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War in Ukraine: Five common questions about Russia's year-old invasion

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one year ago marked the beginning of the deadliest war in Europe since World War II and heightened U.S.-Russia tensions to a level not seen since the Cold War.

Both the Ukrainian and Russian people have suffered tremendous losses while the war has rattled the global economy and shaken up the international order.

Here are answers to five common questions about the ongoing war.

When did the Ukraine war start?

Russia invaded Ukraine in the early morning hours on Feb. 24, 2022. Moscow had been massing troops at the borders for weeks.

But the roots of the conflict actually go back nearly a decade. 

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

To understand why Russia launched a conventional war with its neighboring country, you have to understand a bit of history.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, member nations, including Ukraine, broke up into independent states.

At the turn of the century, Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer, won election for the first time. Putin, who has railed against the U.S. and the Western security alliance NATO, has sought to reclaim Russian might and restore his country as a great power. He has served as either president or prime minister of Russia since 2000.

At the same time, Ukraine was slowly moving toward joining the Western economic bloc, the European Union. 

In late 2013, when pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych suspended plans to sign an association agreement with the EU, Ukrainians erupted in protests called the Maidan Revolution that eventually forced Yanukovych to flee the country.

In 2014, Moscow reacted by illegally annexing the Crimean Peninsula and fomenting a rebellion of separatists in the eastern Donbas region.

Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists have fought in the Donbas region ever since.

In December 2021, shortly before the invasion, Russia also submitted a list of demands to NATO that included rolling back military activity in eastern Europe. 

The demands were rejected by the alliance.

Is the Russia-Ukraine war over?

No.

One year in, Russian forces and Ukrainian troops remain locked in tense combat in eastern Ukraine.

But the war has condensed. Russia sent troops marching toward Kyiv in western Ukraine at the beginning of last year, before its forces were pushed all the way back to the eastern part of the country in the ensuing months.

Still, Moscow conducts regular missile and drone strikes that hit critical infrastructure in cities across Ukraine.

When will the Russia-Ukraine war end?

Bringing an end to the war will depend on several nations and government leaders, as well as various extremely complex factors.

As such, it’s too hard to tell at this point in time when the war might end.

Both Ukraine and Russia remain firmly entrenched in their positions and are unlikely to budge on any negotiations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to retake all territory occupied by Russia, including the Crimean Peninsula.

And Putin is unlikely to give up the four territories he illegally annexed last year: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Peace proposals and attempts to get officials from both sides to the negotiating table have failed. 

There’s also a lingering question of whether U.S. and NATO allies should engage in separate negotiations with Russia.

Who is winning the Russia-Ukraine war?

The war has brought victory for neither side, only deep suffering, death and a mass wave of refugees.

Still, Ukraine has won multiple, decisive battles and has inflicted serious casualties on the Russian army. By some U.S. estimates, Russia has lost around 200,000 troops.

In the first phase of the war, Ukrainian troops pushed Russia out of the western part of the country.

The second phase saw Russia condense operations in the eastern Donbas region, made up of Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia also has fortified positions in occupied Zaporizhzhia.

In the third phase, Ukraine carried out successful counteroffensives that liberated the southern region of Kherson and most of northeastern Kharkiv.

Brutal fighting continues mostly in Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia launched a massive offensive to retake the Donbas this month but has struggled to make significant progress.

Ukraine is likely to launch a counteroffensive of its own in the coming months.

Source: TEST FEED1

Florida Democrats set to pick new leader amid party turmoil

Two of Florida’s most prominent Democrats are set to face off for one of the least sought-after jobs in Sunshine State politics: Florida Democratic Party chair.

Party leaders are set to meet in Orlando on Saturday to elect their next chair, a critical first step toward rehabilitating the long-struggling organization. While four candidates are vying for the job, the race is largely seen as a head-to-head battle between former state Sen. Annette Taddeo and former state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who jumped into the contest less than two weeks ago.

The winner will face a daunting challenge: rebuilding a party teetering on the edge of political irrelevance. 

“For whoever becomes the party chair, it’s not going to be about celebrity. It’s going to be a thankless job,” said Dwight Bullward, a former Florida state senator and a senior political adviser to the progressive group Florida Rising. 

“It’s going to be probably one of the most difficult jobs they take on,” he added. “But baked into that is an opportunity. An opportunity to build without the heavy hand of national influence that Florida has operated under for a long time.” 

Florida Democrats have faced a series of setbacks in recent years, ranging from financial strains to internal disagreements over strategy and messaging to lagging voter registration efforts. 

After leading Republicans in registered voters for years, Democrats were overtaken in 2021 and have only seen their deficit grow since then. There are now over 400,000 more registered Republican voters than Democratic voters. By comparison, in 2008, when former President Barack Obama first won the state, there were nearly 700,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans.

The extent of those difficulties was put into stark relief in November, when the party and its candidates suffered across-the-board losses in the 2022 midterm elections. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) won reelection by a 19-point margin — the largest in a Florida gubernatorial race in four decades — while Republicans gained a supermajority in the state legislature. For the first time since Reconstruction, there’s not a single Democrat in statewide office.

The losses kicked off months of finger-pointing and internal strife, culminating last month with the abrupt resignation of former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz as the chair of the Florida Democratic Party. 

Among those vying to succeed Diaz are Fried, Taddeo, progressive activist Carolina Ampudia and Broward County Democratic Party Chair Rick Hoye. 

