Biden Speeds up military aid to Ukraine
When President Joe Biden signed a modern-day Lend-Lease Act on Monday, 81 years after the original version helped lead the way into World War II, he effectively thrust the United States even deeper into another war in Europe that has increasingly become an epic struggle with Russia. Recent days have underscored just how engaged the United States has become. In addition to the new lending program, which will waive time-consuming requirements to speed arms to Ukraine, Biden has proposed $33 billion more in military and humanitarian aid, a package congressional Democrats plan to increase by another $7 billion.
In speech, Putin shows reluctance in demanding too much of Russians
He made no claim of victory or “Mission accomplished” and no promise that the fight in Ukraine could end soon. But as Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in Moscow’s Red Square on Monday, he also made no call for new sacrifice or mobilization. Instead, Putin, speaking on Russia’s most important secular holiday, delivered a message for the broader Russian public: that they could keep on living their lives. The military would keep fighting to rid Ukraine, in his false telling, of “torturers, death squads and Nazis,” but Putin did not make any new attempt to prepare his people for a wider conflict.
Inmate and officer are caught after crash, officials say
A search for a corrections officer who disappeared last month with an inmate accused of murder in Alabama ended Monday with the two in custody after a police pursuit resulted in a crash in Indiana, authorities said. The officer, Vicky White, who was hospitalized Monday with a “self-inflicted” gunshot wound, had been on the run with the inmate, Casey White (not related), since April 29, when they left the Lauderdale County Jail in Florence, Alabama, for a courthouse appointment that was later revealed to be a fabrication. The vehicle crashed in Evansville, Indiana.
Strong winds fuel wildfires in New Mexico
Strong winds and high temperatures were expected to continue to fuel wildfires Monday in New Mexico, where several fires, including one of the largest in the state’s history, were encroaching on communities and prompting evacuations. On Monday, the National Weather Service in Albuquerque predicted “critical to extreme” fire conditions across New Mexico, including damaging winds, high temperatures and very low humidity. Little relief was in sight, despite a forecast calling for showers and thunderstorms in the eastern part of the state Tuesday. Those storms could bring with them lightning that could ignite new fires, the weather service said.
SKorea’s new leader offers support if N Korea denuclearizes
South Korea’s new president says he’ll present “an audacious plan” to improve North Korea’s economy if it denuclearizes. Yoon Suk Yeol made the offer during a speech at his inauguration ceremony in Seoul on Tuesday. Yoon says the door to dialogue will be open to resolve North Korean nuclear threats. He says his government will be ready to work with the international community to present “an audacious plan” that will significantly strengthen North Korea’s economy and improve its citizens’ livelihoods. But North Korea has previously rejected similar offers to provide incentives linked to progress in its denuclearization.
Former heads of state urge US to commit $5B to global COVID fight
A group of former heads of state and Nobel laureates are calling on the United States to immediately commit $5 billion to combat the global coronavirus pandemic, and activists are pressing President Joe Biden to take a more forceful leadership role in the response as he convenes world leaders for a COVID-19 summit Thursday. But Biden conceded Monday afternoon that “much-needed funding” for the COVID-19 response is not coming anytime soon. Biden has asked Congress to authorize $22.5 billion in emergency coronavirus aid, including $5 billion for the global pandemic, but the request has stalled on Capitol Hill.
By wire sources
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