May 23, 2022

Afternoon Update:

The Trump & Rudy Show Gets Ready for Prime Time. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol is expected to stage six public hearings in June on how Donald Trump and some allies broke the law as they sought to overturn the 2020 election results, according to sources familiar with the inquiry.... According to a draft schedule reviewed by the Guardian, the select committee intends to hold six hearings, with the first and last in prime time, where its lawyers will run through how Trump's schemes took shape before the election and culminated with the Capitol attack."

Fear of Cream Pie. Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "According to a Daily Beast review of court transcripts in a lawsuit a protester has brought against Donald Trump, his former attorney Michael Cohen explained in detail a conversation he overheard between the former president and his head of security that contradicts what Trump previously testified under oath.... Cohen was a last-minute witness in a lawsuit brought against Trump where he is accused of siccing his security team on protesters outside of Trump Tower before he became president. In a previous deposition, Trump has denied involvement. However, as the new report states, Cohen gave testimony that he was in the room when the protesters were discussed and, under questioning, stated Trump asked security head Keith Schiller, 'Did you see that there's a demonstration going on? Get rid of them,' to which Schiller reportedly replied, 'Okay, boss.'... As a side note, the Beast report also reveals Cohen also testified Trump lived in fear of being 'pied' after it happened to Microsoft founder Bill Gates.... 'For some reason that upset Mr. Trump terribly. We were all instructed that if somebody was to ever throw anything at him, that if that person didn't end up in the hospital, we'd all be fired[.]' You can read more here -- subscription required." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The list of Trump's phobias is getting longer. He's afraid of germs. He's afraid of blood. He's afraid of women's bodily fluids, especially breast milk & menstrual flows.He's afraid of slopes & stairs. He's afraid of "dangerous fruit." He's afraid of cream pies.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "Pfizer and BioNTech saidon Monday that preliminary findings of a clinical trial of children younger than five showed three doses of their coronavirus vaccine produced a strong enough immune response to meet the criteria for regulatory authorization.... A spokeswoman for Pfizer said comprehensive results from the trial will be disclosed next month."

Nick Cumming-Bruce & Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "A diplomat in Russia's mission to the United Nations in Geneva quit his post on Monday, expressing shame over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and describing it as a crime against both countries. Boris Bondarev, a counselor in the Russian mission since 2019 who described himself as a 20-year veteran of Russia's Foreign Ministry, announced his resignation in an email sent to diplomats in Geneva on Monday. His resignation is the most high-profile gesture of protest so far made by a Russian diplomat over the war in Ukraine. 'For 20 years of my diplomatic career I have seen different turns of our foreign policy but never have I been so ashamed of my country as on Feb. 24 of this year,' Mr. Bondarev said, referring to the date that President Vladimir V. Putin sent Russian forces into Ukraine.... Mr. Bondarev went on to deliver a stinging critique of Russia's foreign service and its chief diplomat, Sergey V. Lavrov.” MB: Let's hope Bondarev doesn't have to go back to Russia. The AP's story is here.

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Peter Baker & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "President Biden has enlisted a dozen Asia-Pacific nations to join a new loosely defined economic bloc meant to counter China's dominance and reassert American influence in the region five years after his predecessor withdrew the United States from a sweeping trade accord that it had negotiated itself. The alliance will bring the United States together with such regional powerhouses as Japan, South Korea and India to establish new rules of commerce in the fastest-growing part of the world and offer an alternative to Beijing's leadership. But wary of liberal opposition at home, Mr. Biden's new partnership will avoid the market access provisions of traditional trade deals, raising questions about how meaningful it will be.... 'We're going to help all of our country' economies grow faster and fairer.' The president sat alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Prime Fumio Kishida of Japan for the rollout of the [Indo-Pacific Economic Framework], while other leaders joined the event by videoconference."

Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden indicated on Monday that he would use military force to defend Taiwan if it were ever attacked by China, dispensing with the 'strategic ambiguity' traditionally favored by American presidents and repeating even more unequivocally statements that his staff tried to walk back in the past. At a news conference with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan during a visit to Tokyo, Mr. Biden suggested that he would be willing to go further on behalf of Taiwan than he has in helping Ukraine, where he has provided tens of billions of dollars in arms as well as intelligence assistance to help defeat Russian invaders but refused to send American troops.... The White House quickly tried to deny that the president meant what he seemed to be saying. 'As the president said, our policy has not changed.' the White House said in a statement hurriedly sent to reporters.... Taiwan ... has never been granted the same U.S. security guarantees as Japan, South Korea or America's NATO allies, and so the comment was seen as significant." An AP story is here.

It's Always Something. Russell Goldman of the New York Times: "President Biden raised the alarm on Sunday about monkeypox, a viral infection fast spreading around the world, and warned that the disease, which can be spread as easily as through handling a contaminated object, is something 'that everybody should be concerned about.' Monkeypox, rarely seen outside Africa, has been found in recent weeks in Europe and the United States. As of Saturday, 92 cases and 28 suspected cases had been identified in 12 countries outside of those African nations where it is endemic, according to the World Health Organization. There has been one confirmed case in the United States -- a man in Boston was diagnosed last week -- but public health officials believe case numbers will soon increase." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Here's a Washington Post article by Ashley Parker & others that essentially says that in ten years Joe Biden has failed to get Congress to enact any gun control legislation. (At 10 pm Sunday, this brilliant bit of analysis is prominently placed on the WashPo Website.) Way down in Para. 12, we finally read about Republicans: "Now as president, Biden has yet to receive from the Democratic-controlled Congress any major piece of legislation aimed at preventing mass shootings. Most Republicans remain opposed to any proposed changes, arguing that new restrictions would have little impact on the frequency of mass shootings and would impinge on Americans' constitutional right to bear arms." What complete bull. Parker & Co. make it sound as if it's Biden's fault Republicans oppose gun control. And "the Democratic-controlled Congress" has a Senate with fewer than 50 "real" Democrats, where a 60-vote majority is required to pass legislation.

