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All list items in order from most to least (or most likely to least likely).
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TOP FIVE WAR-ENDING SCENARIOS
1. Negotiated settlement with Putin taking land in the east and south, Ukraine swearing off NATO membership, and what remains of Ukraine getting security guarantees.
2. Domestic and economic pressure causes Putin to withdrawal.
3. Putin uses WMD or crosses some other uncrossable line and the West engages fully and beats him.
4. Putin is killed.
5. The war peters out after many years.
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TOP FIVE BIDEN CABINET MEMBERS IN POPULARITY ON CAPITOL HILL
1. Gina Raimondo.
2. Tony Blinken.
3. Pete Buttigieg.
4. Avril Haines.
5. Denis McDonough.
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TOP FIVE BABY TIPS
1. Instincts and results matter much more than advice.
2. Become an expert swaddler well before the birth.
3. Burp not by slapping but by gently but firmly running a hand from the baby’s lower back to just above the shoulder blades.
4. Bath daily.
5. Bacon is not a baby food.
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TOP FIVE WAYS TO VOLUNTARILY SUPPORT WIDE WORLD OF NEWS
1. Subscribe.
2. Check: Send an email to markhalperintalk@gmail.com and ask how you can send a WWoN gratuity by check.
3. Leave a tip.
• PayPal. markhalperinnyc@gmail.com
• Venmo. Mark-Halperin-4 (telephone number ends in x3226)
• Zelle. markhalperinnyc@gmail.com
5. Send me news tips!
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TOP FIVE SENATE OUTCOMES AFTER THE MIDTERMS
1. R 51 D 49.
2. R 52 D 48.
3. D 50 R 50.
4. R 53 D 47.
5. tie
D 51 R 49.
R 54 D 46.
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TOP FIVE RANGES OF REPUBLICAN HOUSE NET PICKUPS
1. 30-40.
2. 20-30.
3. 40-50.
4. 10-20.
5. 50-60.
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TOP FIVE TAYLOR SWIFT SONGS
1. Love Story.
2. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
3. Our Song.
4. Blank Space.
5. You Belong With Me.
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TOP FIVE WAYS TO DEAL WITH U.S. ENERGY PRICES IN THE SHORT TERM
1. Conservation.
2. More domestic production.
3. More foreign production from allies.
4. Lower demand by putative measures.
5. More foreign production by hostile nations.
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TOP FIVE 1/6 COMMITTEE ASSETS
1. The truth.
2. Patience and/but speed.
3. Savvy investigators.
4. Savvy media strategists.
5. Woodward and Costa.
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TOP FIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEES IN 2024
1. Hillary Clinton.
2. Other tbd.
3. Kamala Harris.
4. Joe Biden.
5. Pete Buttigieg.
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TOP FIVE YOGI BERRA QUOTES
1. “Nobody goes there any more – it’s too crowded.”
2. “Prediction is difficult – especially about the future.”
3. "When you come to a fork in the road.... take it."
4. "Ninety percent of the game is half mental."
5. “It gets late out there early.”
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TOP FIVE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEES IN 2024
1. Donald Trump
2. Ron DeSantis.
3. Other tbd.
4. Ted Cruz.
5. Tom Cotton.
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TOP FIVE ESSENTIAL READS
1. Bret Stephens with a different view of what Putin is up to.
2. The Washington Post on COVID all around the president.
3. The Associated Press on Rick Scott.
4. Politico on Bill Cassidy’s future.
5. The Associated Press on the Trump gap.