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A Southlake mother and lawyer spent recent months relaying to other conservative parents the playbook that catapulted her onto the Carroll school board.

Hannah Smiths path proved to be an inspiration to trustee hopefuls, Republican donors and the state GOP. And now, ahead of several school board elections in May, the resonance of her story could be put to the test at the ballot box.

Conservatives across North Texas found a rallying cry in taking back local schools. And though its still early, their interests and dollars are coalescing into new political action committees.

At least 10 conservative PACs have launched in the past year in cities across the Dallas area with the goal of steering local districts in a more conservative direction. And Tuesdays primary election which showed early wins for many far right candidates hint to the growing momentum.

Underlying many of new PACs efforts is a belief that schools are not transparent to parents, that children have access to sexually inappropriate books and an intense opposition to the idea of critical race theory.

One of the stated goals of a Keller PAC the KISD Family Alliance PAC is to keep politics out of the districts curricula.

We believe that the Districts curriculum framework should be void of political partisanship and in keeping with conservative values, its website reads. Efforts to reach the groups leadership for an interview were unsuccessful. The group raised more than $41,000, according to their most recent filing.

Another PAC, Prosper Citizen Group, said that it would support school board and city council candidates that believe in individual liberty, limited government, transparency and accountability, fiscal responsibility, and alignment to the U.S. and Texas Constitution.

Included in its website is a form to report issues with Prosper ISD to district administrators. Five of eight checkboxes address current hot-button concerns pushed by conservatives: sexually inappropriate content in books or curricula; anti-bias training or diversity, equity and inclusion work; social emotional learning; anti-American bias in instruction or teaching environment; and Critical Race Theory.

The groups leadership did not respond to an interview request.

Republicans are rallying around these issues particularly critical race theory galvanized by wins locally and across the country. The academic theory is a decades-old academic framework that probes the ways United States policies and laws uphold systemic racism. However, some conservative politicians and pundits conflate it with a wide host of schools diversity, equity and inclusion efforts even as school officials continue to insist it is not part of K-12 curriculums.

The Texas GOP made clear it would tap into such energy to push more conservative candidates into school boards and other municipal seats. It announced in December a new initiative to build momentum around these nonpartisan races.

As part of their announcement, state Republican officials specifically highlighted Smith and other conservatives positions on Southlakes school board victories as a win. Those candidates were backed by Southlake Families PAC, which currently has more than $168,000 cash on hand.

The general sense of unease with some of the cultural direction of contemporary public education thats a real thing, said Matthew Wilson, a Southern Methodist University political science professor. What political form that takes depends on the actions of these local political leaders and groups and how they seek to capitalize on it.

Smith laid out her playbook at a recent meeting hosted by a PAC targeting Frisco school board seats.

She explained how she was prompted to run after Carroll ISDs diversity council proposed a cultural competency plan, which recommended the school system hire a director of equity and inclusion; establish a grievance system through which students can report discrimination; and audit the district curriculum through an equity lens.

It was decried by many in the mostly white, affluent community as creating diversity police and promoting a left-wing agenda. At the same time, students of color and their parents were pushing school leaders to recognize racism on campuses.

With conservatives on the board, Smith told the crowd, the diversity councils work has been destroyed. The group was disbanded and their cultural competency plan rejected.

After her win, Smith said she heard from a mother, now running for school board herself, who told her: We want to do in Frisco what you guys are doing in Southlake.

Having conservatives on your school board really makes a huge difference from curriculum to teacher trainings to whats in your kids classroom, Smith said at the event.

Smith did not respond to an interview request.

The recent Families 4 Frisco PAC meet-up featured two board candidates, Stephanie Elad and Marvin Lowe. The groups leadership declined requests for comment, as did Elad. Lowe did not respond.

As of the Jan. 18 filing, the PAC had $5,640 cash on hand. Donors to the group include conservative trustees from other school districts, including Southlake, and $1,000 from Star Patriots, another political action committee.

Speakers at the Families 4 Frisco event highlighted the need to raise more money and door-knock, specifically because school board races tend to have low turnout.

In general, races for school board seats even those in large school districts have fewer than 10,000 votes. Campaigns are similarly smaller in scale, with total contributions rarely topping $50,000.

The roughly 100 people who attended the Frisco meeting held in a local retirement community were encouraged to text their friends, host meet-and-greets and get others excited about conservative Frisco ISD candidates.

The keynote speaker was Allen West, the former Texas Republican Party chair who unsuccessfully campaigned for the gubernatorial nomination. Before he left, he held up his phone to announce he had just donated $100 to the Families 4 Frisco PAC.

School board is the most important elected position in the United States of America, West said.

Smith reiterated that idea when speaking at this years Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida. During a panel discussion, she ended with a call to action for those in the crowd.

This movement is a tidal wave, she predicted.

Conservative politicians are increasingly campaigning on the idea of parents rights, a trend seen from local school board races up to the gubernatorial one.

Gov. Greg Abbott, at a recent campaign event in Lewisville, unveiled his proposed Parents Bill of Rights, which he said would include expanding families access to courses with all lesson materials available online.

The Texas Education Code already contains a chapter that outlines parental rights and responsibilities. But Abbott suggested amending the Texas Constitution to reinforce that parents are the main decision makers in all matters.

Similar rhetoric in Virginia helped propel a Republican into the governors mansion in November.

The idea of how much control parents should have over their own childs learning as well as what level of control they should be able to exert over their classmates is driving much of the tension in Texas.

This is particularly apparent in the debate over library books.