Michael Conroy of the AP: "A military plane carrying enough specialty infant formula for more than half a million baby bottles arrived Sunday in Indianapolis, the first of several flights expected from Europe aimed at relieving a shortage that has sent parents scrambling to find enough to feed their children. President Joe Biden authorized the use of Air Force planes for the effort, dubbed 'Operation Fly Formula,' because no commercial flights were available. The formula weighed 78,000 pounds (35,380 kilograms), White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden flew from South Korea to Japan.... The flights are intended to provide 'some incremental relief in the coming days' as the government works on a more lasting response to the shortage, Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Sunday." (Also linked yesterday.)

The League of Extraordinary Grifters. Kate Kelly & David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times: "Shortly before the 2020 election, Trump administration officials unveiled a U.S. government-sponsored program called the Abraham Fund that they said would raise $3 billion for projects around the Middle East.... With no accounts, employees, income or projects, the fund vanished when Mr. Trump left office. Yet after [Jared] Kushner and [Steven] Mnuchin crisscrossed the Middle East in the final months of the administration on trips that included trying to raise money for the project, each quickly launched a private fund that in some ways picked up where the Abraham Fund had ended.... Within three months, Mr. Mnuchin's new firm had circulated detailed investment plans and received $500 million commitments from the Emiratis, Kuwaitis and Qataris, according to previously unreported documents prepared by the main Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which itself soon committed $1 billion. Mr. Kushner's new firm reached an agreement for a $2 billion investment from the Saudis six months after he left government.... An examination of the two men's travels toward the end of the Trump presidency raises other questions about whether they sought to exploit official relationships with foreign leaders for private business interests."

"How Trump's 2020 Election Lies Have Gripped State Legislatures." Nick Corasaniti, et al., of the New York Times: A New York Times “analysis exposes how deeply rooted lies and misinformation about ... Donald J. Trump's defeat have become in state legislatures, which play an integral role in U.S. democracy. In some, the false view that the election was stolen -- either by fraud or as a result of pandemic-related changes to the process -- is now widely accepted as fact among Republican lawmakers, turning statehouses into hotbeds of conspiratorial thinking and specious legal theories.... Election and democracy experts say they see the rise of anti-democratic impulses in statehouses as a clear, new threat to the health of American democracy. State legislatures hold a unique position in the country's democratic apparatus, wielding a constitutionally mandated power to set the 'times, places and manner of holding elections.' Cheered on by Mr. Trump as he eyes another run for the White House in 2024, many state legislators have shown they see that power as license to exert greater control over the outcome of elections." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Lonely Life of the Vanquished Autocrat. Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump is not having a good weekend, if the postings on his TRUTH Social account are any indication of his mood. In multiple posts, some directly from his account and some shared (or 'ReTruthed' ...) from others, Trump conveyed his vexation with a wide range of targets including Twitter, the Wall Street Journal, and his former endorsee Alabama Senate candidate Mo Brooks. Oh, and Trump also shared what seemed to be a call for civil war. TRUTH Social got off to a bumpy start earlier this year..., and Trump himself went months without posting. [He] seemed to be making up for lost time this weekend, dropping rants on a variety of topics and echoing the daily Festivus-style airing of grievances tone of his former Twitter account. One post that drew particular notice was shared from an account called 'MAGA King Thanos' that added the caption 'Civil war' to a screenshot of a Lara Logan post from the President of El Salvador saying that the 'most powerful country in the world' was 'falling so fast' and '[s]omething so big and powerful can't be destroyed so quickly, unless the enemy comes from within.'"

Sarah Bailey of the Washington Post: "Leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention on Sunday released a major third-party investigation that found that sex abuse survivors were often ignored, minimized and 'even vilified' by top clergy in the nation's largest Protestant denomination. The findings of nearly 300 pages include shocking new details about specific abuse cases and shine a light on how denominational leaders for decades actively resisted calls for abuse prevention and reform. Evidence in the report suggests leaders also lied to Southern Baptists over whether they could maintain a database of offenders to prevent more abuse when top leaders were secretly keeping a private list for years." A CBS News report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post devotes a column to explaining to dummies why "racism is bad for White people, too."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Russia's war and its fallout ... are expected to loom over the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday.... Both Russian government officials and all Russian nationals, who normally have a prominent presence at the annual summit, have been barred from attending.... Ukraine has deployed a delegation of considerable influence to the forum as it seeks to make the case that foreign governments must continue sending military and humanitarian aid to put a stop to Russian aggression. President Volodymyr Zelensky, who on Sunday called the forum 'the world's most influential economic platform,' will help open the gathering with a virtual address.... More than 350 cultural and historic sites across Ukraine have been destroyed or damaged by Russian forces since the invasion, Ukrain's culture minister said on Sunday. President Biden is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India on Monday to discuss Ukraine. They are attending a summit in Japan." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' summary of Sunday's developments is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "The battle for Severodonetsk is becoming a focal point in the war as Russia seeks to capture one of the last major cities in a key eastern province still under Ukrainian control after its seizure of southeastern port city Mariupol. The head of the Luhansk region said Russian troops are bombarding Severodonetsk constantly, using 'scorched earth' tactics. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that fighting in eastern Ukraine is becoming increasingly bloody, with up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers killed each day.... [At Davos,] Ukrainian artists have turned a venue in the Swiss resort town that usually showcases Russian business leaders - formerly known as 'Russia House' -- into an exhibition of possible Russian war crimes.... President Biden, in Japan for economic and security talks with regional leaders, in a joint statement with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio called Russia's invasion of Ukraine the 'greatest immediate challenge' to the established world order." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Monday are here

Lorenzo Tondo of the Guardian: "Ukraine has said it will not agree to ceasefire deal that would involve handing over territory to Russia, as Moscow intensified its attack in the eastern Donbas region on Sunday. 'The war must end with the complete restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty,' said Ukraine's presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, in a Twitter post. The Polish president,Andrzej Duda, offered Warsaw's backing, telling politicians in Kyiv that the international community had to demand Russia's complete withdrawal and that sacrificing any of Ukraine's territory would be a 'huge blow' to the west." The Washington Post's story is here.

