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Today’s edition of quick hits:
* In Ukraine: “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to humiliate the United Nations by raining missiles on Kyiv during a visit to the city by the U.N. chief, a deadly attack that shattered weeks of relative calm in the capital. Ukraine’s forces, meanwhile, fought to hold off Russian attempts to advance in the south and east, Zelenskyy reported.”
* Signs of division in Russia: “Even as opinion polls report overwhelming public support for the military campaign, amid pervasive state propaganda and new laws outlawing criticism of the war, cracks are starting to show. The dividing lines among factions of the Russian economic elite are becoming more marked, and some of the tycoons — especially those who made their fortunes before President Vladimir Putin came to power — have begun, tentatively, to speak.”
* An American fatality: “An American fighting with Ukrainian forces has been killed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a New York official. Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, died in Ukraine, a county executive confirmed in a statement to NBC News.”
* An important guilty plea from Brian Ulrich: “A member of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group has pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy and obstruction in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and agreed to cooperate with the government.”
* Mark your calendars: “ The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol will hold a series of hearings on the probe in June, Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said. There will be as many as eight hearings, the first on June 9, with some scheduled for prime time and others during the day, he said.”
* An important report that’s worth your time: “Cattle ranching, responsible for the great majority of deforestation in the Amazon, is pushing the forest to the edge of what scientists warn could be a vast and irreversible dieback that claims much of the biome. Despite agreement that change is necessary to avert disaster, despite attempts at reform, despite the resources of Brazil’s federal government and powerful beef companies, the destruction continues.”
* She’s right: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday sharply criticized House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for his ‘inconsistencies’ on lawmakers’ safety after the release of an audio recording in which he voiced concern that fellow House Republicans might incite further violence in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.”
* A case we’ve been following: “A New York judge has denied a request from former President Trump’s lawyers to reverse a $10,000-per-day contempt fine against Trump.”
* Keep expectations low: “A bipartisan group of senators has resumed efforts to revise the U.S. immigration system, following years of failed attempts to pass legislation on the politically divisive topic.”
* A Republican’s conviction in Idaho: “A former Idaho lawmaker was convicted Friday of raping a 19-year-old legislative intern after a dramatic trial in which the young woman fled the witness stand during testimony.... The intern told a Statehouse supervisor that Aaron von Ehlinger raped her at his apartment after the two had dinner at a Boise restaurant in March 2021. He said the sex was consensual. At the time, von Ehlinger was a state representative from Lewiston, but he later resigned.”
Have a safe weekend.