WAR

So Putin as done it. He’s started a war against Ukraine, NATO, the EU, the US, and the entire world’s security in hopes of rebuilding the lost Soviet empire.

In this he will fail.

Also, this is the beginning of the end of Putin’s hold on power. Autocrats who overreach face terrible consequences and Putin’s day is coming.

It’s still the early hours of the conflict and more news will be coming, so I’ll leave it at that for now and let the news headlines tell the story. About half of them deal with the crisis.

TODAY’s HEADLINES (69):

1. Russia attacks Ukraine; peace in Europe 'shattered' (AP)

2. Russian Airstrikes Hit Dozens of Ukrainian Cities — NATO chief calls Putin’s attack a ‘brutal act of war’(WSJ)

3. Many Ukrainians began to flee city centers or took refuge in subway tunnels as air sirens sounded across Kyiv after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an invasion. “President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering," U.S. President Joe Biden said. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed it targeted Ukraine's airbases and rendered them and other military infrastucture "inoperable." Ukraine reported several dozen casualties. [HuffPost]

4. Ukraine calls up reservists, plans national emergency declaration as U.S. and allies hit Russia with new sanctions (CBS)

5. Russia evacuates embassy in Ukraine as crisis escalates (AP)

6. Russia moving some forces and tanks into eastern Ukraine, Latvian PM says (CNN)

7. U.S. and Allies Impose Sanctions on Russia as Biden Condemns Invasion of Ukraine (NYT)

8. Kremlin warns Americans will face financial consequences of U.S. sanctions — President Biden acknowledged the crisis could lead to higher gasoline prices, while U.S. businesses have been warned to prepare for possible cyber attacks. (WP)

9. The west is in danger of being outwitted by Putin yet again (Financial Times)

10. Russian lawmakers authorized President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside his country, and U.S. President Joe Biden and European leaders slapped sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks as the faceoff over Ukraine escalated. The U.S. views Putin’s move to bolster Russian-backed breakaway regions in Ukraine as an invasion. [AP]

11. Ukraine Prepares for War, Urges Citizens to Leave Russia (WSJ)

12. President Vladimir Putin has shifted the crisis into a new, more dangerous phase with a barrage of words and actions that suggest his ultimate aims go far deeper than extending Russian sway over two struggling separatist regions. So where will Putin stop? (Reuters)

13. Donald Trump gave Putin a bizarre rave review after Russian military forces began moving into Ukraine and threatening its civilians ― while simultaneously claiming nothing like that would have ever happened under his administration. “We could use that on our southern border,” he added, before continuing his flattery. “That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen." [HuffPost]

14. Trump sides with Putin as Biden tries to stop a war (CNN)

15. Satellite images show a new deployment of more than 100 military vehicles and dozens of troop tents in southern Belarus near the Ukraine border, a private U.S. company said. (Reuters)

16. Crisis Kicks Off New Superpower Struggle Among U.S., Russia and China — Beijing and Moscow now hold a stronger hand in confronting the West than during the Cold War. (WSJ)

17. World facing moment of peril over Ukraine - UN (BBC)

18. Nato accuses Russia of trying to ‘rewrite entire global security architecture’ (Guardian)

19. How Much Will the West Sacrifice for Ukraine? — The Western world will have to prove that it has not become all of the things Vladimir Putin has long believed it to be. (Atlantic)

20. It's Biden's sanctions vs. Putin's tanks (Politico)

21. Ukraine’s economy is another victim of Russia’s ‘hybrid war’ (AP)

22. Kenya's UN ambassador slams Russia and compares Ukraine crisis to Africa's colonial past (CNN)

23. Ukraine Enclaves Long Steeped in Conflict Face New Peril (NYT)

24. Uncertainty over what Putin will do next shakes up oil, natural gas markets (WP)

25. US to move additional troops to Baltic region amid rising Ukraine tensions (NHK)

26. As the U.S. and Europe impose sanctions, some in Latin America applaud Russia's Ukraine moves (Politico)

27. Ukrainian government and banking websites are hit by cyberattacks (NPR)

28. Stock correction deepens amid simmering Ukraine crisis (AP)

29. ‘Our army is ready’: Ukraine preps for full-blown conflict (Politico)

30. Russia-Ukraine Crisis Has Big Western Businesses Bracing for Sanctions Fallout (WSJ)

31. Business brisk at Kyiv gun shops as Ukrainians rush to buy arms (Guardian)

32. Biden can do little to stop Ukraine crisis from spiking fuel prices (Politico)

33. On Poland’s border with Ukraine, U.S. military helps plan for possible war refugees (WP)

34. The Coming Energy Shock — Beyond the imminent threat of violence, Russia is poised to upend the global energy market. (Atlantic)U.S. truckers plan pandemic protest, inspired by Canadian counterparts (Reuters)