Shaun Walker of the Guardian: "A court in Kyiv has sentenced a Russian soldier to life in prison for the killing of a Ukrainian civilian, in the first verdict in a trial related to war crimes carried out by the Russian army during its invasion of Ukraine. Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old sergeant, was found guilty of killing 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov in Sumy region during the first days of the invasion. The verdict was delivered on Monday lunchtime by judge Serhii Ahafonov at a packed courtroom, with dozens of Ukrainian and foreign television cameras crammed into the small room. The judge said although Shishimarin cooperated with the investigation and expressed remorse, the court could not accept his claim he had not meant to kill Shelipov when he fired at him."

Israel. Steve Hendrix & Shira Rubin of the Washington Post: "After decades of demolition, rebuilding and a more than 20-year legal battle, Israel's highest court this month gave the military permission to permanently evict more than 1,000 Palestinians [from the West Bank] and repurpose the land for an army firing range.... The demolitions have sparked expressions of concern from Washington ahead of a planned June visit to Israel by President Biden, coming at a time of mounting instability in Israel's coalition government and the recent approval of more than 4,200 new housing units in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.... The European Union urged Israel to halt the demolitions. A United Nations human rights panel warned that the 'forcible transfer' of residents would amount to 'a serious breach of international and humanitarian and human rights laws.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Ledes

New York Times: "At least seven people were killed and more than a hundred were plucked out of the sea on Monday after a passenger ferry caught fire in the Philippines, the latest maritime tragedy to hit the archipelago."

New York Times: “Heavy pre-monsoon rains in India and Bangladesh have washed away train stations, towns and villages, leaving millions of people homeless as extreme weather events, including heat waves, intense rainfall and floods, become more common in South Asia. More than 60 people have been killed in days of flooding, landslides and thunderstorms that have left many people without food and drinking water and have isolated them by cutting off the internet, according to officials. The devastation in India's northeast, one of the worst affected regions, has submerged railway tracks, bridges and roads. In the remote state of Assam, 31 of its 33 districts have been affected by floods, impacting the lives of more than 700,000 people, officials said on Saturday. At least 18 people have already died in the state because of floods and landslides, according to news reports. At least 33 people were killed in the neighboring state of Bihar by lightning strikes and heavy rain in its 16 districts...."

May 22, 2022

Russell Goldman of the New York Times: "President Biden raised the alarm on Sunday about monkeypox, a viral infection fast spreading around the world, and warned that the disease, which can be spread as easily as through handling a contaminated object, is something 'that everybody should be concerned about.' Monkeypox, rarely seen outside Africa, has been found in recent weeks in Europe and the United States. As of Saturday, 92 cases and 28 suspected cases had been identified in 12 countries outside of those African nations where it is endemic, according to the World Health Organization. There has been one confirmed case in the United States -- a man in Boston was diagnosed last week -- but public health officials believe case numbers will soon increase."

Michael Conroy of the AP: "A military plane carrying enough specialty infant formula for more than half a million baby bottles arrived Sunday in Indianapolis, the first of several flights expected from Europe aimed at relieving a shortage that has sent parents scrambling to find enough to feed their children. President Joe Biden authorized the use of Air Force planes for the effort, dubbed 'Operation Fly Formula,' because no commercial flights were available. The formula weighed 78,000 pounds (35,380 kilograms), White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden flew from South Korea to Japan.... The flights are intended to provide 'some incremental relief in the coming days' as the government works on a more lasting response to the shortage, Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Sunday."

"How Trump's 2020 Election Lies Have Gripped State Legislatures." Nick Corasaniti, et al., of the New York Times: A New York Times "analysis exposes how deeply rooted lies and misinformation about ... Donald J. Trump's defeat have become in state legislatures, which play an integral role in U.S. democracy. In some, the false view that the election was stolen -- either by fraud or as a result of pandemic-related changes to the process -- is now widely accepted as fact among Republican lawmakers, turning statehouses into hotbeds of conspiratorial thinking and specious legal theories.... Election and democracy experts say they see the rise of anti-democratic impulses in statehouses as a clear, new threat to the health of American democracy. State legislatures hold a unique position in the country's democratic apparatus, wielding a constitutionally mandated power to set the 'times, places and manner of holding elections.' Cheered on by Mr. Trump as he eyes another run for the White House in 2024, many state legislators have shown they see that power as license to exert greater control over the outcome of elections."

Sarah Bailey of the Washington Post: "Leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention on Sunday released a major third-party investigation that found that sex abuse survivors were often ignored, minimized and 'even vilified' by top clergy in the nation's largest Protestant denomination. The findings of nearly 300 pages include shocking new details about specific abuse cases and shine a light on how denominational leaders for decades actively resisted calls for abuse prevention and reform. Evidence in the report suggests leaders also lied to Southern Baptists over whether they could maintain a database of offenders to prevent more abuse when top leaders were secretly keeping a private list for years." A CBS News report is here.

Israel. Steve Hendrix & Shira Rubin of the Washington Post: "After decades of demolition, rebuilding and a more than 20-year legal battle, Israel's highest court this month gave the military permission to permanently evict more than 1,000 Palestinians [from the West Bank] and repurpose the land for an army firing range.... The demolitions have sparked expressions of concern from Washington ahead of a planned June visit to Israel by President Biden, coming at a time of mounting instability in Israel's coalition government and the recent approval of more than 4,200 new housing units in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.... The European Union urged Israel to halt the demolitions. A United Nations human rights panel warned that the 'forcible transfer' of residents would amount to 'a serious breach of international and humanitarian and human rights laws.'"

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Josh Boak & Aamer Madhani of the AP: "President Joe Biden tended to both business and security interests Sunday as he wrapped up a three-day trip to South Korea, first showcasing Hyundai's pledge to invest at least $10 billion in the United States and later mingling with troops at a nearby military base. Biden's visit to Osan Air Base, where thousands of U.S. and South Korean service members monitor the rapidly evolving North Korean nuclear threat, was his final stop before he arrived in Tokyo later Sunday."

