The Washington Post - USA (2022-02-22)

Anew championMedinaSpirit was stripped

of the KentuckyDerby title, and Mandaloun

was declaredthe winnerof last year’s race. D

HEALTH &SCIENCE

Not just willpower

Can’tsticktoyourNew

Year’s resolutions?E

STYLE

Twofer Tuesday

Numberslineupnicely

on2/22/22.C

In theNews

THE NATION

Jury deliberationsbe-

gan in the federalhate-

crimestrial of threemen

convicted of murdering

AhmaudArbery.A

Afederaljudgehas

barredthe Bidenadmin-

istration from consider-

ing the costsof climate

changein majorregula-

tory decisions.A

THE WORLD

In India,ahorse ride is

awedding traditionfor

grooms—exceptDalits,

who oftenface castevio-

lencefor takingpart.

One district is fighting

back.A

BritishPrimeMinister

BorisJohnsonsaid that

England wouldlift all

remaining coronavirus

restrictions,including

mandatory isolationfor

thoseinfected.A

Colombia’sconstitu-

tionalcourt voted to de-

criminalizeabortion in

the first 24 weeksof

pregnancy.A

THE ECONOMY

Investorsboughtnearly

1in7homessold in the

nation’s top metropoli-

tan areas.A

Volunteer artsleuths

are on the hunt to repa-

triatethousandsof

ancientidols stolenfrom

India.A

THE REGION

BuildingBlocksD.C.,

the city’sgun violence

preventioninitiative, is

changinghow it oper-

ates.B

EmailsbetweenVir-

giniapublichealthoffi-

cials and the governor’s

departmentpick lay

bare the state’sdivide

over maskrules.B

Virginiavotersdis-

agreewith Gov. Glenn

Youngkinon severalma-

jor issuesand are slight-

ly morenegativethan

positive abouthis per-

formance after amonth

in office, apollfinds.B

STYLE

ThePosthas won

GeorgePolk Awardsfor

its coverageof the Jan. 6

attackonthe Capitol

and spywareused by

governmentstohack

cellphonesbelongingto

journalists,activists and

others.C

Inside

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CONTENT© 2022

TheWashingtonPost/Year145,No. 79

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Rain63/60•Tomorrow:Showers70/39B6 DemocracyDiesin Darkness TUESDAY,FEBRUARY 22 , 2022 .$

BYLINDSEYBEVERAND

FRANCESSTEADSELLERS

They’vewrestled with child-

care crises. They’vemissed

work and paychecks.Some

have even changedcareers

whenday-care closures forced

themtoworkremotely.

Parents of children younger

than 5say theyfeel forgotten

and left behind,watching oth-

ers reclaim normalcy while

theystayhome with kids who

are too youngtobe vaccinated

and have to quarantine when

there is an exposure to the

coronavirus at daycare or

school.

“The restofthe worldhas

movedon,andtheyarenotable

to do so safely,” said Jennifer

Shu,apediatricianandspokes-

womanfortheAmericanAcad-

emyofPediatrics.

Parentsarenowdealingwith

another twistinatwo-year

roller-coaster ride after acoro-

navirus vaccine for the young-

estchildrenwas further de-

layedthismonth.TheFoodand

Drug Administration said it

would wait to makeadecision

on authorizingthe vaccine un-

tildataonathirddosebecomes

available —openingupahost

ofnewquestionsandconcerns.

“There’s constantly the hope

of something getting better —

SEEVIRUSONA

‘The rest of the world

has moved on’

Parents of children under5endure anonstop

pandemic roller coaster as they wait for avaccine

gencyatthe time thatitisnow

putting Washington watchdogs

tothetest.

Roughlytwoyears after law-

makers approved their first

tranche of rescue funds, the U.S.

governmentisgrapplingwithan

unprecedented challenge: how

tooverseeitsownhistoricstimu-

luseffort.Totalingnearly$6tril-

lion, the loans, grants, direct

checks andother emergency as-

sistance summedto more than

theentire federalbudget in the

fiscalyearbeforethecoronavirus

arrived,creating aunique and

lastingstrainonpolicymakersto

ensurethefundshavebeenputto

gooduse.

Policymakers and economists

widely agreethatthe invest-

ments helped rescue the U.S.

economyfromthe worst crisis

since the GreatDepression, aid-

SEEFRAUDONA

BYTONYROMM

InStamford,Conn.,a46-year-
old resident pleaded guiltyafter
puttingaportionof$4millionin
coronavirus aid toward the pur-
chaseofaPorsche. And aMer-
cedes.AndaBMW.
InSomerset,N.J.,a51-year-old
woman allegedly inventedem-
ployees,inflatedwagesandfabri-
cated entire tax filings to collect
$1millioninloans.
And in St. Petersburg,Fla., a
federaljudgesentencedtoprison
a63-year-oldmanwhoobtained
$800,000onbehalfofbusinesses
thatdidnotexist.
Thecases and charges, each
announcedoverthepastmonth,
countamonghundredsinvolving
aslewofprogramsenacted by
Congressinthe darkestdaysof
thecoronaviruspandemic,mon-
ey dispatched with such an ur-

Fraudincoronavirus relief

abigproblemforoversight

TheHague,whichhandeddown

war crimeconvictions and life

sentences.

But abattle over realityis

now pushing the countrytoa

breakingpoint.

This is aplacewhere geno-

cidesurvivors live right next to

people who sayitnever hap-

pened—orthatitwasn’tsobad.

