| CEOs at GM and Ford push for voting rights in Michigan; Biden wants US troops out of Afghanistan by September 11. Tonight's Sentences was written by Greg Svirnovskiy. | | | | | | | CEOs continue push for voting rights | | | | | Bill Pugliano/Getty Images | | - The CEOs at General Motors and Ford, Marry Bara and Jim Farley, joined 36 other Michigan business leaders in calling for a renewed commitment to fair elections as the GOP-controlled state legislature is set to return to Lansing next week. [Bloomberg / David Welch]
- Acting with a stated desire to improve election security, Republicans in Michigan last month filed 39 bills to change state voting rules. [CBS News]
- Major corporations such as Quicken Loans and Blue Cross Blue Shield joined an open letter stipulating voting principles, including that the government must encourage participation in elections and avoid any measures that run counter to that. The corporations also announced their workers will be provided with renewed accommodations to vote. [Detroit Free Press / Paul Egan]
- "Our nation is strongest when we stand together," the corporations say in the open letter. "We call on our elected officials to adopt these principles as they proceed in the spirit of inclusion and equality." [M Live / Samuel Dodge]
- Nationwide, GOP lawmakers have proposed 361 bills across 47 states in response to the historic voter turnout of the 2020 election. Most aim to limit absentee voting, enforce stronger voter ID requirements, make voter registration more difficult and expand voter roll purges. In battleground states such as Georgia and Iowa, legislation has already been passed, based on the lie that the 2020 election was compromised. [Brennan Center]
- Corporations are standing up in open defiance of the threats of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Several weeks ago, he warned at a news conference that "corporations will invite serious consequences" if they try to influence politics. McConnell later walked back those claims, clarifying that he wasn't talking about campaign contributions. [Reuters / Richard Cowan]
| | | US to pull troops out of Afghanistan by September 11 | | - President Joe Biden is set to announce Wednesday that the United States will pull troops from Afghanistan by September 11. The move pushes back the May 1 deadline agreed to last year by the administration of President Donald Trump and the Taliban, and falls on the 20th anniversary of the 2001 attacks that brought the United States into the region under President George W. Bush. [Washington Post / Missy Ryan and Karen DeYoung]
- The Taliban had previously indicated that any American or NATO troops left in Afghanistan after the May 1 deadline would be subject to renewed attacks by their personnel. The US has warned that any Taliban attacks during the pullout phase would be met with "a forceful response," according to a senior administration official. [BBC]
- During the presidential campaign, Biden pledged to bring all US combat troops back from Afghanistan by the end of his first term, leaving wiggle room to keep some troops in the region to conduct counterterrorism. But the administration now plans to bring back almost all troops this year. [Vox / Alex Ward]
- That's a problem for some Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC), who called Biden's decision not to maintain counterterrorism forces "dumber than dirt and devilishly dangerous." He added, "I find it ironic that, given the sacrifices we've made to move Afghanistan forward ... that on the 20th anniversary of the attack we're paving the way for another attack." [The Hill / Jordan Williams]
- Though a small number of American troops will remain in Afghanistan for diplomatic security, some officials worry the power vacuum inherent from withdrawal will allow the Taliban to reconquer much of the country. Americans toppled the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan in a repressive manner from 1996 to 2001, shortly after entering the country at the turn of the century, but have been mired in geopolitical conflict ever since. [CNN / Kevin Liptak, Jeremy Herb, Barbara Starr and Kylie Atwood]
| | | | | | | Kim Potter, the Brooklyn Center police officer who shot Daunte Wright, and Police Chief Tim Gannon both resigned Tuesday morning, following another night of protests over Wright's death. | | | [NBC News / Doha Madani] - Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, has been trying to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the onset of Russia's troop buildup along the Eastern Ukraine border. His requests have so far been rebuffed. [Associated Press / Yuras Karmanau]
- The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are both recommending a pause in the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine "out of an abundance of caution" to investigate reports of potential blood clots. Six women ages 18-48 have developed seemingly extremely rare blood clotting issues in the aftermath of vaccine administration. White House coronavirus expert Jeff Zients said the pause will not affect America's capacity to soon vaccinate all adults. [CNBC / Berkeley Lovlace Jr.]
- Japan will start releasing one million tons of radioactive water held currently in Fukushima storage tanks in three years. The water will be released into the Pacific Ocean, angering China, whose representatives are calling the move "extremely irresponsible" and South Korea. [Reuters / Yuka Obayashi and Aaron Sheldrick].
- Months after publicly admonishing President Donald Trump for his role in stoking the Capital insurrection, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley now says she'll talk to Trump about his plans for 2024 and support him if he runs for office again. [Associated Press / Meg Kinnard]
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