Peter Baker & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "In his first meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol, [President] Biden sought to put the relationship with South Korea, traditionally one of the United States' strongest allies in Asia, on a firmer foundation after the volatile years of ... Donald J. Trump, who frequently undercut ties with the South while wooing the North's mercurial dictator, Kim Jong-un. 'The alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States has never been stronger, more vibrant or, I might add, more vital,' said Mr. Biden, using South Korea's formal name, at a news conference in Seoul with Mr. Yoon.... Unlike Mr. Trump, Mr. Biden hailed the continuing American troop presence in South Korea.... Mr. Biden said that cooperation between the United States and South Korea showed 'our readiness to take on all threats together.' He also said that his administration would collaborate to confront cyberattacks from North Korea. Mr. Biden's team is focused, through engaging with allies in the region, on returning to a North Korea strategy aimed at deterrence. It views the Trump administration's approach, in which Mr. Trump ignored the usual diplomatic process and directly embraced Mr. Kim, as an aberration in American foreign policy." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Video of the joint press conference is here.

Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "The acting Social Security commissioner will launch a 'full investigation' on Monday of Inspector General Gail Ennis's oversight of an anti-fraud program that imposed extensive penalties on disabled and elderly people, a senior agency official said Saturday. The action follows a Washington Post report that revealed how attorneys in charge of a little-known program run by Social Security's watchdog division issued unprecedented fines beginning in the Trump administration. More than 100 people who received disability benefits to which they were not entitled were hit with penalties as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars. Those fines were imposed on poor, disabled and elderly people, many of whom had no hope of ever being able to pay. The acting commissioner 'has very serious concerns about the issues raised by The Washington Post about the inspector general's oversight of this program,' Scott Frey, chief of staff to Kilolo Kijakazi, said in an interview."