And while they’ve sought to make their individual cases for winning the job, there’s little disagreement among the candidates that the party has long been rife with problems and is in desperate need of an overhaul.

“This doesn’t happen overnight. This was 30 years in the making,” Fried, who unsuccessfully challenged former Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) for the party’s gubernatorial nomination last year, said during a debate last week. “We have to start listening once again to the people on the ground.”

Taddeo, a former Miami-Dade Democratic Party chair who fell short in her bid to oust Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) in November, made the case that Democrats needed year-round investments to bulk up their organizing and voter registration efforts — and put aside the infighting that has ravaged the party for years.

“I’m ready to do this job,” Taddeo said. “I know how to do it. I know how to do the fundraising — and it does take money to do the things we want to do.”

Heading into the Saturday chair vote, either Fried and Taddeo appear to be the likely pick. Both are well-known statewide and have racked up a long list of endorsements from the very party members who will elect their next leader on Saturday. 

Thomas Kennedy, a Democratic National Committee member from Florida who is backing Taddeo, said that not only does she have prior experience running a party, but she also has the most practical understanding of what rebuilding the state Democratic organization actually entails.

“I remember Annette Taddeo’s tenure as the Miami-Dade County party chair. She built good infrastructure; we had an office, we had actual staff, we had good funding to execute programs, we were registering voters and winning races,” Kennedy said. “I think she comes tried and proven.”

Alex Berrios, the co-founder of the voter-engagement group Mi Vecino who dropped out of the Florida Democratic Party chair contest earlier this month and endorsed Fried, said that the former agriculture commissioner’s status as the only Democrat to win statewide in recent years made her uniquely qualified to head-up the party.

“She’s not just a good person, she’s a good candidate,” he said. “She’s young, she’s strong, she’s not just going to bend to pressure. This is somebody that has more spine than most people in politics.”

But Berrios also offered a sober assessment of Democrats’ struggles in Florida. It will likely take months for the new chair to get up to speed in the job, he said. He also described the party as being stuck in a “Groundhog Day moment,” where Democrats repeatedly talk about fixing the same set of problems –—lackluster voter registration efforts, a lagging organizing program — without making actual progress. 

The bigger issue, he said, is that Florida Democrats have failed to rally the support of even their most-loyal voters.

“It’s too easy to just make a big statement that’s true, like we need year-round organizing,” Berrios said. “We’ve said that time and time again, and we still don’t have it.”

“By and large, people are voting against Democrats. Democrats are voting against Democrats,” he continued. “The Democratic Party has a core problem with branding and expectations. When you are losing your own base, you need to address those issues first.” 

Source: TEST FEED1

White House: Russia may provide Iran with fighter jets

The White House on Friday warned that Russia may provide Iran with fighter jets as part of an expanding defense relationship between the two countries.

John Kirby, a White House spokesperson on national security issues, told reporters in a virtual briefing that the U.S. has “additional information” that Iran’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine is growing. 

In return, Kirby said, Russia has been offering Iran “unprecedented support,” and the U.S. government believes Moscow may provide Iran with fighter jets. Iran is additional looking to purchase billions of dollars worth of equipment from Russia, such as helicopters and radar.

“We’re going to be watching this very closely to see what, if anything, actually transpires and what, if any, transactions are actually made,” Kirby said.

“There is this growing defense cooperation between Iran and Russia, and it’s not only certainly going to make things in Ukraine more difficult, but it could certainly make the security situation in the Middle East more difficult,” Kirby added.

The White House has previously warned of deepening military ties between Russia and Iran amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began one year ago.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan last July said Iran was preparing to provide Russia with hundreds of unmanned drones for use in Ukraine. 

Last November, CNN reported that Iran was preparing to send additional weapons to Russia, including short range missiles.

Kirby in December said the U.S. believed Moscow and Tehran “are considering the establishment of a joint production line for lethal drones in Russia.”

Friday marked one year since Russia first launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The Biden administration announced a fresh raft of sanctions targeting the Russia economy in conjunction with the anniversary, as well as a new package of military and economic assistance for Ukraine.

Source: TEST FEED1

Mike Lindell says he will sue McCarthy for sharing Jan. 6 footage only with Tucker Carlson

My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell says he plans to sue Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for providing Fox News host Tucker Carlson with exclusive access to footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Lindell told Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast on Thursday that his streaming platform Lindell-TV plans to sue McCarthy, claiming the Speaker violated the First Amendment’s freedom of the press provision and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

The Trump ally said Lindell-TV is “injured by not having access” to the tapes and that the Speaker’s decision represented discrimination. 

“We’re not gonna sit back and let that happen,” Lindell told Bannon, former White House chief strategist. “Why does just Fox get this? So they can cover it up even more? It’s disgusting. All of us, including War Room, we all need to see what’s on those tapes, and we need to see all of them.”

The Justice Department and the now-defunct House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack both previously expressed an interest in obtaining information from Lindell, who was a key proponent of false claims that voting machines had been manipulated in the 2020 election.

McCarthy’s office granted Carlson access to about 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage around the time of the Jan. 6 riot, a Fox News spokesperson confirmed to The Hill on Monday.

Democrats have slammed the decision as a potential security threat for the Capitol.

“The apparent transfer of video footage represents an egregious security breach that endangers the hardworking women and men of the United States Capitol Police, who valiantly defended our democracy with their lives at risk on that fateful day,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused McCarthy of “needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11.”

