THE WAR ROOM:  Many Democratic members of Congress are angry with President Biden’s decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine for use against their Russian occupiers. 

  Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, of Pennsylvania, an Air Force veteran serving on the Congressional caucus on unexploded ordinance and demining, issued a statement saying, “I challenge the notion that we should employ the same tactics Russia is using, blurring the lines of moral high ground.”

  Cluster munitions disperse smaller bomblets that can kill and destroy in a wide area. But they often leave behind unexploded bomblets that can kill and maim civilians days, months, or even years later.

  The US is sending the cluster shells in part because Ukraine is running out of standard, shells, but also because the cluster shells have the potential to kill more Russians. President Biden said, “It was a very difficult decision on my part — and by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill.” 

  Republicans take a tougher line. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said in a statement, “Providing this new capability is the right decision — even if it took too long — and is one I’ve long supported.”

  Today, on the 500^th day of the war, at least eight civilians were killed, and 15 others injured when Russian forces shelled a residential area of the city of Lyman. 

TWEET THAT: The tech company Meta, which we all used to know as Facebook, has collected more than 70 million signups for the social media app Threads, its new rival to Twitter, in less than 48 hours. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg may be looking to kill Twitter, which has become vulnerable since it was taken over by Tesla car billionaire Elon Musk. The problem is not competition, it’s that these tech kingpins don’t want to compete, they want to dominate and erase competition, in this case, leading to more power and dominance for Meta and its CEO Zuckerberg.

Crime and Remembrance: The University of Idaho wats to demolish the house where four of its students were murdered last year before the start of classes in August, setting off a debate about preserving or demolishing the scene of the crime even before the accused murderer goes on trial.

  Some family members of the four victims say the house could be vital to the jury’s understanding of the crime. Steve Goncalves, the father of victim Kaylee Goncalves, told The NY Times, “What’s best for the case is for us to take caution and protect what the jury may possibly want to wrap their heads around.”

  The parents of Ethan Chapin, who was one of triplets, said their two surviving children have to live with the presence of that house.  Their mother, Stacy Chapin said, “Our kids have to walk past that house every day.”  She wants it taken down.

HELTER SKELTER: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has decided not to challenge an appeals court decision to allow parole for Leslie Van Houten, the follower of murderous cult leader Charles Manson who’s been in prison for more than 50 years. 

  “The governor is disappointed by the Court of Appeal’s decision to release Ms. Van Houten, but will not pursue further action as efforts to further appeal are unlikely to succeed,” Newsom’s communications director, Erin Mellon, said in a statement yesterday.

  The Manson “family” carried out the bloody massacre of actress Sharon Tate in her home as well as other murders.  Van Houten, 73, has been serving a life sentence for helping to kill Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in August 1969. Van Houten, 19 at the time, put a pillowcase over Rosemary LaBianca’s head and stabbed her more than a dozen times. 

  Van Houten has since been described as a model prisoner who’s taken intensive therapy, worked as a tutor, and earned her master’s degree in humanities. 

THE SPIN RACK: A lawyers’ disciplinary committee in the District of Columbia issued a report saying former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani should be disbarred in DC for his involvement in trying to overturn the 2020 election. “He claimed massive election fraud but had no evidence of it,” the committee wrote. “By prosecuting that destructive case Mr. Giuliani, a sworn officer of the Court, forfeited his right to practice law. He should be disbarred.” — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders, announced he would resign after his ruling coalition failed to reach agreement on immigration policy. One of the critical issues is the matter of re-uniting immigrants with their children and how long they must wait. — Patrick Crusius, 24, the mass shooter who killed 23 people while targeting Latinos at an El Paso Walmart, was sentenced yesterday by a federal judge to 90 consecutive life terms. — A cargo ship docked in Newark, New Jersey carrying 1,000 vehicles has been burning for days and is in danger of capsizing if the water poured into the hull by firefighters cannot be pumped out. Two firefighters died early in the fight. — An Iowa teenager who pleaded guilty to beating to death his high school Spanish teacher with a baseball bat because she gave him a bad grade was sentenced to life with a possibility of parole after 35 years in prison. — Kansas Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach has sued Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly over a law the governor interprets to allows transgender people to change their sex designation on  drivers’ licenses.

BELOW THE FOLD: The director of the dystopian horror movie Purge 6 says the movie’s plot was inspired by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has proposed ideological separation of the states.

  Director James DeMonaco says his movie is about “the remapping of America based on ideology, sexuality and religion, so that the states are broken down. You have your Black state, you have your gay state, you have your white evangelical state.” 

  Sadly, Greene does not have a cameo.

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