it was in progress. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Steve Daines of Montana posted pictures of Zelenskyy on their Twitter accounts during the Zoom meeting Saturday morning, writing that they were on a call with him. Democratic Reps. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and Jason Crow of Colorado criticized the senators on Twitter. Phillips noted that the 'Ukrainian ambassador very intentionally asked each of us on the Zoom to NOT share anything on social media during the meeting to protect the security of President Zelenskyy.' 'Appalling and reckless ignorance by two U.S. Senators,' Phillips wrote." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Someone should warn Marco & Steve not to put their fingers in a light socket because lives might depend upon it. With any luck, both of them will run, not walk, to the nearest outlet.

Ben Collins & Natasha Korecki of NBC News: "Twitter has banned more than 100 accounts that pushed the pro-Russian hashtag #IStandWithPutin for participating in 'coordinated inauthentic behavior,' days after the hashtag trended on Twitter amid the invasion in Ukraine."

Senate Republicans Threaten U.S. Faith & Credit, Ukraine. Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Senate Republicans have issued a series of early threats against a still-forming deal to fund the federal government, signaling that they could delay the package -- which may include emergency aid to Ukraine -- over concerns about excessive spending and vaccine mandates.... In the first letter, sent Thursday, eight GOP [senators] ... demanded 'appropriate time' to read and review any funding bill. It also called for an official analysis by the Congressional Budget Office to assess the impact of the legislation on inflation and the federal debt.... In the second note, sent Friday, 10 Republicans revived their campaign against federal vaccine and testing requirements."

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "The founder of America's Frontline Doctors, an activist group known for spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories about the pandemic and Covid vaccines, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 last year. According to a filing from the Justice Department, the doctor, Simone Gold, stood by as a Capitol Police officer was assaulted and dragged to the ground in front of her. She then entered the Capitol and delivered a speech in the National Statuary Hall denouncing vaccine mandates and lockdowns. On Thursday, according to the filing, Dr. Gold pleaded guilty to one count of entering a restricted building...."

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times write an account of how the Manhattan D.A.'s criminal investigation into Donald Trump's business practices unravelled. It is "drawn from interviews with more than a dozen people knowledgeable about the events [and attempts to pull] back a curtain on one of the most consequential prosecutorial decisions in U.S. history. Had the district attorney's office secured an indictment, Mr. Trump would have been the first current or former president to be criminally charged.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Ukrainian officials accused Russia of breaching a cease-fire meant to allow civilians to flee Saturday, less than three hours after both sides announced the temporary truce in the southern cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha. The city council in Mariupol -- one of the key ports on Ukraine's southern coast that Russian troops are pushing to conquer -- had advised residents to evacuate, telling drivers to 'fill the vehicles as much as possible.' Then the officials sharply pivoted, urging people to hunker down and accusing Russia of continuing to shell both the city and what was supposed to be a peaceful exit route. Besieged cities needed the cease-fire to restore basic services such as electricity and tap water, Ukrainian officials said, and to bring in medical supplies that Russia's blockades have cut off. The lack of necessities during nonstop bombardment is compounding what local leaders have called a humanitarian 'catastrophe.' Russia denied breaking the cease-fire, accusing Ukraine of using civilians as 'human shields.'" ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's liveblog for Saturday is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian has a full story on the aborted evacuation of Mariupol. ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live update for Saturday are here: "Russia is poised to deploy up to 1,000 more mercenaries to Ukraine in the coming days and weeks, as a senior Western intelligence official warned Moscow could 'bombard cities into submission,' an escalation that could lead to significant civilian casualties. The US has already seen 'some indications' that Russian mercenaries may be involved in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine 'in some places,' a senior defense official said earlier this week, but it wasn't clear exactly where or in what numbers.... Other officials have noticed a shift in Russian strategy from military targets to civilians, with more attacks becoming focused on population centers." ~~~ "The United States flew B-52 Stratofortress bombers over NATO's eastern flank on Friday, exercising with the German and Romanian militaries in a sign of unity as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its second weekend."

