PANDEMIC A GOOD MILESTONE — "New Covid-19 cases plummet to lowest levels since last June," AP: "As the seven-day average for new cases dropped below 30,000 per day this week, ROCHELLE WALENSKY, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pointed out cases have not been this low since June 18, 2020. The average number of deaths over the last seven days also dropped to 552 — a rate not seen since July last year. It's a dramatic drop since the pandemic hit a devastating crescendo in January." FOR YOUR RADAR — "C.D.C. Is Investigating a Heart Problem in a Few Young Vaccine Recipients," NYT: "The [C.D.C.] is looking into reports that a very small number of teenagers and young adults vaccinated against the coronavirus may have experienced heart problems, according to the agency's vaccine safety group. "The group's statement was sparse in details, saying only that there were 'relatively few' cases and that they may be entirely unrelated to vaccination. The condition, called myocarditis, is an inflammation of the heart muscle, and can occur following certain infections. The C.D.C.'s review of the reports is in the early stages, and the agency has yet to determine whether there is any evidence that the vaccines caused the heart condition." FAILING THE TEST — "Vaccines' success could undercut Biden's multibillion-dollar school testing plans," by David Lim: "The Biden administration has struggled to launch a $650 million program it announced in February to set up regional Covid-19 testing hubs for schools and facilities like homeless shelters. Federal officials had hoped to have the first hub open and coordinating 150,000 tests per week by late April, but have not yet awarded any contracts. "And while the White House announced in March that it would spend $10 billion in stimulus money to support testing programs in schools across the country, planning has been left largely to states, cities and local school districts. … Now, with vaccination slowing the virus's spread, some schools are reopening without the kind of widespread Covid-19 screening that Biden once envisioned as crucial. AMERICA AND THE WORLD IRAN SO FAR AWAY — "Iran says inspectors may no longer get nuclear sites images," AP: "Iran's parliament speaker said Sunday that international inspectors may no longer access surveillance images of the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites, escalating tensions amid diplomatic efforts in Vienna to save Tehran's atomic accord with world powers. … "'Regarding this, and based on the expiration of the three-month deadline, definitely the International Atomic Energy Agency will not have the right to access images from May 22,' [parliament speaker MOHAMMAD BAGHER] QALIBAF said. … Hours later, however, a website called Nournews that's believed to be close to Iran's Supreme National Security Council quoted an anonymous official suggesting Tehran's deal with the IAEA could be extended 'another month.'" PANIC ON DOWNING STREET — "British PM's former top adviser says early COVID-19 plan was a 'disaster,'" Reuters: "Britain's early plan to combat COVID-19 was a 'disaster' and 'awful decisions' led to the government imposing lockdowns that could have been avoided, Prime Minister BORIS JOHNSON'S former top adviser said. "DOMINIC CUMMINGS, who left Johnson's staff late last year, made his comments in a series of tweets just days before he is due to give evidence to members of parliament about the government's handling of the pandemic. Before his sudden departure, Cummings had been Johnson's most influential adviser on Brexit and played an important role in his successful 2019 election campaign." Cummings' epic (and ongoing) Twitter thread A U.S.-CHINA COLD WAR IN AFRICA — "U.S.-China Tech Fight Opens New Front in Ethiopia," WSJ: "A U.S.-backed consortium beat out one financed by China in a closely watched telecommunications auction in Ethiopia — handing Washington a victory in its push to challenge Beijing's economic influence around the world. The East African country said Saturday it tapped a group of telecommunications companies led by the U.K.'s Vodafone Group PLC to build a nationwide, 5G-capable wireless network. The group had won financial backing for the multibillion-dollar project from a newly created U.S. foreign-aid agency." MEGATREND — "Long Slide Looms for World Population, With Sweeping Ramifications," NYT: "A planet with fewer people could ease pressure on resources, slow the destructive impact of climate change and reduce household burdens for women. But the census announcements this month from China and the U.S., which showed the slowest rates of population growth in decades for both countries, also point to hard-to-fathom adjustments. "The strain of longer lives and low fertility , leading to fewer workers and more retirees, threatens to upend how societies are organized — around the notion that a surplus of young people will drive economies and help pay for the old. It may also require a reconceptualization of family and nation. Imagine entire regions where everyone is 70 or older. Imagine governments laying out huge bonuses for immigrants and mothers with lots of children. Imagine a gig economy filled with grandparents and Super Bowl ads promoting procreation." EYES ON THE SKIES — "U.S. to Downgrade Mexico's Air-Safety Rating," WSJ: "U.S. officials are planning to downgrade Mexico's aviation-safety rating in coming days, people familiar with the matter said, complicating a rebound in what has become the world's largest air-travel market between two nations. "The Federal Aviation Administration has determined that Mexico's oversight of aviation safety falls short of the top tier of international standards, the people said. Mexico currently has a Category 1 air-safety rating and would be dropped to Category 2, some of the people added. The downgrade would restrict Mexican carriers from increasing service between U.S. cities and limit marketing agreements with U.S. airlines." DOWN UNDER — "U.S. Activists Try to Halt an Australian Way of Life: Killing Kangaroos," NYT: "[T]he campaign is being revived