IMPORTANT | | | | | State of the Union | Biden Emphasizes Unity, Calls Out ‘Dictator’ Putin As Russian airstrikes rocked Ukrainian cities, President Joe Biden began Tuesday night’s address with a vow that Russian President Vladimir Putin would “pay a price” for the invasion. While Biden drew bipartisan ovations for condemning Putin and praising the strength of the Ukrainian people, he didn’t fare as well on domestic issues. He tried to rally support for programs stuck in his stalled Build Back Better plan, reframing them as ways to fight inflation, and urged unity between the parties. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivered a stinging rebuttal foreshadowing Republicans’ midterm strategies of blaming Biden for inflation, crime and “weak” foreign policy. (Sources: NYT, The Hill, NPR) |
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| | | Blitz Grinds On | Russian Forces Batter Kyiv, Paratroopers Land in Kharkiv Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russian attacks on civilian targets in major cities as war crimes as airstrikes hit an opera house, a TV tower and a Holocaust memorial. In Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, Russian paratroopers attacked overnight after a missile struck the city square Tuesday, killing at least six people. The port city of Mariupol in the south is without electricity and suffering heavy bombardment. And while the massive 40-mile Russian convoy headed for Kyiv has reportedly encountered logistical problems, the U.S. warns that Russia has yet to use its full military strength and should not be underestimated. (Sources: The Guardian, AP, BBC) |
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| | | Open the Floodgates | International Energy Agency to Release 60 Million Barrels of Oil Oil prices have skyrocketed to over $100 a barrel as Russia’s invasion has tightened markets. In an effort to bring prices down, member countries of the IEA agreed to release millions of barrels of oil from their own reserves. U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said America is prepared to take additional measures to help diversify European energy sources and “secure the world from Putin’s attempts to weaponize energy supplies.” Russia currently exports around 5 million barrels of oil daily, and the IEA’s “initial” infusion, 4% of members’ stockpiles, will work out to 2 million barrels per day for 30 days. (Source: Axios) |
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| | | Bring in the Lawyers | House Committee Investigating Jan. 6 Subpoenas Trump Lawyers Six of former President Donald Trump’s lawyers have been subpoenaed by the committee for their suspected efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Documents and testimony were requested from Cleta Mitchell, Kurt Olsen, Katherine Freiss, Phillip Kline, Kenneth Chesebro and Christina Bobb. The committee believes the lawyers have knowledge about different facets of various schemes to prevent the certification of President Biden’s victory in Congress. Bobb, a host on One America News, reportedly helped draw up a draft executive order directing federal agencies to seize voting machines in states Biden narrowly won. (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: Fire in Damascus shopping mall kills 11. The blaze in the Syrian capital killed many security guards and staff on overnight duty. (Source: Al Jazeera) Apple pulls products from Russia. A company spokesperson announced all sales would be suspended in Russia in response to the Ukraine invasion. (Source: The Hill) Honduras will ban open-pit mining. Newly inaugurated President Xiomara Castro will cancel environmental permits for mining operations, citing its danger to public health and water access. (Source: BBC) |
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| INTRIGUING | | | Straight Talk for Babies | Report Shows Infant Formula Marketed Inappropriately New mothers deciding how to feed their babies must contend with a shocking amount of disinformation, according to a new report from UNICEF and the World Health Organization. The $55 billion infant formula industry is often aggressive and misleading in its marketing campaigns to push breast-milk substitutes on new mothers. WHO says that’s problematic because of a strong body of evidence showing that exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months after birth can boost a child’s health dramatically. Despite this, only 44% of babies under six months are exclusively breast-fed. (Source: NPR) |
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| | | | | Getting Out, Filling Up | Chef José Andrés Offers Meals to Ukrainian Refugees 24/7 Thousands of displaced Ukrainians have crossed the border into Poland, and since last Friday many have been greeted with a hot meal from the chef’s nonprofit World Central Kitchen. On Monday, they ramped up service to 24 hours a day. The organization is also looking to begin operations at border crossings in Romania, Moldova, Slovakia and Hungary. The Spanish American chef took to Twitter to describe a warm community coming together despite freezing temperatures. WCK plans to enter Ukraine when it is safe to do so, but in the meantime it is partnering with Ukrainian restaurants to provide funding and support. (Sources: The Hill, NBC News) |
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| | | Method in Madness? | Bill Barr’s Tell-All Book Shares the Secret to Trump’s Tweets The former Justice Department chief’s book, One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General, will be published March 8. From details leaked earlier this week, it seems Barr is ready to turn on his former boss and argue against another Trump White House run. He writes about how he and administration lawyers tried to manage the former president’s “legally problematic” ideas, and describes all the ways he saw Trump as unfit for office. In one particularly telling story, Barr recalls Trump saying that the “secret of a really good tweet” was “just the right amount of crazy.” (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | | Cyber Lockout | Big Tech Finally Takes On Russian State Propaganda After the European Union called for a ban on Russian state media, tech companies finally felt the pressure to take action — at least in Europe. YouTube and TikTok blocked content from RT and Sputnik for European users, while Meta promised to ban them from both Instagram and Facebook in the EU. Outside Europe, tech companies have made smaller moves. Twitter is labeling content that comes from the Russian government and others are limiting state media’s ad revenue. It’s a dangerous balancing act, though: If they anger the Kremlin too much, Russia may shut down citizens’ access to social media at a critical time. (Sources: AP, Bloomberg) |
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| | | Taekwon-No | World Taekwondo Strips Putin of Black Belt The Russian president received an honorary taekwondo black belt in 2013, but now the organization has rescinded it after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. World Taekwondo said the “brutal attacks on innocent lives” violate the sport’s spirit of respect and tolerance, and the organization’s own motto, “Peace is more precious than triumph.” It will also ban the Russian flag and anthem at events, following the International Olympic Committee’s lead. The International Judo Federation also stripped Putin of his status as honorary president and ambassador. While purely symbolic, these rebukes are especially personal for a man who’s long curated an image of physical strength. (Source: ESPN) |
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