| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | ONE TO WATCH — "China says it seeks to 'resolve' Taiwan question, amid comparisons to Ukraine," by WaPo's Eva Dou and Pei Lin Wu UKRAINE LATEST, DAY TEN: IN UKRAINE … — "Russian forces continued to shell the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Saturday, despite agreeing to a ceasefire just hours earlier — throwing an attempted mass evacuation of civilians into chaos," reports the BBC. "Due to the fact that the Russian side is not sticking to the ceasefire and continues to shoot Mariupol itself and the outskirts, the evacuation has been postponed," a statement from Mariupol authorities read. Meanwhile, Russian officials "said civilians had not used the escape routes from Mariupol and Volnovakha and accused Ukrainian authorities of preventing people from leaving." — On Friday, Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY blasted NATO's decision not to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine: "All the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you, because of your weakness, because of your lack of unity," he said. "The alliance has given the green light to the bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages by refusing to create a no-fly zone." — A British team with Sky News was injured in an ambush in Kyiv on Monday — read one reporter's terrifying account. With video — NYT: "A video received by The Times gives a glimpse inside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine as it was being attacked by Russian forces on Friday morning."
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Ukrainians trying to flee the country wait at the Lviv railway station Friday. | Felipe Dana/AP Photo | IN WASHINGTON … — All U.S. senators were invited to take part in a virtual meeting with Zelenskyy scheduled for this morning at 9:30 a.m. While Zelenskyy has met with senators before — including a bipartisan group that visited Ukraine in January — this is the first time he'll be speaking with them since the invasion of his country. It's not clear how many senators will join, but a senior Senate staffer told me Friday night that "we expect strong turnout." The meeting comes as Congress is deciding whether to send more aid to Ukraine, including a $10 billion emergency request from President JOE BIDEN. — The White House is now considering banning oil imports from Russia, Bloomberg's Ari Natter, Jennifer Jacobs, Saleha Mohsin and Nick Wadhams scooped Friday. "Among the implications of an oil ban the White House is assessing is if the move would actually hurt the Russian economy, or if the crude would simply go to other markets and drive up U.S. gasoline prices," the four write. On Capitol Hill, momentum for a bill banning Russian oil has been building for days. Senators on both sides of the aisle have made clear they are ready to pass a bill, and Speaker NANCY PELOSI announced her support for the move Thursday. But the White House isn't fully on board with the idea. Their reasoning: a concern that pulling any oil out of the market would likely raise gas prices — and if that were to occur, the White House, not Congress, is likely to take the blame. — U.S. officials are debating how to aid a possible Zelenskyy government in exile, NBC's Scott Wong reports. "[L]awmakers in Washington say it is critically important that Zelenskyy and his top officials stay alive — even if it means whisking them away to another European capital." But Zelenskyy has been clear he isn't leaving his country.
| | A message from ACC and America's Plastic Makers: Through bold action, we can solve great problems. That's why America's Plastic Makers® created "5 Actions for Sustainable Change" – a comprehensive national strategy that would move the United States toward a sustainable, circular economy in which plastics are made to be remade. Learn more. | | | IN RUSSIA … — President VLADIMIR PUTIN "clamped down harder Friday on news and free speech than at any time in [his] 22 years in power," NYT's Anton Troianovski reports . Effective today, the law criminalizes "false information" about Putin's war with up to 15 years in prison. In a particularly Orwellian twist, that could even make it illegal to call the war a "war" — the Kremlin says it is a "special military operation." — That's led Western media outlets in the country to move quickly to protect their journalists. Bloomberg Newsfollowed the BBC in suspending their reporting in Russia. CNN stopped airing in the country, and ABC and CBS suspended their broadcasts (at least temporarily). WaPo is dropping its bylines and datelines for reporting in Russia to protect its journalists' safety. — Russia's moves to isolate its internet from the rest of the world (and the rest of the world's moves to isolate Russia) "could fundamentally change the way that Russians get their information and connect — or fail to connect — with the rest of the world," Emily Birnbaum and Rebecca Kern report. "It's bringing Putin's Russia many steps closer to a so-called splinternet in which the West and Russia operate in different online spheres." More reading: "Zelensky's call for volunteers to defend Ukraine heeded by thousands from abroad," FT … "How the West Unplugged Russia From the World's Financial Systems," WSJ … "LGBTQ refugees fleeing Ukraine face discrimination in countries with anti-gay laws," NPR
| | | | A message from ACC and America's Plastic Makers:   | | | Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels , Ryan Lizza. BIDEN'S SATURDAY — The president and Labor Secretary MARTY WALSH will meet with national labor union leaders at the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, Del., at 11:30 a.m.
