© Michal Dyjuk/AP President Biden poses with children after his speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw on Tuesday.
President Biden returns to Washington today after meeting in Poland with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, NATO's eastern wing, which has been skeptical of Russian aggression since its invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago. Biden's trip, which included a surprise visit to Kiev and a fiery speech in Warsaw about US determination to help Ukraine, underscored his leadership on the world stage as he prepares to concede his 2024 re-election bid.
On Wednesday, one of the Republican candidates seeking to replace former President Donald Trump Biden will visit East Palestine, Ohio. He is said to have accused Biden of neglecting his duties at home after the train derailment more than two weeks ago. However, Trump's visit raises questions about his White House rail security. Are you reading the email policy now? Take a few minutes to fill out our survey .
- 3:40 p.m. ET. Vice President Harris talks about cost reductions for homebuyers in Bowie, Maryland. Watch live here.
- 9 p.m. ET. Biden returns to the White House.
12:49 on our radar. Buttigieg visited eastern Palestine, where the train derailed, on Thursday
© Matt Freed/AP Workers continue to clear remaining tanks in East Palestine, Ohio, after a Norfolk Southern-bound freight train derailed on Feb. 3.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in eastern Palestine on Thursday. According to The Post's Ian Duncan, this is the second state official to visit rural Ohio since the incident two weeks ago.
Jahn said Buttigieg will meet with community members, get an update on the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation and speak with investigators from his office who helped determine the cause of the crash.
Buttigieg has increasingly come under fire as the federal government has come under fire for its response to the crash, with some residents and local officials saying he personally did little to help. The Transportation Department has stepped up its response to the accident in recent days, with Buttigieg writing a letter to the CEO of Norfolk Southern on Sunday and announcing a series of safety recommendations on Tuesday.
Read more about Buttigieg's visit.
12:06 p.m. Analysis: What if states bar newcomers from voting?
© Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post by Marjorie Taylor Green (D-GA) on Capitol Hill earlier this month.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) discussed the idea of a "national divorce" with host Sean Hannity on her Fox News show Tuesday night. The two nodded at each other as they discussed the various outlandish attempts to punish or discredit the political left.
Philip Bump of The Post notes that Hannity supported one of Green's proposals earlier in the conversation. According to Philip.
"The congressman has another idea: ban people who move from blue states to red states from voting for five years so they don't bring their bad policies with them," Hannity said. "Actually, I am a supporter of this idea."
Given the combination of left-wing rigidity and superficial intelligence, it's no wonder Hannity thinks this is a good idea. But this is not immediately and clearly possible, and the rest of Green's "proposal" is difficult to reconcile.
Let's start the evaluation with a direct question: how many people go from blue to red or vice versa? The Census Bureau collects data on such movements and gives us an idea of the rate of migration over five years. …
An immediately noticeable pattern is that red states tend to migrate more than red states, and most blue states tend to migrate more than blue states.
You can read the full review here.
11:46 on our radar. Harris to announce reduction in mortgage insurance costs for homebuyers.
© Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post Vice President Harris speaks at a meeting of the National Governors Association in the East Room of the White House on Friday.
Vice President Harris plans to announce a measure to reduce costs for home buyers insured by the Biden administration's Federal Housing Administration.
Harris, who hosted an event in Bowie, MD, on Wednesday, announced that the FHA is reducing annual mortgage insurance premiums for most new borrowers by 0.3 percentage points, which will save homebuyers an average of $800 a year. The White House reported on this.
The mortgage insurance premium is the monthly fee that homeowners with FHA-insured mortgages pay to insure their mortgage and make monthly principal and interest payments.
The statement was also made by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. It is designed to prevent rising loan prices that deter many homebuyers.
According to the White House, FHA-insured mortgages, which accounted for 7.5% of home sales in the third quarter of 2022, target homebuyers who otherwise could not afford them.
More than 80 percent of FHA borrowers are first-time homebuyers and more than 25 percent are minorities, according to a White House data report.