“The footage Speaker McCarthy is making available to Fox News is a treasure trove of closely held information about how the Capitol complex is protected and its public release would compromise the safety of the Legislative Branch and allow those who want to commit another attack to learn how Congress is safeguarded,” Schumer added.

McCarthy has defended his decision, saying he previously pledged to release the footage.

“I promised,” McCarthy told The New York Times on Wednesday. “I was asked in the press about these tapes, and I said they do belong to the American public. I think sunshine lets everybody make their own judgment.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Rihanna's Super Bowl show clocks more FCC complaints than Sam Smith's 'Satanic Mass' at the Grammys

Rihanna’s halftime show at Super Bowl LVII elicited more complaints from TV viewers than Sam Smith and Kim Petras’s controversial performance at the Grammy Awards.

The “Diamonds” singer’s halftime spectacle at State Farm Stadium in Arizona earlier this month drew 102 complaints to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to records obtained by The Hill as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.

Rihanna performed a medley of some of her biggest hits, with the 35-year-old star later revealing through a publicist that she took to the Super Bowl stage while pregnant with her second child.

“Inappropriate touching and dance moves, very raunchy for a family to watch,” one Illinois viewer wrote. “Little kids do not need to see this.”

Another complaint blasted the “sexualization” and “genital grabbing,” calling them “far too inappropriate for a family sport event.”

“I will NOT watch this again next year if this is how you are going to disrespect our nation,” the viewer said.

“Perpetual air humping and glorifying being a stripper isn’t child friendly for the Super Bowl,” another person lamented of the Fox broadcast. A handful of the complaints included racist and sexist attacks on Rihanna, who was born Robyn Fenty.

The Barbados native is also poised to appear next month at the Academy Awards, singing the Oscar-nominated song “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

A Plainwell, Mich., viewer incorrectly named Shakira as the halftime show performer, before ripping the songstress, “She is pregnant and was pumping her pelvis while holding her crotch.”

“I truly hope the NFL will rise above the current culture’s disastrous vision for the future and take a stand for more virtuous and family-friendly productions. And, if they don’t, the FCC will do something about it,” a Gettysburg, Pa., viewer wrote. “Our young people get bombarded on all fronts with all kinds of negativity and vulgarity; they don’t need it from America’s most beloved sport as well.”

The number of FCC complaints against Rihanna are minuscule compared to one of the Super Bowl’s most infamous and controversy-igniting moments. More than 540,000 complaints poured into the FCC in 2004, when Janet Jackson suffered a wardrobe malfunction, leaving her breast exposed, during her Super Bowl performance with Justin Timberlake.

Last year’s Super Bowl halftime show, which featured Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and other hip-hop stars, drew 33 complaints to the FCC.

While this year’s Super Bowl-related complaints topped 100, the Grammy Awards earlier this month also drew plenty of protests, with virtually all of its 87 FCC complaints focused on Smith and Petras’s “satanic” performance of their hit song, “Unholy.” Smith sported a red top hat with horns as Petras belted out the tune from inside a cage, as dancers grasped whips and fire erupted from the stage.

“I am filing this complaint because of the vile, despicable, and downright disgusting performance,” one Hartwell, Ga., viewer wrote after that performance.

Smith and Petras’s duet was “wrought with evil imagery, and depicted DEVIL WORSHIPING ACOLYTES writhing around on the floor virtually naked, and in CAGES,” the viewer said, calling it “borderline pornographic.”

“This was not an award show at all,” a Maryland viewer wrote to the FCC of the CBS broadcast of the Grammy Awards. “More like a Satanic Mass.”

“The devil worship presentation is totally unacceptable,” a Fort Dodge, Iowa, viewer said.

Although Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance drew more complaints than the Grammys, the audience size for football’s biggest night is vastly greater than the annual music awards show. Rihanna’s act reportedly drew more than 118 million viewers, while about 12.5 million people tuned in for the Grammys.

Source: TEST FEED1

Democrats erupt with fury after Republican questions ‘loyalty’ of Rep. Chu 

House Democrats are up in arms after a GOP lawmaker suggested Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), the nation’s first Chinese-American congresswoman, is disloyal to the United States.

Rep. Lance Gooden, a third-term Texas Republican, suggested this week that Chu should be denied access to sensitive classified materials — and investigated — after she defended Dominic Ng, President Biden’s selection to lead U.S. trade interests in Asia, from accusations that Ng is also working on behalf of communist leaders in Beijing. 

“I question her either loyalty or competence,” Gooden told Fox News on Wednesday. “If she doesn’t realize what’s going on then she’s totally out of touch with one of her core constituencies.”

Chu issued a statement Thursday calling Gooden’s remarks “racist,” and her Democratic allies in the House are now rushing to Chu’s defense and demanding an apology from Gooden. 

“At a time when anti-Asian hate continues to threaten communities, it’s critical that we condemn these racist and xenophobic attacks immediately and hold our fellow colleagues accountable to rid our politics of such dangerous statements and hatred,” Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), head of the Democrats’ campaign arm, said Friday in a statement.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also blasted Gooden, suggesting the Texas Republican was disloyal himself for siding with the majority of House Republicans who had voted in 2021 to overturn the presidential election results in favor of President Trump.

