Four years ago today, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin launched a “special military operation” involving dozens of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities before dawn. Putin planned for his troops to seize Ukraine’s electric, heating, and financial systems so the people would have to do as he wished. The day after Russia invaded, Zelensky and his cabinet recorded a video in Kyiv. Vance ambushed Ukraine president Zelensky in an Oval Office meeting that seemed designed to give the White House an excuse for siding with Russia. Since then, the administration’s ongoing “negotiations” with Russia resulted in demands of major concessions from Ukraine but none from Russia.

The U.S. has a large and negative balance of trade, and the proclamation equates that with the balance of payments. But the balance of payments includes all financial transactions, not just trade in goods. The U.S. was also at a transition point in its trade balance, shifting from years of surpluses to the beginning of deficits in the early 1970s. Even after a year of Trump’s tariffs, the U.S. trade deficit is completely normal. The statute says that import restrictions must be “broad and uniform,” but Trump’s proclamation comes with 76 pages of exceptions.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a Texas woman who is attempting to sue the Postal Service, claiming it withheld her mail because she is Black. The exemption, the appeals court ruled, was intended to cover unintentional loss of mail and similar problems – not intentional acts. The Justice Department told the Supreme Court that the mail was withheld for a technical reason. Whether the postal officials were justified in withholding the mail was not at issue at the Supreme Court – and will now be decided by lower courts. “Here, there are no allegations that Konan’s mail was destroyed or that it was misplaced by unintentional action,” the appeals court ruled in a unanimous opinion.

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Sheppard will start against the 76ers on Tuesday, Tony East of Forbes.com reports. With Pascal Siakam (wrist) unavailable, Sheppard will rejoin the starting five. As a starter this season (16 games), the 24-year-old guard has averaged 8.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 25.0 minutes per contest.

Head coach Jordan Ott said Allen (ankle/knee) is trending in the right direction ahead of Tuesday's game against the Celtics, Bobby Krivitsky of Forbes.com reports. Allen was held out of Sunday's loss to Portland -- the second leg of a back-to-back set -- due to right knee and ankle injury management. However, he appears likely to play Tuesday. The 30-year-old has averaged 23.8 points, 4.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals across 34.5 minutes per game in four February appearances (three starts). With Devin Booker (hip) and Dillon Brooks (hand) both sidelined, Allen is a top candidate to enter the starting five.

A federal judge in Virginia rejected the Justice Department’s request to search through a Washington Post reporter’s electronic devices as part of a national security leak investigation, ruling that the court would instead be responsible for conducting the search. They asked Porter to allow a government filter team to search through the devices for relevant information. Porter had first scolded prosecutors about this omission at a hearing on the search warrant in an Alexandria courthouse Friday. “Even so, had the government disclosed the PPA, the Court may well have rejected the search warrant application and directed the government to proceed by subpoena instead. It is exceptionally rare for law enforcement officials to search reporters’ homes.

3 Michigan Wolverines used a second-half surge to defeat the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Tuesday in Ann Arbor, 77-67. Not to mention, Michigan shot just one free throw in the entire half, and it trailed in the paint, 16-14. HALFTIME: MICHIGAN 32, MINNESOTA 28SECOND HALFOut of the break, Michigan’s starters appeared invigorated for a different outcome. To close the game out, Gayle made some more free throws and Johnson got a second-chance bucket, and Michigan defeated Minnesota, 77-67. FINAL SCORE: MICHIGAN 77, MINNESOTA 67MICHIGAN STAT LEADERSG Elliot Cadeau: 15 points, 5 assists, 4 reboundsG L.J.

It’s Paramount’s latest effort to derail rival bidder Netflix, which has a deal to buy the company’s prized studios and HBO Max streaming service. Most Read from The Wall Street JournalShould Warner decide Paramount’s offer is better, Netflix has the right to match it, under the terms of its purchase agreement. Netflix isn’t interested in the cable networks, which Warner is in the process of spinning off into a separate company called Discovery Global. Warner said Paramount’s owner has also agreed to contribute additional funding, if needed, to satisfy its lenders. Paramount would additionally be on the hook for the $2.8 billion breakup fee Warner would owe Netflix should that deal fall apart.

And as NPR's Andrew Limbong reports, that's going to have a bigger impact on casual readers than the hardcore book lovers out there. ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: It was packed at Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C., on a recent Saturday evening. LIMBONG: He and the rest of the crowd were here to honor and send off Washington Post's Book World section. LIMBONG: The poet Rita Dove wrote a poetry column for The Washington Post for a couple years. Publishing strategist Kathleen Schmidt understands why the book section was a victim of the massive layoffs at the Post.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGWASHINGTON ― Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) won’t give up his seat in Congress over his apparent affair with a staffer who died by suicide last year. I work every day for the people of Texas,” Gonzales told CNN’s Manu Raju at the Capitol on Tuesday. Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) have said Gonzales should immediately resign from his seat, while other Republicans have suggested he ought to quit running for office. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who has said Gonzales should drop his campaign, wouldn’t say Tuesday if Gonzales had explained himself. “I’m not gonna litigate this in the public square,” Roy told HuffPost.

The Obama administration then opened deportation proceedings against Mendoza-Rivera, but did not keep him in detention. There is no evidence yet that ICE has been actively looking for cases like these to identify parents to deport, according to interviews with over a dozen federal and state child welfare officials. But data on specific child welfare cases is reported from states to the federal government annually, via the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Medicaid data, for instance, is now reportedly being shared with the Department of Homeland Security, and those files can have more identifying information than NCANDS does on families with child welfare cases. Zaidi, the Justice Department lawyer, responded that if many state laws say that something is a crime of child neglect, then it is a crime of child neglect, and Congress said that a crime of child neglect is deportable.

Everything you need to solve 'Connections' #989. The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you love the theater. If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. Here's a hint for today's Connections categoriesWant a hint about the categories without being told the categories? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

New Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham announced that the team would be using the franchise tag on tight end Kyle Pitts. Kevin Knight breaks down the cost of the franchise tag, as well as what a potential long-term extension for Pitts might look like along with commentary on whether or not Pitts should be traded. If you’re interested in supporting the show, check out our Patreon page to unlock access to exclusive perks including Patron Q&A sessions, Discord perks, live shout-outs and more! Come chat with your fellow Falcons fans about the show, the team, the NFL draft, and more. You can also access the show using your smart TV or device using the YouTube app for the real big-screen experience!

Harris filed an anonymous internal complaint through the company's EthicsPoint reporting system. Harris's supervisor rated her lower than her one comparator and she was terminated on February 4, 2023. At trial, CNN and Warner Brothers Discovery will have to convince a jury that the termination had nothing to do with Harris's accommodation requests, leave use, or the complaints she filed. Among those questions: Harris's supervisor had described her as "a great employee" who "raised the bar" in August 2022 – only two months before rating her as a deficient performer in the review that led to her firing. And the process was overseen by an HR official who was simultaneously the subject of an unresolved internal discrimination complaint Harris had filed.