Good morning.
Joe Biden is due to see first-hand the scale of the Ukrainian refugee crisis today when he visits Poland, which has taken in more than 2 million people fleeing Russian forces across the border.
His trip comes hours after Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told leaders at the European Council they had been “a little late” in imposing sanctions on Russia, suggesting the crisis could have been prevented.
The US president will fly to the eastern Polish town of Rzeszów, bringing him to within 50 miles (80km) of the country’s border with Ukraine, where there has been a huge influx of refugees since Russia invaded a month ago.
The crisis has left public services struggling to cope in Poland, which was home to the biggest Ukrainian refugee population in the region before the war.
What did Zelenskiy say about sanctions? “You blocked Nord Stream 2. We are grateful to you. And rightly so. But it was also a little late. Because if it had been in time, Russia would not have created a gas crisis. At least there was a chance,” he said.
What’s happening on the ground? Russia is running out of precision-guided munitions and it is more likely to rely on so-called dumb bombs and artillery, a senior Pentagon official said last night, Reuters reported.
What else is happening? US volunteers have reached the frontline of the war in Ukraine.
Trump sues Hillary Clinton, alleging ‘plot’ to rig 2016 election
Donald Trump has sued Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and other people and entities tied to the investigation of Russian election interference in 2016, claiming that in an attempt to rig the election they orchestrated a conspiracy that made Watergate “pale in comparison”.
The suit came a day after the release of a letter from a prosecutor in New York who said he believed Trump was “guilty of numerous felony violations” in his business affairs, despite the district attorney in Manhattan choosing not to indict.
Trump beat Clinton for the presidency in 2016. Nonetheless, six years on he alleges she is guilty of “racketeering” and a “conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood”, among other claims.
Who else is listed as defendants in the suit? Among them are the ex-FBI officials James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page; the former British spy Christopher Steele, the author of a famous dossier on Trump’s links to Moscow; Jake Sullivan, now Biden’s national security adviser; and John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chair.
What does the lawsuit say Clinton and co did? Trump’s new lawsuit claims that in the run-up to the 2016 election “Hillary Clinton and her cohorts orchestrated an unthinkable plot – one that shocks the conscience and is an affront to this nation’s democracy”.
Republicans turn Ketanji Brown Jackson hearing into a political circus
At 2.54pm on the second day of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings that will determine whether she takes a seat on the US supreme court, the solemn proceedings took a nosedive into farce, writes Ed Pilkington.
Ted Cruz, the Republican senator from Texas, turned theatrically to an outsized blow-up of a children’s book, Antiracist Baby by Ibram X Kendi. Pointing to a cartoon from its pages of an infant in diapers taking their first walk, he asked Jackson: “Do you agree with this book … that babies are racist?”
“Senator,” Jackson began with a sigh. And then she paused for seven full seconds, which in the august setting of the Senate judiciary committee hearing felt like a year.
For the one and only time in the 13 hours of questioning that Jackson endured that day, the nominee appeared flummoxed. Or was it flabbergasted?
But will the political circus work? “They are trying to find some way to make her look less than qualified,” Janai Nelson of NAACP concluded. “They failed miserably.”
In other news …
California residents could get free public transit rides and gas rebates under a proposal from the governor to help bring relief as fuel prices in the state reach record highs. Gavin Newsom’s plan is the latest floated by officials in California, where drivers are paying more for fuel than anywhere else in the country.
North Korea has confirmed it tested a new, powerful type of intercontinental ballistic missile, marking an end to a self-imposed moratorium on long-range testing in place since 2017 and drawing international condemnation.
The attorney general of Texas has declared a school district’s celebration of LGBTQ+ students “sex education” and in violation of Texas law. For the past eight years, students have held a district-wide Pride week as a chance to celebrate LGBTQ+ students, staff and families in the district.
China reported almost 5,000 Covid-19 cases on Friday, as authorities continued to battle an outbreak of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. After the death of a nurse in Shanghai who was denied hospitalization after an asthma attack, many are angry that China’s Covid responses appear to be causing more deaths than the virus itself.
Stat of the day: Ice shelf with surface area of 1,200 sq km collapses in East Antarctica
An ice shelf about the size of Rome has collapsed in East Antarctica within days of record-high temperatures, according to satellite data. The Conger ice shelf, which had an approximate surface area of 1,200 sq km, is believed to have collapsed on 15 March. East Antarctica experienced unusually high temperatures last week, with Concordia station hitting a record -11.8C on 18 March, more than 40C warmer than seasonal norms, thanks to an atmospheric river that trapped heat over the continent.
Don’t miss this: I have been unhappy about a friendship of more than 55 years. Why do I still put up with her?
One of the defining features of a friendship is that we don’t keep a rolling moral score of each other, writes Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Love is patient, love is kind, “it keeps no record of wrongs”. This is a very nice thing, usually – it means we can reveal our unpolished selves. But sometimes it means that, after years of friendship, we look up at the person we call a friend and realise that in the time we weren’t keeping inventory of the ethical infractions, they were still busy racking them up.
Climate check: Russian and Ukrainian activists call for European embargo on Russian fossil fuels
Russian and Ukrainian environmental activists have made a joint call for a European embargo on Russian oil, gas and coal, as children and young people prepare to take part in the latest wave of climate crisis school strikes and protests around the world. The campaigners said the ban on trade in Russian fossil fuels would starve Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine of crucial funds, while accelerating Europe’s transition to clean energy.
Last thing: How British pets from cats to gerbils are being forced to diet
A staggering 78% of vets in the UK say they have seen a rise in worryingly overweight pets in recent years, and lockdown has made things worse. “Being at home has made owners more likely to give pets a little bit of what they’re having,” said the PDSA vet Lynne James. “It’s easy to do, when they’re sat there, looking at you.” But could social media’s obsession with chonky cats and podgy pooches also be to blame?
Sign up
First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com