“Lance Gooden’s slanderous accusation of disloyalty against Rep. Chu is dangerous, unconscionable and xenophobic,” Jeffries said Thursday in a statement. “Congressman Gooden appears to sympathize with violent insurrectionists and spreads big lies to the American people, having voted not to certify the election of President Joe Biden. Look in the mirror, Lance. You have zero credibility.”

Gooden quickly responded by doubling down and accusing both Jeffries and Chu of disloyalty. 

“Rather than following facts that indicate the presence of Chinese espionage, Chu and Jeffries are playing the race card in a sick display of disloyalty to our nation,” Gooden said in an email.

Source: TEST FEED1

Marjorie Taylor Greene to introduce bill to audit US aid to Ukraine

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Thursday said that she plans to introduce a bill to force an audit of the billions of dollars in aid that the U.S. has sent to Ukraine in its now year-long war with Russia.

“It’s going to force Congress to give the American people an audit,” Greene said in an interview on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Thursday. “And that is exactly what the American people need, an audit of Ukraine, because we have no idea where all this money’s going.”

Greene said she plans to introduce a resolution of inquiry in the House on Friday, which is also the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A resolution of inquiry is a method for the House to request information from the executive branch.

The Georgia Republican noted that she introduced the same resolution in the last Congress and secured complete Republican support. However, the GOP did not have a majority in the House at the time.

“I’m introducing this resolution, and I’m looking forward to seeing my Republican colleagues support it,” Greene said.

She also accused the Biden administration of being “so disconnected with what the American people want that they are literally going to lead us into World War III.”

“There’s not bipartisan support among the American people for fighting a war in Ukraine that does nothing for Americans except force them to pay for it,” Greene added.

According to a Fox News poll released on Thursday, 50 percent of Americans believe the U.S. should support Ukraine “as long as it takes” to win the war against Russia, while 46 percent believe there should be a limited timeframe. 

Republicans in the poll were more likely to say there should be a limit to U.S. support, with 61 percent saying there should be an end in sight. Sixty-six percent of Democrats said aid should continue for the remainder of the war.

House Republicans, including Greene, have previously suggested that they plan to rein in aid to Ukraine. Ahead of the midterm elections in November, Greene promised that “not another penny will go to Ukraine” in a GOP majority.

“The only border they care about is Ukraine, not America’s southern border,” Greene said of Democrats at a campaign rally. “Under Republicans, not another penny will go to Ukraine. Our country comes first. They don’t care about our border or our people.”

Source: TEST FEED1

The Hill's Morning Report — One year of war in Ukraine and ominous horizons

Editor’s note: The Hill’s Morning Report is our daily newsletter that dives deep into Washington’s agenda. To subscribe, click here or fill out the box below.

Today marks the official one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, capping off a week of commemoration and renewed calls for support from leaders across the globe. President Biden reaffirmed the U.S.’s solidarity with and aid for Ukraine in meetings in Kyiv and Warsaw, Poland, this week, stressing that Washington’s support would continue for as long as it takes.

Biden will meet virtually on today with Group of Seven leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and announce new sanctions against those aiding Russia’s war effort. The sanctions will include Russian banks, technology and defense sectors, and will impact both people and companies involved in the conflict, according to the White House. In conjunction with the sanctions, Biden will announce a new U.S. aid package that will include economic, security and energy support (Reuters).

Russian President Vladimir Putin remains stalwart in his insistence that Russia will prevail, despite emerging empty-handed after a bloody winter offensive. After a series of strident speeches in the run-up to the anniversary of his invasion, Putin announced plans on Thursday to deploy new Sarmat multi-warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles this year. Earlier this week, he suspended Russia’s participation in the START nuclear arms control treaty (Reuters).

Back at home in Russia, the grim realities of Moscow’s war in Ukraine — tens of thousands dead, international isolation and a declining quality of life — are not part of the alternate reality of nationalist fervor created by the Kremlin’s propaganda machine. But the future of Russia is bleak, and Putin likely set his country back decades, experts told The Hill’s Laura Kelly, with the Kremlin showing no signs of letting up and the Russian people facing rising uncertainty over how it will end.

▪ The Washington Post: Oral history: Leaders recall dismay, fury on first day of war in Ukraine.

▪ Politico: “We knew we were on the precipice.” The inside story of how Washington navigated the run-up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine — the shocking intelligence, the skepticism and the building of an international coalition — as told by the people in the room.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday in a live interview with The Atlantic said that the administration is not only focused on the immediate conflict, but also the months ahead as Russia’s future strategies become clearer.

“We’re thinking about their longer-term defense posture, because at some point when this is over, what’s going to be very important is to do everything we can to make sure that Russia can’t repeat the exercise a year later, two years later, five years later,” Blinken said. “And that means building up Ukraine’s longer-term deterrent and defense capacity. So, all of those things are being worked at the same time. We’re running and chewing gum at the same time.”

Finance ministers from the G7 on Thursday called for more financial support for Ukraine and vowed to maintain tough sanctions on Russia. Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Group of 20 nations in India, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen took the lead in urging the International Monetary Fund to pull together a loan program for Ukraine, adding that Washington was preparing an additional $10 billion in economic assistance (Reuters).

“Our economic assistance is making Ukraine’s resistance possible by supporting the home front,” she said. “As President Biden has said, we will stand with Ukraine in its fight — for as long as it takes.”

The New York Times: Yellen confronts Russian officials at G20 meeting.