through a collaboration between international activist groups, a California member of the U.S. House of Representatives and an Australian politician who is the lone elected representative of the Animal Justice Party. "Their goal is to persuade companies, consumers and lawmakers to boycott or ban anything that comes from what is often described as the largest commercial animal kill in the world. They argue that especially after the fires that tore through Australia last year, possibly killing several million kangaroos, the commercial industry must be shut down." A DEVELOPING CRISIS IN SAMOA — "A Late-Night Proclamation Blocks a Woman From Leading Samoa," NYT: "The Pacific island nation of Samoa hurtled toward a constitutional crisis on Saturday, when the country's head of state announced that he was suspending Parliament just two days before it was scheduled to swear in the country's first new prime minister in more than two decades." BEYOND THE BELTWAY A GLIMPSE AT THE 2022 GOP PLAYBOOK — "Pa. Republicans are taking aim at Tom Wolf, not Biden, as they look to win the 2022 governor's race," Philly Inquirer: "When Pennsylvania Republicans celebrated the passage of two ballot questions this week reining in the emergency powers held by the governor's office, they saw more than just a rebuke to Democratic Gov. TOM WOLF . They saw a path to winning the office themselves next year. … Republicans hoping to replace Wolf are making the lame-duck governor and his handling of the coronavirus a central issue in the very early days of the 2022 contest. … "With President Joe Biden enjoying strong public approval ratings early in his tenure and Wolf's slipping as his eight years in office near a close, Republicans are making the governor an even more prominent target — and largely ignoring Democrats' big-spending ambitions in Washington." VOTING RIGHTS LATEST IN TEXAS — "Polling places for urban voters of color would be cut under Texas Senate's version of voting bill," Texas Tribune: "The number of Election Day polling places in largely Democratic parts of major Texas counties would fall dramatically under a Republican proposal to change how Texas polling sites are distributed, a Texas Tribune analysis shows. Voting options would be curtailed most in areas with higher shares of voters of color. "Relocating polling sites is part of the GOP's priority voting bill — Senate Bill 7 — as it was passed in the Texas Senate. It would create a new formula for setting polling places in the handful of mostly Democratic counties with a population of 1 million or more. … Under that provision, counties would be required to distribute polling places based on the share of registered voters in each state House district within the county. The formula would apply only to the state's five largest counties — Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar and Travis — and possibly Collin County once new census figures are released later this year." HOW ARPA COULD CHANGE TRIBAL LIFE — "'Marshall Plan for Indian Country': Wave of federal money flows to reservations," Billings Gazette: "This summer, Indian Country will receive the largest infusion of federal money in the history of the United States." DEEP DIVE — "Andrew Brown Jr. Shooting: Videos Cast Doubt on Police Use of Force," NYT: "A New York Times review of bodycam footage showing the fatal police shooting of ANDREW BROWN JR. in April raises questions about whether officers were in imminent danger when they used lethal force as he drove away to avoid arrest. The officers have not been charged in the shooting. "R. ANDREW WOMBLE, the district attorney for North Carolina's First Judicial District, determined that they were justified in their actions because Mr. Brown was using his car as a 'deadly weapon.' … A review of slowed-down bodycam footage by The Times shows that 13 of the 14 gunshots — including the fatal one — were fired as Mr. Brown was driving away from officers, not at them." A FENTANYL CRISIS IN CALIFORNIA — "San Francisco on course for record-breaking number of drug overdoses in 2021," SF Chronicle: "San Francisco suffered an epidemic in 2020 that was more deadly than COVID-19. Drug overdoses resulted in more than 700 deaths last year, while the communicable disease declared a global pandemic killed fewer than 300 — and 2021 looks to be even worse. "This year's preliminary tally of 252 accidental overdose deaths from January to April … suggests San Francisco is on track to surpass 2020 in overdose deaths, which was a record-breaking year itself — 181 people fatally overdosed over the same time period in 2021. … The chief medical examiner's data shows that overdose fatalities in San Francisco began to skyrocket in 2019, when fentanyl entered the city's drug supply." MEDIAWATCH SANTORUM OUT AT CNN — "CNN Drops Rick Santorum After Racist Comments About Native Americans," HuffPost: "[RICK] SANTORUM , a former Republican senator and two-time failed GOP presidential candidate, sparked outrage last month after claiming there was 'nothing' in America before white colonizers arrived and that Native people haven't contributed much to American culture, anyway. … "On Saturday, a CNN senior executive told HuffPost that the network quietly ended its contract with Santorum this week. This executive, who requested anonymity to speak openly, said the decision to cut ties with Santorum came after he went on one of the network's shows, 'Cuomo Prime Time,' to explain himself shortly after he made his racist comments. He blew it, said this executive, and after that, nobody at the network wanted to keep him around." TRUMP CARDS PENCE RESETTLING IN INDIANA — "Mike and Karen Pence move back to Indiana," USA Today: "The Pences, who had been renting a house in suburban Virginia after leaving office in January, purchased a home north of Indianapolis, a spokeswoman told USA TODAY. They are moving in this weekend, providing the native Hoosier a chance to launch a potential bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination from his home state."
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