Morning Must Reads: February 21

In the news: European and Russian mediators strike Ukraine deal; President Obama releases budget blueprint; Fannie Mae reports huge annual profit; After midterms, House Republicans anticipate Speaker Boehner retirement; a French hornist, an economist, a billionaire, a psychologist and the Dalai Lama walk into a conservative think tank

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Mark Wilson / Getty Images

The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

  • “A deal designed to end Ukraine’s long-running crisis was reached Friday after all-night negotiations that included European and Russian mediators, the office of President Viktor Yanukovych announced.” [WashPost]
  • “President Barack Obama’s budget blueprint for the next fiscal year will drop a entitlement program fix he once embraced, in the latest acknowledgement that little progress will be made on the nation’s fiscal issues ahead of the midterm elections.” [TIME]
  • “Fannie Mae on Friday reported an annual profit of $84 billion for 2013, a banner year in which strong home-price gains in housing markets across the U.S. powered the mortgage-finance giant to an astounding rebound.” [WSJ]
  • Wisc. Gov. Scott Walker’s Scandal Snoozer [Politico]
  • “House Republicans have begun jockeying for leadership positions in the next Congress, anticipating the possibility that Speaker John Boehner could step down after the November elections.” [Washington Examiner]
  • For Facebook, It’s Users First and Profits Later [NYT]
  • “So a French hornist, an economist, a billionaire, a psychologist and the Dalai Lama walk into a conservative think tank…” [Yahoo!]