When the Biden administration announced response plans for the refugee crisis in Ukraine, it stressed the temporary nature of a new program. But a year after Russia’s invasion, hopes of any near-term return to Ukraine for the 100,000 who have arrived so far appear dashed after a long year. As The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch reports, Ukraine’s refugee population in the U.S. was granted temporary status and just two years to remain in this country.

“This is a situation with all the hallmarks of a protracted conflict, one that makes returning safely all but impossible,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. “I think there needs to be reconsideration of the timeframes that we’re talking about.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. has issued several stern warnings to China amid growing concerns that Beijing may provide lethal aid to Russia, but has so far not made clear what those “consequences” would be. The Hill’s Brad Dress reports that according to experts and analysts, any U.S. action would likely take the shape of sanctions. On Wednesday, the Pentagon said there would be consequences for sending weapons or munitions to Russia, echoing similar warnings from Blinken and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Last weekend, Blinken first raised the alarm when he said China has already provided nonlethal aid to Russia and was considering sending lethal aid. Blinken said he warned his Chinese counterpart against supplying Moscow with arms. 

On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine (The Hill). Voting in favor: 141 countries. China, South Africa and India abstained, among 32 nations in total.

CNN: China calls for Russia-Ukraine ceasefire as claims to its neutrality are questioned.

China’s position paper on the Russia-Ukraine war, released on Friday, is HERE.

Related Articles

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Graves without names, messages unanswered: Ukraine’s missing soldiers hint at the war’s bloody toll.

▪ Politico: Why Zelensky is a more complex leader than most people know.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: U.S. to expand troop presence in Taiwan for training against China threat.

▪ CNN and Reuters: Biden called for peaceful and transparent presidential elections on Saturday in Nigeria, emphasizing that “elections are a fundamental part of a functioning democracy, and all Nigerians deserve this chance to choose their future — freely and fairly.” On Thursday, a Senate candidate in Nigeria was killed in a spate of preelection attacks (Reuters).

▪ CBS News: Biden to nominate former Mastercard president and CEO Ajay Banga to be World Bank president, the White House announced on Thursday.

LEADING THE DAY

➤ POLITICS 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) — who is days away from promoting a new memoir and has become a magnet for news coverage about his conservative objections to cultural issues — vowed Thursday through his staff to boycott MSNBC and NBC News because of a question about Black history posed by veteran journalist Andrea Mitchell last week to Vice President Harris. 

The “lie” that the DeSantis camp is protesting is Mitchell’s question: “What does Governor Ron DeSantis not know about Black history and the Black experience when he says that slavery and the aftermath of slavery should not be taught to Florida schoolchildren?” Mitchell later said her questioning was “imprecise” but did not explicitly apologize (The Hill). 

DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education have rejected an Advanced Placement course on African American studies, stoking a state-by-state political debate about whether and how to teach students about racism and slavery (NPR).

Meanwhile, a federal judge on Thursday ruled that former President Trump can be deposed in a pair of lawsuits brought by two former FBI officials whom he has long publicly disparaged. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled on Thursday that former FBI employees Peter Strzok and Lisa Page would also be permitted to question FBI Director Christopher Wray (NBC News). Strzok, who was fired from the bureau, is challenging his dismissal, while Page, who resigned, similarly asserts Trump and his appointees targeted her out of a political vendetta (The Hill). 

▪ The Washington Post: Trump’s grip on the Republican base is slipping — even among his fans. More than 150 interviews in pivotal electoral states show the former president maintains a bond with his GOP voters but faces rising interest in a new standard-bearer.

▪ Politico: Trump-allied group to Congress: Cut off former Jan. 6 committee staffers.

▪ The Hill: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asks the former Architect of the Capitol when he will repay taxpayers.

▪ NBC News: Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) urged the Justice Department to act if it finds Ticketmaster has “walled itself off from competitive pressure at the expense of the industry and fans.”

Nikki Haley has been cast as a moderate alternative to former President Trump in the race for the GOP’s 2024 nomination. But as The Hill’s Niall Stanage writes in The Memo, it’s not at all clear that Haley wants that label. At her campaign stops, she stresses conservative priorities on crime, immigration and the fight against “wokeness” that are substantially indistinguishable from those of Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Her appeal is less about center-right vs hard-right policies, instead, it’s more that she wraps the same proposals in a sunnier outlook and a promise of turning the page from the current generation of politicians. 

Republicans are grappling with how to appeal to women voters — a lingering issue that threatens to turn off key voting blocs as Republicans look to flip the Senate, retain their House majority and take back the White House in 2024. The Hill’s Julia Manchester and Caroline Vakil report a lack of strategic framing on issues like abortion and fielding candidates who speak primarily to the far-right portion of their base have at times cost Republicans women voters during elections, members of the party say. Now Republicans are staring down a consequential set of elections next year, with some members of the party warning that nominating Trump could further thwart those efforts. 

Marianne Williamson, the best-selling spiritual author and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate will launch her bid for the Democratic nomination on March 4, the Medill News Service reports. Williamson in 2020 ran a long-shot campaign, dropping out of the race in January before any primary as she polled at less than 1 percent.

▪ The New York Times: Republicans will hold their first presidential debate in Milwaukee. The debate is set for August, in the same city that will host the party’s 2024 convention.

▪ The Washington Post: Republicans use “wokeism” to attack the left — but struggle to define it.

▪ Los Angeles Times: California Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter are in a tight race to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a new poll shows; others trail far behind.