Helene Cooper & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "Some 14 wide-bodied aircraft transported a bristling array of Javelin antitank missiles, rocket launchers, guns and ammunition to an airfield near Ukraine's border on Friday, as the United States and European allies ramped up their efforts to give the Ukrainian military a leg up in battling a foreign enemy that far outguns it.... The American weaponry ... was part of a $350 million package that [President] Biden authorized on Saturday.... What began as a trickle -- with only two or three planes arriving a day -- is now a steady flow, the official said, with 14 loads from one airfield alone.... The United States has delivered nearly 70 percent of the $350 million package to Ukraine's military, a senior Pentagon official said on Friday. It expects to complete the entire shipment in the next week or so.... The weapons have quickly found their way into the hands of Ukrainian soldiers..., U.S. officials said on Friday." ~~~

~~~ Karoun Demirjian & Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The United States drastically enhanced its shipments of lethal military aid and protective equipment to Ukraine as the prospect of a Russian invasion became more apparent and then a reality, according to a declassified accounting of transfers and sales reviewed by The Washington Post. The list indicates that as early as December, the Pentagon was equipping Ukrainian fighters with arms and equipment useful for fighting in urban areas, including shotguns and specialized suits to safeguard soldiers handling unexploded ordnance. Over the last week, the Biden administration has increased such shipments.... The list of materiel reviewed by The Post generally tracks with the administration's broad public statements about the transfers."

David Sanger of the New York Times: "When President Biden met in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon with Sauli Niinisto, the president of the non-NATO member and increasingly nervous Finland, Mr. Biden ... said, 'President Obamaused to say, "We'd be all right if we left everything to the Nordic countries."'... Mr. Niinisto nodded, and replied, 'Well, we usually don't start wars.'... [Finland] is rethinking its relationship with Washington, NATO and the West.... The invasion of Ukraine has made it consider seriously, for the first time, whether it should be a member of NATO.... Even if the Finns decided to try to make the leap to full NATO membership -- which still seems a reach -- figuring out how they would move to formal membership is beyond tricky.... Just as the invasion of Ukraine began, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, warned that any such move would carry 'serious military-political repercussions.'"

Harry Taylor of the Guardian: "A Sky News crew has been evacuated back to the UK from Ukraine after journalists were shot during an ambush by a suspected Russian 'death squad' on Monday. The team of five were attacked while out in a car, after unsuccessfully trying to visit the town of Bucha near Kyiv. Chief correspondent with Sky News, Stuart Ramsay, along with camera operator Richie Mockler were shot -- Ramsay in the lower back while Mockler took two rounds in his body armour.... Eventually the group ... managed to escape from the car and jump down an embankment at the side of the road. They eventually found refuge in a nearby garage, and were rescued under the cover of darkness hours later by Ukrainian police. The journalists were later told that the gunmen were a saboteur Russian reconnaissance squad."

Jill Colvin of the AP: "Former Vice President Mike Pence urged Republicans to move on from the 2020 election and declared that 'there is no room in this party for apologists for Putin' as he further cemented his break from ... Donald Trump. Pence, in a speech Friday evening to the party's top donors in New Orleans, took on those in his party who have failed to forcefully condemn ... Vladimir Putin for his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine."

What If ...? Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Former national security adviser John Bolton told The Washington Post Friday that he thinks ... Donald Trump would have pulled the United States out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had he been reelected in 2020. Bolton, in an interview with Post opinions editor at large Michael Duffy, said the former president came close to pulling the United States out of NATO in 2018, a claim he originally made in a memoir published in 2020. In his book, Bolton wrote that he had to convince Trump not to quit NATO in the middle of a 2018 summit.... During his presidency, Trump frequently sought to undermine the [NATO] alliance, accusing its members of being 'delinquents' and repeatedly telling aides he wanted to leave it.... Trump has recently tried to revise his history with NATO, saying Monday that there 'would be no NATO' if it hadn't been for him." The Raw Story has a summary report here.

Gina Harkins & Julian Mark of the Washington Post: "Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) was sharply criticized by fellow lawmakers on both sides of the aisle Thursday after saying that the 'only way' to end the crisis in Ukraine is for Russians to assassinate President Vladimir Putin." MB: Just to give you an idea of how irresponsible Graham's exhortation was, "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called Graham's remarks 'dangerous' and 'unhinged.'"; When even Miss Margie is doling out (correct) lessons on responsibility, you know you are way over the line. (To be fair, Greene has aligned herself with white supremacists, who love Putin.) ~~~

~~~ Sergio Olmos, in the Guardian, explores why so many American right-wing extremists see Vladimir Putin as the white man's hero.

Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post: "Several major media organizations said Friday that they would limit activity in Russia, hours after ... Vladimir Putin signed a measure into law criminalizing news coverage that accurately portrays the country's bloody incursion into Ukraine as an 'invasion.' Bloomberg said it will 'temporarily suspend our news gathering inside Russia.'... CBS and ABC both said they would not broadcast from Russia at least for the day because of the new regulations.... CNN, meanwhile, said the network 'will stop broadcasting in Russia' -- effectively cutting off its signal in the country -- 'while we continue to evaluate the situation and our next steps moving forward.'"

The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

From CNN's live updates Friday, also linked below: "Russia has used cluster bombs, widely banned artillery in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday. 'We have seen the use of cluster bombs and we have seen reports of use of other types of weapons which would be in violation of international law,' Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Friday.... Cluster bombs -- which not only deliver an initial explosion on impact but also contain multiple smaller bombs that spread over a wide area -- are largely condemned by the international community due to the risk of civilian casualties when they're used in populated areas. US President Joe Biden's envoy to the United Nations [Linda Thomas Greenfield] has accused Russia of preparing to use banned weapons, including 'cluster munitions and vacuum bombs,' in Ukraine. And she issued a stark warning to invading Russian soldiers.... CNN teams in Ukraine have also spotted Russian thermobaric 'vacuum bombs' launchers this past week." (Also linked yesterday.)

Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "A public health rule that has kept many undocumented migrants from entering the country during the pandemic suffered a blow on Friday, when a federal appeals court said it could no longer be used to expel families to countries where they would face persecution or torture. The ruling, issued by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, partially affirmed an earlier decision in an ongoing lawsuit and applies only to migrant families traveling with minor children. Although it allowed the Biden administration to keep the rule in place, the three-judge panel questioned whether it was still necessary, noting that it 'looks in certain respects like a relic from an era with no vaccines, scarce testing, few therapeutics and little certainty.' Later on Friday, a federal judge in the Northern District of Texasissued a rule that dealt another blow to the Biden administration -- ordering the government to stop exempting migrant children who arrive at the border without a parent or guardian from the public health rule. The administration has seven days to file an appeal."

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Attorney John Eastman, the architect of Donald Trump's legal strategy to overturn the 2020 election, urged a federal judge Friday to slow down the Jan. 6 select committee's push to obtain documents they say could show the former president criminally conspired to subvert the democratic process. The committee, in an explosive court filing on Wednesday, said ... it has amassed evidence showing that Eastman's work for Trump amounted to a potential criminal conspiracy to obstruct Congress and defraud the U.S. public. Eastman said granting the committee's request would amount to a historic legal finding that Trump -- when he was the sitting president -- committed a crime. And this, he said, in effect turned him into a 'pseudo-defense attorney for the former president.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You do have to give the guy props in the twisted-logic department (which is, after all, what much of right-wing "legal expertise" amounts to these days). Of course Eastman's argument is nonsense; if Judge David Carter rules for the committee, he would not be ruling that Trump had committed a crime, but could (but not necessarily would) opine that the committee had gathered documents that suggest Trump may have committed a crime or crimes. For one thing, the judge is not presiding over a criminal trial. And since the committee has no prosecutorial authority -- even if they've presented the proverbial smoking gun to the judge -- the judge could rule on whether or not Trump had committed a crime.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday reinstated the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted of helping carry out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. The vote was 6 to 3, with the court's three liberal members in dissent. The bombings, near the finish line of the marathon, killed three people and injured 260, many of them grievously. Seventeen people lost limbs. A law enforcement officer was killed as the brothers fled a few days later. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Dzhokhar's older brother and accomplice, died after a shootout with the police. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Boston, upheld Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's convictions in 2020 on 27 counts. But the appeals court ruled that his death sentence should be overturned because the trial judge had not questioned jurors closely enough about their exposure to pretrial publicity and had excluded evidence concerning Tamerlan Tsarnaev." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

