WASHINGTON: "Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine and his push to upend the broader security order in Europe may lead to a historic shift in American thinking about defense of the continent. Depending on how far Putin goes, this could mean a buildup of U.S. military power in Europe not seen since the Cold War. In 2020, President Donald Trump ordered thousands of American troops out of Germany as part of his argument that Europeans were undeserving allies. Just days after taking office, President Joe Biden stopped the withdrawal before it could start, and his administration has stressed NATO’s importance even as Biden identifies China as the main long-term threat to U.S. security.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was flying to Europe on Tuesday for his second recent round of Ukraine consultations at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He also will travel to two Eastern European NATO countries, Slovakia, which borders Ukraine, and Bulgaria, which does not. As Austin was en route, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made it clear Tuesday that the 30-nation military alliance is set to radically change its security stance in Europe in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. He said defense ministers will discuss possible changes when they meet Wednesday.

“We need to reset our military posture for this new reality,” Stoltenberg told reporters. “On land, this could include substantially more forces in the eastern part of the alliance, at higher readiness, and with more prepositioned equipment.” He added that NATO “will also consider major increases to our air and naval deployments, strengthening our integrated air and missile defense, reinforcing our cyber defenses, and holding more and larger exercises.”

https://www.chron.com/news/article/Ukraine-war-may-lead-to-rethinking-of-US-defense-17002458.php

ANNAPOLIS, MD: "Maryland’s highest court on Tuesday moved the state’s primary from June 28 to July 19, as courts weigh challenges to the state’s new legislative map as well as Maryland’s congressional map. The Court of Appeals also set a new candidate filing deadline for April 15. The court issued the order in the matter of a legal challenge to the map of political boundaries for the 188 seats in the General Assembly. Separately, a trial began Tuesday over allegations that Maryland’s congressional map has been illegally drawn to benefit Democrats. In that case, a witness for Maryland Republicans testified that partisan considerations took over when Democrats who control Maryland’s legislature approved the new congressional map “in a way that disadvantages Republicans.”

Sean Trende, an elections analyst at RealClearPolitics, testified that the Maryland map approved in December is “a gross outlier” in his analysis of thousands of potential map simulations. “It’s apparent that these districts were drawn with partisanship as a predominate intent to the exclusion of traditional redistricting criteria,” Trende said. He believes under any definition, the map would “fit the bill” of extreme gerrymandering."

https://www.pennlive.com/elections/2022/03/marylands-highest-court-pushes-back-primary-election-to-july-19.html