| | | | HAPPENING TUESDAY, INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION ON THE WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN: Join Women Rule editor Elizabeth Ralph for a panel discussion on the future for Afghan women. Guests include Hawa Haidari, a member of the Female Tactical Platoon; Cindy McCain, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture; Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the U.S.; and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). Learn how female Afghan veterans are planning their futures, what the women still in Afghanistan face, and what the U.S. can do to help. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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A trucker convoy protesting pandemic restrictions and other issues arrives in Hagerstown, Md., on Friday before heading to the D.C. area today. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 9 THINGS WE READ THAT STUCK WITH US: 1. "There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin," former VP MIKE PENCE declared at an RNC fundraising event in New Orleans on Friday night, drawing another implicit contrast with the DONALD TRUMP/TUCKER CARLSON wing of the GOP. Pence also told the donors the party "cannot win by fighting yesterday's battles, or by relitigating the past," per the AP. And he blamed Biden's "weakness" for setting the stage for Russia's invasion. 2. "Inside the app, digital tumbleweeds blew through my feed." Ruby Cramer joined Truth Social , Trump's long-promised social media platform. She found a near-exact dupe of "Trump's first love, Twitter, the site that kicked him out more than a year ago." One difference? It seems to be something of a digital Potemkin village. "The most vigorous conversation on the site seems to be the entirely made-up one that appeared on the mock-ups before the launch," Ruby writes. 3. The first White House interview on Substack? Historian and popular newsletter writer HEATHER COX RICHARDSON got a sitdown with Biden in the China Room, where they discussed his (and our) place in history. "I think we're at one of those moments in world history where we're going to see more change because of technology in the next 10 years than your students will have seen, than we saw in the last 50 years," Biden told her. "And I think it's hard for governments to get their arms around these changes in a way that continues to bring people together." The 30-minute conversation also covered campaign messaging, China's vision of the 21st century, economic fairness and why Biden thinks American democracy will survive. 4. Expect a difficult tax-filing season ahead: The IRS is mired in political, financial, logistical and staffing chaos, NYT's Alan Rappeport reports. Democrats say the agency needs more funding to straighten out the issues; Republicans oppose more funding because of the issues. In the IRS' main paper-processing center in Kansas City for the 24 million tax returns still filed by hand, it sure doesn't sound like the digital age: "A surprisingly large amount of time has been used looking for carts to put files on and staples for stapling files together," a clerk tells the NYT. 5. One big reason for Biden's anemic approval ratings: lackluster support from fellow Democrats. Cook Political Report's Amy Walter digs into the issue , drawing on two recent focus groups she attended with Dems who primarily vote in presidential elections. Two things in particular stood out to us: (1) "Even though Trump's gone, many of those who voted for Biden don't believe that the political environment has gotten much better." (2) "Many of these Democratic focus group participants see Republicans in Congress not as Trump-wannabes, but as opportunistic politicians who are trying to appease the former president. … Behind closed doors, said many in this group, most … aren't really Trump supporters. In other words, Trump may have been a great GOTV tool for Democrats in 2020. But, trying to make each and every GOP candidate into Trump is going to be a challenge for Democratic candidates to pull off." 6. The Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling Friday siding with the FBI in a case regarding post-9/11 surveillance of Muslims in Orange County, per the L.A. Times. The unanimous verdict was a technical ruling focused on the state secrets privilege and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act; a lawyer for the Muslim men said they'd still be able to pursue the meat of their claims that they were improperly spied on. ICYMI: Listen to this fascinating "This American Life" episode from 2012 for much more detail about the people behind the case. 7. The Veritas vortex: Will the Supreme Court's first Black woman have to recuse herself from the case that could end affirmative action in college admissions? WSJ's Jacob Gershman reports that Judge KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, if confirmed, could face conflict-of-interest questions in the blockbuster Harvard case because she's served on one of the university's governing bodies since 2016. (Recusal decisions are up to each justice.) Ethics experts who talked to the WSJ had diverging views. The matter could come up at Jackson's confirmation hearings. 8. A new Biden administration pandemic initiative will roll out in pharmacies nationwide — and it's already drawing divided reactions, WaPo's Katie Shepherd reports. The "test to treat" program will allow people to get tested for the coronavirus at, say, a local CVS clinic and head home with antiviral treatment if they're positive. ERIC TOPOL said it was "the bold type of move we need," despite the logistical challenges involved. But the American Medical Association on Friday blasted the plan, saying that doctors should oversee such prescriptions. 9. A revived Iran nuclear deal could come together as soon as next week, negotiators said Friday. British, French and German envoys flew home from Vienna at the end of the week, Reuters' Francois Murphy and Parisa Hafezi report. "Their departure raised the possibility that the United States and Iran, which have been talking indirectly because Tehran refuses to meet face to face, might be preparing to sit down together though diplomats said there were no such plans."
