In the first weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine we saw what appeared to be almost universal global condemnation of Russia’s actions. There was that lopsided UN vote condemning the action in which only four other nations, all pariahs or under de facto Russian occupation, took Russia’s side. But over time, a somewhat different story has emerged. Russia has very, very few backers. But there’s a big chunk of the world, likely the majority of the world’s population, living in countries where the governments basically do not want to take sides.

Out of the blue the government of Naftali Bennett appears to be on the brink of collapse as one of the members of his own party, Idit Silman, has moved to the opposition. The development is part of the on-going splintering of Bennett’s own party, Yamina. But a catalyst or trigger appears to have been opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu offering her a ministry in a new Netanyahu-led right-wing government.

For now, the coalition government has lost its majority. But the Knesset isn’t currently in session. So there’s no immediate way for the opposition to topple it. And it would be difficult for Netanyahu to form a majority himself. So this likely means new elections.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has addressed the crowds at white nationalist Nick Fuentes’ events the last two years in a row — most recently sparking uproar after both he and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) appeared at the America First Political Action Conference last month.

Despite receiving abnormally swift condemnation from GOP leadership after news of his appearance broke, Gosar had not yet addressed the bipartisan backlash to his speech until just a few days ago.

Very, very, very weird story. A raid was conducted on two men in Washington, DC this evening. The two impersonated federal law enforcement officers and gave gifts and other enticements to ingratiate themselves with members of the Secret Service, one of whom was on the First Lady’s protective deal. But to what end? What’s especially weird about the first AP story here is that it doesn’t address what these two men were trying to accomplish. Here’s a thread with photos of the raid. Let’s keep an eye on this story.

Below I mentioned this wild story of two men impersonating government law enforcement agents to infiltrate the Secret Service. As far as I can tell there’s still no information about who was behind the plot, who was funding it or what the two men were trying to accomplish. From the limited information available the plot seems to be elaborate and well-funded but less than entirely professional. There seem to be way more loose ends than I’d expect in a state-sponsored effort. But really who knows?

Speaker Pelosi has tested positive for COVID. She is currently asymptomatic, according to her Deputy Chief of Staff.

As we wait to hear more about the arrest of two men trying to infiltrate the Secret Service there’s one part of the story I want to highlight. Multiple U.S. Secret Service officers accepted free apartments for roughly a year from one of the accused men, Arian Taherzadeh. The value of these gifts varied from just over forty thousand to just under fifty thousand dollars annually. This is in addition to various other gifts.

Two new nuggets from the latest AP report on the DC caper we’ve been discussing through the day. Prosecutors allege that one of the two men accused of impersonating federal agents told witnesses that he was associated with the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency. He apparently also had visas showing multiple recent visits to Pakistan and Iran. Prosecutors also told a judge at a hearing today that during the raids on the men’s apartments FBI agents found “body armor, gas masks, zip ties, handcuffs, equipment to break through doors, drones, radios and police training manuals.” Yikes.

A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Josh and Kate discuss the Republican party going full QAnon and the latest follies of Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC).

You can listen to the new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast here.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned as conservative justices have signaled it might be this summer, abortion will become near-illegal almost instantly in 17 states.

As my colleague Kate Riga reported back in December, a large chunk of those states, including Michigan, have old laws on the books that were put in place before Roe gave people who can become pregnant the national right to an abortion. A few of those states have what’s referred to as a “trigger law” in place meant to be enacted as soon as Roe falls that would ban most or all abortions in the state. Some of those 17 states have both measures in place.