Marie: I know it's hard to believe, but another Trumpist Member of Congress told a series of porkers about his aiding and abetting some folks “wearing red baseball caps” the day before the insurrection: ~~~

~~~ Eric Levai of the Daily Dot: The Daily Dot has obtained a radio interview from Jan. 6, 2021, from WBHF in Cartersville, Georgia, in which Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) says, 'about a dozen' people were present in his congressional office in Washington, D.C. the day before the Capitol riot. [Thursday], Loudermilk said in a statement that 'a constituent family' visited him the day before the Capitol riot. That is an updated version of a previous statement by Republicans on the Committee on House Administration -- which Loudermilk is a member of -- that originally stated 'there were no tours, no large groups, no one with MAGA hats on' given by him or other Republicans in advance of the Capitol riot. But in the interview -- given as the riot was winding down -- Loudermilk made it clear that he met with people who were planning to protest on Jan. 6, and that he discussed how they wanted to be in the crowd that day to protest the results of the 2020 election.... In a video statement released [Friday], Loudermilk claims that the family was wearing red baseball caps, which is why he's being singled out by the committee, but also admits the family brought guests with them, which he had not previously mentioned." Red baseball caps, Barry? Really? (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

A Proxy Trial: Durham Goes After Hillary. Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "The trial of well-connected lawyer Michael Sussmann centers on whether he lied to the FBI while sharing potentially damaging allegations about Donald Trump at a key moment in the 2016 presidential campaign. But the first week of testimony showed the prosecution's hopes for a conviction rest largely on a much broader set of assertions: that the FBI, the Hillary Clinton campaign and the press collided in ultimately harmful ways, leading to the public airing of unsubstantiated allegations shortly before Election Day. Sussman's trial is the first courtroom test of the investigative work done by special counsel John Durham, appointed by Trump administration Attorney General William P. Barr to probe whether the federal agents who investigated the 2016 Trump campaign committed wrongdoing."

Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "Utah hunting guide Wade Lemon is facing five years in prison for baiting a bear that was killed by [Donald] Trump, Jr. on May 18, 2018, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Saturday.... Trump, Jr.'s guided hunting trip resulted in kills of a black bear and mountain lion. 'Charging documents allege Lemon's outfitters illegally used bait on the bear shot by Trump Jr.'... Prosecutors have indicated there was no evidence showing Trump Jr. would have known about the alleged baiting that went on during the hunt,' the newspaper reported.... The vast majority of game taken in America is from hunters who do not require a hired guide. [Junior] has previously had scandals over killing an elephant in Africa, killing an endangered sheep in Mongolia, and killing pregnant prairie dogs in Montana." MB: Like father, like son, the Adventures of Junior lead to somebody else getting in trouble with the law.

Robert Ford, the CEO of Abbott, the baby-formula manufacturing company at the heart of the U.S. formula scarcity, says he's sorry & makes his case in a Washington Post op-ed.

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "A state court formally approved New York's new congressional map late Friday, ratifying a slate of House districts drawn by a neutral expert that could pave the way for Democratic losses this fall and force some of the party's most prominent incumbents to face off in primary matches. The map, approved just before a midnight deadline set by Justice Patrick F. McAllister of State Supreme Court in Steuben County, effectively unwinds an attempted Democratic gerrymander, creates a raft of new swing seats across the state, and scrambles some carefully laid lines that have long determined centers of power in New York City. Jonathan R. Cervas, the court-appointed mapmaker, made relatively minor changes to a draft proposal released earlier this week whose sweeping changes briefly united both Republicans and Democrats in exasperation and turned Democrats against each other. In Manhattan, the final map would still merge the seats of Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, setting the two Democratic committee leaders, who have serve alongside each other for 30 years, onto an increasingly inevitable collision course." Read on. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Texas. (Alleged) Rustlers! The Misadventures of Skeet & Leroy. Susan Carroll of NBC News: "Lawmen came to remote Loving County, Texas, on Friday to arrest the county judge, a former sheriff's deputy and two ranch hands on one of Texas' oldest crimes -- cattle theft. Judge Skeet Jones, 71, the top elected official since 2007 in the least populated county in the continental United States, is facing three felony counts of livestock theft and one count of engaging in criminal activity, accused of gathering up and selling stray cattle, authorities said. Jones, the scion of a powerful ranching family that settled in Loving County in the 1950s, was booked into Winkler County Jail on Friday and released on $20,000 bond, records show.... Authorities also arrested former Loving County deputy Leroy Medlin Jr., 35, on one count of engaging in criminal activity.... Word of the arrests spread faster than a prairie fire with a tailwind through this West Texas county, population 57 as of the last U.S. Census Bureau estimate."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed his allies for even more military aid on Saturday after the United States signed one of its biggest war packages in decades, arguing that winning the fight against Russia would also help tame rising global food costs.... Mr. Zelensky ... argued that food prices would ease if it could break Russia's grip on its ports.... International measures targeting the Russian economy have 'practically broken' logistics in the country, its transport minister said on Saturday, a rare acknowledgment by the Kremlin minister of the impact of sanctions. The [U.S.] State Department said that a U.S. consular officer had visited Brittney Griner, the W.N.B.A. star being detained in Russia, and found her 'as well as could be expected under these exceedingly challenging circumstances.' The leaders of Sweden and Finland held separate phone calls on Saturday with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who has said he opposes the applications of the two Nordic countries to join NATO." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the New York Times' summary of Saturday's events. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the only way out of the war will be through diplomacy -- in addition to a Kyiv win on the battlefield. 'Russia doesn't want to return anything,' he said.... Zelensky said the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine is facing an 'extremely difficult' situation as Russian forces concentrate on the east after Kyiv gave up its defense of Mariupol and Moscow claimed total control of the port city. Two cities are under severe assault, Zelensky said: Slovyansk, near Kramatorsk, and Severodonetsk, the easternmost city still in Ukrainian hands. A delegation of U.S. diplomats is set to travel to The Hague on Sunday for talks with allies 'regarding our responses to atrocities committed in Ukraine' and in other conflicts, and on efforts to 'bring the perpetrators of atrocities to justice,' the State Department said in a news release.... Polish President Andrzej Duda is in Kyiv and will be the first foreign leader to address Ukraine's parliament in person." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Sunday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Elena Becatoros, et al., of the AP: "With Russia claiming to have taken prisoner nearly 2,500 Ukrainian fighters from the besieged Mariupol steel plant, concerns grew about their fate as a Moscow-backed separatist leader vowed they would face tribunals. Russia has declared its full control of the Azovstal steel plant, which for weeks was the last holdout in Mariupol and a symbol of Ukrainian tenacity in the strategic port city, now in ruins with more than 20,000 residents feared dead."

Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Russia is permanently banning nearly 1,000 Americans, including President Biden and Vice President Harris, from entering the country in response to the United States' support of Ukraine and the historic sanctions facing Moscow nearly three months into its invasion. On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry published the list of 963 Americans barred from entering Russia -- a largely symbolic move featuring a wide-ranging collection of Biden administration members, Republicans, tech executives, journalists, lawmakers who have died, regular U.S. citizens and even actor Morgan Freeman.... One prominent name missing from the list: ... Donald Trump. In fact, the only prominent Trump administration official included in the ban is former secretary of state Mike Pompeo.... Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is not on the list. Also not listed is Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who delayed a Senate vote on aid for Ukraine last week when he was the only senator to object." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"Putin's Altar Boy." Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "The leader of about 100 million faithful, [Patriarch Kirill I, the leader of the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church], 75, has staked the fortunes of his branch of Orthodox Christianity on a close and mutually beneficial alliance with Mr. Putin, offering him spiritual cover while his church -- and possibly he himself -- receives vast resources in return from the Kremlin, allowing him to extend his influence in the Orthodox world. To his critics, the arrangement has made Kirill far more than another apparatchik, oligarch or enabler of Mr. Putin, but an essential part of the nationalist ideology at the heart of the Kremlin's expansionist designs.... Kirill's role is so important that European officials have included him on a list of individuals they plan to target in an upcoming -- and still in flux -- round of sanctions against Russia, according to people who have seen the list." Read on. This is a rags (in the form of a monk's habit) to riches (possibly to the tune of billions of dollars).

Australia. Michael Miller & Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "Australia delivered a stinging defeat to the country's ruling conservative coalition on Saturday in what amounted to a personal rebuke of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's abrasive brand of leadership. The result paves the way for opposition leader Anthony Albanese to become the next prime minister. But it was unclear whether his center-left Labor Party would win an outright majority or be forced to negotiate with a handful of independent and Greens candidates elected on platforms of combating climate change." The AP's story is here. MB: Well, let's hope this bodes well for us. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Guardian profiles Anthony Albanese: "Anthony Albanese's election to Australia's top job will go down as one of the most remarkable in the nation's political history: both for the personal journey of the man who will move into the prime minister's residence and the circumstances in which he won the keys."

May 21, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Peter Baker & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "In his first meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol, [President] Biden sought to put the relationship with South Korea, traditionally one of the United States' strongest allies in Asia, on a firmer foundation after the volatile years of ... Donald J. Trump, who frequently undercut ties with the South while wooing the North's mercurial dictator, Kim Jong-un. 'The alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States has never been stronger, more vibrant or, I might add, more vital,' said Mr. Biden, using South Korea's formal name, at a news conference in Seoul with Mr. Yoon.... Unlike Mr. Trump, Mr. Biden hailed the continuing American troop presence in South Korea.... Mr. Biden said that cooperation between the United States and South Korea showed 'our readiness to take on all threats together.' He also said that his administration would collaborate to confront cyberattacks from North Korea. Mr. Biden's team is focused, through engaging with allies in the region, on returning to a North Korea strategy aimed at deterrence. It views the Trump administration's approach, in which Mr. Trump ignored the usual diplomatic process and directly embraced Mr. Kim, as an aberration in American foreign policy."

Marie: Hard to believe, but another Trumpist told a series of porkers about his aiding and abetting some folks "wearing red baseball caps" the day before the insurrection: ~~~

~~~ Eric Levai of the Daily Dot: The Daily Dot has obtained a radio interview from Jan. 6, 2021, from WBHF in Cartersville, Georgia, in which Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) says, 'about a dozen' people were present in his congressional office in Washington, D.C. the day before the Capitol riot. [Thursday], Loudermilk said in a statement that 'a constituent family' visited him the day before the Capitol riot. That is an updated version of a previous statement by Republicans on the Committee on House Administration -- which Loudermilk is a member of -- that originally stated 'there were no tours, no large groups, no one with MAGA hats on' given by him or other Republicans in advance of the Capitol riot. But in the interview -- given as the riot was winding down -- Loudermilk made it clear that he met with people who were planning to protest on Jan. 6, and that he discussed how they wanted to be in the crowd that day to protest the results of the 2020 election.... In a video statement released [Friday], Loudermilk claims that the family was wearing red baseball caps, which is why he's being singled out by the committee, but also admits the family brought guests with them, which he had not previously mentioned." Red baseball caps, Barry? Really?

Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Russia is permanently banning nearly 1,000 Americans, including President Biden and Vice President Harris, from entering the country in response to the United State' support of Ukraine and the historic sanctions facing Moscow nearly three months into its invasion. On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry published the list of 963 Americans barred from entering Russia -- a largely symbolic move featuring a wide-ranging collection of Biden administration members, Republicans, tech executives, journalists, lawmakers who have died, regular U.S. citizens and even actor Morgan Freeman.... One prominent name missing from the list: ... Donald Trump. In fact, the only prominent Trump administration official included in the ban is former secretary of state Mike Pompeo.... Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is not on the list. Also not listed is Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who delayed a Senate vote on aid for Ukraine last week when he was the only senator to object."

New York. Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "A state court formally approved New York's new congressional map late Friday, ratifying a slate of House districts drawn by a neutral expert that could pave the way for Democratic losses this fall and force some of the party's most prominent incumbents to face off in primary matches. The map, approved just before a midnight deadline set by Justice Patrick F. McAllister of State Supreme Court in Steuben County, effectively unwinds an attempted Democratic gerrymander, creates a raft of new swing seats across the state, and scrambles some carefully laid lines that have long determined centers of power in New York City. Jonathan R. Cervas, the court-appointed mapmaker, made relatively minor changes to a draft proposal released earlier this week whose sweeping changes briefly united both Republicans and Democrats in exasperation and turned Democrats against each other. In Manhattan, the final map would still merge the seats of Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, setting the two Democratic committee leaders, who have served alongside each other for 30 years, onto an increasingly inevitable collision course." Read on.

Australia. Michael Miller & Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "Australia delivered a stinging defeat to the country's ruling conservative coalition on Saturday in what amounted to a personal rebuke of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's abrasive brand of leadership. The result paves the way for opposition leader Anthony Albanese to become the next prime minister. But it was unclear whether his center-left Labor Party would win an outright majority or be forced to negotiate with a handful of independent and Greens candidates elected on platforms of combating climate change." The AP's story is here. MB: Well, let's hope this bodes well for us.

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Justin McCurry of the Guardian: President "Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, have said they are considering expanding joint military exercises in response to the 'threat' posed by North Korea.... Speaking in Seoul on the second day of his visit to South Korea, Biden said he was willing to meet North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, but only if he was 'sincere and serious' about dismantling his nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Yoon, a conservative who took office just 11 days ago, said he and Biden also discussed the timing of a possible deployment in the South of US 'strategic assets' -- a term that typically refers to bombers, submarines and aircraft carriers -- to deter North Korea. The two measures, if implemented, would mark an escalation in US and South Korean efforts to put on a show of force against Pyongyang, and an admission that nuclear talks started by Donald Trump are unlikely to be revived."

Miriam Jordan & David Goodman of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Friday blocked the Biden administration from lifting a pandemic-related health order whose scheduled expiration on Monday would have thrown open the doors of the United States to asylum seekers at the border for the first time in more than two years. The ruling means further delays for thousands of people waiting for a chance to seek refuge in the United States, but it averts a potential crisis on the border by giving the administration more time to roll out its plan to handle the large numbers that are expected. Department of Homeland Security officials have said they were preparing for as many as 18,000 migrants a day, compared with 8,000 currently, if the order were lifted.... The sweeping public health measure, known as Title 42, was put into place in March 2020 to control the transmission of the coronavirus across the border. Under its authority, thousands of migrants arriving at land borders have been swiftly expelled, without an opportunity for those fleeing danger and persecution to request humanitarian protection in the United States."

Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "... inflated fees [for Americans who received Social Security benefits in error] were set in motion during the Trump administration, when attorneys in charge of a little-known anti-fraud program run by the inspector general's office levied unprecedented fines against ... more than 100 ... beneficiaries without due process, according to interviews, documents and sworn testimony before an administrative law judge. In doing so, they disregarded regulations and deviated from how the program had recovered money since its inception in 1995, failing to take into account someone's financial state, their age, their intentions and level of remorse, among other factors.... Unlike in the past, the chief counsel also directed staff attorneys to charge those affected as much as twice the money they had received in error, on top of the fines, interviews and court testimony show.... Fines as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars were imposed on poor, disabled and elderly people, many of whom had no hope of ever being able to pay." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

     ~~~ Marie: Pictured with the story is a grinning Aryan lady, the Trump appointee who ran the program. Thanks to Ken W. for the link. See especially his commentary in yesterday's thread.

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Rudolph W. Giuliani ... sat on Friday for a lengthy interview with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to people familiar with the closed-door interview. Mr. Giuliani's interview, which was virtual, lasted for more than seven hours, the people said. The interview was transcribed, and he was under oath. He took a break in the middle of it to host his hourlong afternoon radio show.... His centrality to [Donald] Trump's various attempts to subvert the election made him a potentially pivotal witness for the panel, with knowledge of details about interactions with members of Congress and others involved in the plans.... Earlier this month, he abruptly pulled out of a scheduled interview with the committee after the panel refused to let him record the session. He later dropped that objection and agreed to testify after the panel threatened to use its 'enforcement options.'..." CNN's report is here.

