PRESENTED BY FACEBOOK IN EUROPE Biden takes this show on the road: 
© Giphy President Biden is on his way to Brussels today for high-stakes meetings with European leaders amid the crisis in Ukraine. https://bit.ly/3IylzB4
What’s happening during this trip to Europe?: “Biden’s itinerary includes a NATO extraordinary meeting, a Group of Seven (G7) meeting and a summit of European leaders, all on Thursday, and a one-on-one engagement with the president of Poland, Andrzej Duda, on Saturday.”
The rose: “On the plus side, [Biden] can underline his leadership of a strong multilateral coalition.”
And the thorn: “On the other hand, Biden must also contend with tensions between those European nations that want to do more to aid Ukraine and the U.S. position, which has prioritized not escalating the conflict.”
More on what to expect, via The Hill’s Niall Stanage: https://bit.ly/3IylzB4
'HERE'S HOW EUROPE BECAME DEPENDENT ON RUSSIAN OIL. IT ALL GOES BACK TO THE REAGAN ERA.':
Via The New York Times’s Hiroko Tabuchi: https://nyti.ms/3iv1a5u It’s Wednesday. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook. Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill's 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: https://bit.ly/3qmIoS9 THE LATEST IN UKRAINE Russia is throwing around the phrase ‘nuclear weapon’ — good, great, love to hear that: 
© Giphy In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, a Russian spokesperson refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons if the country believes there is “an existential threat.” More from CNN: https://cnn.it/3IwHI2D
© AP/Evan Vucci Right before President Biden left for Europe, he told reporters he thinks there is a “real threat” that Russian President Vladimir Putin uses chemical weapons against Ukraine. Biden’s full comments, via The Hill’s Alex Gangitano: https://bit.ly/3tAjUa1
Photo of Biden’s departure: https://bit.ly/3iBymrH
FIVE WAYS US SANCTIONS ARE HURTING RUSSIA:
1. “Russia’s GDP is shrinking” 2. “Sanctions have caused havoc in Russia’s financial sector” 3. “Russian industries and trade have been shaken” 4. “The sanctions are having a cultural impact” 5. “The sanctions have led to an exodus by Western businesses”
The effect on Russia, via The Hill’s Tobias Burns and Sylvan Lane: https://bit.ly/3IwYheH
Photo from @nexta_tv: https://bit.ly/3Ddseja ON CAPITOL HILL Day 3, LET’S GO: 
© Giphy Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is in her third day of Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
Follow along: Here’s The Hill’s live blog of hearing updates today: https://bit.ly/3Nh0Zso
And here’s the C-SPAN livestream of today’s hearing: https://bit.ly/3L7thnj
Yesterday was a slog: Jackson answered questions from senators for roughly 13 hours yesterday (!) https://bit.ly/3wsoY1N
Five takeaways from yesterday’s questioning: 2. “Jackson says her judicial methodology defies easy label” 3. “Graham highlights GOP anger over previous court fights” 4. “2024 GOP White House hopefuls jockey for attention” 5. “Jackson keeps nomination on track”
Context and details for each from The Hill’s Jordain Carney, John Kruzel and Alexander Bolton: https://bit.ly/3wsoY1N
TIDBIT — THE US CAPITOL IS SLOWING REOPENING:
The Los Angeles Times’s Jennifer Haberkorn tweeted, “After a two-year hiatus of official tours, the Capitol will re-open to limited member- and staff-led tours, as well as school groups, on Monday.” https://bit.ly/3qqFL1G A MESSAGE FROM FACEBOOK We’re making investments in safety and security—and seeing results
Facebook has invested $13 billion over the last 5 years to help keep you safe. Over the last several months, we’ve taken action on:
LATEST WITH COVID-19 Hey kiddos, you may be on deck: 
© Ap/Matt Rourke, file Via The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel, “Moderna on Wednesday said it will soon seek emergency use authorization for its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine in children under six years old, after preliminary data showed kids in that age group had a similar immune response to adolescents and young adults when given a smaller dose of the vaccine.” https://bit.ly/3JyAdJV
Yes, but: “Moderna said the vaccine was only about 44 percent effective at preventing symptomatic infection in children 6 months to 2 years old, and 37 percent effective in children aged 2 through 5.”
^ Keep in mind: “There were no severe infections, hospitalizations or deaths in any of the children in the trial, the company said, making it impossible to interpret the results against those outcomes.”
CASE NUMBERS
Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 79,805,851
VACCINATION NUMBERS
Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 559 million shots have been given.
Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 114,252 doses
For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million.
Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH NOTABLE TWEETS Tidbit — Biden appears to have a festive phone case: CNN’s Betsy Klein tweeted a photo: “President Biden, departing the White House for Europe, carries an iPhone with a silver presidential seal.” Photo: https://bit.ly/3D5Ei5U
‘Tis the season: 
© AP/Gemunu Amarasinghe The Hill’s Cristina Marcos tweeted, “Meanwhile, for everyone outside the Capitol: the cherry blossoms are now blooming (and without the Tidal Basin crowds!)” Photo: https://bit.ly/3um2i0z A MESSAGE FROM FACEBOOK Privacy Checkup helps you stay informed and empowered on Facebook
We want privacy to be as easy as possible for you. That's why we built the Privacy Checkup, so you can:
⏱ ON TAP: The Senate is in. The House is out. President Biden is flying to Europe, and Vice President Harris is in Washington, D.C.
8:40 a.m. EDT: President Biden left for Belgium.
10:30 a.m. EDT: A roll call vote in the Senate. The Senate’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3wpVHoC
3:50 p.m. EDT: President Biden arrives in Brussels, Belgium.
4 p.m. EDT: President Biden greets Belgium’s prime minister, Alexander De Croo. 📺 WHAT TO WATCH: 11 a.m. EDT: Vice President Harris delivered remarks on “addressing bias in home valuations.” Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge and domestic policy advisor Susan Rice also spoke. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3NpCauC
1 p.m. EDT: White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and national security advisor Jake Sullivan speak with reporters aboard Air Force One. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3L5Kuh0
3 p.m. EDT: The White House COVID-19 Response Team holds a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3NgLXTu IN LIGHTER NEWS: 
© AP file Today is National Chips and Dip Day.
And because you read this far, here’s a dog who, I guess, will tolerate walks: https://bit.ly/3D5jHi4
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