More and more community members have challenged some school library books, many of which deal with issues of race, gender or sexuality. The titles specifically called out by Abbott are memoirs by LGBT authors.

Education advocates decry this trend as a threat to all students access to stories that may reflect their own lives or open their eyes to others experiences.

Richardson mother Sherry Clemens gained attention online from conservative outlets this fall after raising the alarm at a board meeting about titles listed as options for her eighth grade daughters book club, noting they included strong language.

She appeared on a podcast, saying the books included left-wing ideology theres homosexuality, theres a lot about gender identity, which I think is a huge hot topic right now and scary for our girls to be exposed to.

Clemens recently announced she was seeking a seat on the RISD board. She recently told The News that shes been considering a run for awhile.

I dont think its partisan politics, she said. Its moms and dads. Its parents of all political backgrounds. Theyre saying, We want transparency in schools.

The Richardson trustees will soon select a new superintendent after Jeannie Stone suddenly submitted her resignation in December. Stone was an outspoken advocate for racial equity in the district.

The passion and purpose of my work was all of a sudden named CRT and something that was bad to do, Stone told The Texas Tribune after her resignation announcement. And then that took off like wildfire, and I was never able to ever figure out a way to put that out.

The website for Richardson ISD Families First, a new PAC formed in that district, includes the work of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion department as part of the problem in RISD schools.

The group, which has yet to make official endorsements, has nearly $12,000 to spend, as of the Jan. 18 filing. Among their large donors are two local mothers who appeared on Fox News this fall to decry school closures because of COVID cases. Clemens gave a small amount.

The Texas GOP announced late last year that it would double down on local, traditionally nonpartisan elections. The Local Government Committees goal is assisting conservative candidates as they aim for often-overlooked school board and municipal seats.

Its important because its where the government is closest to the people and their daily lives, state GOP chair Matt Rinaldi said.

The immediacy of action is needed because he believes critical race theory is being injected into schools.

Rinaldi said that while grassroots efforts like the local PACs would play an important role in many races, the state GOP would enter the fray in a few selected races in May, including a Coppell ISD school board race.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has run Project LIFT since 2015, a program to support and train candidates for down-ballot races.

Spokesman Jestin Patton said that this round of elections, theyre looking to promote candidates who dont dabble in culture wars unlike the growing anti-critical race theory rhetoric from the right.

This is nothing more than fear-mongering that Republicans are using to gain leverage with voters, Patton said. Weve seen this on every front in partisan races and non-partisan races.

Democratic-backed candidates, he said, should focus on promoting solutions to issues such as teacher shortages and learning loss. He acknowledged, though, the gains and momentum conservatives are building around culture war issues.

We know that it doesnt mean we cant win, Patton said. It just means we have to do a better job of connecting with the people of those communities and explaining to them why candidates with Democratic support are best for the job.

Tuesdays primary election previewed the potential power of the conservative education momentum. For example, Evelyn Brooks who ran in part on the idea of upholding the critical race theory ban beat incumbent Sue Melton-Malone for the State Board of Education District 14 nomination. The district encompasses several North Texas counties, including part of Frisco ISD.

Edwin Flores, a Dallas ISD board member, was defeated in his bid for the Republican county judge nomination by Lauren Davis, a mother who railed against his support for mask mandates in Dallas schools.

School board races in Texas, however, have long been free of party affiliation. Ostensibly, such a design asks voters to focus on local issues and not national party platforms or movements.

But that line is eroding, said SMUs Wilson. (SMU is a supporter of the Education Lab at The Dallas Morning News.)

Everything in American political life has been drifting towards more polarization, more partisanship, and non-partisan local politics is part of that trend, Wilson said.

Prior to this election cycle, national progressive groups threw their support behind nearly a dozen school board candidates in the Dallas and Houston areas in 2017.

Current education debates about COVID response or how race and sexuality is being taught in schools have gotten wrapped up into a highly partisan culture wars framework, he said.

And so its going to be increasingly difficult for people on school boards to step aside from that partisan fray. I think these groups are right that, more and more, people running for those offices are going to have to pick a side.

The danger of that, said Wilson, is when these races become about cultural politics, they become less about competency of administration or educational policy expertise.

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Labs journalism.

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Bolstered by CRT, book fights, conservative PACs aim to take back Texas school boards - The Dallas Morning News

Last week, before Russian threats toward Ukrainian borders turned into an all-out invasion, one part of the American media landscape questioned why we werent supporting the invaders.

Hating [Russias president, Vladimir] Putin, has become the central purpose of Americas foreign policy. Its the main thing that we talk about, the Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson said on Tuesday. It might be worth asking yourself, since it is getting pretty serious: What is this really about? Why do I hate Putin so much? Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him?

Interviewed on The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump described Mr. Putin as smart and savvy. Then on Wednesday night, as reports of Russian explosions across Ukraine rolled in, Mr. Trump repeated his admiration for the Russian leader. J.D. Vance, a Republican candidate for Senate in Ohio, said during a Feb. 19 podcast interview with Steve Bannon, Mr. Trumps former White House chief strategist, We did not serve in the Marine Corps to go and fight Vladimir Putin because he didnt believe in transgender rights, which is what the U.S. State Department is saying is a major problem with Russia. Mr. Bannon, for his part, hailed Mr. Putin as anti-woke hours before Russias assault on Ukraine.

The American political right was long associated with Cold War hawkishness. But in recent years the trend has shifted toward fawning praise for autocrats, even those leading Americas traditional adversaries, as well as projecting our own culture wars overseas. Where once Russia and other autocracies were seen as anti-democratic, they have now become symbols of U.S. conservatism a mirror for the right-wing worldview.