Former President George W. Bush, during a rare visit toWashington today, will mark the 20th anniversary of PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, launched during his administration (The Hill). Bush will be joined by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former first lady Laura Bush, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. Blinken, who is in New York City, will add virtual remarks during the event, hosted by The George W. Bush Institute.

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ ADMINISTRATION

Ohio: The release of hazardous chemicals following a freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, early this month resulted from an overheated axle and a train car containing plastic pellets that sparked a fire, according to a preliminary report released on Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB said it found no indication the Norfolk Southern train’s crew did anything wrong (The Hill).

▪ The New York Times: The crew tried to stop the train before the derailment in East Palestine, the NTSB reported.

▪ The Hill: The release of toxic substances into the air and water in East Palestine killed an estimated 44,000 aquatic creatures, including minnows, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

▪ The Hill: NTSB chairwoman decries politicization of the Ohio train wreck.

Biden and senior officials in the administration previously said Norfolk Southern is culpable in what the government says was a “100 percent preventable” accident that could have created a horrific fireball, and even with a controlled burn of chemicals has triggered special water, air and soil monitoring and testing. The train carried 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen. The NTSB’s investigation could take a year or more. The agency plans a rare field hearing in Ohio this spring.

A union representing railroad workers said Wednesday that from its perspective, Norfolk Southern has prioritized speed over safety using a system called “precision scheduled railroading” that aims to keep trains moving (NBC News).

Biden and the White House are working to stem the political fallout over the administration’s response to the train derailment that has left residents of East Palestine, Ohio, scared and frustrated, write The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Alex Gangitano.

After Biden returned late Wednesday from a surprise trip to Kyiv and a major speech in Europe to mark the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an NPR poll showed Biden with a 49 percent approval rating, his highest mark in nearly a year. But the train derailment and its aftermath threaten to drag Biden down as Republicans question the urgency of his administration’s response and why the president himself has not prioritized a visit to the affected community. 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited East Palestine on Thursday after criticism that he was not attentive enough during an evolving emergency. He pushed back at Trump, a presidential candidate who traveled to Ohio on Wednesday to criticize the Biden administration, urging the former president to support tougher freight rail regulations (The Hill).  

“One thing he can do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch. I heard him say he had nothing to do with it, even though it was in his administration. So, if he had nothing to do with it and they did it in his administration against his will, maybe he can come out and say that he supports us moving in a different direction,” the secretary said.

▪ NPR: A pulmonologist and medical professor near East Palestine, Ohio, details health issues he’s monitoring in the community including respiratory conditions.

▪ CNN: Angry Ohio residents confront train CEO during CNN town hall on toxic wreck.

▪ The Hill: Four systemic safety issues suggested in the NTSB crash report.

Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (R), 38 — who won national acclaim as author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” his memoir about growing up in Ohio’s Rust Belt — said the East Palestine disaster “stands at the intersection of corporate power and government power,” adding that people in his “wing of the party are very skeptical of each” (Axios).

When asked during a phone interview if companies should face higher liability or fines for such accidents, Vance told Axios, “They need to face more responsibility for causing accidents like this. … You still smell the aroma of chemicals in the air. And, obviously, that scares the hell out of the local population.”

First lady Jill Biden’s visit to Namibia was a hit on Thursday with scores of giddy children who crowded around as she handed out boxes of White House M&Ms after visiting an organization, Hope Initiatives Southern Africa, that gets U.S. support for programs that teach young adults about HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence (ABC News/AP).

“Candy from the White House,” Biden, an educator by profession, announced as she stepped out of her SUV and approached the children, who had been waiting along the roadside.

The first lady quickly ran out of candy, and then another boy stepped forward. As he sadly turned away, she called out, “Wait!,” and gave him the presidential tote bag that had held the sweets.

She next heads to Kenya, where she will talk about food insecurity in the Horn of Africa. Kenya has faced multiple droughts over the last 15 years, causing major food supply and public health issues. The White House says women’s equality and gender based violence are also on the agenda (ABC News).

Behind the “soft power” approach by the first lady in two African nations, the Biden administration views countries on the continent as strategic partners when it comes to national defense, and U.S. officials hope to diminish the influence in Africa of some mercenary groups — such as the Russian-backed Wagner Group. At the same time, U.S. officials are wary of China’s financial influence, aided by Beijing’s multibillion-dollar investments in Africa’s infrastructure through a program known as the Belt and Road Initiative (MSNBC).

Previous first ladies made both solo trips and visits with their husbands to African countries, including Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama.

OPINION

■ The economic war against Putin has only just begun, by the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. https://bloom.bg/3EB7u6O

■ Is Ukraine the “war before the war”? by Michael Singh, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/3EA7kwx 

WHERE AND WHEN

📲 Ask The Hill: Share a news query tied to an expert journalist’s insights: The Hill launched something new and (we hope) engaging via text with Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack. Learn more and sign up HERE.

The House will hold a pro forma session at 11 a.m. 

The Senate meets on Monday at 3 p.m. for a reading of George Washington’s Farewell Address before proceeding to executive session to consider the nomination of Jamar Walker to be a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 8:30 a.m. Biden will participate in a virtual meeting of Group of Seven leaders with Zelensky at 9 a.m. from the White House. Biden will depart for Delaware at 5:25 p.m.

The vice president will host a White House meeting at 11 a.m. about access to reproductive health care.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in Bengaluru, India, to participate today in the Group of 20 finance ministers’ meeting. The secretary this afternoon holds a bilateral meeting with British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt. 