35. US trucker convoys prompt National Guard deployment in Washington (BBC)

36. Troops would be used to assist with traffic control in Washington as the nation's capital prepares for trucker convoys that are planning to protest against pandemic restrictions beginning next week. Modeled after recent trucker protests in Canada, separate truck convoys have been planned through online forums with names like the People’s Convoy and the American Truckers Freedom Fund. [AP]

37. Dozens of migrants clashed with police in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, as frustration boiled over due to authorities keeping them waiting for months to be granted approval for free passage across Mexico to the U.S. border. Migrants, mostly from Haiti and Africa, have been demonstrating in Tapachula, near Mexico's border with Guatemala, for almost a month. (Reuters)

38. VIDEO: Hong Kong Mandates Covid-19 Testing for All Residents (AP)

39. Hong Kong to give out spending vouchers as Covid cases hit record level (Financial Times)

40. Poland, Slovakia and Iceland latest countries set to end most coronavirus restrictions (Guardian)

41. Schools Get Caught Between Parents, Health Authorities on Masks (WSJ)

42. The Los Angeles Unified School District dropped its outdoor mask mandate on Tuesday. (LAT)

43. Fast-Spreading Omicron Type Revives Questions About Opening Up (WSJ)

44. Is omicron leading us closer to herd immunity against COVID? — Probably not. (AP)

45. To Preserve Its Own Stability, Pakistan Must Stabilize Afghanistan First (NYT)

46. Impending Iran nuclear deal alarms Israel (AP)

47. Talks in Vienna on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers have reached a sensitive point and Western countries should take a realistic approach to settle remaining matters, Iran's foreign minister said. (Reuters)

48. The 2024 presidential race has already started online (Politico)

49. Climate Scientists Warn of a ‘Global Wildfire Crisis’ (NYT)

50. Hot days lead to more mental health emergencies, study finds (Guardian)

51. A warming planet and changes to land use patterns mean more wildfires will scorch large parts of the globe in coming decades, causing spikes in unhealthy smoke pollution and other problems that governments are ill prepared to confront, according to a U.N. report being released today. It's not good news: areas once considered safe from major fires won’t be immune, including the Arctic, which the report said was “very likely to experience a significant increase in burning.” [AP]

52. The three white men convicted of chasing down and murdering a young Black man, Ahmaud Arbery, as he was out jogging in their suburban Georgia community, were found guilty of committing federal hate crimes and other offenses in the 2020 killing. We look at how Arbery's family fought for a trial that made racism central to his murder. (Reuters)

53. Abolition newspaper revived for nation grappling with racism (AP)

54. What Lies Beneath: Vets worry polluted California base made them ill (AP)

55. Spectacular Head-On Collision Between Two Galaxies Creates a Tsunami of Starbirth (SciTechDaily)

56. Day of Discovery: 7 Earth-Size Planets (NASA)

57. In the past few weeks, 1,036 beehives worth hundreds of thousands of dollars were reported stolen from orchards across California. Beekeepers are now struggling to protect their hives. (AP)

58. Anywhere from tens of millions to a billion people could become climate migrants by 2050, according to a report from the RAND Corporation. The number varies widely depending on the definition used. (NPR)

59. The asteroid that doomed the dinosaurs struck in springtime (CNN)

60. 'The Birds Outsmarted Us': Magpies Work Together To Give Scientists The Slip (HuffPost)

61. A rare fossil of a 170 million-year-old pterosaur with an 8-foot wingspan is found (NPR)

62. Almost all parents and pregnant women in China, Vietnam and the United Kingdom are exposed to "aggressive" formula milk marketing campaigns that breach global rules set up after scandals more than 40 years ago, according to a new report. (Reuters)

63. Rise in Non-Covid-19 Deaths Hits Life Insurers (WSJ)

64. Pregnancy-related deaths climbed in pandemic’s first year (AP)

65. New York crime: Will more police flatten a wave of gun violence? (BBC)

66. California Congressman Adam Schiff is asking federal investigators to step in after S.F. D.A. Chesa Boudin’s announcement that San Francisco police were submitting DNA collected from rape victims to crime databases. (SFC)

67. Does life flash before your eyes? Brain scan of dying man suggests it’s possible (Guardian)

68. Archaeologists find 9,000-year-old shrine in Jordan desert (AP)

69. Fourth-Grader’s Report On Anacondas Largely Rehashes Established Research (The Onion)