Top of the Fold

• Biden to give another $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine: Joe Biden is expected to announce $1 billion more in military aid to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia. This latest tranche of military support will come out of Congress’s recently passed bipartisan omnibus spending bill, which allocated some $13.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine. The Biden administration appears to be intentionally slow-walking the aid in an effort to gain maximum publicity to show that it’s engaged in doing something when in fact little new has been done. Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky made an appeal directly to Congress for more aid, and he’s repeatedly called for NATO to implement a no-fly zone. The Biden administration has steadfastly rejected such calls, pointing out that such action would lead the U.S. into a direct war with Russia.

• Russia raises sanctions against “Russophobic” American officials: Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced sanctions and restrictions against 13 prominent U.S. political figures. The list includes Joe and Hunter Biden, Hillary Clinton, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Moscow described its restrictions as “personal sanctions” based upon “the principle of reciprocity” due to what it called the Biden administration’s “extremely Russophobic policy.” The Kremlin further warned that more Americans will be added to its list. Russia has also raised similar sanctions against 313 Canadians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. As these sanctions will have almost no real impact on those targeted, however, Vladimir Putin’s real objective is a PR move designed to build solidarity with the Russian people suffering under punitive global sanctions thanks to his invasion of Ukraine.

• Senate votes to unmask travelers, but Biden promises a veto: The Senate voted 57-40 Tuesday in favor of Senator Rand Paul’s resolution to end Joe Biden’s politically theatric travel masking mandate. “Today, the Senate said enough is enough, and sent a message to unelected government bureaucrats to stop the anti-science, nanny state requirement of travel mask mandates,” Paul declared following the vote. Last week, as the mask travel mandate was set to expire, Biden’s Transportation Security Administration announced another month-long extension. That announcement prompted Paul to act, and he successfully garnered bipartisan support. However, authoritarians will be authoritarians, and the White House has announced that Biden will veto the Senate-passed resolution should it pass the House, a prospect that seems unlikely given that Nancy Pelosi still holds the reins.

• “Seasonal” border crossings are still up: The number of migrants caught illegally crossing Joe Biden’s open border in February totaled 164,973, a 60% increase from February of last year. While attempted border crossings typically slow during the winter months, the past two months have set records. In January, 153,941 illegal crossers were apprehended, which was the highest total for January since at least 2000. CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus seemed to downplay the increasing number of illegals crossing by saying that February “registered a slight uptick.” Oh.

Headlines

• Senate confirms Shalanda Young as OMB director (Fox News)

• Biden’s anti-fossil fuel Fed nominee withdraws after confirmation stalls (Daily Wire)

• San Francisco boycotts most of the U.S. for insufficient wokeness (PJ Media)

• Jussie Smollett’s lawyers seek emergency release after “dangerous threats” (Washington Examiner)

• New York failed to account for 4,100 COVID nursing home deaths, audit says (Washington Examiner)

• Biden to travel to Brussels for NATO summit on Ukraine next week (NBC News)

• Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski killed in Ukraine (Fox News)

• Saudi Arabia reportedly considering accepting yuan instead of dollar for oil sales (The Hill)

• Russian journalist fined for protesting war on live TV (Fox News)

• Putin signs law allowing Russia to seize leased airplanes to counter sanctions (Daily Wire)

• China locks down entire province in struggle to contain COVID outbreak (National Review)

• Policy: Pennsylvania’s ballot battle should rattle GOP (Daily Signal)

• Humor: Fast-food meal costs family $100 after they idle in drive-thru for 10 minutes (Babylon Bee)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit Headline Report.

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