11:20. A majority of Republicans seeking a non-Trump candidate are named, according to the poll.
© Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post President Donald Trump, seated next to Florida Governor-elect Ron DeSantis (R), speaks during a meeting with Republican governors at the White House on December 13, 2018.
A majority of Republicans and independents who lean toward them believe the party would have a better chance of winning the 2024 presidential election with a candidate other than Donald Trump, according to a new poll.
According to the NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist poll, 54 percent believe an alternative has a better chance and 42 percent believe the former president is the best choice for the party.
That momentum opens up opportunities for other GOP candidates, most notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has emerged as a leading alternative to Trump despite the fact that the White House has yet to announce a candidacy.
A new poll gives interesting insight into where support for the two men is strongest.
College graduates, families making more than $50,000, urban and suburban residents, and independent Republicans view DeSantis more favorably than Trump.
Meanwhile, white evangelical Christians, those without a college degree, voters from small towns and rural areas, and people living in households making less than $50,000 rate Trump more favorably than DeSantis.
11:07 It's now. Arizona Attorney General withheld tapes denying allegations of voter fraud.
© Bob Christie/AP Former Arizona Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich resigned in January after failing to release the results of an investigation into the 2020 Maricopa County elections he launched, protecting staff findings that contradicted his public statements. (Bob Christie/AP)
About a year after the 2020 election, then-Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich launched an investigation into the state's largest election district, which quickly consumed more than 10,000 staff hours.
Investigators released a report in March 2022 that found all allegations of wrongdoing and abuse to be unfounded, based on internal documents reviewed by The Washington Post. According to The Post's Yvonne Winget Sanchez and Isaac Stanley-Becker, Brnovich, a Republican, remained silent. According to our partners.
The attorney general, who is running in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate in April, released an "interim report" that his office claims reveals "serious weaknesses." He released the corrections made by his own investigators to refute his claims.
Then, in September, his office issued an "election overview summary" that systematically refuted widespread claims of fraud and revealed that none of the complainants, from state legislators to self-proclaimed "election integrity" groups, had provided any evidence to defend them. support them. . their statements. . Brnovich resigned last month without revealing his CV.
That timeline comes from documents released to The Post this week by Brnovich's successor, Democrat Chris Mays. He considered the taxpayer-funded investigation closed and told Maricopa County Council leaders earlier this month they were no longer under state fire.
You can read the whole story here.
10:57 The last one. Biden wants to support NATO in ending his trip abroad.
© Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters President Biden and Polish President Andrzej Duda greet each other with Slovakian President Zuzana Czaputova at NATO's Bucharest Nine summit in Warsaw on Wednesday.
President Biden was eager to support NATO's eastern flank on Wednesday, pledging his full support if Russia starts cracking down on them after Russia wraps up a major three-day trip to Ukraine and Poland.
The Post's Matt Witter writes from Warsaw that a few hours before leaving for Washington, Biden reiterated that if Russia attacks any of these Eastern European countries, the United States will invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter, meaning all . An alliance member will react as if their territory has been attacked; For a friend:
"It is absolutely clear that Article 5 is a sacred obligation of the United States," the president said before attending a closed-door meeting with the nine leaders in Bucharest. "We will defend every inch of NATO. Every inch of NATO."
At a time when the war in Ukraine has completed a year, the purpose of the meeting was to calm sensitive countries close to Ukraine and Russia and to give a serious warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the consequences of the tension.
"Not only Ukraine is in danger, literally. That's freedom," Biden said. "The idea that 100,000-plus troops are going to occupy another country after a war. That hasn't happened since World War II. Things have changed dramatically. We have to make sure we change them again."
You can read Matt's full story here.
Posted at 10:21 am. Frustrated by delays in arms shipments, Taiwan secretly visits a key lawmaker
© Elizabeth Franz/Reuters Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) enters a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on February 7 in Washington.
