The Full Belmonte, 6/3/2022
“Biden called for lawmakers Thursday to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines as the nation reels from three mass shootings in the last three weeks. ‘After Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Charleston, after Orlando, after Las Vegas, after Parkland, nothing has been done,’ Biden said in a primetime speech that lasted 17 minutes from the East Room of the White House. Biden said that if Congress could not ban assault weapons, then they should raise the age to purchase those type of guns from 18 to 21. He also said that background checks should be strengthened and called for the passage of ‘Red Flag’ laws which allow courts to remove firearms from those deemed a danger to themselves or others.” Read more at USA Today
President Biden spoke last night with the backdrop of 56 candles, representing gun violence in all 50 states and six territories. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP
“White House officials privately doubt Congress will pass anything substantial to limit guns.
Why it matters: Biden aides aren't under any delusion that a presidential speech will change deeply entrenched and structural obstruction on Capitol Hill.
Biden — stymied after mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde and Tulsa — used the word ‘enough’ 11 times during a 17-minute address to the nation on gun violence last night:
‘How many more innocent American lives must be taken before we say 'enough'? Enough! ... Enough. Enough. ... Enough. ... Enough. ... Enough. Enough. Enough! ... My fellow Americans, enough! Enough. It’s time for each of us to do our part. It's time to act.’
The big picture: Since the Uvalde elementary school killings 10 days ago, Democrats have tried to give Senate Republicans the political space to do something on guns, Axios' Hans Nichols reports.
The goal has been to break the fever. Build some momentum. Help the country heal. ‘Enough’ is the watchword — expect to hear that as a rising rallying cry across the nation.
Between the lines: The president didn't slam the door on bipartisan talks, but he didn't make it any easier for Republicans to buck their base and meet Democrats halfway.
If GOP senators are looking for any excuse to bail on negotiations, the president gave it to them. He called for specifics, including an assault weapons ban, that are nonstarters: ‘We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.’
What we're watching: The question for Republican senators is how offended they decide to get about Biden’s political rhetoric.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a key player in the talks, tweeted for Biden to bring it on: ‘I stand ready to vote on ALL the proposals mentioned by President Biden tonight and encourage the Democratic Leader to bring them forward.’ Translation:He would vote no.
Then Graham softened his tone: ‘I also stand ready to work across the aisle to find common ground - something that was absent from President Biden’s address to the nation.’
The bottom line: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) has been telling folks he’s more hopeful and optimistic based on his conversations with Republicans. But the Biden team remains skeptical.” Read more at Axios
Nirmalendu Majumdar/The Des Moines Register via AP
“Two women were shot and killed outside a church in Iowa, and two people were shot at cemetery in Wisconsin. The two shootings came one day after a deadly shooting at a Tulsa medical office, and the country is still reeling from mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas.” Read more at NPR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the Kharkiv region on Sunday. Photo: Ukrainian Presidency via Getty Images
“Today is Day 100 of Russia's invasion of Ukraine — with no end to the bloodshed in sight. Neither side is poised for a decisive victory, Axios World author Dave Lawler reports.
Vladimir Putin failed to take Kyiv. Now he's now moving toward his stated goal of ‘liberating’ the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Experts say Ukraine is unlikely to force Russian forces out of the country entirely.
Neither side is inclined to lay down its arms, and the battlefield advantage could soon swing back toward Ukraine.
Data: Institute for the Study of War; Map: Jared Whalen/Axios
Russian forces have reportedly taken most of the key city of Severodonetsk in the past few days — surprisingly quick progress given Ukraine's previous success in urban warfare.
Russia is turning towns to rubble before taking them — and is inflicting heavy casualties on Ukraine's best-trained forces, which are concentrated in the Donbas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine is losing 60 to 100 soldiers per day. Russia now controls 20% of Ukraine's territory.
What we're hearing: Many military analysts believe Russia's ability to push forward will be exhausted relatively soon, potentially giving Ukraine — which will be able to pull in reserve forces and western weaponry — an opportunity to counterattack and reclaim territory as the summer drags on.