The secretary of State is in New York City where he will participate in a virtual Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe permanent council meeting at 9:15 a.m. He will participate in a United Nations Security Council ministerial meeting on Ukraine at 10 a.m. Blinken meets at 11:30 a.m. with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The secretary at 1:15 p.m. meets with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

The first lady will travel from Namibia to Kenya and be there through Sunday. Early today, she delivered keynote remarks to students at Namibia University of Science and Technology. This afternoon local time, she flies from Windhoek to Nairobi. The first lady is scheduled to meet her counterpart in Kenya, first lady Rachel Ruto, upon arrival. In Nairobi this evening, Biden will participate in a reception focused on women’s empowerment accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman.

Economic indicator: The Bureau of Economic Analysis will report at 8:30 a.m. on January’s personal income and outlays.  

ELSEWHERE

➤ STATE WATCH

Weather woes: Winter gripped much of the country on Thursday while flip flops and shorts were the street garb from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans as temperatures soared. The nation’s capital hit a record high daily temperature of 81 degrees (The Washington Post). 

Winter in February is not news. Extreme weather swings (and the resulting problems) make headlines.

Some 2,500 commercial flights were canceled everywhere as of Thursday morning, largely because snow, hail and sleet combined to scratch 800 flights into or out of the United States (ABC News).

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard alert for the mountains of Los Angeles County for the first time since 1989. The warning was to take effect at 4 a.m. today and last until 4 p.m. on Saturday. The weather service predicted 2 to 5 feet of snow and 75 mph winds at mountain elevations as low as 4,000 feet, adding that flakes could fall around the Hollywood historical landmark sign.

On Thursday, there were reports of fatalities from a downed power line in Michigan, a collapsed commercial garage deck in Wisconsin, two separate emergency deaths in winter-whipped Portland, Ore., and other weather-related hazards (Weather.com). In Minnesota, more than 200 highway wrecks were reported in icy conditions.

Nationwide, nearly 1 million people have been without power, most in Michigan, during what has become a multiday weather drama, CNN reported.

Tennessee: State House Republicans on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a ban on gender transition health care for minors, which will require transgender children to end their current medical treatment by March 2024. Republican Gov. Bill Lee has voiced support for the bill and is expected to sign it if it reaches his desk.

The measure prohibits children from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapies or surgical procedures.

People who received the treatments as minors would also be able to sue parents, guardians and physicians for authorizing the care under a statute of limitations under the legislation. Bill sponsors initially included language to categorize parents seeking such treatments for their kids as abuse or neglect, but that section was later stripped from the bill as it made its way through committees.

If it becomes law, the bill would officially take effect this summer and give existing patients until March 31, 2024, to cease treatment, a timeline that House Democrats have argued could medically harm the patients. Civil rights groups have vowed an immediate lawsuit if and when the bill becomes law — setting up the potential for a lengthy legal battle over the coming months (The Tennessean).

“These children do not need these medical procedures to be able to flourish as adults,” said state House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R). “They need mental health treatment. They need love and support, and many of them need to be able to grow up to become the individuals that they were intended to be” (The Washington Post).

State lawmakers nationwide have introduced legislation opposing gender-affirming medical care for young people (The Hill). Such services have been available in the U.S. for more than a decade and have been endorsed by major medical associations.

ABC News: Virginia reviews an advanced placement African American studies course amid nationwide debate.

➤ HEALTH & PANDEMIC

Childhood obesity in the United States has tripled in the past three decades, and data suggest that already surging rates were further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, writes The Hill’s Gianna Melillo. Experts and advocates warn this could have significant long-term impacts on everything from the toll of chronic disease to military recruitment. The nation is trying to head off the trend, and its potential consequences. 

Most Americans think they know the story of the pandemic. But when a reporter at The New York Times immersed himself in a COVID-19 oral-history project, he realized how much we’re still missing.

▪ The Hill: Americans are worried about rising drug costs, health bills, survey shows.

▪ The Washington Post: Sunny highs to shivering cold: Wild weather swings take a health toll.

▪ The New York Times: Global declines in maternal mortality have stalled. Death rates in the United States have increased in recent years, as they have in Europe, the WHO reported.

Information about the availability of COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots can be found at Vaccines.gov. 

Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (trackers all vary slightly): 1,119,508. Current U.S. COVID-19 deaths are 2,407 for the week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (The CDC shifted its tally of available data from daily to weekly, now reported on Fridays.)

THE CLOSER

And finally …  👏👏👏 Congratulations to Morning Report Quiz winners! Expert puzzlers knew all about Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, and carnival celebrations around the world.

Here’s who paraded their four correct answers this week: Richard Baznik, Patrick Kavanagh, Mary Anne McEnery, Barbara Wither, Pam Manges, John Dziennik Jr., Steve James, Luther Berg, Stephen Delano, Paul Harris and Jaina Metha.

They knew that New Orleans was celebrating Mardi Gras by the 1730s.

During Brazil’s annual Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, samba schools launch elaborate floats and show off choreographed dance routines 

Venice, Italy, is famous for its masked carnival, which ends on Shrove Tuesday.

The British traditionally eat pancakes to celebrate Fat Tuesday. Many still ask why, according to the Daily Mail.

