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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.
1. President Biden banned imports of Russian oil, hardening the administration’s response to what he called President Vladimir Putin’s “vicious war of choice” in Ukraine.
The president’s move immediately shut off the flow of Russian oil into the U.S., which receives less than 10 percent of its energy resources from Russia.
2. The Ukrainian refugee crisis grows.
One million children have fled Ukraine in less than two weeks of war, UNICEF said. Since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, a total of two million people have fled Ukraine, according to the U.N. — more than those who left Syria in the first three years of war there. In response, Poland is racing to open new shelters as Ukrainian refugees pour into the country.
Russian forces are making small advances on multiple fronts, apparently aiming for a critical target in central Ukraine: the city of Dnipro. European countries, watching Russia’s missteps in Ukraine, say they are not as intimidated by Russian ground forces as they were in the past.
Addressing the British Parliament, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine invoked Winston Churchill. “We will fight to the end, at sea, in the air,” he said in a video address from Kyiv. “We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the streets.”
3. A Texas man who helped lead a mob against the police during the Jan. 6 attack was found guilty in the first criminal trial related to the riot.
The jury found Guy Wesley Reffitt guilty of obstructing the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election. The jury also convicted Reffitt of wearing an illegal pistol during the attack and of later threatening his teenage son and daughter to keep them from turning him into the authorities. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on the obstruction count alone.
In other Jan. 6 developments, Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, has been charged with conspiring with other top lieutenants of the far-right nationalist group to attack the Capitol last year, according to an indictment set to be released by federal prosecutors.
4. An F.B.I. investigation into what it called a “massive fraud scheme” is raising questions about the role of nonprofits in distributing pandemic aid.
In court filings, the F.B.I. said groups overseen by Feeding Our Future in Minneapolis had received more than $65 million from federal food programs during the coronavirus pandemic and “almost none of this money was used to feed children,” the government wrote in one filing. “Instead, conspirators misappropriated the money and used it to purchase real estate, cars and other items.”
The case has highlighted how the government’s reliance on nonprofits to help carry out an array of programs can increase vulnerability to fraud.
5. The U.S. is facing a reading emergency after millions of 5-year-olds fell severely behind while spending months away from classrooms during the pandemic.
A cluster of new studies shows that about one-third of children in the youngest grades are missing reading benchmarks, up significantly from prepandemic days. The public health crisis compounded pre-existing problems in the U.S. education system that have many causes, including a shortage of educators trained in phonics and phonemic awareness.
Children in every demographic group have been affected, but Black and Hispanic children, as well as those from low-income families, those with disabilities and those who aren’t fluent in English, have fallen the farthest behind.
6. It was the only clinic in Texas that treated transgender teens. Then hospital executives felt political pressure to shut it down.
Two weeks ago, Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas attorney general directed the state’s child welfare agency to investigate “‘sex change’ procedures and treatments” as child abuse. The directive drew sharp criticism from medical groups and a swift lawsuit from civil rights groups.
But in the months leading up to the announcement, executives at the University of Texas Southwestern were already discussing closing down Genecis, the state’s only clinic for transgender teens, because of what they described as direct outreach from the governor’s office, according to recordings of several phone discussions among hospital executives obtained by The Times. Genecis closed in November.
7. For decades, the smuggling trade has dominated Nimruz Province. Now, as hundreds of thousands of Afghans try to flee their Taliban-controlled homeland, business has flourished for the kingpins of the trade.
Times reporters spent 24 hours with one of a handful of human traffickers, referred to as H. because of the illegal nature of his business. His efforts to transport migrants into Iran showcased the frenetic atmosphere that has recently energized this southwest region of Afghanistan.
“The Taliban cannot shut down our business,” H. said. “If they tighten security, we will just charge more and get more money. We’re always one step ahead.”
8. The Smithsonian will return most of its collection of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.
The sweeping move concludes a five-month institutional review of the Smithsonian’s collection practices and ethics. The Smithsonian, one of the world’s largest cultural organizations, has 39 of the West African artifacts in its possession. Many were stolen from what is now Nigeria, during the British Army’s 1897 raid on the ancient Kingdom of Benin.
The Smithsonian Board of Regents must approve the decision before any bronzes can be returned — the first planned repatriation under what Smithsonian officials say will be its policy of ethical returns.
9. Lao cooks once worried their cuisine was too much for American diners — but no longer.
More Lao chefs and home cooks are celebrating the specificity and range of their cuisine — boasting flavors that are spicy and bitter, salty and pungent, herbaceous and sour — with restaurants, pop-ups and other small food businesses. The cuisine is especially plentiful around Los Angeles, which is home to more Lao immigrants than any other part of the country.
Lao food is “extensive, regional and diverse, making deliciousness out of everything within reach,” writes Tejal Rao, our California restaurant critic.
Holi, the Hindu festival of spring, is next week, and many celebrants will enjoy kesar pista, a combination of fragrant saffron and earthy pistachio.
10. And finally, meet the 10-armed Syllipsimopodi bideni.
When an ancient octopus died 328 million years ago in what is today Montana, its squishy body was buried and perfectly fossilized. The fossil sat ignored in a drawer for decades, until a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York took a closer look. Now, a new study shows it may be a new species of vampyropod, a group that includes vampire squids and octopuses.
The new fossil, which has 10 arms, is the oldest known cephalopod with suckers on its arms. The scientists claim they were not intentionally sucking up to President Biden, but commemorating the start of his presidency and his pledge to fund science research. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Have a sensational night.
Angela Jimenez and Jill Foley compiled photos for this briefing.
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