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Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

• President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met at the White House on Monday, projecting a united stance on the Russia/Ukraine conflict despite Germany’s public waffling. Although his administration waived sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline last year out of deference to Germany, Biden said yesterday “there will be no” pipeline if Russia sends tanks and troops into Ukraine: “We will bring an end to it.”

• The Democratic governors of Connecticut, New Jersey, and Delaware announced Monday they will lift their statewide school mask mandates on February 28, March 7 and March 31, respectively. Individual school districts will still be allowed to implement their own mandates after those deadlines have passed.

• Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency on Sunday in response to the days-long “Freedom Convoy” protests by thousands of Canadian truckers and citizens opposed to vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions, saying the demonstrations—which include road blockades, driving on the sidewalk, and continuous horn honking—pose a “serious danger” to residents. The Ottawa Police Service announced it had arrested seven people on Sunday and is investigating more than 60 others, primarily for “mischief, thefts, hate crimes, and property damage.”