Top of the Fold

• Biden walks back the walk-back: Joe Biden sought to clarify his comments over the weekend in Poland, where he declared that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.” Seemingly calling for a regime change in Russia predictably caused quite a stir, so Biden on Monday sought to downplay it. First, he insisted, “I’m not walking anything back,” but then added: “I want to make it clear: I wasn’t then or am I now articulating a policy change. I was expressing moral outrage that I feel, and I make no apologies for it.” The Kremlin called Biden’s initial comment “alarming.” When pressed as to whether his remark was playing into Putin’s propaganda, Biden responded: “I don’t care what [Putin] thinks. Here’s the thing: He’s going to do what he’s going to do. … And the idea that he is going to do something outrageous because I called him for what he was and what he’s doing is just not rational.” The trouble is, who believes Putin is rational?

• Ukraine and Russia talks continue: In an apparent signal that Moscow is looking for a way to end its war in Ukraine soon, the Russian military announced a change of operational focus, noting that it was pulling back from its thus far failed effort to surround and seize Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv. With operational successes seemingly few and far between, Vladimir Putin may be looking for a way to cut his losses and secure the Russian-controlled areas in the east of Ukraine. Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin claimed that the military’s pullback from Kyiv and Chernihiv was a goodwill gesture to “increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations.” Meanwhile, negotiations continue. Ukraine is offering a deal to remain neutral, with its security guaranteed by several third-party countries including the U.S., Britain, France, Turkey, China, and Poland. Furthermore, Ukraine offered to hold continuing talks over the next 15 years with respect to the future of Crimea.

• Poisoned at peace talks? Ukrainians and a Russian oligarch were apparently poisoned at peace talks earlier this month. Two members of Ukraine’s peace delegation as well as the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich came down with sudden symptoms that were typical of poisoning following their meeting. Ukraine is blaming Russia for “the attack on hard-liners in Moscow who they said wanted to sabotage talks to end the war.” However, with Abramovich also coming down with poisoning symptoms, the exact target of the attack seems somewhat unclear. What is clear is that this has all the markings of Vladimir Putin, who has a history of poisoning opponents. While the symptoms included temporary blindness and the peeling of skin, all three are expected to make a full recovery. Was this Putin simply sending a message?

• Stefanik shows off GOP women hoping for a “pink wave”: Democrats are “running for the hills,” Republican Representative Elise Stefanik recently boasted, as she stood alongside 10 female “rising stars” she has endorsed with her E-PAC. “I didn’t hear a lot of Democrats moving up to run for office in these target districts,” Stefanik noted. “I think most of them are playing defense.” Stefanik, the number three Republican in the House, has an ambitious goal for getting 50 Republican women elected to Congress this November. In this year’s favorable election climate for Republicans — with polls showing over 70% of Americans say the country is on the wrong track — Stefanik sees a huge opportunity for conservative women to win seats. With more than 280 Republican women running this election cycle, the prospect of Stefanik meeting her goal, as well as the GOP winning back control of the House, appears very promising.

Headlines

• China locks down Shanghai, its biggest city, as Omicron fuels record surge in COVID cases (CBS News)

• Biden administration will start vaccinating migrants at border (NY Times)

• Five-year and 30-year Treasury yields invert for the first time since 2006, fueling recession fears (CNBC)

• Chicago Mayor Lightfoot has 71-person police unit to protect her, blames Trump for being in danger (Daily Wire)

• Yale Law School rules out disciplinary action for students who disrupted free speech event (Free Beacon)

• Southern Poverty Law Center is racist, employees returning to in-person work say (Free Beacon)

• Policy: Why Europe can’t quit Russian natural gas (Washington Examiner)

• Humor: Amy Schumer horrified to learn you can now get slapped for bad jokes (Babylon Bee)

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

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