“JBS, the world's largest meat processing company that fell victim to a weekend cyberattack, said it expects to resume production at all its plants Thursday and will be running at ‘close to full capacity’ across its global operations. In a statement late Wednesday, the FBI attributed the attack to REvil, a Russian-speaking gang that has made some of the largest ransomware demands on record in recent months. The attack was the second in a month on critical U.S. infrastructure. In May, hackers shut down operation of the Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S. fuel pipeline, for nearly a week.” Read more at USA Today
From left, Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett and Mansour Abbas signing a coalition agreement.United Arab List Raam, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
“A coalition of Israeli political parties have agreed to a deal to form a new government, paving the way for the exit of Israel's longest serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The coalition, which was fully organized just 38 minutes before a midnight deadline, marks a seismic event in recent Israeli political history. If the agreement holds, it would bring about the end of a long cycle of fruitless elections in the country, as well as the end of Netanyahu’s 12 years in office. The coalition agreement must now pass a vote of confidence in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, before a new government and prime minister are sworn in. However, Netanyahu could still disrupt the process or convince some parties to defect from the bloc, since the only thing really holding them all together is the desire to oust Netanyahu and get a formal government on the books.” Read more at CNN
“PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The NFL on Wednesday pledged to halt the use of ‘race-norming’ — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive function — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and review past scores for any potential race bias.
The practice made it harder for Black retirees to show a deficit and qualify for an award. The standards were created in the 1990s in hopes of offering more appropriate treatment to dementia patients, but critics faulted the way they were used to determine payouts in the NFL concussion case.
Wednesday’s announcement comes after a pair of Black players filed a civil rights lawsuit over the practice, medical experts raised concerns and a group of NFL families last month dropped 50,000 petitions at the federal courthouse in Philadelphia — where the lawsuit had been thrown out by the judge overseeing the settlement.” Read more at AP News
“President Biden and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) met in the Oval Office on Wednesday to discuss a possible compromise on infrastructure spending and decided to continue their discussion on Friday (The Hill). According to the White House, the two negotiators engaged in an hour-long, ‘constructive and frank conversation in the Oval Office about how we can drive economic growth and benefit America’s middle class through investing in our infrastructure.’
A Capito spokeswoman said in a statement that the senator is ‘encouraged that negotiations have continued’ and would brief other GOP senators on the discussion with Biden before engaging with him again on Friday.
‘Senator Capito reiterated to the president her desire to work together to reach an infrastructure agreement that can pass Congress in a bipartisan way. She also stressed the progress that the Senate has already made,’ the spokeswoman said.
Last week, the Capito-led group presented a $928 billion counteroffer to the White House, which would largely rely on unspent coronavirus response funds already appropriated by Congress, plus a proposed increase in the gas tax. Prior to that, the White House reduced its plan from $2.25 trillion to $1.7 trillion, but the current state of talks has left lawmakers and congressional aides skeptical that a $700 billion gap between the negotiators can be bridged.
Wednesday’s meeting was always going to be a ‘discussion’ rather than an exchange of new proposals, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said before Biden and Capito announced another meeting on Friday.
The Associated Press: Biden, GOP senator met again on infrastructure as time drags on.
The Washington Post: Time could be running out for an infrastructure deal.
On the GOP side, there had been signs of optimism early on Wednesday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters in Kentucky that he was ‘hoping for the best.’
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats were dealt a blow in their hopes of implementing the Biden agenda — including a potential infrastructure bill — with Democratic votes alone. Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough effectively ruled that only one more automatic budget reconciliation is permissible this year, meaning that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) will be able to use only one more reconciliation vehicle to pass key legislative priorities for the party this year.
As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton notes, the ruling means Schumer will not be able to divide up an infrastructure package and the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, as well as calls by the White House to expand Medicare and lower the price of prescription drugs, into multiple reconciliation packages as the Democratic leader had hoped.
The Wall Street Journal: The economic recovery is here. It’s unlike anything you’ve seen.
The New York Times: Stimulus checks substantially reduced hardship, study shows.” Read more at The Hill
“If you haven't gotten a COVID vaccine yet, the Biden administration is preparing a special red carpet.
