*** REGIONAL FROM THE WEEKEND ***

+ Yelm Dollars for Scholars: Auction bidding is open

+ NVN: ‘I Felt a Wave of Excitement’: Yelm Senior Details His Journey to Become State Wrestling Champion

+ Office of Gov. Jay Inslee: Inslee directive bans state contracts with Russian government entities

+ The Olympian: Shows are over for Seaquarium’s killer whale Lolita, new managers say. What happens now?

+ The Olympian: Inslee directs state agencies to identify, cancel contracts with Russian entities – State’s investment exposure to Russia is small.

+ KING-TV: Some King County businesses keeping proof-of-vaccination in place, even though King County lifted a requirement that bars and restaurants check for proof of vaccination last week.

+ The Olympian: Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall on “Why does the Thurston County ballot processing center need to be improved?“

+ The Olympian: Climatologists: Drought to worsen in Oregon, Idaho this year

+ The Olympian: Anti-mandates rally on WA state Capitol Campus falls short of attendance expectations – About 500 attended Saturday afternoon rally, down from a previous estimate of 2,500.

+ USA Today: ‘It could happen tomorrow’: Experts know disaster upon disaster looms for West Coast, have prepared scenarios to ready region

*** NATIONAL NEWS FROM THE WEEKEND ***

CNBC: National average for a gallon of gas tops $4, the highest price at the pump since 2008

CNBC: U.S. crude oil jumps to $125 a barrel, a 13-year high on possible Western ban of Russian oil

Airways Magazine: The USA’s Boeing 747 “Doomsday Plane” seen over Nebraska on training mission

*** UKRAINE NEWS FROM THE WEEKEND ***

The Telegraph (UK): ‘Russia faces ruin’ – What price will Putin’s economy pay for invasion? Leaders across Europe are now thinking: ‘Russia is no longer a dependable supplier of energy’. By forcing Europe’s hand, problems will hit Russia sooner and harder than many feared.

Common Dreams: Putin Issues Warning About “Future of Ukrainian Statehood” Amid Refugee Crisis – Putin’s rhetoric has heightened fears about potential nuclear war.

The Statesman: Can China play peacemaker in Ukraine? Beijing is attempting to position itself as a potential peacemaker to end the war.

MSNBC Opinion: Why white evangelical Christians are Putin’s biggest American fan base – Evangelicals are a long way from how they historically thought about Russia and communism.

Truthout: Russia’s Use of Cluster Bombs Should Spur a Global Recommitment to Banning Them

Truthout: Biden Offers Protected Status for Ukrainians, Shielding Them From Deportation [Ed. note: not so for people of color from Haiti, Latin America, eh?]

The Washington Post: After Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Moldova worries it might be next

The Points Guy: Politico: Russian jet that just landed in the United States is picking up spies

*** VIRUS NEWS FROM THE WEEKEND ***

The Defender: Booster Shots Causing More Injuries Than Previously Thought, Israeli Survey Shows ​​​​​​​

*** TRUMP NEWS THE WEEKEND ***

Business Insider: Former National Security Advisor John Bolton says ‘Putin was waiting’ for Trump to withdraw the United States from NATO in his second term

ProPublica: Trump Just Endorsed an Oath Keeper’s Plan to Seize Control of the GOP

Daily Kos: Melania Trump event cancelled over fundraising questions

Business Insider: Trump told GOP donors that North Korea’s Kim Jong Un had ability to make his advisers ‘cower,’ jokingly saying he also wants his staff to ‘act like that’ [Ed. note: this is dangerous for a country’s leader to not get the truth/facts from their “cowering” staffs.]