The head of China's new House of Representatives said during a secret visit to China that the war in Ukraine has convinced Taiwan's leaders of the need to acquire more weapons and stockpile. Taipei.
The Post's Ellen Nakashima has the details.
"Almost every Taiwanese official I met called Russia's attack on Ukraine a wake-up call," Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) said in an interview after returning from the self-governing democracy. China claims Taipei as its own and has vowed to one day unite with the People's Republic by force if necessary.
Facing a $19 billion arms stockpile, Taiwan is waiting for critical weapons such as Harpoon anti-ship missiles and F-16 fighter jets, many of which do not expire for years. On the Harpoons issue, a congressional aide said the missiles are unlikely to arrive in real numbers until 2027.
"The most important thing we heard from all of Taiwan's major leaders was concern about delays," said Gallagher, who met with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, her vice president, the defense minister, the intelligence chief and other senior officials. officers. Security. A day trip "It worries Taiwanese people and I think it's unacceptable."
Gallagher, who had never been to Taiwan before, said he was surprised the government recognized the threat posed by Communist Party-led China and its rapidly expanding military.
You can read Ellen's full story here.
10:05 on our radar. Trump's visit to Ohio reinforces the policy of derailment
Donald Trump plans to visit the small Palestine in eastern Ohio on Wednesday. Rising political tensions after the fiery train derailment have led some residents to worry about polluted air and water.
The Post's Hannah Knowles, Meryl Kornfield and Ian Duncan report that ahead of the planned visit, the former president is echoing the chorus of Republicans urging President Biden not to attend, suggesting that city residents have been "abandoned." The mayor of the city called Biden's last visit to Ukraine a "blow". According to our partners.
Trump has also come under fire for his administration's efforts to roll back rail safety regulations and cut the Environmental Protection Agency, which Democrats urged to warn the 45th president after the accident.
The presidential candidate's heated rhetoric and rushed visit reflect the smoky collapse in eastern Palestine earlier this month that fueled partisan infighting that spanned the country's political divide.
Republicans pointed to the fallout from the derailment to make a broader point that Democrats are ignoring the concerns of many Americans, particularly in rural communities like East Palestine. The city is a microcosm of the white, working-class electorate whose electorate is central to Trump's political rise and popularity on the right of the America First agenda. The foreign conflict took precedence over the situation in Ohio.
You can read the whole story here.
09:43. Analysis: Gonzalez v. Google.
© Alex Brandon/AP Supreme Court
Gonzalez v. Supreme Court hearing. A major lawsuit over whether Google is responsible for hosting terrorist content on tech platforms got off to a rough start for the plaintiffs on Tuesday, with judges appearing baffled by their arguments. .
In an article for The Technology 202, The Post's Cristiano Lima says the session won't make Silicon Valley executives sleep any easier, as many justices have suggested the need to consider industry liability protections under Section 230 of the Courtesy Notices Act — even if they do . I don't know how. For Cristiano:
At various times, several judges expressed their inability to understand the plaintiffs' arguments, particularly how they fit within the legal interpretation of Article 230.
"Boys, it's just a matter of course," Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. said during a conversation with Eric Schnapper, an attorney representing the Gonzal family, about the use of a YouTube video representing Gonzal. "miniatures".
"Я в полмен замагазоване," Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Shnapper said later, adding that the debate "confuses" the issues of whether platforms are protected from Section 230 liability requirements, and that the liability issue is essentially one.
You can read the full review here.
9.21am: Latest: Biden reaffirms commitment to NATO allies
© Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images President Biden attends NATO's emergency Bucharest Nine summit in Warsaw on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, President Biden sought to reassure countries on NATO's eastern flank that the United States remains committed to the alliance as Russia continues its attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine and its push for territory in the country's east.
" It is the strongest flank of NATO," Biden told the leaders of the Bucharest Nine meeting in Poland. "And you know better than anyone what is the danger in this conflict, not only for Ukraine, but also for the freedom of democracy in Europe and around the world."
