Ukraine War: Russia warns Sweden and Finland against Nato membership  —  Russia has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato, arguing the move would not bring stability to Europe.  —  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation”.

The Backlash Over Trump's Dr. Oz Endorsement Shows His Hold on the GOP Is Slipping  —  MAGA-world's disappointment in their Dear Leader could mean they're getting ready to move on. … Donald Trump's recent endorsement of Dr. Mehmet Oz in the Republican primary race for U.S. Senate …

Why American Teens Are So Sad  —  Sign up for Derek's newsletter here.  —  The United States is experiencing an extreme teenage mental-health crisis.  From 2009 to 2021, the share of American high-school students who say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” …

Abby Finkenauer can't appear on Democratic primary ballot, Iowa judge rules … U.S. Senate candidate Abby Finkenauer cannot appear on Iowa's June 7 Democratic primary ballot, a judge ruled Sunday.  —  The late night ruling, which reverses a state panel's decision, is a major setback for Finkenauer …

Has US Rep. Kai Kahele Given Up On Washington?  —  WASHINGTON — When Kai Kahele announced he was running for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District in 2019, he vowed one thing to his future constituents — that he'd show up and do the job.  —  It was a stark contrast to the person who was sitting in the seat at the time.

White House says it expects inflation to be ‘extraordinarily elevated’ in new report  — The Biden administration is bracing for the Labor Department's consumer price index report to show that inflation is “extraordinarily elevated.”  — The consumer price index, or CPI, is one of Wall Street's favorite ways to measure inflation.

Karen Bass and Rick Caruso in dead heat, L.A. mayoral poll finds  —  Voters upset over crime and a seemingly limitless geyser of cash have propelled Rick Caruso to the front of the race for mayor, reshaping the contest and offering Los Angeles a stark contrast between the billionaire developer and his chief rival, Rep. Karen Bass.

What happens when a group of Fox News viewers watch CNN for a month?  —  A study that paid viewers of the rightwing cable network to switch shed light on the media's influence on people's views  —  atching Fox News can be like entering an alternative universe.

The city of Philadelphia will reinstate an indoor mask mandate, the first major U.S. city to do so this spring.  —  With new coronavirus cases low but rising sharply in recent days, the city of Philadelphia announced on Monday that it will reinstate an indoor mask mandate a little more than a month …

Trump and Ukraine: Former Advisers Revisit What Happened  —  Amid the current crisis, Fiona Hill and other former advisers are connecting President Trump's pressure campaign on Ukraine to Jan. 6.  And they're ready to talk.  —  To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

I Commanded U.S. Army Europe.  Here's What I Saw in the Russian and Ukrainian Armies.  —  The two armies at war today couldn't be more different.  —  In March 2011, I began a new posting as the Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, in command of all U.S. Army forces stationed in various countries throughout Europe.

NRA slams Biden's ‘hollow’ ghost gun rule, not ‘sincere’ until criminals are put behind bars  —  The Biden administration plans to reclassify gun kits to qualify as firearms  —  Biden administration to crackdown on ‘ghost guns’  —  The NRA slammed the Biden administration's expected …

Stung by redistricting rulings, Republicans target state court elections  —  Republicans are vowing to spend record amounts in key state supreme court races this fall, seeking to take advantage of a favorable national political environment to elect conservative judges at the state level amid deep political divisions.

The Lerner family will explore selling the Washington Nationals  —  The family of real estate magnate Ted Lerner, which 16 years ago purchased the Washington Nationals from Major League Baseball and oversaw a rebuilding process that eventually resulted in a World Series championship …

Russia Airs Its Ultimate ‘Revenge Plan’ for America  —  Battered and infuriated by sanctions over the war in Ukraine, Putin's henchmen are plotting their master plan for revenge on live television.  —  As Russia's war of aggression continues to ravage its neighbor, the Kremlin's propaganda apparatus …

The new White House rule: Do not talk about Joe Manchin  —  The fate of President Joe Biden's domestic agenda may hinge on his administration's ability to do one simple thing: Shut up.  —  Four months after Biden's Build Back Better plan collapsed amid a bitter back-and-forth with Sen. Joe Manchin …

What I wish I'd known when I was 19 and had sex reassignment surgery  —  Corinna Cohn, a software developer in Indianapolis, is an officer in the Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network.  —  When I was 19, I had surgery for sex reassignment, or what is now called gender affirmation surgery.

Bucha's Month of Terror  —  ‘They shot my son.  I was next to him.  It would be better if it had been me.’  —  As the Russian advance on Kyiv stalled, a campaign of terror and revenge against civilians nearby in Bucha began, survivors and investigators say.  —  Russian soldiers set up in this school.

Democrats are sleepwalking into a Senate disaster  —  Business as usual will produce a huge GOP majority … Traditionally, the President's party averages roughly 47.5% of the two-party vote 1 in midterms.  Right now, in FiveThirtyEight's average of public polls, Democrats are polling at 48.7%.

As Remote Work Becomes Permanent, Can Manhattan Adapt?  —  With more companies adopting hybrid work, New York City's economy, which relies on commuters and full office buildings, faces an uncertain future.  —  PwC, a global consulting firm with its American headquarters in New York City …

Student hides from ‘woke mob’ in bathroom as angry protesters target Allen West: ‘I was afraid for my life’  —  Therese Purcell tells ‘Fox & Friends First’ protests spiraled out of control at University of Buffalo  —  Woke mob swarms Lt. Col. Allen West's speech at University of Buffalo

Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt, says S&P  —  London (CNN Business)Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt because it offered bondholders payments in rubles, not dollars, credit ratings agency S&P has said.  —  Russia attempted to pay in rubles for two dollar-denominated bonds …

Distraught over orders to investigate trans kids' families, Texas child welfare workers are resigning  —  Other investigators don't want to follow an order they believe harms families but worry about the impact of a mass employee exodus on the state's most vulnerable children.  —  Copy link

Malinowski has colossal $1 million first-quarter fundraising haul  —  Democratic congressman's cash-on-hand now at $3.5 million  —  Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) raised an astronomical $1.06 million during the first quarter of 2022 and has a massive $3.5 million warchest in his bid for re-election in New Jersey's 7th district.

Florida lawmakers cave to DeSantis on redistricting and will defer to him with new map  —  (CNN)Republican legislative leaders in Florida have given up trying to draw new congressional boundaries that can win Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature and, in an unprecedented move, announced Monday …

New York Latest To Lift Hurdle To Nurse Practitioners During Pandemic  —  New York is the latest in a growing number of states giving direct access to nurse practitioners thanks to legislation eliminating hurdles for patients who need primary care, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

California, New York handled COVID-19 lockdowns the worst, Florida among the best, a new study shows  —  Some liberal states ‘had high age-adjusted death rates and high unemployment’  —  Gridiron Dinner spreads coronavirus in DC  —  A new study has graded states by how well they handled …