High Alert: The Defense Department has put 8,500 American troops on “high alert” for possible deployment to Eastern Europe in preparation for a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. The units involved are described as active-duty ground troops, including combat brigades, medical, aviation, transportation, intelligence, and surveillance forces.

  Moscow, in turn, accused the US of increasing tensions. “We are observing these actions of the United States with profound concern,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said.

  President Biden held a video conference call with European leaders yesterday in an effort to signal that Western nations are united against military aggression. 

  The Russians have amassed more than 100,000 troops and legions of armored vehicles on three sides of Ukraine in a clear threat.  “It’s very clear the Russians have no intention right now of de-escalating,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a news conference. “What this is about, though, is reassurance to our NATO allies.”

  But despite moving US forces, President Biden has insisted that he has no intention of going to war with Russia. Ukraine is not part of NATO and the alliance is not treaty-bound to defend it.

Viral News: Seven public school districts in Virginia have sued Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, objecting to his executive order overruling their mask mandates and making medical masks optional in public schools.

  The school districts include Fairfax County, the state’s largest with more than 178,000 students, and six others with a total of more than 350,000 students. The systems said in a statement that they are defending “the right of school boards to enact policy at the local level, including policies that protect the health and well-being of all students and staff.”

  A lot of parents have complained about mask mandates and a spokeswoman for the governor said in a statement that the governor’s office was “disappointed that these school boards are ignoring parent’s rights.”

  Now, let’s fly to the to the other side of the world where they handle things differently. China just ended a 32-day lockdown for 13 million residents in the northern city of Xi’an to stop the spread of Covid-19. The city has had just 2,080 infections.

  Compare that to Virginia, population 8.5 million, where there have been 1.5 million Covid cases, 16,000 deaths, and the governor doesn’t want anyone forced to wear a protective mask. 

That’s Affirmative: The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the so-called “affirmative action,” race-conscious admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina are legal. 

  The court has previously upheld such programs but the court is more conservative now and that could be trouble for what has become standard in college admissions. 

  The lawsuit against Harvard accuses it of discriminating against Asian American students by using a subjective standard to gauge traits like likability, courage, and kindness and by effectively limiting them in admissions. The argument presents a kind of self-condemnation on the part of the complainants, when you think about it, but that’s what they say.

  The North Carolina case is a little more standard, accusing the university of discriminating against White and Asian applicants by giving preference to Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. 

  Both universities say their practices have long been established as legal.

Firing Line: Days after the fatal shooting of a young police officer, New York’s new mayor, Eric Adams, outlined a plan to fight  gun violence that includes taking officers off desks and putting them on the street while pumping up the gun seizure unit. Adams, a former NYPD captain, had said he will “immediately” reinstate a “newer version of modified plainclothes anti-gun unit.” 

  Jason Rivera, a 22-year-old cop, was killed Friday night responding to a domestic disturbance by a man wielding a pistol with a 50-round capacity. Officer Wilbert Mora, 27, remains in critical condition.

  Their assailant, 47-year-old Lashawn McNeil, died yesterday of wounds sustained in the exchange of gunfire.

What Goes Up: The stock market provided financial drama yesterday. A wave of panic-selling hit the markets, dragging it down as much as 4 percent before it bounced and ended the day with a slight gain.

  It’s probably not over. Stocks have done well during the pandemic, but now there’s high inflation and the world is worried about Russia provoking war.

The Spin Rack: The trial of the defamation lawsuit against The NY Times by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin that was to have begun yesterday has been delayed because the plaintiff  tested positive for Covid-19.  Palin had once declared she would be vaccinated “over my dead body” and she’s putting it to the test. — The world is “not on a good track” to meet a global goal to avoid the worst of climate change and must do more to get away from fossil fuels this decade, John Kerry, the US special envoy on climate change, said in a speech. “We’re in trouble. I hope everyone understands that.”  — A month after its launch, the James Webb Space Telescope has reached its parking place out there, almost a million miles from earth. The telescope has unfurled its tennis court-size sunshield and unfolded a massive gold mirror that will help it study the universe. 

Fox in the White House: Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, who makes it his mission to ask questions that annoy President Biden rather than elicit information, yesterday at a press availability called out, “Do you think inflation is a political liability in the midterms?”

  This came just as the press was being ushered out of the room and Biden spoke, thinking his microphone was no longer live. “It’s a great asset,” Biden said sarcastically, as if to himself.  “More inflation. What a stupid son of a bitch.”

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