A room arranged for Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden to hold their extended meeting as part of the US-Russia summit.
“President Joe Biden is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva today for a much-anticipated summit that caps off Biden’s first trip abroad in office. The goal of the meeting is to, in the words of the White House, ‘restore predictability and stability to the U.S.-Russia relationship.’ Biden and Putin will discuss future arms control arrangements, the recent ransomware attacks that the US believes have been carried out by criminal groups in Russia, climate change, and the Kremlin-imposed restrictions on the US diplomatic presence in Russia. Biden and his administration are still fully formulating a strategy on how to approach the US’ tense relationship with Russia, and over the last few weeks, Biden has sought advice from Russia experts, political advisers, national security aides and even fellow world leaders on how to engage with Putin and reshape relations.” Read more at CNN
“A previously secret batch of emails was released by the House Oversight Committee yesterday, and the messages shed new light on how former President Donald Trump pressured the Justice Department during his quest to overturn the 2020 election results. The White House and the DOJ aren’t supposed to mesh when it comes to investigations and prosecutions, in order to keep politics out of the justice system. But these latest emails show Trump was unrelenting in crossing that invisible line, and that he and his lawyers saw the DOJ as a way to legitimize their false election claims. Also of note: Jeffrey Rosen, acting attorney general in the final days of Trump’s presidency, was prepared to resign rather than buy into Trump’s claims. Under the Biden Justice Department and Attorney General Merrick Garland, more and more documents concerning Trump’s controversies are being released to relevant committees.” Read more at CNN
People voted on a motion during the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting Tuesday in Nashville.MARK HUMPHREY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Southern Baptist Convention tamped down a push from the right at its largest meeting in decades on Tuesday, electing a new president who has worked to bridge racial divides in the church and defeating an effort to make an issue of critical race theory.
Ed Litton, a pastor from Alabama, won 52% of the vote in a runoff against Mike Stone, a Georgia pastor backed by a new group called the Conservative Baptist Network that has sought to move the already-conservative denomination further right.
Litton, who is white, was nominated by Fred Luter, the only Black pastor to serve as president of the United States’ largest Protest denomination. Luter praised Litton’s commitment to racial reconciliation and said he has dealt compassionately with the issue of sexual abuse within SBC churches, another hot-button subject at the gathering of more than 15,000 church representatives.” Read more at Boston Globe
“The U.S. was confirmed to have passed the milestone on Tuesday. It follows a slowdown in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths since the rollout of vaccines. After peaking at more than 3,300 deaths a day in mid-January, the seven-day average at the start of this week was 343. Since May 1, more than 23,000 people have died. More than 43% of U.S. residents are now fully vaccinated, but the pace has slowed more recently. ‘Crossing the 600,000 milestone is a sobering reminder that the virus is still spreading and that there are still too many people unvaccinated,’ said Ajay Sethi, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Globally, more than 3.8 million people have been killed by the virus. Epidemiologists estimate the toll is far higher because of missed Covid-19 deaths, among other factors.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Not where you'd expect: The National Institutes of Health found evidence that COVID-19 was in the U.S. way before it got on the public radar.
Our previous understanding had cases flowing from China and Europe to Seattle and New York City.
But the NIH study of blood samples found a handful of cases in Illinois, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin dating back to early January and perhaps December 2019, reports Axios' Eileen Drage O'Reilly.
Why it matters: This public transparency is important for the experts looking into when and where COVID-19 first emerged.
The CDC published its own data last year suggesting there were U.S. cases back in December 2019.
Earlier this year, the World Health Organization drew backlash for a report on COVID-19 origins, including for saying it was more likely imported into China than the result of a lab leak.
Part of that backlash was because investigators were stonewalled by the Chinese government.
The big picture: U.S. federal health officials are increasingly accepting a timeline in which small numbers of COVID-19 infections may have occurred in the U.S. before the world ever became aware of COVID-19 in China, AP reports.
‘There was probably very rare and sporadic cases here earlier than we were aware of. But it was not widespread and didn’t become widespread until late February,’ said CDC investigator Natalie Thornburg.