Why it matters: President Biden's July 4 goal calls for 70% of American adults to be at least partially vaccinated, but daily vaccination rates are way down.
62.8% of U.S. adults are at least partially vaccinated.
Daily doses are at 1.23 million on average, down from 3.38 million on April 13, the N.Y. Times notes, citing CDC data.
Biden announced the National Month of Action plan today, reports Axios' Oriana Gonzalez.
Mayors in 50 cities will compete to see who can grow vaccination rates the most by July 4.
The administration will team up with Black-owned barbershops and beauty salons to increase vaccine education in the ‘Shots at the Shop’ initiative.
More than 7,000 television and radio stations across the country will air vaccine education segments in their programming.
Biden will also launch the COVID-19 College Challenge,providing over 200 colleges so far with resources to get people in their communities inoculated.
States are also leaning in: West Virginia's offerings include chances for the vaccinated to win rifles, shotguns, cash prizes, lifetime hunting and fishing licenses, and new pickups.” Read more at Axios
“The Justice Department revealed Wednesday that it had, during President Donald Trump’s administration, secretly obtained the phone records of four New York Times reporters, marking the third time in recent weeks that federal law enforcement has disclosed using the aggressive and controversial tactic to sift through journalists’ data.
The New York Times reported Wednesday night that the Justice Department had informed the newspaper it had seized the phone records of four of its reporters: Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau and Michael S. Schmidt. The Times reported that the department also disclosed it had secured a court order to take logs, but not contents, of the reporters’ emails but that ‘no records were obtained.’ The records dated from Jan. 14, 2017, to April 30 of that year.” Read more at Washington Post
“Former president Donald Trump remains relentlessly focused on the false claim that the November election was stolen from him and is increasingly consumed with the notion that ballot reviews pushed by his supporters around the country could prove that he won, according to people familiar with his comments.
Trump has rebuffed calls from some advisers to drop the matter, instead fixating on an ongoing Republican-commissioned audit in Arizona and plotting how to secure election reviews in other states, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Georgia, according to advisers. He is most animated by the efforts in Fulton County, Ga., and Maricopa County, Ariz., according to two advisers who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.
Trump’s interest has been fueled by conversations he has had with an array of figures who have publicly touted false claims of election fraud. Among them, according to advisers, is Christina Bobb, a host at the One America News network who has privately discussed the Arizona audit with the former president and his team; Mike Lindell, the chief executive of the company MyPillow; and Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R), who urged the state’s congressional delegation to reject Biden’s victory there last fall.” Read more at Washington Post
“Renewed conversations among QAnon believers and supporters of former President Donald Trump are stoking fears of another event similar to January’s Capitol riots. The social messaging platform Telegram has emerged as a particular source of concern among law enforcement officials, who say large groups of conspiracy theorists are entertaining false beliefs that Trump will somehow be reinstated as President in the coming months. Rhetoric from the Trump camp has reinforced these beliefs. Over the weekend, Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser, appeared to endorse the idea of a Myanmar-style military coup in the US. A DC Metropolitan Police officer who was attacked during January’s insurrection said comments like Flynn’s could directly lead to more violence.” Read more at CNN
“The United Nations Security Council is sounding the alarm over the threat posed by an emboldened Taliban in Afghanistan. With the last remaining US troops due to leave the country in the coming months, the UN Monitoring Team has concluded the Taliban remains close to al Qaeda, and could return to power in Afghanistan by force. As part of last year's agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban, the militant Islamist organization promised to instruct its members ‘not to cooperate with groups or individuals threatening the security of the United States and its allies’ in exchange for US troop withdrawal. That withdrawal is scheduled to be completed by September 11, but the UN Monitoring Team says there’s no real indication the Taliban has kept its word.” Read more at CNN
“On Thursday, lawmakers will introduce legislation to protect travelers from online and airline scams . The Protecting Consumers from Travel Fraud Act will be introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Steven Daines, R-Mont. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Americans lost more than $74.2 million from travel scams since the start of 2020. The legislation aims to deter online travel booking scams by requiring the FTC to update its website with information on how to identify and avoid them, as well as offer policy recommendations for their prevention.” Read more at USA Today