Biden emphasized the commitment of the United States to Article 5 of the NATO constitution, according to which all members "agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against all." (Ukraine is not a member of NATO.)
"Ukraine is not on the map," Biden said. "This freedom".
Before the meeting, Biden was asked how he would react to Moscow's "suspension" of participation in the new Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the final arms control agreement between the US and Russia.
He said he didn't have time to answer at first.
He stopped and said: «Big mistake».
8:59 AM: Re: Estimates release increases to Biden
© Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post President Biden enters the Oval Office in the rain after a medical examination at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
NPR-PBS NewsHour – President Biden has the highest job approval rating for most of the year, according to a Marist poll.
According to the results of the survey, 46 percent of Americans are satisfied with Biden's job. У него жить лучше – 49 percent – among registered voters.
While the results weren't great, they were a lot better than last summer. Biden fell to 36 percent in July last year as independents resent him and many Democrats are disenchanted with his presidency. NPR notes that Biden is a Democratic Democrat, but despite all that.
Other polls tracked by The Post showed no similar movement.
The NRP poll also shows that Democrats see Biden as the 2024 standard-bearer.
In the new poll, 50 percent said the party would have a better chance with Biden, and 45 percent said the party would have a better chance with another candidate.
In November, Democrats and 54 percent of Democratic supporters said they would have a better chance with someone else.
8.37: On our radar: Jill Biden on five-day trip to Africa in Namibia and Kenya.
Is Trump 'too old' to run for re-election, according to criminal investigations? The answer may surprise you. Both President Biden and Donald Trump would become the oldest presidents if elected to a second term at 86 and 82, respectively. MSNBC's Ari Melber shares facts and policy considerations about the campaign age. MSNBK 
The Kremlin veteran joked with 50 Cent in response to viral interviews after he talked about ousting Putin. Former Kremlin official Andrei Kozyrev spoke about how to stop Putin in an interview with Ari Melber that first went viral on MSNBC and garnered more than 5 million views. About a year later, as war raged in Ukraine, Kozyrev engaged in an unusual and irreverent conversation with rapper and entrepreneur 50 Cent, as the two men were doing two "most watched" interviews on "The Beat with Ari." for five years ". Melber". This MSNBC segment features a new interview with 50 Cent and online interviews with the two men who have drawn the attention of the music and international media, ending with Kozyrev talking about the rapper's music and gaining attention. The situation in Ukraine MSNBK 
Украинские войска ведут позиционную войну с новым наступление Russia NBC News correspondent Richard Engel is on site and spoke with Lt. about his combat experience. NBC news
FOLLOWING
When Jill Biden lands on Wednesday for a five-day visit to Namibia and Kenya, it will be her sixth official solo trip to Africa as the president's chief of staff, her first as first lady after five trips as second lady. в вечера обамы administrations.
У Жады Юань из The Post contains details:
"This whole trip is going to be exciting and we have a lot to do," Biden told reporters moments before his departure on Tuesday.
The long-awaited visit comes as President Biden wraps up a high-level trip to Ukraine and Poland to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, and the goals of the two visits are intertwined.
The first lady's visit comes as part of an aggressive display of U.S. support for African countries as China's influence on the continent grows and comes as U.S. intelligence sources say China is considering supplying arms to Russia. State Anthony Blinken, may be a "serious problem".
You can read the whole story here.
8:17: Here's the only thing: Sen. John Tester of Montana has been re-elected, which is a major boost for Democrats.
Sen. John Tester (D-Montana) announced Wednesday that he will seek re-election in 2024, boosting Democratic hopes as the party faces a tough Senate ticket.
У Amy Bi Wan из Post estь Details:
The senator, who calls himself a fighter who can hold Washington accountable, said in a statement that you understand what a hard day's work looks like or the challenges facing working families in Montana. I, in spite of all this, above all, above all, above all, above all, above all, above all, above all, above all, above all.