A major unknown: When and where the Chinese government first identified cases.” Read more at Axios
“California and New York lifted virtually all restrictions on gatherings.” Read more at New York Times
“The CDC has determined the Delta variant is now a ‘variant of concern,’ a designation given to strains of the virus that scientists believe are more transmissible or can cause more severe disease. Currently, the variant, which was first discovered in India, accounts for about 10% of infections in the US, but some experts are worried it could become the dominant strain. (Currently, the dominant strain in the US is a different variant, first discovered in the UK.) It’s just another reason vaccinations are important, doctors say. In fact, some pediatricians in the US say they’ve been vaccinating as many adults as children. It’s fairly common and convenient practice, one pediatrician said, to offer vaccines to all family members who come into a pediatrician’s office.” Read more at CNN
“Regeneron’s antibody drug cuts risk of death in some Covid-19 patients. Results from a large U.K. trial showed the company's drug significantly cut the risk of death among certain hospitalized patients, raising hopes that doctors could soon have a new way to tackle severe cases of the virus.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The communiqué from NATO's Brussels Summit recognized ‘the growing importance of space for the security and prosperity of our nations and for NATO’s deterrence and defense.’:
‘[A]ttacks to, from, or within space present a clear challenge to the security of the Alliance ... Such attacks could lead to the invocation of Article 5’ —NATO members' collective-defense agreement.
Why it matters: This was NATO member states' first formal agreement that space attacks could be as damaging as conventional attacks, The Times of London notes.” Read more at Axios
“The Israeli military struck targets in Gaza overnight, marking the first airstrikes there since a ceasefire went into effect nearly one month ago after a spate of historic violence. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the airstrikes were in response to incendiary balloons launched from Gaza earlier in the day. The IDF says the balloons were launched as a protest to a provocative far-right flag march in Jerusalem during which some extremists chanted ‘Death to Arabs’ and ‘This is our home.’ While there hasn’t been a retaliation for the airstrikes yet, the situation along the Israel-Gaza border remains extremely tense, and the possibility of an imminent and serious escalation still looms.” Read more at CNN
“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to block a possible Biden Supreme Court pick in election year 2024 if the GOP wins back the Senate next year. McConnell, who made the remarks on a conservative radio show yesterday, didn't even guarantee he would support a confirmation in 2023. McConnell was the one who blocked then-President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, eight months before the 2016 election. Yet, he supported the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s SCOTUS pick, just days before the 2020 election. This latest vow has set off alarm bells among Democrats, and the issue of a new SCOTUS justice could come in the foreseeable future. Some liberals are urging Justice Stephen Breyer to retire after the current court session.” Read more at CNN
“Missed opportunity | Japan’s government dropped a promised law on LGBT rights, failing on a ruling-party pledge just weeks before it hosts what’s meant to be a ‘diversity’ Olympics. Japan lags its G-7 peers on civil rights and LGBT protections, and delays may make the country, with its aging population, less attractive to the skilled foreign workers it needs.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Thousands of Hungarians gathered outside parliament in Budapest Sunday to protest against legislation that would ban discussions of homosexuality or gender change in schools. The legislation is part of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s long and controversial anti-LGBTQ agenda. In the past, Orban's government has redefined marriage in the constitution as the union between one man and one woman, and limited gay adoption. It also outlawed legal status for transgender people. Opposition parties and rights groups have urged parliament not to vote on the new law today. Orban’s policies have deeply divided the central European nation, which could see even more rancor as the country faces new elections in 2022.” Read more at CNN
“Members of the House Intelligence Committee will receive a classified briefing this morning on UFOs -- or, rather, UAPS (Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon). UFOs have been a very controversial topic circling Washington, as military leaders have argued for years over whether to take the sightings seriously. Even as sightings of unexplainable objects rose into the hundreds, Pentagon officials have wrestled with how much time and resources to devote to investigating them. So far, it’s been a hard road separating science fiction-level public fascination from real national security implications. In a few weeks, the US intelligence community is scheduled to deliver an unclassified report on the matter for Congress.” Read more at CNN
“Federal judge stops Biden administration from blocking new oil and gas leases. Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court in Monroe, La., said the administration doesn’t have the legal right to stop leasing federal territory for oil-and-gas production without approval from Congress.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
“President Biden named tech critic Lina Khan, 32, to chair the FTC, making it clear the administration is dead serious about antitrust enforcement, Axios' Ashley Gold and Margaret Harding McGill write.
The White House took the industry and D.C. insiders by surprise by naming Khan the chair just hours after the Senate confirmed her as one of five commissioners.
