Top of the Fold

• Biden labels Putin a “war criminal” and a U.S. citizen is killed in Ukraine: Responding to a reporter’s question Wednesday, Joe Biden bluntly stated that Vladimir Putin “is a war criminal.” On Thursday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken didn’t back off from Biden’s designation, stating: “Yesterday, President Biden said that in his opinion, war crimes have been committed in Ukraine. Personally, I agree. Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime.” If the Biden administration has indeed designated Putin a war criminal, then it has significant ramifications for any future dealings with the Russian strongman. Indeed, how can the Biden administration continue pursuing its desired nuclear deal with Iran with Russia as a primary player if it has recognized Putin as a war criminal? Meanwhile, Russia’s atrocities against civilians continue, and a U.S. citizen has been killed in the city of Chernihiv, Ukraine. James Whitney Hill was shot by Russian snipers as he stood waiting in a breadline. Hill was a teacher who had been living and working in Ukraine for the past 25 years. He was 67 years old.

• Putin calls for “self-purification” against “scum and traitors” in nationalistic push: In an obvious attempt to spur on Russian nationalism in the face of global condemnation of his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin called Russians to “solidarity, cohesion and readiness to respond to any challenges” as he has recently intensified his crackdown on dissent. Insisting that his war has always been about the “denazification” of Ukraine, Putin sought to spin the war crime atrocities the Russian military is currently inflicting on civilians as the work of Ukraine, saying its leaders are “acting like the Nazis did.” A Ukrainian-born food blogger has become the first victim of Putin’s speech-silencing “fake news” law. Nika Belotserkovskaya has been charged for lying about the war. For some reason, this reminds us of Joe Biden’s efforts to purge America of “right-wing extremists”…

• Democrats don’t believe their own COVID messaging: “It’s time for Americans to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again,” Joe Biden declared in his State of the Union Address. “People working from home can feel safe to begin to return to the office.” While the statement drew a round of applause from Democrat lawmakers, many of them haven’t embraced it. Nearly a dozen Democrat Senate offices remain closed, including the office of Senate Leader Chuck Schumer. It’s even worse on the House side, with dozens of offices empty of personnel. Many Democrat lawmakers continue working from home or “operating remotely.” In fact, thanks to Nancy Pelosi’s proxy voting system, Democrat Frederica Wilson (FL) did not submit a single in-person vote during the entirety of 2021, and her Washington office remains closed. As several Republicans observe, Democrats just can’t give up their “COVID theater.” Underscoring this reality, Pelosi on Thursday called for the Biden administration to request an additional $45 billion in new COVID spending — despite the fact that the government has yet to exhaust funding from the previous emergency spending bill, or that rampant inflation has been caused by COVID spending.

Headlines

• Biden and Xi prepare to talk as tensions mount over Russia’s war in Ukraine (Washington Examiner)

• House votes to end Russia’s favored trade status with U.S. (Bloomberg)

• Top Russian general reportedly detained as Putin targets “traitors” amid Ukraine invasion (Fox News)

• Putin admits Western sanctions are killing his economy (Washington Examiner)

• Here’s an insane shootout in Ukraine … oh wait, it’s the southern U.S. border (Not the Bee)

• Biological male swimmer Lia Thomas wins women’s 500-yard NCAA title (New York Post)

• Mortgage rates in the U.S. top 4% for first time since 2019 (Bloomberg)

• Uber and Lyft drivers feeling the sting of higher gas prices (Washington Examiner)

• Andrew Cuomo considers running against Kathy Hochul despite opposition from his own party (CNBC)

• Policy: The Ukraine crisis shows the need for a bigger defense budget (The Dispatch)

• Satire: Nation wishes there were some way they could have known about the Hunter Biden laptop story before the election (Babylon Bee)

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

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