The test took place in 2006 in the republican government of the US state, US President Donald 20gol2.20.
Pervichnye vybory Republikanskoy party can stolknuty dvux chlenov Palaty predstaviteley state, Rayate i yena Zin. Rozendeyla, diger protiv druga, to vremya kak drugo chlen delegations Congress — Senator Steve Danes — chairman of the committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, otvetsvennym popytki perevernutt sidenye krasnym.
In 2024, the Democrats will defend, for example, in Republican states such as Ohio, West Virginia and Montana.
You can access the full history here.
7:45 minutes: analysis: many pieces of legislation, if they are adversely affected, no problem.
© Sara L. Voisin/The Washington Post US President Donald Trump nominated Ohio Jay Dee Vance for Senate Republican at a rally in Vandali, Ohio on November 7.
US President Donald Trump made a decision in the US State of Palestine, Ohio. .
In The Early 202, Anne Caldwell and Theodoric Meyer used The Post, for Trump, Ohio rules all the territory, with the convenience of the United States. There is no result from the competition, but from the presentation of the contract in the competition. By slaves of the group:
While Senator J. D. Vance (Republican from the state of Ohio) supported Trump last month, only three of the 10 Republicans in the House of Representatives of the state of Ohio did hold out: Mike Carey, Jim Jordan and Max L. Miller. None of them will come to his event today, according to their representatives, who referred to trips and conflicts in the schedule. Member of the House of Representatives Bill Johnson (Republican from the state of Ohio), whose district includes East Palestine, will be there, but he did not support Trump.
The relative lack of support for Trump is surprising, because Trump, who once called himself the "King of Support", supported all but one Republican in the Ohio delegation last year. And the state is not an anomaly.
Trump supported 164 Republican senators and representatives who are now in Congress during the midterm elections last year, regardless of whether these legislators asked for his support or not.
According to the list compiled last week by our colleague Aaron Blake, only about 30 of them have reciprocated since Trump announced his campaign more than three months ago.
The full analysis can be read here.
7:30: Noted: Biden inspects East Palestine, Ohio, from Warsaw.
© Matt Freed/AP Workers continue to remove remaining tank cars Tuesday in East Palestine, Ohio, following the Feb. 3 crash of a Norfolk Southern freight train.
Президент Байден несколько раз звонил из Варшавы поздно вечером во вторник, чтобы следить за тем, что происходит в Восточной Палестине, штат Огайо, после крушения поезда более двух недель назад, в результате которого были выпущены токсичные химические вещества.
Звонки последовали за заявлением Агентства по охране окружающей среды о том, что оно возьмет на себя управление реагированием на стихийное бедствие и потребует от железнодорожной компании Norfolk Southern очистить от загрязнения территорию, окружающую Восточную Палестину, которая находится недалеко от границы с Пенсильванией.
Администратор EPA Майкл Риган сказал, что Norfolk Southern будет обязана восстановить территорию в соответствии с планом, одобренным федеральным агентством, а не проводить добровольную очистку, которую ранее обещал ее главный исполнительный директор.
Жители опасаются, что их деревня в Огайо может стать «токсичным городом» после схода с рельсов
Согласно списку, предоставленному Белым домом, Риган была среди тех, кому позвонил Байден во вторник вечером. Среди других были сенатор Шеррод Браун (штат Огайо), губернатор штата Огайо Майк Девайн (справа), губернатор Пенсильвании Джош Шапиро (справа) и член палаты представителей Билл Джонсон (справа от штата Огайо).
В своих звонках Байден «подтвердил свою неизменную приверженность и приверженность своей администрации обеспечению того, чтобы общины, пострадавшие от крушения Norfolk Southern, пользовались полной поддержкой федерального правительства», — говорится в сообщении Белого дома.
Бывший президент Дональд Трамп должен посетить Восточную Палестину в среду и, как ожидается, заявит, что реакция администрации Байдена была неадекватной.
7:10: На нашем радаре: Байден встретится с Бухарестской Девятью перед возвращением в Вашингтон.
