ABC News reports: Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has refused to condemn former President Donald Trump’s praise of Vladimir Putin amid his invasion of Ukraine. “When Fox News asked him if he had a message for Vladimir Putin, he said he has no message. Why can’t you condemn that? I feel quite confident that if Donald — that if Barack Obama …

NBC News reports: Former President Donald Trump overwhelmingly won a straw poll at the nation’s top conservative conference Sunday, another sign of his continued dominance in the GOP. Trump received 59 percent of the vote in the Conservative Political Action Conference’s non-scientific straw poll, long considered an early measure of popularity of Republican presidential hopefuls. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who …

Reuters reports: BP said on Sunday it plans to abandon its 19.75% stake in oil giant Rosneft in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, marking an abrupt and costly end to 30 at times fraught years operating in the oil-rich country. The British oil and gas giant did not say how it planned to exit its stake, which it …

The Guardian reports: Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar, members of Congress who spoke at a white nationalist event in Florida this week, are “morons” with no place in the Republican party, Mitt Romney said on Sunday. “I’m reminded of that old line from the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid movie,” the Utah senator and 2012 presidential nominee told …

The Associated Press reports: The European Union’s chief executive says the 27-nation bloc will close its airspace to Russian airlines, fund supplies of weapons to Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets in response to Russia’s invasion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday that “for the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and …

The New York Daily News reports: He might’ve played in the minor leagues, but he brought some major bigotry. The Boston Red Sox released minor leaguer Brett Netzer on Saturday, shortly after Netzer went on a racist and homophobic Twitter rant that also targeted Jews and Christians. He then replied to a report that mentioned his tweets.  “I’ll go along …

The Independent reports: Embattled Republican representative and self-described “Florida man” Matt Gaetz on Saturday lashed out at the federal agency reportedly investigating him for child sex trafficking, telling attendees at CPAC that the FBI and DOJ were “cheaters” on par with Russia’s Olympic team. “The intelligence committee should blow up FISA nd the Judiciary Committee should stop the DOJ from …

Politico reports: The Hill’s police department confirmed Sunday that some perimeter fencing would be reinstalled around the Capitol days before President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address and expected protests in Washington, D.C. “Out of an abundance of caution, and in conjunction with the United States Secret Service, a plan has been approved to put up the inner-perimeter fence …

USA Today reports: “Saturday Night Live” did not go for laughs kicking off its first show after hiatus with host John Mulaney on Feb. 26. After the Russian invasion of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, intensified Saturday, “SNL” paid solemn tribute to the people of Ukraine with a powerful choral version of “Prayer for Ukraine” during the normally raucous cold open …

The New York Times reports: Scientists released a pair of extensive studies on Saturday that point to a market in Wuhan, China, as the origin of the coronavirus pandemic. Analyzing data from a variety of sources, they concluded that the coronavirus was very likely present in live mammals sold in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in late 2019 and suggested …

Mediaite reports: Trump gave an interview to Fox News shortly before speaking at the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, in which he warned the Ukrainian conflict “could lead to much bigger [things] than this one area. This could lead to a lot of other countries and could lead to world war. Asked if he had a message …

The Washington Post reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday put nuclear deterrent forces onto high alert, in response to sanctions and what he called “aggressive statements” from the West against Russia. It’s a major escalation of tensions with NATO after Western nations announced plans to restrict the Russian central bank from its foreign currency reserves and cut off certain …

The Associated Press reports: The office of Ukraine’s president has confirmed that a delegation will meet with Russian officials as Moscow’s troops draw closer to Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy office said on the Telegram messaging app that the two sides would meet at an unspecified location on the Belarusian border and did not give a precise time for the …

Reuters reports: People fleeing war in Ukraine poured into central Europe on Sunday, with queues at border crossings stretching back for kilometers on the fourth day of a Russian invasion that has pushed nearly 400,000 people to seek safety abroad. With men of conscription age prevented from leaving Ukraine, it is mostly women and children arriving at the border in …

The Daily Beast reports: He was an unvaxxed billionaire accused of spreading anti-vaccine misinformation. Now he reportedly has COVID. Clive Palmer, the 67-year-old Australian mining magnate and political provocateur, is battling both the coronavirus and pneumonia. The Australian reported that the billionaire “remains very sick.” “I’m not vaccinated and I don’t intend to be vaccinated,” the billionaire proudly declared at …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Former Attorney General William Barr writes in a new book that former President Donald Trump has “shown he has neither the temperament nor persuasive powers to provide the kind of positive leadership that is needed,” and that it is time for Republicans to focus on rising new leaders in the party. The release of the …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Piers Morgan vows to “cancel cancel culture” with his new TV talk show and “take those ultra woke lunatics head on.” The journalist and broadcaster was speaking to Sky News Australia on a visit to the country to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the channel, attending a party at the Sydney Opera House. Morgan’s new daily talk …

CNN reports: Two large explosions lit up the night sky to the southwest of Kyiv early Sunday morning with one detonation that appeared to be approximately 20 kilometers, or about 12 miles, from the city center. The second explosion rocked western Kyiv just before 1 a.m. local time (6 p.m. ET Saturday). The second blast also came from the south-western …

NBC News reports: The United States and its allies announced Saturday an agreement to take aim at Russia through SWIFT, a service that facilitates global transactions among thousands of financial institutions. “We commit to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and …

The Boarding Group reports: A woman was arrested at the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport on Friday at gate C55, where a Delta Airlines flight destined for Columbia, South Carolina, was set to depart. At one point, according to the man recording the video, she is alleged to have called a security guard the n-word. The man recording the video …