Supporting Mr. Putin, as well as other authoritarian leaders, is yet another way in which the political right is weaponizing culture wars to further divide Americans.

Part of this new paradigm is that foreign policy is now a partisan matter. In 2016, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary offered an endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump, admiration that was later returned. Mr. Putins Russia reportedly meddled in the American election in 2016, and the Russian president has admitted that he wanted Mr. Trump to win. Those amicable relationships trickled down to the Republican voting population, which shifted its views on Mr. Putins favorability, which soared from a mere 10 percent in July 2014 to 37 percent in December 2016. A Yahoo News/YouGov poll from January of this year found that 62 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents consider Vladimir Putin a stronger leader than Joe Biden.

Strong may be the key word here. In this construction, a strong leader is apparently one who cracks down on opposition, cultural and political, and does not concede. This idea then dovetails with right-wing ideas that liberal elites are actively corroding deeply held traditional values including traditional gender roles. For those who spend a fair amount of airtime worrying about the emasculation of men, the kind of strength portrayed by Mr. Putin who on Monday convened his top security officials and demanded they publicly stand and support him is perhaps appealing.

Many of the admirers of the worlds strongmen on the American right appear to believe that the countries each of these men lead are beacons of whiteness, Christianity and conservative values. On Wednesday, conservative commentator Rod Dreher wrote, I adamantly oppose risking the lives of boys from Louisiana and Alabama to make the Donbas safe for genderqueers and migrants.

These comments, from the right, arent exactly advancing a new position. In 2018, the political commentator Pat Buchanan said that Mr. Putin and the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko were standing up for traditional values against Western cultural elites. He considered the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs to have told a moral truth in asserting that same-sex relationships were fake. But those traditional values do not include the freedom to political opposition. According to Viasna Human Rights Center, an organization dedicated to keeping track of Belarusian abuses, there are over 1,000 political prisoners in Belarus, many of whom were arrested for peaceful assembly, protesting or daring to engage in political activities.

Russia is neither all white nor all Christian it is a country that encompasses several regions, religions and ethnicities. Still, it is often perceived as white. The white nationalist Richard Spencer has referred to Russia as the sole white power in the world. Matthew Heimbach, a founder of the Traditionalist Worker Party who was involved in the 2017 Unite the Right rally, has expressed admiration for Mr. Putin and ultranationalist European political leaders. Russia is our biggest inspiration, Mr. Heimbach told The Times in 2016. I see President Putin as the leader of the free world. As The Times reported at the time, this construction of Mr. Putin as a beacon of far-right values began with the ultra-far-right nationalists in Europe and later spread to the United States.

But, as the Washington Post opinion writer Christian Caryl wrote in 2018, just as the halcyon image American Communists had of Stalinist Russia in the early 20th century belied the truth of a brutal regime, the Russia celebrated today by conservatives is also, in some ways, a fiction.

In any event, Mr. Putin is not waging a culture war. He is waging real, actual war, in which real, actual lives are already being lost.

But then, why would that matter? The Russia, Ukraine, Hungary and Belarus of conservative pundits imaginations are just that: imaginings. Avatars. Projections of themselves. The Russians and Ukrainians who are living and dying do not factor into the picture.

Emily Tamkin is the U.S. senior editor at The New Statesman and author of The Influence of Soros and the forthcoming Bad Jews.

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Opinion | How the American Right Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Russia - The New York Times

As humans try to get by in 2022, we must be conversant in global affairs, the former Soviet Union, mRNA vaccines, climate change, culture wars, giant invasive spiders, baseball lockouts, Euphoria, governors gone wild and whatever is going on with Kanye West.

When the inevitable topics of cryptocurrency, NFTs or the metaverse come up, it is too much! My instinct is to retreat, the way a catfish burrows into a mud hole. But refusing to engage is becoming impossible. When a Gulfport NFT house sold at auction for $654,000, the urgency crystallized. We, as citizens, apparently need knowledge of this Byzantine taxonomy just to consume local news.

To study up, I went to Crypto Street Cafe, a restaurant that opened on Clearwater Beach in December. Menu items include the Blockchain Club, the Dogedog, and um, the Cheeseburger. I ordered a Nutty Protocol Salad, blessed with a heroic amount of cheese. The cheese bodes well for crypto! Surrounded by meme dogs, day trading candle patterns and Jeff Bezos quotes, I read everything I could as tourists slumped past with beach chairs. A very Florida scene.

If you are into crypto, the following will merely annoy you. If you are like me, this beginners guide will not even perforate the surface of ignorance. Every crypto definition requires three more definitions and a dictionary. Learning the language of the future internet is a full-time hobby, like writing Twilight fan fiction or gently playing oboe out a city window.

What is cryptocurrency?

It is currency that exists solely on the internet. Varieties include Bitcoin, Ethereum and two (!) featuring a Shiba Inu. People can exchange old-fashioned dollars for cryptocurrency on trading platforms. Opinions on this range from this is the future to this is basically Beanie Babies.

Is it unregulated?

Mostly, though regulation efforts are ramping up, like when summer camp had to station an extra counselor in Cabin Six. All transactions happen on the decentralized blockchain.

What is the $&#% blockchain?

Youre in luck, because this definition was on a poster below the purse hook in the ladies room. In translation, the blockchain is a digital ledger where no one authority has control. Much like my emotional landscape.

Is this real?

What is real? Is money real, or does it just become real when enough people agree its real? Furthermore, are we living in a simulation? I will now repeatedly stroke the side of my face and grapple with existence. We are five questions in and nothing makes sense. This is going aces!

