The Full Belmonte, 6/4/2022
Law enforcement outside Robb Elementary School after last week’s shooting.Christopher Lee for The New York Times
“The police commander at the scene of the Uvalde shooting decided quickly on an approach that delayed confronting the gunman.” Read more at New York Times
“The U.S. added 390,000 jobs last month even as the government tried to cool the economy.” Read more at New York Times
The 61-year-old Mehmet Oz leaned on Trump’s endorsement as proof of his conservative bona fides. Photograph: Hannah Beier/Reuters
“David McCormick conceded the Republican Senate primary in Pennsylvania to Dr. Mehmet Oz. The Democratic candidate, John Fetterman, disclosed a heart condition.” Read more at New York Times
Pence and Trump in November 2020. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
“The Secret Service was alerted to a security threat against then-Vice President Pence the day before the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
The warning came from Pence's then-Chief of Staff Mark Short, who told Tim Giebels, his top Secret Service agent, that former President Trump may turn against Pence ‘and there could be a security risk to Mr. Pence,’ The New York Times' Maggie Haberman scoops.
Between the lines: The warning was the only time that Short flagged a security concern during his time as Pence's top aide, The Times notes.
A source with direct knowledge confirmed to Axios that the report is accurate.
Short didn't have knowledge of the specifics of the security threat and it's not clear what steps, if any, Giebels took to respond to the warning.
Haberman writes that Short's warning was uncovered during the reporting for her forthcoming book, ‘Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America,’ out Oct. 4.
What's next: Jan. 6 is coming to prime time with a House hearing next Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.” Read more at Axios
“The former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was arrested over ignoring a subpoena from Jan. 6 attack investigators. Two other Trump aides won’t face charges.” Read more at New York Times
Mark Meadows (left) and Dan Scavino outside the White House in September 2020. The Department of Justice says it will not pursue criminal contempt of Congress charges against the two former Trump administration officials. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP
“The US Department of Justice will not pursue charges of criminal contempt of Congress against top former Trump White House officials Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino for refusing to comply with subpoenas in the congressional investigation into the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
The decision – communicated to the counsel for the House of Representatives on Friday morning – marks a major blow for the House select committee investigating January 6, which had sought prosecutions for the two Trump aides in criminal referrals.
But in a letter sent around the same time that the justice department charged former Trump White House official Peter Navarro with contempt for defying his subpoena, the US attorney for the District of Columbia said he would take no action against Meadows and Scavino.” Read more at The Guardian
Rep. Chris Jacobs (R., N.Y.) said he supported a federal assault-weapons ban after 10 people were shot and killed at a Buffalo supermarket. PHOTO: BILL CLARK/ZUMA PRESS
“U.S. Rep. Chris Jacobs (R., N.Y.) said Friday that he wouldn’t seek another term in Congress, saying backlash over his support for gun-control proposals proved too divisive ahead of an expected primary.
Mr. Jacobs, who was first elected in 2020, said he had lost support from state GOP officials and committees over the past week.
The 55-year-old lawmaker represents areas around Buffalo, N.Y., where 10 people were killed last month in a mass shooting at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
Two weeks after the attack, Mr. Jacobs said he backed a federal assault-weapons ban, a proposal that isn’t under consideration in bipartisan congressional talks over new gun laws. Payton Gendron, 18, is accused of carrying out the Buffalo attack with an AR-15 style rifle that he bought legally, law-enforcement officials have said. Mr. Gendron has pleaded not guilty to charges of domestic terrorism and 13 counts of second-degree murder and attempted murder as a hate crime.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The 2022 Special Olympics USA Games begin Sunday in Orlando, Florida, and competitors will no longer need a COVID-19 vaccine to participate. The change was announced Thursday after the Florida health department notified the Special Olympics that it would be fined $27.5 million for 5,500 violations of state law for requiring proof of coronavirus vaccination for attendees or participants if it kept the mandate in place. Delegates who were registered for the games but not able to compete because of the prior vaccine requirement, are now allowed to attend. ‘In Florida, we want all of them to be able to compete,’ Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference in Orlando on Friday. ‘We do not think it's fair or just to be marginalizing some of these athletes based on a decision that has no bearing on their ability to compete with honor or integrity.’ The Special Olympics USA games will run for one week, until June 12.” Read more at USA Today
“AMLO Train Barrels On Despite Safety, Environmental Concerns
The Maya Train is projected to run for 1,554 kilometers and connect five states in the Yucatán Peninsula, arguably President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s most ambitious infrastructure project and one he’s vowed to have ready by the end of next year. But as Andrea Navarro lays out, the project is running up against construction challenges, cost overruns, environmental lawsuits, street protests, and supply-chain shortages.” Read more at BloombergConstruction for the train cuts through the rainforest near Playa del Carmen. Photographer: Lisette Poole for Bloomberg Businessweek
“Hungary Spurned EU Oil Offer to Stick With Putin’s Cheap Crude
When the European Union was cobbling together a ban on Russian oil, Hungary was offered replacement supplies that would have ensured energy security for Budapest and shown Moscow a unified front. Now, as Alberto Nardelli and Ewa Krukowska write, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s intransigence may have destroyed any remaining goodwill with the other 26 members of the EU.” Read more at Bloomberg“Australia’s History-Making Top Diplomat Faces Down Rising China
Penny Wong has already made history as both the first Asian-born and openly gay woman to become Australia’s top diplomat. Ben Westcottexplains how she is quickly confronting the nation’s most difficult geopolitical challenge in decades.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will have a record number of female ministers in his new cabinet, which is shaping up to become one of the most diverse governments in the country’s history.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Parents are arranging infant formula exchanges to help make up for the national shortage.” Read more at New York Times
Coco Gauff during her French Open semifinal.James Hill for The New York Times
“Iga Swiatek vs. Coco Gauff, French Open final: Swiatek stunned the tennis world here in 2020, arriving as a relatively unknown teenager and winning the entire tournament without dropping a set. Now, at age 21, she’s playing her best tennis yet: She is ranked No. 1 in the world and has won five straight tournaments. Gauff, an 18-year-old American in her first final, thrives on clay, the surface that the French Open is played on and one that has long bedeviled U.S. players. 9 a.m. Eastern today on NBC” Read more at New York Times