The War Room: Russian forces are conducting nearly nonstop shelling of the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol and are reported to have breached the perimeter in bloody fighting on the ground. The plant where civilians are still taking shelter is the last holdout in that city for the Ukrainian army.

  Russian attacks also have been focused on Ukraine’s rail system in recent days to cut off weapons delivery and re-supply at the front. It’s a classic tactic and surprising that the Russians haven’t done more of this earlier.

  Ukrainian economists say the country has sustained up to $600 billion in economic losses, including $92 billion in damage to homes, factories, medical facilities, schools, bridges, cars, and warehouses — just about everything. 

  Russian troops are already rehearsing for Victory Day on June 9^th, the anniversary of the day they defeated Hitler’s army, and according to some observers, possibly the day Vladimir Putin will formally declare war on Ukraine.

With the invasion stalling, some analysts say Putin might use Victory Day to declare full mobilization and use that to give the Russian military and the whole population a bigger appetite for war.

  One factor that could discourage Putin is a looming boycott of Russian oil in Europe, cutting off a huge source of income.

  Speaking of the stumbling invasion, Ukraine claims to have killed as many as 12 Russian generals on the front lines, an astonishing number. The NY Times reports according to senior American officials that the US has been providing intelligence that has helped Ukrainians locate, target, and kill many of those generals. The US has been providing information on the location and movements of mobile headquarters while the Ukrainians use intercepted communications to target the generals with artillery and other precision weapons.

No on Roe: As Republican-led states rush to shut down abortion, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt this week signed a law similar to the one in Texas that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Six weeks is before many women even know they are pregnant. “I want Oklahoma to be the most pro-life state in the country,” Stitt tweeted after signing the bill.

  Some major American companies are already telling employees in states banning abortion that they will help them get services somewhere else. Internet shopping giant Amazon announced that it would pay employees up to $4,000 in travel expenses each year for non-life threatening medical treatments, including abortions. Citigroup said last month that “in response to changes in reproductive healthcare laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources.”

  And in Canada, Karina Gould, the minister of families, children, and social development, said in a broadcast interview that Canada would allow Americans to obtain abortions. “I don’t see why we would not,” she said. 

  Canada has publicly-funded health care so Americans would have to pay or have private insurance cover it. 

Econ 101: In an effort to slow down galloping inflation, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by half a point, the biggest increase since 2000. Chairman Chair Jerome Powell also said that similar big increases would be “on the table” at the Fed’s meetings in the near future. “Inflation is much too high and we understand the hardship it is causing, and we’re moving expeditiously to bring it back down,” Powell said. Stocks jumped higher on the news.

Waiting Too Long: The New York Times is still dribbling out the audio of Republican leaders discussing what to do about Donald Trump in the wake of the January 6^th insurrection. The Times is helping to sell a book by two of its reporters, but this stuff is fascinating. 

  In the latest release, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy talks about invoking the 25^thAmendment to remove Trump just weeks from the end of his term. McCarthy says, “What the President did is atrocious and totally wrong.” 

  An aide says, “I think the options that have been cited by the Democrats so far are the 25th Amendment, which is not exactly an elegant solution here.” 

  McCarthy responds, “That takes too long too. It could go back to the House, right?” 

  The aide says, “Correct. If the President were to submit a letter overruling the Cabinet and the vice president, two-thirds vote in the House and the Senate to overrule the President. So it’s kind of an armful.”

The Obit Page: Ron Galella, the celebrity-hunting photographer who relentlessly pursued Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis until a judge barred him from taking her picture, has died in New Jersey at age 91. Galella was a leader in breaking the boundaries of personal space in the paparazzi business. He hounded Marlon Brando until the Godfather actor broke his jaw. — Norman Mineta, who as a Japanese American was interned with his family during World War II before becoming a 10-term Democratic congressman from California and a cabinet official under Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, has died at age 90.

The Spin Rack: Billionaire Silicon Valley capitalist John Doerr is giving $1.1 billion to Stanford University to fund a school focused on climate change and sustainability. — Nathaniel Glover, the 62-year-old hip-hop performer who’s stage name was Kidd Creole, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for killing a homeless man in 2017. — New York State has banned colleges and universities from the practice known as “transcript ransoming,” withholding transcripts from graduates until they pay off their loans.

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