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Speaking of simulations, what is the metaverse?

The metaverse is a 3D version of the internet where avatar people can meet up and hang out.

Isnt that just The Sims?

I am 90 percent sure.

OK, anyway, what is an NFT?

Non-fungible tokens turn digital objects like art, memes, tweets and, oh Mylanta, newspaper columns, into assets. Proponents say NFTs give artists control of their work. On the Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton compared their NFT cartoon apes, while the audience laughed nervously and transformed into catfish.

Celebrities, eh?

Stars love crypto. Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady, LeBron James, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow. Basically all celebrities. Reese Witherspoon tweeted: In the (near) future, every person will have a parallel digital identity. Avatars, crypto wallets, digital goods will be the norm. Are you planning for this? This filled me with an abiding apocalyptic dread, the opposite of Reeses usual iced tea vibe!

Dare anyone naysay?

Ben McKenzie, whom millennials know as troubled hunk Ryan Atwood on The O.C., hates crypto. As he once held a dying Marissa Cooper in his arms, he now cradles a new mission: telling everyone crypto is a scam. In the most interesting career change since Vanilla Ice became a house flipper, McKenzie is writing a book with journalist Jacob Silverman. He says celebrities have no clue what theyre promoting. He told The Cut, All I really care about is that people who cant afford to lose the money dont lose it.

Did you pay for your salad in crypto?

I used American Express. But the restaurant does accept crypto, if you are sitting on a pile of Doge and hankering for a To The MOOOONNN! brownie sundae.

Do you understand crypto now?

No.

Did you know a catfish can survive buried in mud for a year?

Inspiring!

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A guide to crypto, NFTs and the metaverse for those hiding in a hole - Tampa Bay Times

Wake up, roll over, check the phone for news from Kyiv. Its becoming a habit now, a strange new morning routine, and not just for journalists whose working days have long dawned like this. Millions are now following this war in real time on social media, immersed in it more intimately and personally than ever before. If the advent of 24-hour rolling TV news brought audiences at home closer to faraway conflicts, subtly changing our understanding of them, then smartphones have put war right into the palms of our hands. Doomscrolling is becoming an addiction, although doom seems the wrong word for a conflict where horror mingles with so many stories of hope and inspiration; stories with the shimmering qualities of modern myths, viral and unforgettable, if not always instantly verifiable, and often helpfully translated into English.

The young Ukrainian sapper said to have heroically blown himself up along with the bridge he was charged with destroying in order to slow the Russian advance. The villagers filmed courageously standing in front of tanks. The female MPs posting pictures of themselves training to use rifles, and the soldiers of Snake Island greeting demands for their surrender with the now famous response: Russian warship, go fuck yourself. (Like a new No pasarn, that slogan is everywhere; splashed on T-shirts sold in aid of Ukrainian charities, even iced on cookies sold by a Texas bakery.) And then there is the tale of how President Volodymyr Zelenskiy supposedly rebuffed an American offer to whisk him to safety with the words I need ammunition, not a ride. War has transformed a former comic actor once mocked for his hamminess into an iconic leader for the times whose powerfully emotive short videos posted from beneath his bombed capital seem made for sharing: a real-life Scheherazade, telling captivating tales to the world in the hope of keeping his countrymen alive for one more night.

To talk of stories sounds frivolous, when war crimes are almost certainly now unfolding. But the bleaker the news from the front, as Russian troops begin encircling cities and shelling civilians into submission, the more they matter. Hopelessness makes the rest of the world look away because its all too much to take, or else share well-meaning posts about how its fine to switch off the news if it makes you sad and do some yoga instead. Hope, on the other hand, keeps people emotionally invested, both at home and abroad; energises us to give to charities, pressure governments to act and big companies to disinvest, and sturdily accept the sacrifices now looming as prices of gas, oil, wheat and raw materials soar. Polling for ITV last week found a resolute 68% of Britons agreeing the government should impose whatever economic sanctions are effective, even if that raises energy prices, although feelings may change when bills start hitting doormats. But strategic communications (to give stories their technical name) perhaps matter most if, as the foreign secretary insists, Nato member states are digging in for the long haul.

For years now Russia has brilliantly exploited the storytelling power of social media to manipulate emotions and destabilise governments across Europe. Its army of bots, trolls and useful idiots has stoked culture wars, amplified conspiracy theories, spread fake news and latched on to any glimmering of doubt and division, while the liberal west has largely floundered in response. Now something has shifted. Social media giants have been at least briefly galvanised into action, with Google blocking the propaganda channels Russia Today and Sputnik on YouTube in Europe and Meta (nee Facebook) targeting disinformation networks. The BBC is racking up new listeners in Russia suddenly hungry for the reality-based reporting they cant get at home. Next time our own government attacks the BBC, remember its going for the home of Lyse Doucet, calmly broadcasting under shelling, and of 3am World Service bulletins that reach people too scared to sleep.

Its striking, too, how openly western intelligence communities have shared information about Russian invasion plans and supposed Russian operational difficulties, as if taunting a paranoid Kremlin about its apparent leakiness. For the first time in years, it feels as if the west is telling its story with confidence again an age-old tale of liberal values versus tyranny, but given new life by a democracy young enough not to take freedom for granted. What remains elusive so far, however, is the sense of a happy ending.