| | | | A message from ACC and America's Plastic Makers:   | | | Other stories worth your time:
CLICKER — "The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics," edited by Matt Wuerker — 17 keepers GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza: — "'I Am Lia': The Trans Swimmer Dividing America Tells Her Story," by Sports Illustrated's Robert Sanchez: "Lia Thomas has dominated women's college swimming this season — and has also become a lightning rod for controversy. Many — including some teammates — say she shouldn't be able to compete against other women. In an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated, Thomas explains why she has to." — "Brandon Stanton's Empire of Empathy," by N.Y. Mag's Lisa Miller: "How 'Humans of New York' became a one-man philanthropy machine." — "How Four Women Destroyed 1,200 Tons of Poison Gas — and Defused a Crisis," by Rolling Stone's Tessa Stuart: "An obscure Defense Department team had nine months to make a stockpile of Syria's chemical weapons disappear. In doing the impossible, they helped avert a global showdown and saved untold lives." — "Does My Son Know You?" by The Ringer's Jonathan Tjarks: "Fatherhood, cancer, and what matters most." — "The man who paid for America's fear," by the S.F. Chronicle's Jason Fagone: "Wrongfully convicted of terrorism in the fearful years after 9/11, Hamid Hayat lost everything. Now he's trying to find himself." — "How Peter Thiel Backed An 'Anti-Woke' Film Festival," by BuzzFeed's Joseph Bernstein: "Humorless millennials. Addled boomers. Tiresome liberals. Trevor Bazile wanted to shock them all — and use Silicon Valley money to do it." — "A New Face of American Gun Ownership," by The Trace's Agya Aning: "Black women are arming themselves — and pushing against stereotypes of who owns firearms." — "The Hidden Epidemic of Brain Injuries From Domestic Violence," by Christa Hillstrom in the NYT Magazine: "Research shows that survivors of abuse can sustain head trauma more often than football players. But they are almost never diagnosed."
| | | | DON'T MISS POLITICO'S INAUGURAL HEALTH CARE SUMMIT ON 3/31: Join POLITICO for a discussion with health care providers, policymakers, federal regulators, patient representatives, and industry leaders to better understand the latest policy and industry solutions in place as we enter year three of the pandemic. Panelists will discuss the latest proposals to overcome long-standing health care challenges in the U.S., such as expanding access to care, affordability, and prescription drug prices. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | CNN's Clarissa Ward, who has been reporting from Ukraine, paused her live report to help some elderly people as they were trying to flee Kyiv. Tina Smith turned 64 — and felt positively middle-aged compared to her peers. Elon Musk, electric car magnate, tweeted that "we need to increase oil & gas output immediately. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures." Greg Gutfeld's mother-in-law escaped from Ukraine and reunited with her daughter. The man who directed Volodymyr Zelenskyy 10 times when he was an actor spoke to Insider to give insight into the man before he was president. IN MEMORIAM — "Pulitzer winner Walter Mears dies, AP's 'Boy on the Bus,'" by AP's Mike Feinsilber and Calvin Woodward: "Walter R. Mears, who for 45 years fluidly and speedily wrote the news about presidential campaigns for The Associated Press and won a Pulitzer Prize doing it, has died. He was 87. 'I could produce a story as fast as I could type,' Mears once acknowledged — and he was a fast typist. He became the AP's Washington bureau chief and the wire service's executive editor and vice president, but he always returned to the keyboard, and to covering politics." NSC DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Emily Horne, the NSC's spokesperson, is departing, to be replaced by Adrienne Watson, per WaPo's John Hudson. POSSIBLE NSC ARRIVAL LOUNGE — The White House is considering adding Brookings foreign policy expert Thomas Wright as senior director for strategy at the NSC, Foreign Policy's Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer scooped. TRANSITIONS — Drew Nirenberg is joining Cavalry LLC. He most recently was comms adviser for Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). … Jen Newman will be assistant VP of congressional relations at the Independent Community Bankers of America. She