Why it matters: The FTC is the likeliest leading edge of any major regulatory moves against Big Tech.
Khan is a Columbia Law professor known for her argument that Amazon's retail business should be separated from its selling platform.” Read more at Axios
“The Senate voted by unanimous consent to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, with quick passage expected in the House, followed by President Biden's signature.
Juneteenth (this Saturday) marks the day when the last enslaved African Americans in Texas learned about their freedom, on June 19, 1865 — more than 2.5 years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and months after the Civil War ended, Axios' Ivana Saric writes.
The holiday will be known as Juneteenth National Independence Day.” Read more at Axios
“President Biden announced his first slate of political ambassadors Tuesday, selecting longtime Washington hands for key foreign postings.
Biden will nominate Thomas R. Nides, a former State Department official, to serve as the ambassador to Israel; Julie Smith, a former Biden national security adviser, as the ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; and Ken Salazar, the former secretary of the interior and senator from Colorado, as the ambassador to Mexico.
The Washington Post previously reported that the three were expected to be chosen for those spots.
Biden also will nominate C.B. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger III, who safely landed a plane on the Hudson River after a dual engine failure in 2009, as the ambassador to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization and Cynthia Ann Telles, a UCLA professor of psychiatry, to serve as ambassador to Costa Rica….
Many of the positions are finalized, but the nominees are still in the vetting and financial disclosure processes. The White House has also been slow to announce some of the political ambassador slots in part because of diversity concerns, the people said. Many of Biden’s longtime friends, allies and donors are White men, and the administration is working to ensure the political ambassadors reflect gender and racial diversity.” Read more at Washington Post
“Peru’s election. Pedro Castillo finally claimed victory in Peru’s presidential election on Tuesday, over a week after Peruvians casted their votes. Although electoral authorities have yet to officially announce the results, final ballot totals saw Castillo earn just over 44,000 votes more than his conservative challenger Keiko Fujimori—who has alleged fraud in the face of likely defeat. If the election is officially called in Castillo’s favor, this will be the third presidential race Fujimori has lost. As legal challenges to the vote accumulate, it could be days or possibly weeks before an official winner is announced.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Furniture giant IKEA has been forced to pay roughly $1.3 million in damages and fines after a French court found the company guilty of spying on employees from 2009-2012. The company and its managers were accused of enlisting the police and private investigators to illegally access confidential information on job applicants as well as any criminal history. The company’s head of risk is reported to have launched investigations into why one staffer could afford a new BMW, and why another had ‘suddenly become a protester.’ IKEA’s parent company Ingka group said it had ‘implemented a major action plan to prevent this from happening again.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
“The Department of Justice has asked the Supreme Court to reinstate the death penalty for the Boston Marathon bomber—even though President Biden is opposed to capital punishment. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a 27-year-old of Chechen descent who killed three people at the 2013 Boston Marathon using homemade pipe bombs, was initially sentenced to death. An appeals court overturned the death sentence last year because of potential jury bias, a decision that was challenged by the Trump-era DOJ. In a 48-page brief to the court, the DOJ argued that the appeals court had ‘improperly vacated the capital sentences recommended by the jury’ and asked the Supreme Court to ‘put this case back on track toward a just conclusion.’ Reporting on the case, Axios pointed out that Biden is the ‘first sitting president to oppose the death penalty and has said he wants to end its use.’” [Daily Beast] Read more at Axios
“Mackenzie Scott is giving away another $2.7 billion.
Scott, who was formerly married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, said the money would flow to 286 different organizations that she, her husband and advisers identified as historically underfunded nonprofits working in neglected areas. Those receiving money include community-based groups like the Asian Pacific Community Fund and the Memphis Music Initiative; education organizations such as El Paso Community College and California State University, Northridge; and organizations fighting discrimination, such as Black Led Movement Fund and Funders for LGBTQ Issues. In a statement posted to Medium, Scott, who has an estimated net worth of nearly $60 billion, said: ‘In this effort, we are governed by a humbling belief that it would be better if disproportionate wealth were not concentrated in a small number of hands, and that the solutions are best designed and implemented by others.’” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“In one of the all-time great performances in postseason history, two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant had 49 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists to propel the Brooklyn Nets to a 114-108 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.” Read more at USA Today
“‘Real estate prices around the world are flashing the kind of bubble warnings that haven’t been seen since the run up to the 2008 financial crisis,’ Bloomberg reports.