If this war had been scripted in Hollywood then it would end just as the mayor of Lviv suggested, with oligarchs mansions in London being seized and used to house Ukrainian refugees, although only until those refugees could triumphantly return home. But in real life nobody yet has a convincing narrative for how Vladimir Putin can be stopped, given Nato countries understandable reluctance to use force against a leader threatening nuclear Armageddon. Diplomatic hopes seem pinned on China helping to broker some kind of peace, though that would mean yet another tectonic shift in global alliances, with unpredictable consequences. And meanwhile that murderous convoy inches closer every day to Ukraines capital, evoking grim memories of how Russian siege tactics ended in Grozny and Aleppo.

But every day that Zelenskiy evades assassination, every night Kyiv can hold out, feels like a miracle now. Thats why we cant stop ourselves compulsively checking for news. Just one more night. Just one more story. Just one more hopeful morning.

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Using only a phone, Zelenskiy is trading in that most human of qualities: hope - The Guardian

Welcome to The Hills Morning Report. It is Friday! We get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the co-creators. Readers can find us on Twitter @asimendinger and @alweaver22. Please recommend the Morning Report to friends and let us know what you think. CLICK HERE to subscribe!

Russia on Thursday continued its brutal offensive to seize cities and port areas in Ukraine, even as it agreed with Ukrainian officials to create humanitarian corridors, or temporary local cease-fires for escaping civilians. Overnight, Russian forces shelled a Ukrainian nuclear power complex (above), igniting a blaze that was captured on video and later extinguished without radiation leakage. The emergency and Russias seizure of the plant, according to Ukraine, renewed international calls for Moscow to cease its assault (The Associated Press).

Russian forces have made their most significant inroads in the south, where the Kremlin strategy appears to be to try to capture Ukraines entire Black Sea coast, including Mariupol, which on Thursday was surrounded by invading troops, although the Ukrainians today still have control there, according to a British intelligence update (Reuters and The New York Times). The southern city of Kherson is close to collapse without a civilian corridor for escape, its trapped residents said (The Washington Post).

The Associated Press: Day 9 of war and what to know.

Russian and Ukrainian representatives, huddled at an undisclosed location, agreed to the cease-fires but only where humanitarian corridors are established and for the duration of civilian evacuations, according to Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak (BBC).

Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinKennedy Center lights up in blue and yellow to show support for Ukraine Russian opera star ditches Met performances to avoid Putin rebuke DHS grants temporary immigration status to all Ukrainians in the US MORE, speaking publicly on Thursday, again defended the countrys war with Ukraine, saying it was "going to plan" while promising the families of Russian military casualties a special payout of 5 million rubles or nearly $50,000 each.

French President Emmanuel MacronEmmanuel Jean-Michel MacronMacron running for reelection in France Live coverage - Russian push for Ukrainian cities accelerates Biden, allies discuss coordinated efforts toward Russia MORE spoke with Putin for 90 minutes on Thursday, telling reporters afterward that he anticipated the worst lies ahead for Ukraine after Putin told him Russia would not stop until it reaches its goals. France believes Putin seeks to seize and hold all of Ukraine.

Your country will pay dearly because it will end up as an isolated country, weakened and under sanctions for a very long time, Macron told Putin, according to a French official, who added that Macron called on Vladimir Putin to not lie to himself (The Washington Post).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held his first press conference since the start of the war, amplifying his frequent appearances in news media interviews and his own statements, videos and pleas posted to social media as the wars toll mounts and more than a million Ukrainians, mostly women and children, continue to flee across borders.

Zelensky appealed anew to Western allies to create a no-fly zone to fortify defenses from the air, an idea NATO countries have shelved out of fear it could increase Putins wrath (Axios).

Zelensky (pictured below), who has devoted considerable time and technique to keeping his country front-facing in the news media as a way to fortify chances of Ukraines survival, is portrayed in Western coverage as a quote-savvy peoples president (The Daily Beast), a T-shirted international icon (The Hill) who has united the world while photographed amid stacks of sandbags and Ukraines flag (TIME).

The Hill: Zelensky says he wants to talk with Putin.

CNN: The first foreign fighters are now in Ukraine to help his countrys defenses, Zelensky said.

The United States levied new sanctions on eight members of Russias elite and imposed visa restrictions on 19 oligarchs and their relatives, the White House said on Thursday. The aim is to squeeze Putin by punishing, blocking, inconveniencing and isolating his wealthiest allies and political supporters.

The goal was to maximize the impact on Putin and Russia and minimize the harm on us and our allies and friends around the world, President BidenJoe BidenFire breaks out at major nuclear plant in Ukraine amid fighting Russia inflames political war over gas prices, oil drilling On The Money Push to block Russian imports hits wall MORE said during a Thursday Cabinet meeting. Our interest is in maintaining the strongest unified economic impact campaign on Putin in all history, and I think were well on the way to doing that.

The Washington Post: The U.S. granted temporary protected status to tens of thousands of Ukrainian immigrants already in this country.

The administration targeted Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, whose $600 million yacht was seized by Germany on Wednesday. The U.S. government also sanctioned Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, described by the White House as a top purveyor of Putins propaganda. Both men were sanctioned by the European Union. These individuals and their family members will be cut off from the U.S. financial system, their assets in the United States will be frozen and their property will be blocked from use, the administration announced (The Hill).

The Washington Post: The French Finance Ministry announced Thursday that it seized a $120 million yacht owned by Russian oligarch Igor Sechin, the CEO of oil giant Rosneft.

The Washington Post: The United Kingdom sanctioned two more Russian oligarchs on Thursday said by the government to have significant Kremlin ties.