George Will of the Washington Post: "Floundering in his attempts to wield political power while lacking a political office, Donald Trump looks increasingly like a stray orange hair to be flicked off the nation's sleeve.... He is an entertainer whose repertoire is stale."

Dalton Bennett & Jon Swaine of the Washington Post "reviewed more than 20 hours of video filmed for [a] documentary ... [about Roger Stone] which is to be released later this year.... In addition to interviews and moments when Stone spoke directly to the camera, they also captured fly-on-the-wall footage of his actions, candid off-camera conversations from a microphone he wore and views of his iPhone screen as he messaged associates on an encrypted app.: The video includes episodes on & around January 6, 2021. MB: This is a long report but was more interesting reading than I would have expected, given the subject matter. For instance, Stone was furious at Trump for not pardoning some of Stone's clients, a venture on which Stone would have made a bundle had Trump come through. For some reason, Trump listened to White House counsel Pat Cipolone, according to Stone, who advised Trump against pardoning Stone's gallery of criminal clients. Stone was furious Trump wasn't corrupt enough: he described "Trump as 'a disgrace' and expressing support for him to be impeached. 'He betrayed everybody,' Stone said." The real problem, I would guess, is that Stone didn't offer Trump a big enough cut of pardon pie à la mode.

John Wagner & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Former attorney general William P. Barr said in an interview [with Lester Holt of NBC News] broadcast Friday that he believes that ... Donald Trump is 'responsible in the broad sense of that word' for what transpired at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob interrupted Congress's count of electoral college votes. '... It appears that part of the plan was to send this group up to the Hill,' Barr said.... 'I think the whole idea was to intimidate Congress, and I think that that was wrong.'... NBC said that Trump provided a statement in response to its interview of Barr in which Trump called Barr's book 'fake' and described Barr as a 'coward,' a 'big disappointment' and 'lazy.'" ~~~

~~~ Bill Barr, a Hero in His Own Mind. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Have you heard about how Bill Barr saved democracy? It's all there -- in this new book by, er, Bill Barr. In excerpts published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal..., Donald Trump's former attorney general recounts how he bravely stood up to Trump about his bogus claims of election fraud.... Had Barr spoken out publicly about Trump's 'clown show,' perhaps he could have punctured the 'big lie' before it resulted in the Jan. 6 insurrection.... Barr is just the latest in the parade of former Trump officials to wash their hands of him long after their public condemnation would have done any good.... But nobody in the administration did more to enable Trump's deceptions and assaults on democracy than Barr.... Mass deception is the tool of the autocrat. And Bill Barr gave it his blessing."

Ellie Silverman & Emily Davies of the Washington Post: "... about 1,000 vehicles converged at a speedway in Hagerstown, Md. under the rallying cry of 'freedom.' The truckers and supporters are now the closest they have been to the nation's capital, where they want to hold lawmakers 'accountable' for the government's pandemic-responses. But it's not clear what they will do next to accomplish their goals." And the group's "organizers" admit they don't know. An NBC News report is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Another Draconian "Voter Fraud" Bill. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "The Florida Senate passed a sweeping new bill overhauling the state's electoral process, adding new restrictions to the state election code and establishing a law enforcement office dedicated solely to investigating election crimes. The bill, which passed 24-14, now goes to the state's House of Representatives, where it could pass as soon as next week and land on the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who is expected to sign it.... The core of the bill is the establishment of a permanent election crimes office within the Department of State, which would make Florida one of the first states to have an agency solely dedicated to election crimes and voter fraud, despite such offenses being exceedingly rare...."