© Evan Vucci/AP Президент Байден во вторник произносит речь в Варшаве по случаю первой на этой неделе годовщины российского вторжения в Украину.
Президент Байден должен встретиться с лидерами Бухарестской девятки, стран на восточном фланге НАТО, в Польше в среду перед возвращением в Соединенные Штаты.
В эту группу входят Болгария, Чехия, Эстония, Венгрия, Латвия, Литва, Польша, Румыния и Словакия — все они имеют причины для повышенной обеспокоенности по поводу войны России с Украиной.
Генеральный секретарь НАТО Йенс Столтенберг также должен принять участие во встрече в последний день поездки Байдена в Варшаву, которая состоялась после его неожиданного визита в Киев.
По сообщению Белого дома, во время встречи в среду Байден «подтвердит непоколебимую поддержку Соединенными Штатами безопасности Североатлантического союза».
Во вторник Байден выступил в Варшаве в преддверии 24 февраля годовщины российского вторжения. Он обвинил Россию в преступлениях против человечества.
6:50: На нашем радаре: Трамп направляется в Восточную Палестину на фоне вопросов о его безопасности на железной дороге.
© Cheryl Senter/For The Washington Post Бывший президент Дональд Трамп выступает во время сбора средств в Государственном комитете Республиканской партии Нью-Гэмпшира в Салеме, штат Нью-Гемпшир, 28 января.
Бывший президент Дональд Трамп в среду направляется в Восточную Палестину, штат Огайо, где он, как ожидается, раскритикует реакцию администрации Байдена на крушение поезда Norfolk Southern более двух недель назад, в результате которого были выпущены токсичные химические вещества.
Трамп, объявивший в ноябре о своем намерении вернуться в Белый дом, надеется использовать поездку, чтобы возродить тему предвыборной кампании 2016 года, посвященную решению проблем «забытых» американцев.
Но поездка также возрождает вопросы о послужном списке Трампа в области безопасности на железнодорожном транспорте. Как сообщает Politico, администрация Трампа отозвала предложение администрации Обамы потребовать более быстрых тормозов в поездах, перевозящих легковоспламеняющиеся материалы. В отчете также отмечается, что он прекратил регулярные проверки безопасности железных дорог и отложил ожидающее решения правило, требующее, чтобы в грузовых поездах было как минимум два члена экипажа.
Местные СМИ сообщают, что школы в Восточной Палестине будут закрыты в среду из-за визита Трампа. По словам официальных лиц, решение было принято из-за усиленных мер безопасности и перекрытия улиц, что затруднит транспортировку в школы.
Перед крушением в Огайо компания Norfolk Southern выступала против правил безопасности.
6:29: Отмечено: Вивек Рамасвами, технический предприниматель, объявляет о президентской гонке в 2024 году.
© Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg News Вивек Рамасвами выступил на прошлогодней Консервативной конференции политических действий (CPAC) в Далласе.
Молодой, богатый и малоизвестный технический предприниматель, который называет «пробуждение» национальной угрозой, объявил во вторник вечером, что он претендует на выдвижение в президенты от республиканцев.
37-летний Вивек Рамасвами объявил о своей кандидатуре в пятиминутном видео, размещенном в Интернете, сообщает Ази Пайбара из The Post. По словам нашего коллеги:
В видео Рамасвами преуменьшил важность налоговой политики и науки о коронавирусе в пользу освобождения того, что, по его словам, является голосами, которые несправедливо замалчиваются.
“Maybe you disagree with each other about whether corporate tax rates should be high or low,” Ramaswamy says in the video. “Whether ivermectin treats covid, and that's fine. But those are details. We still agree on the most basic rules of the road. …”
A spokesperson for Ramaswamy did not respond when asked for the candidate's views on corporate taxes or ivermectin, which the US Food and Drug Administration warns against using to treat or prevent the coronavirus.