The Western efforts to help expand Ukraines international megaphone are concurrent with efforts to shut down Russias conduits for disinformation. Major tech companies have sought to deplatform state-owned RT, Sputnik and other Russian outlets known for dispensing misinformation about the invasion in Ukraine (The Hill). RT America on Thursday announced it ceased production and laid off its staff (CNN).

The Hills Morgan Chalfant and Laura Kelly report on surprise decisions in Germany and Switzerland to toughen their respective national postures toward Russia.

The Associated Press: Neutral Finland and Sweden warm to the idea of NATO membership.

The U.S. has contributed more than $1 billion to help Ukraines military in the past year and the administration is seeking another $10 billion from Congress. Washington has reportedly sent hundreds of stinger missiles as part of the latest package of defensive aid and has approved the shipment by allied nations of American-made weapons to Ukraine, which is a non-NATO country. U.S. options to help Ukraine are still on the table short of putting troops on the ground there, which Biden insists will not happen. The president has said U.S. forces would help defend NATO countries against any Russian attacks (The Hill).

The Pentagon in recent days has mobilized some 14,000 troops, along with F-35 strike fighters and Apache helicopters to Poland, Hungary and the Baltics. The U.S. has 100,000 troops in Europe, and the Pentagon told lawmakers on Tuesday that the addition of forces to Eastern European NATO-member countries on a long-term basis is under consideration (Defense News).

U.S. officials told reporters on Thursday that Russia had fired 480 missiles in its war to capture Ukraine. One official told reporters the majority of the Russian missile launches since the war began, or more than 230 of them, are coming from mobile systems within Ukraine. More than 150 missiles have been fired from within Russia, more than 70 from Belarus and only a very small number from ships in the Black Sea. Ukrainian air defenses are still intact and have been effective against the missiles, the official said, adding that Russias progress in the south has been aided by the countrys eight-year presence in Crimea, where it has built infrastructure and systems to sustain troops. As a result, the supply lines to troops in the south of Ukraine are much shorter and more effective, according to the administration.

The Hill: The White House is considering sending Vice President Harris to Warsaw, Poland, and Bucharest, Romania, to show solidarity with Ukrainians, reports Amie Parnes. Secretary of State Antony BlinkenAntony BlinkenWhite House discussing sending Harris to Warsaw, Bucharest Biden weighing sanctions on India over Russian military stockpiles The Hill's Morning Report - Russia-Ukraine war enters second deadly week MORE is scheduled to be in Poland this week before traveling to Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

The New York Times: Lawmakers push to ban Russian oil imports. The White House is resisting.

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LEADING THE DAY

CONGRESS: As the immortal Don Draper once put it: If you dont like whats being said, change the conversation. And that is now the mission of the White House and Democrats as they seek to rebrand the Build Back Better agenda after failing to move it through the Senate.

White House press secretary Jen PsakiJen PsakiOn The Money Push to block Russian imports hits wall Overnight Energy & Environment White House says no to Russia oil ban Here are the Russians sanctioned by the US MORE made the name change official on Thursday, telling reporters that Building a Better America is now the formal successor to the dormant $2 trillion social spending proposal tanked by Sen. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinOn The Money Push to block Russian imports hits wall Overnight Energy & Environment White House says no to Russia oil ban Manchin, Murkowski lead bipartisan bill to ban Russian energy imports MORE (D-W.Va.) in December.

No one cares about the name in the American public. They care about what it's going to do, Psaki said at Thursdays daily briefing.

It did not take long for Republicans to pillory the move. Sen. John CornynJohn CornynSupreme Court pick launches a cross-aisle charm offensive Democrats look for offramp from masking in public Who the judge is matters but not always the way people think MORE (R-Texas), a top ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellOvernight Health Care Presented by Alexion Battle lines drawn over COVID-19 funding Pelosi says Boebert and Greene 'should just shut up' Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tells donors he won't run for Senate MORE (R-Ky.), tweeted shortly after that, Rebranding doesnt change bad policy. Others were harsher.

The Biden administrations Build a Better America is just a broken-down car with a new coat of paint. It might look new, but it wont get us very far, said Sen. Tim ScottTimothy (Tim) Eugene ScottHouse passes bill making lynching a federal hate crime Iowa Gov. Reynolds to give GOP response to Biden State of the Union Sunday shows preview: Russia-Ukraine crisis dominates as White House is 'convinced' of an invasion MORE (R-S.C.).

However, the bigger problem for Democrats remains within their own ranks, and more specifically, in their struggle to cajole Manchin into supporting it.

Following the State of the Union address, Manchin indicated that he would back moving a bill through the cumbersome budget reconciliation process that dramatically cuts Bidens cornerstone domestic proposal to just climate change provisions, prescription drug reform and tax alterations a call that has set off liberals, as it would leave a number of top progressive priorities on the cutting room floor.

Advocates say that leaving out longtime priorities, such as home health care for the disabled and elderly, is outrageous (The Hill).

If he wants to focus on an economic package, then he needs to remember childcare is an economic issue, said Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenHillicon Valley DOJ slams Senate cyber bill The Hill's Morning Report - Russia-Ukraine war enters second deadly week Democrats look for offramp from masking in public MORE (D-Mass.) when asked about Manchins pared-down proposal. If we want to have an economy thats firing on all cylinders, we want people to be able to go back to work.

The Hill: This week's must-watch moments on Capitol Hill.