‘New Zealand, Canada and Sweden rank as the world’s frothiest housing markets ... The U.K. and the U.S. are also near the top of the risk rankings.’
What's happening: ‘Record low interest rates, unparalleled fiscal stimulus, lockdown savings ready to be used as deposits, limited housing stock, and expectations of a robust recovery in the global economy are all contributing.’” Read more at Axios
“Girl Scouts have 15 million boxes of unsold cookies after the pandemic curtailed the spring selling season, with many troops nixing cookie booths for safety reasons, AP's Dee-Ann Durbin reports.
Girl Scouts normally sell around 200 million boxes of cookies per year, or around $800 million worth.
Around 12 million boxes remain with the two bakers, Louisville-based Little Brownie Bakers and ABC Bakers in Brownsburg, Ind. Another 3 million boxes are in the hands of the Girl Scout councils, which are scrambling to sell or donate them. The cookies have a 12-month shelf life.” Read more at Axios
“The Danish soccer star Christian Eriksen, who almost died after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch at the Euro 2020 tournament on Saturday, has released a message from hospital to say: ‘I’m fine—under the circumstances.’ The midfielder had to be resuscitated on the pitch after collapsing during a match against Finland and is still recovering in a Copenhagen hospital. In a tweet posted by the Danish Football Association, Eriksen thanked fans for their support. ‘I still have to go through some examinations at the hospital, but I feel okay. Now I will cheer on the boys on the Denmark team in the next matches. Play for all of Denmark.’” Read more at Daily Beast
“Actress Lisa Banes, whose credits included Cocktail and Gone Girl, died in a New York City hospital 10 days after being hit by a scooter rider on the Upper West Side. The New York Daily Newssaid that Banes, 65, was mowed down as she crossed Amsterdam Avenue at West 64th St. on June 4. The rider of the scooter, who had run a red light, did not stop and has not been found. Banes’ wife, Kathryn Kronhold, who had urged fans to ‘pray for Lisa,’ said Banes had been on her way to dinner with friends when she was knocked down near Lincoln Center. Banes lived in Los Angeles but had been in New York to appear in a show at the Manhattan Theater Club.” Read more at New York Daily News
“MLB's crackdown on foreign substances begins in earnest next week, as the league responds to record strikeouts and a historically low league-wide batting average, Jeff Tracy and Kendall Baker write in Axios Sports.
Starting Monday, players will receive a 10-game suspension with pay if they're caught doctoring baseballs, the commissioner's office announced.
How it works: Umpires will check every starting pitcher multiple times each game, and relievers at least once. Catchers and position players will also be searched.
Pitchers are responsible for their teammates' wrongdoing, so if the catcher is found to have doctored a pitched ball, both he and the pitcher will be suspended.” Read more at Axios
“Lives Lived: Jack B. Weinstein was a federal judge known for both his bold jurisprudence and his outsize personality. On the bench for 53 years, Weinstein has died at 99.” Read more at New York Times
“Many business owners argue that COVID-era enhanced unemployment benefits of $300 a week are keeping would-be workers at home. But a longer-lasting worker awakening is afoot, Axios' Hope King writes.
4 in 10 workers say they're considering leaving their jobs, according to a Microsoft study. Pew found that 66% of unemployed Americans have seriously considered changing their occupation.
The big picture: Workers are burned out not just by their jobs but by the cultural drama around them — fallout from the Trump presidency, continued police shootings, and the consequences of Jan. 6.
Melissa Swift, global leader of workforce transformation at consulting firm Korn Ferry, tells Axios that other factors are adding significant emotional labor to jobs.
These include the difficulty of working with a skeleton crew, juggling parenting responsibilities, or being the only person of color in a workplace.
‘We basically burned out the global workforce over the last year,’ Swift said. ‘One of the ways people deal with burnout is switching employers.’
Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a report this month that supplemental government benefits ‘are likely no more of a factor than other impediments to workplace re-entry.’
Fed research says child care, transportation and health care, in addition to unemployment benefits, are holding back workers.
What to watch: Supplemental benefits are set to end in 24 states in June and July, ending what those states view as perverse incentives.
In remaining states, extra benefits roll off in September, coinciding with school reopenings, which will help child care issues.” Read more at Axios