But it's also possible Putin will again expand his targets beyond the Donbas after his initial offensives on Kyiv and other cities collapsed. Russian forces seem to be adapting to those earlier failures.
The bottom line: Zelensky has shown no inclination to accept a deal that cedes more territory to Russia. Putin has been unwilling to talk to Zelensky at all.
It looks likely that a war that has lasted 100 days could drag on for hundreds more.” Read more at Axios
“Florida’s supreme court has declined to hear a request to rule on whether the state’s new congressional map was unconstitutional, a decision that means it will probably be more difficult for Black voters in north Florida to elect their preferred candidates to represent them.
The state’s congressional map, drawn by Governor Ron DeSantis, dismantles the state’s fifth congressional district, which stretches from Jacksonville to Tallahassee and is 46% Black.
The district is currently represented by Al Lawson, a Black Democrat, but the new map chops up the district into four new districts, each with a much smaller population of Black voters that would lean towards Republicans.
Last month, a circuit court judge said the map violated the state’s constitution because ‘it diminishes African Americans’ ability to elect candidates of their choice’ and ordered a new configuration of districts in northern Florida. An appeals court later paused that ruling and the supreme court, in a 4-1 decision, said it would not intervene in the case yet.” Read more at USA Today
“After nearly a year of partisan battles, number-crunching and lawsuits, the once-a-decade congressional redistricting cycle is ending in a draw.
That leaves Republicans positioned to win control of the House of Representatives even if they come up just short of winning a majority of the national vote. That frustrates Democrats, who hoped to shift the dynamic so their success with the popular vote would better be reflected by political power in Washington. Some Republicans, meanwhile, hoped to cement an even larger advantage this time.
But both parties ultimately fought each other to a standstill. The new congressional maps have a total of 226 House districts won by Democrat Joe Biden in the last presidential election and 209 won by Republican Donald Trump — only one more Biden district than in 2020. Likewise, the typical congressional district voted for Biden by about 2 percentage points, also almost identical to 2020.” Read more at AP News
“Parents eager to vaccinate their youngest children may be able to do so as early as June 21 , Dr. Ashish Jha, coordinator of the federal COVID-19 response, said Thursday. He told reporters the Biden administration is working closely with states, pharmacies and other health care providers to prepare for authorization from key regulatory agencies. Jha added that the Food and Drug Administration's outside adviser panel will meet on June 14-15 to evaluate the Pfizer and Moderna shots for younger kids. Shipments to doctors' offices and pediatric care facilities would begin soon after FDA authorization, with the first shots possible the following week. States can begin placing orders for pediatric vaccines Friday, and an initial supply of 10 million doses is available, Jha also said. Jha acknowledged the ‘frustration’ of parents of young children who have been waiting more than a year for the shots. But, ‘At the end of the day we all want to move fast, but we've got to get it right,’ he said.” Read more at USA Today
“Jan. 6 hearings | The US Congressional committee investigating last year’s insurrection at the Capitol will lay out its findings in hearings starting next Thursday. The panel said it will detail how former President Donald Trump and allies attempted to overturn the 2020 election results. At issue is whether Trump and his associates organized and incited the mob, which he and his former top advisers deny.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Former Attorney General Bill Barr met with the House Jan. 6 committee to answer questions about former President Donald Trump's claims of election fraud.” Read more at USA Today
“Michael Avenatti, the Trump antagonist, was sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding the porn star Stormy Daniels.” Read more at New York Times
“The Biden administration will move to make it easier for states and tribes to block gas pipelines.” Read more at New York Times
“The head of one of the largest for-profit universities in the country suddenly resigned months after taking the post.
George Burnett was appointed the president of the University of Phoenix in February, and at the time the university spoke highly of his ‘deep understanding of our purpose of helping working adults acquire a higher education.’
But new documents obtained exclusively by USA TODAY show that Burnett’s departure came after an inquiry by the Department of Education.