Emma Brown of the Washington Post: "Virginia 'Ginni' Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, pressed Arizona lawmakers after the 2020 election to set aside Joe Biden's popular-vote victory and choose 'a clean slate of Electors,' according to emails obtained by The Washington Post. The emails, sent by Ginni Thomas to a pair of lawmakers on Nov. 9, 2020, argued that legislators needed to intervene because the vote had been marred by fraud.... She told the lawmakers the responsibility to choose electors was 'yours and yours alone' and said they have 'power to fight back against fraud.'... In sending the emails, Thomas played a role in the extraordinary scheme to keep Trump in office by substituting the will of legislatures for the will of voters.... Thomas's name also appears on an email to the two representatives on Dec. 13, the day before members of the electoral college met.... 'Before you choose your state's Electors ... consider what will happen to the nation we all love if you don't stand up and lead,' the email said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

      ~~~ The New York Times' story is here. A Guardian story is here.

Josh Gerstein & Kelly Hooper of Politico: "The manager of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid, Robby Mook, testified Friday that the campaign did not instruct or authorize a lawyer to go to the FBI with claims of a potential data link between then-candidate Donald Trump and a Russian bank owned by allies of ... Vladimir Putin. That lawyer -- former Perkins Coie partner Michael Sussmann -- is on trial in federal court in Washington on a felony false-statement charge brought by special counsel John Durham, who claims Sussmann lied to the FBI when he said he was not acting on behalf of any client in relaying indications and internet data stream between a Trump-related server and one for Moscow-based Alfa Bank. Called as a witness by Sussmann's defense, Mook told jurors that he would have vigorously opposed taking the allegations to the FBI because the campaign had no faith in the bureau after the FBI's then-director James Comey publicly blasted Clinton as he closed an investigation into her use of a private email account when she served as secretary of State. Asked if he would have favored handing the server information to the FBI, Mook said: 'Absolutely not.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Mook's testimony seems to put a huge dollop of reasonable doubt into Durham's Big Case. However, prosecutors claim that Sussmann also represented the DNC, so it's still possible DNC officials authorized him to go to the FBI. We should find out when the defense presents its case. The jury heard from Mook now instead of during the defense's rebuttal only because the judge allowed Mook to testify out of regular order.

Bigots' & Loonies' Convention Going Well. Flora Garamvolgyi and Julian Borger of the Guardian: "A notorious Hungarian racist who has called Jews 'stinking excrement', referred to Roma as 'animals' and used racial epithets to describe Black people, was a featured speaker at a major gathering of US Republicans in Budapest. Zsolt Bayer took the stage at the second day of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Hungary, a convention that also featured speeches from Donald Trump, Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and Trump's former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows. The last featured speaker of the conference was Jack Posobiec, a far-right US blogger who has used antisemitic symbols and promoted the fabricated 'Pizzagate' conspiracy theory smearing prominent Democrats as pedophiles.... [Hungary's] nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, [was] the star speaker on the first day of CPAC Hungary...." MB: This report does make it seem as if Trump is becoming part of the fringe. CPAC was the venue, after all, in which Mitt Romney announced in 2012 that he was "severely conservative." You wouldn't catch Mitch pandering to this crowd now. We'll see what happens.

Annie Karni & Ruth Graham of the New York Times: "An ultraconservative archbishop in San Francisco said on Friday that Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California would not be permitted to receive communion in his archdiocese because of her support for abortion rights. Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, who has repeatedly confronted Ms. Pelosi over abortion, said in a letter on Friday that until Ms. Pelosi was willing to 'publicly repudiate' her position defending the 'legitimacy of abortion,' she would be banned from the sacrament, a central element of Catholic worship." MB: Which raises the question: Why would the Church put "an ultraconservative archbishop" in San Francisco, of all places?

Michael Corkery of the New York Times: "A chaotic day on Wall Street extended the longest period of market turmoil since 2001, with stocks on Friday briefly descending into bear market territory, a symbolic marker of investors' deep pessimism about the health of the global economy and the buying power of the American consumer. The S&P 500 has fallen for seven consecutive weeks, its worst stretch since the dot-com bubble burst more than two decades ago. After a 3 percent drop this week, the index is down 14 percent since early April. Friday afternoon, the S&P 500 crossed the bear market threshold of a 20 percent decline from its peak on Jan. 3. But with less than 30 minutes left before trading ended, after hours of churn and a drop of as much as 2.3 percent, the market rallied and ended a hair above where it had started the day."

Reuters, via the Guardian: "Boeing's new Starliner crew capsule has docked for the first time with the International Space Station, completing a major objective in a crucial test flight into orbit without astronauts aboard. The rendezvous of the gumdrop-shaped CST-100 Starliner with the orbital research outpost ... occurred on Friday nearly 26 hours after the capsule was launched from Cape Canaveral US Space Force Base in Florida. Starliner lifted off on Thursday atop an Atlas V rocket furnished by the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA) and reached its intended preliminary orbit 31 minutes later despite the failure of two onboard thrusters."

** Sharon LaFraniere of the New York Times: "In a sign of growing concern among federal health officials about the spread of new coronavirus infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now saying that all people 50 or older should get a second booster shot if at least four months have passed since their first booster dose. Previously, the agency said those 50 and older had the option of the additional shot, but only encouraged people over 65 or with underlying medical conditions to get it. The new guidance, issued in a statement on the C.D.C.'s website on Thursday, also extends to anyone 12 and older with certain immune deficiencies. The C.D.C. said it was changing its advice because of a steady rise in infections over the past month, coupled with 'a steep and substantial increase in hospitalizations for older Americans.'"

Beyond the Beltway

Louisiana. Senator Cassidy: Don't Count Black Women. Sarah Owermohle of Politico: "Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said Louisiana's maternal mortality rate -- one of the worst in the nation -- does not tell the whole story of maternal health in the state because of its large Black population and the uncommonly broad definition Louisiana uses. 'About a third of our population is African American; African Americans have a higher incidence of maternal mortality. So, if you correct our population for race, we;re not as much of an outlier as it'd otherwise appear,' Sen. Bill Cassidy said in an interview with Politico. 'Now, I say that not to minimize the issue but to focus the issue as to where it would be. For whatever reason, people of color have a higher incidence of maternal mortality.' The United States has the worst maternal mortality rate among developed nations." Cassidy is a medical doctor. MB: Could you find some way, Bill, to be a little more dismissive of Black women? They die too much for whatever reason.

