Friday's Top 60

 TODAY’s HEADLINES (60)

1. Biden warns Americans in Ukraine to leave, says sending troops to evacuate would be 'world war' (NBC)

2. Russia started the active phase of military drills in Belarus as Britain launched new diplomacy in a standoff over Ukraine, warning Moscow that going to war with its neighbor would be disastrous for Russia, Ukraine and Europe. Britain ordered 1,000 troops to be on a state of readiness to provide support in the event of a humanitarian crisis caused by any Russian aggression. (Reuters)

3. Ukraine tensions: Russia accused of sea blockade (BBC)

4. On Ukraine’s front line, echoes of wider risks with Russia (WP)

5. Congress at an 'impasse' over how to deter Russian invasion of Ukraine (Politico)

6. Russia and UK exchange barbs after frosty Moscow meeting (Financial Times)

7. Military aid from US, UK arrives in Ukraine before drills (NHK)

8. Massive Russian Military Drills on Ukraine Border Ratchet Up Threat (WSJ)

9. How suicide became the hidden toll of the war in Ukraine (BBC)

10. The Next Vaccine Debate: Immunize Young Children Now, or Wait? — It’s not clear whether three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will adequately protect young children. But the F.D.A. may authorize the first two doses anyway. (NYT)

11. Half the world is now fully vaccinated. But the global divide is stark, experts say. (WP)

12. VIDEO: C.D.C. Director Urges Caution in Easing Mask Rules — Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said her agency was working on new guidance for the states, but that it was not yet time to lift mask mandates across the nation. (AP)

13. Abrupt end to mask mandates reflects a shifting political landscape (WP)

14. Most vulnerable still in jeopardy as COVID precautions ease (AP)

15. What It Could Mean If You're Letting Friendships Slip Away During COVID (HuffPost)

16. How Is America Still This Bad at Talking About the Pandemic? — America’s leaders could stand to learn four lessons on how to communicate about COVID. (Atlantic)

17. Africa transitioning out of pandemic phase of Covid, WHO says (Guardian)

18. Covid increases long-term heart risks, study of U.S. veterans finds (WP)

19. A top researcher says it's time to rethink our entire approach to preschool (NPR)

20. Prices climbed 7.5% in January, compared with last year, continuing inflation’s fastest pace in 40 years (WP)

21. Higher Inflation Is Probably Costing You $250 a Month (WSJ)

22. U.S. Government Recorded $119 Billion Budget Surplus, Its First Since Before Pandemic (WSJ)

23. Why US inflation is so high, and when it may ease (AP)

24. Inflation keeps getting worse: A peek inside the mounting trouble for the Fed and Biden (Politico)

25. The economy is strong but voters aren't feeling it. That's a problem for Biden (NPR)

26. Denmark in talks to allow in US troops for first time in decades (Financial Times)

27. One Menacing Call After Another: Threats Against Lawmakers Surge — A review of threats against members of Congress shows how a mainstreaming of violent political speech has prompted a growing number of Americans to target elected officials. (NYT)

28. Trump denies flushing documents down White House toilet (Politico)

29. Republican rift exposes choice: With Trump or against him (AP)

30. Democrats are increasingly worried the Supreme Court will completely hollow out the Voting Rights Act and limit recourse for advocates suing over GOP-led efforts to gerrymander and disenfranchise voters of color. Speaking after the court allowed Alabama’s gerrymandered congressional map to go forward, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock told HuffPost: “I think the warning signs of our democracy are flashing.” [HuffPost]

31. Why Congress is moving against sexual harassment, 4 years after #MeToo (Politico)

32. Afghan evacuation was disrupted by pleas for help from U.S. officials and the public, commander says (WP)

33. Afghan Refugees Held for Months in the U.A.E. Protest the Conditions

    Thousands who fled amid the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Kabul last summer complain of prison-like conditions while waiting to continue to the U.S. (WSJ)

34. Top D.C. lobbying firm reps company alleged by former employees to have paid off Taliban  (Politico)

35. Afghanistan: Evidence mounts of Taliban reprisal arrests and killings (BBC)

36. Turkey’s Doctors Are Leaving, the Latest Casualty of Spiraling Inflation (NYT)

37. The business impact from U.S.-Canada border closures is bringing fresh urgency to Canadian authorities' efforts to quell the two-week-old protests against the government's pandemic measures, even as the national capital Ottawa sees early signs of a return to normalcy. Ottawa's anti-vaccine mandate protests are spreading globally - with New Zealand and France the latest flashpoints. (Reuters)

38. Covid: Trucker protests may hit Super Bowl, US security agency says (BBC)

39. Truckers’ bridge blockade forces shutdowns at auto plants (AP)

40. 'I just don't feel safe': Ottawa residents describe fears amid trucker protest as Canada's far right comes into focus (NBC)

41. VIDEO: Pelosi in Favor of a ‘Governmentwide’ Stock Ban — Nancy Pelosi of California, the speaker of the House, said she would agree to a ban on the ownership and trading of individual stocks by members of Congress if the ban also applied to members of the judicial branch. (AP)

42. White House records obtained so far by January 6 committee show no record of calls to and from Trump during riot (CNN)

43. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) finally said he agreed that the Capitol riot was a violent insurrection, his clearest condemnation thus far after dodging the issue. “No one would disagree with that,” he told reporters. Many Republicans have been loathe to say as much, and the Republican National Committee censured GOP Reps. Liz Cheney  and Adam Kinzinger last week for sitting on the Democrat-led panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. [HuffPost] 

44. Biden administration plan calls for $5 billion network of electric vehicle chargers along interstates (WP)

45. Washington Post to Expand Health, Climate Coverage in Bid for More Readers (WSJ)

46. Police fatally shot at least 1,055 people in 2021, the most since The Post began tracking (WP)

47. Forget the Office—Salesforce Is Making a Wellness Retreat for Workers (WSJ)

48. China-based financier, once reprimanded by U.S. regulators and barred from taking his company public, played a bigger role than is publicly known in the shell company that agreed to merge with former President Donald Trump’s new social media venture. (Reuters)

49. Hong Kong democracy and media freedom has ‘entered endgame’ (Guardian)

50. What romance novels can teach us about attraction (Vox)

51. The Next Century’s Big Demographic Mystery — Experts can’t agree on how many humans will be on Earth by 2100. The implications could be profound. (Atlantic)

52. Possible 3rd planet spotted around Proxima Centauri, the sun's nearest neighbor star (Space.com)

53. SpaceX’s newest fleet of satellites is tumbling out of orbit after being struck by a solar storm. — Up to 40 of the 49 small satellites launched last week have either reentered the atmosphere and burned up, or are on the verge of doing so, the company said in an online update. (AP)

54. NASA probe captures first images of Venus' surface in visible light (Fox)

55. Watch these robotic fish swim to the beat of human heart cells (NPR)

56. Uber Expects to Be Cash-Flow Positive by Fourth Quarter of 2022 (WSJ)

57. Uber adds passengers, food orders amid omicron surge (NPR)

58. A missing game of Wordle helps end a 17-hour hostage ordeal (BBC)

59. And the Wordle backlash begins: ‘Blaming this on the Americans’ (NY Post)

60. British Pub Closes After 1,000 Years Due To Pandemic — you'd think the Black Plague would've prepared the owners for the pandemic. (The Onion)