Good News, Bad News: “The European Union’s decision to make Ukraine a candidate for EU membership offered war-weary Ukrainians a morale boost and hope of a more secure future Friday as the country’s military ordered its fighters to retreat from a key city in the eastern Donbas region.”

+ Sleeve Peeve: “Four years later, the puff sleeve still has its boot firmly on the neck of the American apparel market. If you have tried to buy any women’s clothes this year, you already knew that—the sleeves are everywhere, at every size and price level, most of them stripped of the weirdness that made the originals compelling and ready to make you look like a milkmaid in the most boring way imaginable.” The Atlantic’s Amanda Mull on how tech and fast fashion have led us to this. Fashion Has Abandoned Human Taste. (I like to think I was ahead of the curve on this trend.)

+ Grilled Chicken Owners: “Last year, not even 24 months into its poultry experiment, Costco was the target of an undercover investigation by Mercy for Animals, which showed a Nebraska barn crowded with birds, some with open sores, sitting in their own feces because they were too top-heavy to walk.” Costco violates animal welfare laws to sell $4.99 chicken, suit says. (The first clue was that it’s a $4.99 chicken.)

+ Reinventing the Wheel: Toyota recalls its first electric cars amid fears the wheels could fall off. (So we’re just gonna worry about every little thing…)

+ Swamp Thing: “Most bacteria are microscopic, but this one is so big it can be seen with the naked eye.” World’s biggest bacterium found in Caribbean mangrove swamp. (Text to wife: Honey, let’s cancel the Caribbean mangrove swamp vacation.)