Denialism has long been an

undercurrent of Bosnian poli-

ticsandlife.Butinrecentyears,

it has intensified, amplified by

social media and by Bosnian

Serbnationalistleader Milorad

Dodik, who has calledthe mas-

sacre a“myth”and a“decep-

tion.”InJuly,aUnited Nations

envoy intervened. Usingex-

traordinary powers granted in

the aftermathofthe peace deal,

he made genocide denialillegal

inBosnia.

SEEBOSNIAONA

BYCHICOHARLAN

srebrenica, bosnia — The

gravestones stretch for nearly a

quarter mile —7,000 Bosnian

Muslimmen andboys,slaugh-

tered in amatterofdays—but

the region’stop politician says

the coffins are empty.The local

mayor has saidsomeofthe

purportedvictimsarestillalive.

Thecommander wholed the

massacre is portrayed as ahero

on posters thatperiodicallyap-

pearnearthecemetery.

It’s been 26 yearssince the

killingsinSrebrenica, ageno-

cide thatbrokeEurope’snever-

againvow and constituted the

bloodiestperiodofthisnation’s

three-year war.Much of the

world turnedits attentionaway

fromthe Balkansafter the

U.S.-brokered peace deal in

1995,andthesubsequenttrialat

In Bosnia,genocidedenial

has lingeredacrossdecades

BYROBYNDIXON,

PAULSONNE

ANDELLENNAKASHIMA

moscow —Russian President

VladimirPutinonMondayrecog-

nized the independenceoftwo

Moscow-backed separatistre-

gionsineastern Ukraineand or-

deredRussian forces onto their

territoryfor “peacekeeping”pur-

poses, adramaticescalation in a

crisisthatisthreateningafull-

scalewar.

Putin’saction —indirectdefi-

ance of U.S. and Europeanwarn-

ings—wasswiftlycondemnedby

Washington and Brussels, with

top officials promising sanctions

in response to the recognition of

theself-declaredrepublics.Secre-

taryofState AntonyBlinken de-

cried the recognition as “a clear

attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty

andterritorialintegrity.”

Butamid reportsofRussian

militarycolumnsalreadyappear-

ing in the breakaway territories

late Monday, the White House

stopped shortofannouncing the

full-fledged sanctions thatPresi-

dentBidenhadsaidRussiawould

faceintheeventofaninvasion.

Forweeks,Putin has been

holding the worldontenter-

hooks, with some190,000 Rus-

sianpersonnelandenablingforc-

esamassedaroundUkraine’sbor-

ders,evenastopRussianofficials

have denied plans to mount an

offensiveinUkraine.

In atelevised address to the

Russian nation Monday, Putin

dropped much of thepretense,

recognizingthe Donetsk People’s

Republic and the LuhanskPeo-

ple’s Republic,and demonstrat-

ing to the international commu-

nitythatfeverishroundsofdiplo-

macyhad left the 69-year-old

formerKGBofficerundeterred.

“Ukrainehasneverhaditsown

authentic statehood,”Putin said

duringaseethingspeech that

delvedintoSoviethistorytoun-

derminetheideaofUkraineasan

independentnation.

HedismissedUkraineasapup-

petstate of the West andwarned

thatthecountrycoulddevelopits

SEEUKRAINEONA

BYASHLEYPARKER

TheWhite House on Monday
confronted the realitythatits
months-longefforttoavertaRus-
sian invasion of Ukraine would
probably be futile,asofficials
graspedfor last-ditchwaysto
headoffwhatonecalled“military
actionthatcouldtakeplaceinthe
cominghoursordays.”
RussianPresident Vladimir
Putin spentthe weekend effec-
tively closing offone diplomatic
path after another,suggesting
ever more clearlythathewould
not be swayed by diplomacyor
deterredbysanctions. And by
announcingthathewasrecogniz-
ing twopro-Russian separatist
regions of Ukraine and ordering
troops intothem, he forced the
United States into an uneasy di-
lemma about whether thatcon-
stitutedaninvasion.
TheBiden administration
soughttohit back at Russia’s
aggressive action while stopping
short of declaring thatithad
officiallyinvadedUkraine,which
wouldhavetriggeredthearrayof
hard-hittingsanctions President
Bidenhasbeenwarningaboutfor
months.
Instead,amidmeetings Mon-
daywith his national security
advisers and calls with several
foreign leaders,Biden and his
teamreiteratedtheirgrimassess-
mentofthe crisis and imposed a
smallersetofsanctionsprohibit-
ing U.S. investment and trade
specificallyinthe breakaway re-
gions.
Administration officials said
additional measures —including
more sanctions —would be an-
nouncedTuesday andempha-
sizedthatthe newlyannounced
sanctionsare different from the
muchlargeronesBidenhasbeen
threatening shouldPutin invade
Ukraine.
IanBremmer,president of the
Eurasia Group,aglobal security
consultancy, said Putin’sactions
followedacertainlogic,enabling
him to make amove against
UkrainewhilethrowingtheWest
intouncertaintyaboutwhetherit
SEEBIDENONA

Putinsendstroops to easternUkraine

RUSSIARECOGNIZES

SEPARATISTAREAS

West condemnsactionsas

region moves towardwar

WhiteHouse

wrestleswith

whatcountsas

an ‘invasion’

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THEWASHINGTONPOST

TOP:Vitya,19, Anya,16, and Zhenya,7, are seen at homeMondayin Zolote—atown in Ukraine’sLuhanskregionon

the frontline in the area recognizedas independentby RussianPresidentVladimirPutin—where they said they had

experiencedshellingfromRussian-backedseparatistsin past days.The threewere preparedto flee in the eventof

afull-scaleRussianinvasionof the region.ABOVELEFT:Russiantrooptransportsheadtowardthe Ukrainianborder.

FORTHEWASHINGTONPOST