“If you ask me, the best measure of the health of American democracy is actually the percentage of people who feel free to say what they actually think in public,” Ramaswamy said in the campaign-launch video. “And right now we're doing abysmally.”
You can read the full story here.
6:27 AM: The latest: Field narrows in Wisconsin Supreme Court election that could decide fate of abortion ban
© Morry Gash/AP Protesters in the Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda in Madison, Wis., during a Jan. 22 march opposing the state's near-total ban on abortion.
В гонке, которая определит, будут ли либералы или консерваторы контролировать Верховный суд Висконсина, когда он рассмотрит будущее запрета штата на аборты, избиратели сузили поле до двух кандидатов на предварительных выборах во вторник.
The Post's Patrick Marley writes that the winners began a 42-day sprint to an April 4 general election that is sure to see record spending. Per our colleague:
If liberals take over the court for the first time in 14 years, they are expected to reverse some GOP policies and could revisit election maps that have given Republicans huge margins in the state legislature.
Officially, the race is nonpartisan, but one candidate is closely aligned with Republicans and the other with Democrats. The state parties and dark-money groups are the biggest spenders in the race.
Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz shored up Democratic support early in the race and easily rolled through Tuesday's primary. She has said she backs abortion rights and condemned the election maps as “rigged.”
Conservatives were more bitterly divided, leading to a contentious fight for the other spot on the general election ballot. Emerging from the primary was Daniel Kelly, who was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2016 by Gov. Scott Walker (R).
You can read the full story here.
6:25 AM: Noted: McClellan projected to become first Black woman to represent Va. in Congress
© Parker Michels-Boyce/For The Washington Post Democratic congressional candidate Jennifer McClellan talks with supporters and other politicians outside John Rolfe Middle School in Henrico County, Va., on Tuesday.
State Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan defeated conservative pastor Leon Benjamin to become the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress, the Associated Press projected Tuesday.
The Post's Meagan Flynn and Gregory S. Schneider write that McClellan (D-Richmond) bested Benjamin in his third bid for the 4th District seat, which was vacated after the death in November of Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D). McClellan described McEachin as a longtime friend and mentor. Per our colleagues:
McClellan, 50, was widely expected to prevail in the deep-blue, Richmond-anchored district, which stretches to the North Carolina border. But within the broader arc of history, in a city still contending with its Confederate past — in a country still reckoning with the consequences of slavery, segregation and “massive resistance” — McClellan said she felt the weight of the victory.
She was thinking, she said in an interview, of her parents, who grew up in the segregated South; her father and grandfather, who paid poll taxes; and the women in her family who for generations faced barriers to participating in American democracy.
“It's poetic justice, thinking about what not only my family has been through, but what our country has been through,” McClellan said.
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6:24 AM: Noted: Seattle becomes first US city to ban caste discrimination
© John Froschauer/AP Activists during discussion of the ordinance in Seattle City Council chambers on Tuesday.
The Seattle City Council voted Tuesday to ban caste-based discrimination, the first such move by a US city.
The move adds caste as a protected category to the city's anti-discrimination laws, which already include prohibitions against discriminating on the basis of disability, religion and sexual orientation, The Post's Niha Masih reports. Per our colleague:
The movement has won a “historic, first-in-the-nation ban on caste discrimination,” tweeted Kshama Sawant, the socialist council member who introduced the legislation. “Now we need to build a movement to spread this victory around the country.”
The caste system is a hierarchal structure that determines a person's social standing at birth. It has roots in Hinduism but later proliferated to members of other faiths in South Asia. Dalits, formerly called untouchables, are relegated to the bottom rung in the South Asian order, though India legally abolished the concept of “untouchability” decades ago.
But caste-based discrimination remains entrenched in society, and similar practices have followed the South Asian diaspora community to the United States and elsewhere, activists say. More recently, there have been efforts to bring attention to caste-based prejudice in Silicon Valley and Seattle workplaces, where there are many tech professionals of South Asian origin.
You can read the full story here.