“Kentucky Derby officials suspended Medina Spirit’s trainer, Bob Baffert, for two years after a second sample confirmed the winning horse’s failed drug test.” Read more at New York Times
Mike Krzyzewski during the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images
“Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski will retire after this coming season, ending a wildly successful run that began more than 40 years ago and included more than 1,000 wins and five national championships. Krzyzewski, 74, is the winningest coach in college basketball history with 1,170 wins. Krzyzewski released a statement Wednesday night that said, in part, "My family and I view today as a celebration. Our time at both West Point and Duke has been beyond amazing and we are thankful and honored." The Hall of Fame coach will hold a news conference Thursday at 11:30 a.m. ET.” Read more at USA Today
“No more ‘From The Desk of Donald J. Trump’: The blog the former president launched just a month ago has already shut down.” Read more at USA Today
“Lives Lived: The Hollywood producer Jerome Hellman made only seven films, but he had a golden touch: His movies, which include ‘Midnight Cowboy,’ won six Academy Awards. He died at 92.” Read more at New York Times
“Kroger is offering people who get their COVID-19 vaccine shot the chance to win $1 million or free groceries for a year. Starting Thursday, the grocery giant is offering five weekly drawings, ultimately awarding five $1 million prizes and a free year's groceries to 50 other winners. ‘The Community Immunity Giveaway’ is being done in collaboration with the Biden administration.” Read more at USA Today
“Michelle Wie West's road back to the U.S. Women's Open was a long one with detours for marriage, motherhood and injuries. The 2014 champion is set to play her first Open in three years starting Thursday at the Olympic Club, just a short drive from her new home base in the Bay Area. In her last U.S. Open in 2018, Wie West tied for 10th place at Shoal Creek, and her lack of recent success makes her a long shot at this weekend's Open.” Read more at USA Today
“The defending champs are on the brink of elimination: The Phoenix Suns can close out their first-round series against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers if they can win Game 6 at Staples Center in LA. The Suns won Game 5 by 30 points.” Read more at USA Today
“At least a tenth of the world’s mature giant sequoias were destroyed by a single California wildfire last year, according to a draft report prepared by scientists with the National Park Service.” Read more at AP
“Mueller goes back to school: U.Va. will start offering a new course on the Mueller investigation, with Robert Mueller as one of the instructors.” Read more at Axios
“Microsoft is set to share details June 24 on the biggest update to its Windows operating system in years, reports Axios chief tech correspondent Ina Fried.
Why it matters: Both Chromebook and Apple's Macintosh have gained ground in recent years as Microsoft has made only modest updates to Windows 10.
Between the lines: The history of Windows is one of more modest changes and larger shifts.
This one would appear to be in the latter category, with changes expected not only to the way Windows looks and works, but also to the underlying business model.” Read more at Axios
“Carbon cost | The EU is planning to make importers of steel, cement and aluminum pay for the greenhouse-gas emissions embedded in those goods, a source says. The goal, Ewa Krukowska and Alberto Nardellireport, is to ensure EU firms are on a level playing field with competitors in more lax regimes as the bloc tries to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by mid-century.” Read more at Bloomberg
“To protect against hurricanes, Miami needs a 20-foot sea wall running through six miles of the city, the Army Corps of Engineers says.” Read more at New York Times
“When Sri Lanka’s zoos closed to visitors, animal births rose 25 percent.” Read more at New York Times
A herd of wild Asian elephants stands in E'shan county in southwestern China's Yunnan Province. A herd of 15 wild elephants that walked 500 kilometers (300 miles) from a nature reserve in China's mountain southwest were approaching the major city of Kunming on Wednesday as authorities rushed to try to keep them out of populated areas.HU CHAO/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“No one knows where they are going or why. Since March 2020, a family of wild elephants in southwest China has trekked more than 300 miles, traveling north through fields, highways, villages, and towns.
They have stolen crops, rolled around in villagers' courtyards looking for food, and broken into a car dealership where they drank buckets of water and left muddy footprints. The herd has been labeled ‘The Northbound Wild Elephant Eating and Walking Tour.’ In one incident, a young elephant reportedly raided a villager's stores of corn liquor and fell behind, according to the Eshan police.” Read more at Boston Globe