> Jan. 6 latest: Hundreds of pages of court documents filed by the Jan. 6 committee offer new details about the extent of the Trump teams pressure campaign on former Vice President Mike PenceMichael (Mike) Richard PenceOvernight Defense & National Security White House seeks billion for Ukraine Jan. 6 panel claims Trump 'engaged in criminal conspiracy' California bar investigating John Eastman for possible ethics violations MORE as they unsuccessfully pushed numerous tactics to convince him to buck his ceremonial duty to certify the 2020 election results.

The evidence, filed late Wednesday as part of a court case to compel the release of documents from Trump campaign attorney John Eastman, showcases the exasperation of the Pence team as they pushed back on pleas that only got more desperate leading up to Jan. 6 (The Hill).

Whats more, records filed by the panel also show new details about the blunt and direct language used in a January 2021 White House meeting where Trump considered firing Justice Department leaders who would not carry out an investigation into his baseless claims of voter fraud (The Hill).

The Wall Street Journal: Kimberly GuilfoyleKimberly GuilfoyleJan. 6 committee subpoenas Kimberly Guilfoyle, fiancee of Trump Jr. Jan. 6 panel prepares to subpoena Guilfoyle after brief, heated sit-down Ivanka Trump in talks to appear before investigators on Jan. 6 committee: report MORE subpoenaed by Jan. 6 committee.

The New York Times: Traitors get shot: Guy Reffitts son testifies against him in Jan. 6 trial.

> Recovery: It was hugs galore for Sen. Ben Ray Lujn (D-N.M.) on Thursday as he returned to Capitol Hill for the first time since suffering a stroke in late January. Lujn, 49, received a standing ovation upon entering a Senate Commerce Committee meeting.

Every one of you that sent me notes, that sent videos, and all the prayers, it worked, Lujn said, adding that it was an absolute honor to be back (The Hill).

> The House on Thursday approved legislation to allow military families to seek justice for decades of water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, in North Carolina. The legislation says those exposed even in-utero to water contamination at the base between August 1953 and 1987 can file a claim. The bill effectively would override a North Carolina legal hurdle that has blocked such lawsuits. The bill now moves to the Senate (The Hill).

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

POLITICS: Arizona Gov. Doug DuceyDoug DuceyArizona Gov. Doug Ducey tells donors he won't run for Senate GOP falters in effort to recruit star governors for Senate Latino Victory endorses Hispanic Democrat for Arizona governor MORE (R) told backers in a letter reported on Thursday that he will not be a candidate in this years Senate contest to challenge Sen. Mark KellyMark KellyOvernight Health Care Presented by Alexion Battle lines drawn over COVID-19 funding Senate GOP passes resolution to nix COVID-19 emergency Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tells donors he won't run for Senate MORE (D-Ariz.). His announcement ended months of speculation and efforts by party leaders, including McConnell and former President George W. Bush, to recruit the governor to run.

In a note to donors, Ducey said that he is unchanged in what he told them back in January 2021.

When asked about a potential run for the U.S. Senate in January 2021, I gave a simple answer: No. In the intervening months a number of people have asked me to reconsider. Im honored by the confidence and interest youve shown in my public career, Ducey wrote.

My mind hasnt changed, he continued. If youre going to run for public office, you have to really want the job. Right now I have the job I want (Arizona Central and The Hill).

McConnell and establishment Republicans had hoped to recruit New Hampshire Gov. Chris SununuChris SununuArizona Gov. Doug Ducey tells donors he won't run for Senate Vodka, pensions, sister cities: Governors move to punish Russia The Hill's Morning Report - What's next for Russia-Ukraine conflict? MORE (R) and Maryland Gov. Larry HoganLarry HoganExplosion at Maryland apartment building injures at least 10 Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tells donors he won't run for Senate Top Latino group endorses Tom Perez for Maryland governor MORE (R) to launch bids for the upper chamber, in addition to Ducey. Sununu, who is seeking reelection, and Hogan, who is seen as a possible 2024 GOP presidential candidate, declined.

The Wall Street Journal: Republican National Committee seeks to choke funding for Commission on Presidential Debates in escalation of dispute.

The New York Times: Florida lawmakers on Thursday voted to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantisRon DeSantisFlorida legislature passes 15-week abortion ban, DeSantis expected to approve legislation Overnight Health Care Presented by Alexion Battle lines drawn over COVID-19 funding DeSantis fundraises off video of him chiding students for wearing masks MORE, who has presidential ambitions, is supportive of the measure and eager to put his state at the forefront of the nations culture wars. The Supreme Court appears poised this summer to uphold a Mississippi law that similarly bans abortions at 15 weeks.

> Texas turnout: Candidates in majority-Hispanic parts of the Lone Star State set primary turnout records Tuesday and Democrats counting on favorable demographic trends to flip the state saw slippage among some of their most reliable voters. The GOP vote in 35 counties, most of them majority-Hispanic, broke records (The Washington Post).

> Former Attorney General William BarrBill BarrBarr says he told Trump that election fraud claims were 'bulls---' Barr says Trump 'lost his grip' in forthcoming memoir William Barr grants first TV interview since leaving Trump administration MORE has an autobiography he wants to sell you (and a professional reputation he wants to rescue): NBC News anchor Lester Holt will interview Barr during a primetime special on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET. Barr also will appear Tuesday on CBS Mornings. (He was AG under Trump and former President George H.W. Bush. He has cooperated with the House select committee investigating Trumps role before, during and after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol).

> Energy politics: Many Republican candidates this year are critical of administration energy policies, although analysts say higher prices for gasoline are not the result of Bidens policies tied to the Keystone XL pipeline or domestic oil and gas leasing (The Hill).

> International corner: In France, Macron found time to file for reelection on Thursday, a day before the deadline to declare his candidacy. Hes been essentially running for office amid an international crisis without officially telling his countrymen he will seek another term. Election Day is April 10 (The Guardian).

*****

CORONAVIRUS: Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported each morning this week: Monday, 948,397; Tuesday, 950,481; Wednesday, 952,509; Thursday, 954,519; Friday, 956,262.

The seven-day average of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 is at the lowest level since last July, CNN reports.

States are being left with large stockpiles of COVID-19 vaccine doses as demand falls. The result has been waste, expired doses and a determined effort to find providers who can use the unused doses (The Associated Press).

New York City was hit hard and early by COVID-19 infections beginning in 2019 and many (but not all) residents say they are now ready to move on. How ready New Yorkers are depends on whom you ask (The Associated Press).

The NFL is definitely ready to put pandemic precautions behind it: the league lifted all COVID-19 restrictions effective on Thursday. There is no football activity underway at club facilities at this point in the offseason, and the earliest it can begin is April 4 for teams that have hired new coaches. But Thursday's change will still affect life for coaches and other staff members right away (ESPN).

The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@thehill.com and aweaver@thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hills reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!

OPINION

Putin is menacing the world. Heres how Biden should respond to his nuclear threats, by Michael McFaul, contributing columnist, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/3vAJkFE

Putin, his rat and six ways the war in Ukraine could end, by Andreas Kluth, columnist, Bloomberg News. https://bloom.bg/3vzIYPP

WHERE AND WHEN

The House meets on Monday at noon.

The Senate convenes on Monday at 3 p.m. and will resume consideration of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022.

The president will receive the Presidents Daily Brief at 10 a.m. Biden at 12:25 p.m. will make an announcement related to the Made in America focus he mentioned in his State of the Union address (The Hills Alex Gangitano has details HERE). He will hold a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office with Sauli Niinist, president of Finland, at 2:30 p.m. Biden will depart the White House at 5:35 p.m. for Wilmington, Del.

The vice president will hold a bilateral meeting at 1:10 p.m. with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain in her ceremonial White House office. On Sunday, Harris will be in Selma, Ala., to commemorate Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge with a large contingent from the Cabinet, including Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia FudgeMarcia FudgeHarris to travel to Selma for 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary Biden, Harris emphasize equity at Black History Month celebration Nina Turner says she is running for U.S. Congress again because 'people need a champion' MORE, Transportation Secretary Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegNYC Mayor Adams to turn Brooklyn port into offshore wind hub On The Money Manchin makes counteroffer to Biden's big bill Partisan cracks emerge over how to implement T infrastructure law MORE, Education Secretary Miguel CardonaMiguel CardonaHarris to travel to Selma for 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary Education Dept releases how-to on usingCOVID-19 relief for technical education On The Money Biden brings down hammer on Russian banks MORE, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael ReganMichael ReganHarris to travel to Selma for 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary Biden, Harris emphasize equity at Black History Month celebration Supreme Court to hear case challenging the scope of EPA's climate powers MORE and Veteran Affairs Deputy Secretary Donald Remy.

Blinken is in Brussels for a NATO foreign ministerial gathering and meetings with EU counterparts and a G7 ministerial event, all tied to the global response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The secretary is on a six-nation trip through Tuesday (schedule is HERE).

First lady Jill BidenJill BidenThe Hill's Morning Report - Russia-Ukraine war enters second deadly week Biden argues key to fighting inflation is buying American The Hill's 12:30 Report - Sights and sounds from Biden's State of the Union MORE will travel to Boston and San Francisco to attend private memorial services and fly home to Wilmington on Saturday afternoon.

Economic indicator: The Bureau of Labor Statistics will report at 8:30 a.m. about February employment.

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 1:15 p.m.

Hill.TVs Rising program features news and interviews at http://thehill.com/hilltv or on YouTube at 10:30 a.m. ET at Rising on YouTube.

ELSEWHERE

MBS SPEAKS: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman tells The Atlantic in his first interview to the non-Saudi press in more than two years that he did not order the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi (and claims that his own rights have been violated in connection with the killing). The U.S. issued a report last year asserting that bin Salman personally approved Khashoggis murder, but Biden waived any punishment (ABC News). The magazines interview is part of broader reporting about Saudi Arabias future.

COURTS: A Kentucky jury on Thursday acquitted Brett Hankison, a former police officer, on charges of wanton endangerment after he fired 10 shots into an apartment during the 2020 drug raid that ended with the death of Breonna Taylor. The panel returned a verdict, having weighed the shots fired off through sliding-glass side doors and a window in Taylors apartment. Lawyers for Hankinson argued that the shots came because he thought his fellow officers were being executed (The Associated Press).

STATE WATCH: Oregon and New Jersey are considering abandoning century-old make-work rules in order to let customers pump their own gas. Such a seemingly small and obvious change is far from certain to pass, however, underscoring the influence of special interests, even during a national worker shortage (The Hill).

OPIOID SETTLEMENT: OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma reached a nationwide settlement Thursday, which if approved by a bankruptcy court, would mean the Sackler family, owners of the company, would boost their cash contribution to as much as $6 billion in response to the opioid crisis. In all, the plan could be worth more than $10 billion over time. It calls for members of the family to give up control of the Connecticut-based company so it can be turned into a new entity with profits used to fight the crisis in which OxyContin played a significant role. The deal would not shield Sackler family members from future criminal charges (The Associated Press).

THE CLOSER

And finally Bravo to the Morning Report Quiz winners, who paid attention during the presidents State of the Union address and managed to ace four trivia questions.

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