Stay Engaged

We want to hear from you! Email: Alexis Simendinger and Kristina Karisch. Follow us on Twitter (@asimendinger and @kristinakarisch) and suggest this newsletter to friends!

Republicans grapple with how to win over women voters

Republicans are grappling with how to appeal to women voters — a lingering issue that threatens to turn off key voting blocs as the party looks to flip the Senate, retain their House majority and take back the White House in 2024. 

A lack of strategic framing on issues like abortion and fielding candidates who speak primarily to the core of their base have at times cost Republicans women voters during elections, some members of the party say. 

Now Republicans are staring down a consequential set of elections next year, with some members of the party warning that nominating former President Trump could further thwart those efforts.

“The biggest issue that Republican candidates are going to have in earning the support of women voters is they’re going to have to be willing to openly and assertively reject the principals that Trump has led on, and the only way they can do that is if they reject Trump and they don’t seem willing to do so,” said Jennifer Horn, a former congressional candidate and former chair of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee. 

Recent surveys have shown that women voters appear slightly less inclined to want to vote for Trump as he makes his latest bid at the White House. 

An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released on Wednesday found that 40 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning independent women respondents believed their party had a better chance of winning the presidency in 2024 if Trump was their nominee, compared to 56 percent who said someone else. Among men in that same demographic, 43 percent of respondents supported choosing the former president compared to 52 percent who said someone else. 

“As the Republican Party has changed, I think that women, obviously, especially suburban women, have largely moved away from the Republican Party as a result of Trump because they don’t like his antics or his rhetoric,” said Sarah Matthews, who served as former White House deputy press secretary under the Trump administration. 

“And so I think that moving forward that’s going to be the issue for Republicans to appeal to that voting demographic because at the end of the day, they’ve already soured on Trump,” she continued. “And so if he is ultimately the nominee for 2024, then I don’t know if there’s much that they can do to appeal to them because they’re just turned off by Trump no matter what.”

But Trump’s campaign projected confidence that they would see strong support among women voters in 2024. 

“Not only is President Trump the greatest president in U.S. history, but he is a great human being who has advocated for the advancement of women throughout his life. In 2016 and 2020, women voters came out to support President Trump and 2024 will be no different,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told The Hill in a statement. 

Republicans also say it’s not just about the candidates they’re fielding, but also about how they’re framing their issues, too.

“…I think the importance here with regards to ‘approaching women’ is understanding that various issues — how you message them can be received differently by male and female voters and not understanding that reality I think can [be] electorally costly,” explained John Couvillon, a Louisiana-based pollster who typically works with Republicans.

Couvillon found, for example, that messaging that used harsher rhetoric turned off women more than it dissuaded men. He explained that could be a “very costly oversight” if that’s not factored into political messaging given that women usually make up between 50 to 55 percent of the electorate. 

“Especially from the past midterms, Republicans have a lot to learn about talking to and engaging with women. I think schools and school rights and parental rights was a very effective message, and I think moving into 2024 it doesn’t surprise me that they’re talking about that,” said Jennifer Lim, founder and executive director at Republican Women for Progress. 

And Republicans are eager to recalibrate their messaging as Democrats continue to go on the offensive on issues like abortion. 

“What I would love to see is the GOP and especially the Republican women rising in the ranks and putting their candidacies out there … I would love for them to come up with some positive policy proposals that actually take into consideration what women are dealing with right now,” Lim said. 

On Wednesday, EMILY’s List, a group devoted to electing Democratic women candidates in favor of abortion rights, announced it was targeting 23 House Republicans over their positions on abortion. 

Last month the Republican National Committee passed a resolution urging ​​GOP candidates to “go on offense” on the issue through labeling Democratic opponents as extremists. However, Democrats are skeptical Republicans will be able to win over women voters anytime soon.

“I think that they’re going to have a really hard time with younger women because of the intense impact that the Dobbs decision had. It’s kind of like other intervention effects like the Vietnam War,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster. “There are things that happen to a cohort [like] Watergate, that can be so foundational that it can permanently influence attitudes. But I think the Dobbs decision and that whole battle is going to make it more difficult for the Republicans to get younger women even as they age.”

Exit polling from the 2022 midterm elections show that 47 percent of female voters felt angry about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — the landmark decision that established the constitutional right to access an abortion — and 83 percent of those women voted for a Democratic candidate, according to The Brookings Institution.

There’s also the question of what impact having women at the top of the ticket will have in 2024. Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has touted her status as the only woman in the 2024 GOP primary so far, but she has been careful to distance herself from what she dubbed “identity politics” at her campaign launch. 

And Republicans are keenly aware that putting a woman on the ticket will not necessarily translate into more female votes, citing the late Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) decision to choose former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) as a running mate in 2008. 

“It would be a naive misunderstanding of women voters to think that just by putting a woman candidate [on the ticket], you can somehow woo women voters,” said Debbie Walsh, director for the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. 

“It’s not about the gender of the candidate. It’s a party issue and the party issue is tied directly to policy issues,” she said. “Where do these two parties stand on issues that matter to women.” 

Democrats, too, say that the GOP is not the only party facing issues with women voters, pointing to the nuances among the voting bloc as a whole. 

”I think Republicans have a woman problem, but Democrats have a woman problem too. Because the key for Democrats to win is they have to win women by more than they lose men by, and that means you have to get some white women, you have to get some blue collar women, you have to get some older women. And those are groups that Democrats struggle with,” Lake said. 

Source: TEST FEED1