Michigan. Amanda Terkel & Igor Bobic of the Huffington Post: Jackie Eubanks, "Donald Trump's pick for a Michigan state Senate seat is promising to ban all birth control if she gets the chance. 'I guess we have to ask ourselves, would that ever come to a vote in the Michigan state legislature? And if it should, I would have to side with it should not be legal,' Republican Jacky Eubanks said in a recent interview.... I think it gives people the false sense of security that they can have consequence-free sex, and that's not true and that's not correct. Sex ought to be between one man and one woman in the confines of marriage.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ohio. Secessionist Challenges Kaptur. And He Could Win. Andrew Kaczynski & Em Steck of CNN: "Ohio Republican congressional candidate J.R. Majewski said in a livestream following the 2020 election that he thought every state won by ... Donald Trump should secede from the United States. Majewski, who works in the nuclear industry and is an Air Force veteran, is already under scrutiny over his past promotion of the false QAnon conspiracy theory and his attendance at the January 6, 2020 'Stop the Steal' rally which preceded the Capitol riot. Majewski emerged victorious in a crowded Republican primary earlier this month and will face off against long-serving Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the newly drawn congressional district this November. The race is considered to be competitive and is likely to be a toss up.... Before running for Congress, Majewski was best known as the Trump supporter who painted his front lawn into a 19,000-square-foot Trump 2020 sign." Worth clicking on to see what this jamoke looks like.

Pennsylvania. Greg Jaffe of the Washington Post: "Two decades before he was Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor, Doug Mastriano warned in a master's thesis that the United States was vulnerable to a left-wing 'Hitlerian Putsch' that would begin with the dismantling of the U.S. military and end with the destruction of the country's democracy. The thesis, written in 2001 when Mastriano was a major at the Air Force's Air Command and Staff College, is highly unusual for its doomsaying and often fearful point of view, and its prediction that only the U.S. military could save the country from the depredations of the country's morally debauched civilian leaders.... The document displays a disgust for anyone who doesn't hold his view that homosexuality is a form of 'aberrant sexual conduct' and presages the worldview that has led Mastriano to blame rampant fraud for Donald Trump's 2020 defeat and to join a crowd headed toward the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Zach Montellaro & Holly Otterbein of Politico: "A little-watched federal court case could upend the neck-and-neck Republican Senate primary in Pennsylvania between Dr. Mehmet Oz and David McCormick. On Friday afternoon, a three-judge panel for the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a judgment saying election officials should count several hundred mail ballots that were submitted without a date written on their mailing envelopes in a November 2021 county judgeship election, as long as they were otherwise received on time. It was not immediately clear how sweeping the reach of the circuit court's ruling will be because a formal opinion from the panel is still forthcoming. But it could have a serious impact on the Senate race. Oz and McCormick were separated by about 1,100 votes as of Friday afternoon, and the ruling could introduce into the pool an as-yet-unknown number of similarly-situated ballots that would not have initially been counted."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, etc.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Severodonetsk, the easternmost city under Ukraine's control, is set to be the war's next major battlefield, with local officials reporting intense Russian shelling in recent days. Some 100 miles to Severodonetsk's west, a cultural center in the Kharkiv region was struck by a missile. Seven people were injured in the attack, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned as 'absolutely evil.'... Russia on Friday claimed full control of the Azovstal steel plant in the Black Sea port city of Mariupol, and said more than 1,900 Ukrainian fighters from the facility have surrendered -- though that figure drastically exceeds other estimates.... Finland's gas transmission network operator said early Saturday that Russia had stopped shipping natural gas. The move is not expected to disrupt the Nordic state's energy network, as Finland is able to make up the shortfall from elsewhere.... Britain also said it is working with partners to provide modern military equipment to Moldova, which is not a NATO member." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Saturday are here: "With Russia's campaign in Ukraine increasingly focused on the south and east, it is making 'incremental progress' in the Donbas region, according to the Pentagon spokesman.... President Biden on Saturday signed a new $40 billion package of military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, the latest step to help the nation combat Russia.... The Group of 7 economic powers agreed to provide nearly $20 billion to support Ukraine's economy over the coming months to help keep the country's government running." The Times' summary of events Friday is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Saturday are here. The Guardian's daily summary report is here.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. Christopher Clarey of the New York Times: "The men's and women's tennis tours responded to Wimbledon's ban on Russian and Belarusian players on Friday by stripping the event of ranking points this year, the most significant rebuke to date of efforts by global sports organizations to ostracize individual Russian athletes as punishment for their country;s invasion of Ukraine. It is a move without precedent in tennis, and without the points, Wimbledon, the oldest of the four Grand Slam tournaments, will technically be an exhibition event, bringing no ranking boost to those who excel on its pristine lawns this year.... Though Wimbledon, for now, is the only one of the four major tournaments to ban Russians and Belarusians, the power play by the tours could lead to countermeasures, including the possibility of Grand Slam events considering an alternative ranking system or aligning to make more decisions independently of the tours."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Robert J. Vlasic, who by combining a keen sense for business with an even keener sense of humor turned his family business into the nation's largest purveyor of pickles, gherkins, sauerkraut and a host of other briny condiments, died on May 8 at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. He was 96." ~~~

New York Times: "Roger Angell, the elegant and thoughtful baseball writer who was widely considered among the best America has produced, died on Friday at his home in Manhattan. He was 101.... For Mr. Angell, The New Yorker was, to some degree, the family shop. His mother, Katharine Sergeant Angell White, was among the magazine's first editors hired by Harold Ross in 1925. His stepfather, the essayist E.B. White, was a frequent contributor. Mr. Angell published his first piece in the magazine, a short story, in 1944 and went to work there in 1956."

New York Times: "Vangelis, the Greek film composer and synthesizer virtuoso whose soaring music for 'Chariots of Fire,' the 1981 movie about two British runners in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, won the Academy Award for best original score, died on Tuesday in Paris. He was 79." ~~~