most recently was a legislative assistant for Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). … … Meredith Jones Hoing is joining Edelman Global Advisory as director for earned media. She most recently was at the Australian Embassy, and is a John Kennedy and Alex Mooney alum. … Sam Fullam is now organizing director for Alessandra Biaggi's New York congressional campaign. She's a Brad Hoylman, Jon Ossoff and Eugene DePasquale campaign alum. WEDDING — Malcolm Kenyatta and Matthew Miller, via NYT : "Mr. Kenyatta, 31, is a Pennsylvania state representative and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Dr. Miller, 32 … is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and the director of justice and belonging at the university's Stuart Weitzman School of Design. … On Feb. 5, Mr. Kenyatta and Dr. Miller were married at the Met Philadelphia." WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Katya Cocoros, chief of staff for global government relations at Blackstone, and George Cocoros, account executive for cybersecurity sales at AccessIT Group, welcomed Nicholas George Cocoros on Tuesday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) … White House's Stephen Goepfert … Fox News' Chad Pergram … Ken Lerer … MJ Lee … Matthew Albence of GrindStone Strategic Consulting … Fred Davis … Alan Miller … Jordan Fabian … Diana Al Ayoubi-Monett … Mercury's Erick Mullen … John Twomey … Roy Gutman … Lauren Kidwell of 270 Strategies … April Mellody … Matt Dorf of West End Strategy Team (52) … Kyle Stewart … Amir Avin … Daniel Kahneman … Phil Hardy … Clint Hackney … Aaron Freedman … Sharon Block … John Schachter … Ron Boehmer … Danny Schwarz … CBS' Jacob Rosen … Win Ellington … Drake Henle … Sarah Little … Kolby Keo … Jon Loritz … Peter T. Metzger II … Will Newell … Deloitte's Carley Berlin … Nathaniel Rich THE SHOWS ( Full Sunday show listings here): CNN "State of the Union": Secretary of State Antony Blinken … Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) … European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen … Michèle Flournoy … Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas) … retired Gen. David Petraeus … Nadya Tolokonnikova. NBC "Meet the Press": Secretary of State Antony Blinken … Nikki Haley … retired Adm. James Stavridis and Fiona Hill … Richard Engel reporting from Ukraine and Kelly Cobiella from Poland. Panel: Eddie Glaude Jr., Stephen Hayes, Hallie Jackson and Robin Wright. FOX "Fox News Sunday," guest-anchored by Shannon Bream: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) … Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) … Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova. Panel: Katie Pavlich, Jonathan Swan, Catherine Lucey and Mo Elleithee. CBS "Face the Nation": Secretary of State Antony Blinken … Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) … Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova … IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. ABC "This Week": U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield … Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Panel: Jonathan Karl, Donna Brazile, Chris Christie and Julie Pace. Gray TV "Full Court Press": Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) … Nina Khrushcheva. MSNBC "The Sunday Show": Evelyn Farkas. CNN "Inside Politics": Gen. John Allen … Beth Sanner and Josh Rogin … Greg Ip. Panel: Tarini Parti, Kaitlan Collins and Alexander Burns. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross.
| | A message from ACC and America's Plastic Makers: Plastics are a critical component of our nation's present and future, from reducing food waste to modernizing our infrastructure. But to tackle these critical challenges, we need Congress and industry to join forces.
That's why we created "5 Actions for Sustainable Change" – a comprehensive national strategy that would move the United States toward a sustainable, circular economy in which plastics are made to be remade.
Our bold policy proposal calls for:
· Requiring 30% recycled content in plastic packaging by 2030.
· Updating outdated laws so that advanced recycling can grow.
· Establishing national recycling standards for plastic.
· Studying the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from all materials to guide informed policy.
· Encouraging private sector funding to modernize recycling infrastructure.
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