Specifically, the department had questioned Burnett’s time overseeing Westwood College, a for-profit college based in Westminster, Colorado with run-ins with federal and state regulators over deceptive advertising among other concerns. Some of those cases helped lead to the federal government canceling $130 million in student loan debt tied to the deception of Westwood College students.” Read more at USA Today
“ The 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee ended in a historic spell-off . The final two competitors, Vikram Raju and Harini Logan, failed to correctly spell two words in a row between Rounds 13 and 18. So the judges opted for a spell-off – 90 seconds to spell as many words as possible correctly. Logan, an eighth-grader from Texas, spelled 22 words correctly, beating Raju's 15 words. This year’s winning word was ‘moorhen,’ a medium-sized bird.
2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner Harini Logan with her familyUSA TODAY Sports photo and graphic
'‘This is such a dream,’ Logan, 14, said, who is competing in her fourth national competition. Logan took home the $50,000 cash prize and Scripps Cup trophy on top of awards from Merriam-Webster and Encyclopedia Britannica.” Read more at USA Today
Hannah McKay/Reuters
“Yesterday marked the beginning of four days celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's historic Platinum Jubilee. Queen Elizabeth greeted the crowd with family members on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, but it was her great-grandson that stole the show.” Read more at NPR
“OPEC+ agreed to open its oil taps faster in the summer months, a gesture of reconciliation to the US that nevertheless keeps Russia at the heart of the cartel. The White House welcomed the deal, which came after months of diplomatic pressure on Saudi Arabia to mitigate the surge in energy prices that’s battered the global economy since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Kuwait has summoned a top US diplomat in protest over tweets from the American embassy supporting LGBT rights, its foreign ministry says.
US officials there had posted a rainbow flag and message of solidarity from President Joe Biden for Pride month.
But Kuwait officials criticised the embassy for "supporting homosexuality" and demanded it didn't happen again.
Rights for LGBT people are severely restricted in Kuwait and it is illegal there for men to be gay.
In a pair of tweets published in English and Arabic on Thursday, the US Embassy in Kuwait quoted President Biden as saying all humans "should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love".
The post, published to mark the beginning of Pride Month, appeared with a picture of a rainbow flag symbolising LGBT rights.” Read more at BBC
“After not broadcasting its location for almost two weeks, a $150 million luxury superyacht linked to Leonid Mikhelson — a sanctioned billionaire and Russia’s second-richest person — reappeared, transmitting that it was headed to the Bahamas and Barcelona. But its final destination was actually Turkey, a favored destination for superyachts connected to Russian tycoons facing scrutiny as countries look to step up sanctions for Putin’s war.” Read more at Bloomberg
The superyacht Pacific at Cruise Port Harbour in Marmaris, Turkey, in 2020. Source: Anadolu Agency
“Researchers still don’t know why monkeypox resurfaced in Nigeria after four decades.
They’re looking back to earlier cases in Africa for clues to the recent spread of the virus, which is rarely detected outside of Central and Western Africa yet has sickened nearly 600 people in more than 25 countries, including the U.S. Most cases have no travel history to regions where the virus is endemic.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
China's newest aircraft carrier at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai on Tuesday.
PHOTO: CSIS/HIGH RESOLUTION/MAXAR 2022
“New satellite images reviewed by the Journal show China is poised to launch its newest, most advanced aircraft carrier yet.
After several years of work in the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, China’s third carrier, known as a Type 003, could be afloat in coming weeks or even days, giving a boost to Beijing’s efforts to project military power globally, analysts said.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Screenshot: CNN
“Expect to see fewer ‘Breaking News’ banners on CNN, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer reports.
The network is rectifying its overuse of the banners, CNN's new boss Chris Licht said in a memo sent to staff today.
Why it matters: ‘We are truth-tellers, focused on informing, not alarming our viewers,’ Licht said in the note obtained by Axios.
‘It has become such a fixture on every channel and network that its impact has become lost on the audience.’” Read more at Axios
“White House internships are about to become a little bit more accessible: For the first time in the history of the program, interns will be paid.” Read more at USA Today
“The Celtics stunned the Warriors with a huge fourth-quarter rally and won Game 1 in the NBA Finals.” Read more at USA Today
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, left, dribbles while defended by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the second half of Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco.Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports