HUNGER GAMES: Seven Democratic senators and independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont have urged President Biden to stop providing weapons to Israel until it stops restrictions on humanitarian aid going into Gaza. The eight senators said in a letter that Biden is in violation of a law that bars military support from going to any country that restricts the delivery of humanitarian aid. 

  “We urge you to make it clear to the Netanyahu government that failure to immediately and dramatically expand humanitarian access and facilitate safe aid deliveries throughout Gaza will lead to serious consequences, as specified under existing US law,” the group wrote.

HOPES AND DREAMS: President Biden proposes a budget that would cut $3 trillion from the federal deficit over 10 years with tax increases for corporations and the rich.

  “Does anybody here think the tax code’s fair?” Biden asked his audience during remarks in New Hampshire. His proposal includes raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent, where it was set under President Trump in 2017. Biden would also raise a tax that allows corporations that report annual income of $1 billion to shareholders while using deductions, credits, and other preferential tax treatments to reduce their liability below 21 percent.

  He would raise taxes on people who earn more than $400 and impose a “billionaire’s” tax on the extremely wealthy. Of course, he has to get this past Congress.

ORANGE ALERT: Donald Trump sounded off on MSNBC yesterday about what he considers to be the danger if the federal government were to ban the Chinese-owned TikTok social media app.

  “Without TikTok you make Facebook bigger and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with a lot of the media,” Trump said. 

  Congress is considering banning TikTok in the US or forcing its sale because of suspicions that it is used to gather intelligence on America.

  Trump admires totalitarian governments. Over the weekend at Mar-a-Lago he hosted Hungarian strong man Viktor Orbán, who has stepped on press freedom, weakened the country’s judiciary, and complained about the introduction of foreigners into the country’s blood lines.  

  “There’s nobody that’s better, smarter, or a better leader than Viktor Orbán, he’s fantastic,” Trump said to applause from his audience. “He does a great job. He’s a non-controversial figure because he says, ‘this is the way it’s going to be and that’s the end of it’ right”?

  CNN’s Jim Sciutto spoke to Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, who said of the former president, “He views himself as a big guy,” and that, “He likes dealing with other big guys, and big guys like Erdogan in Turkey get to put people in jail and you don’t have to ask anybody’s permission. He kind of likes that.”

MOVING DAY: Brian Butler, a former Mar-a-Lago worker referenced as “Trump Employee Number 5” in the classified documents indictment of the former president, told CNN that he unwittingly helped move boxes of documents on the same day that Trump greeted federal investigators looking for classified documents. Butler said he helped move those same documents to the airport as Trump prepared to leave for the summer in New Jersey.

THE WAR ZONE: Ukraine says that its naval drones have sunk another Russian ship in the Black Sea, this time the 1,300-ton patrol ship Sergei Kotov. Ukraine said six Russian crew members were killed and 27 wounded but didn’t reveal how they knew that. 

RESIGNATION: With criminal gangs and escaped prisoners overrunning his country, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he will resign once a provisional governmental council is in place. Recognizing that his country is in chaos, he said, “It hurts us and it revolts us to see all these people dying. The government that I lead cannot remain insensitive to this situation.”

  The US has pledged an additional $100 million in aid toward a UN multinational security force planned to deploy to Haiti. Kenya has agreed to send 1,000 police officers.

YOU DON’T SAY: The State of Florida and plaintiffs who challenged the “Don’t Say Gay” law that prohibits public school instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity through eighth grade, reached a settlement under which such things can be talked about in school but may not be part of the curriculum.

  The plaintiffs, including students, parents, educators, and LGBTQ organizations, had said the 2022 law caused confusion and fear in public schools for both kids and the staff. 

THE OBIT PAGE: Malachy McCourt, a legendary New York bartender, drinker, and Irish raconteur, has died at age 92. His family said he died while listening to “Will Ye Go Lassie Go”, a song by the traditional Irish band, The Chieftains. 

  McCourt was the brother of Frank McCourt, who wrote the Pulitzer winning memoir “Angela’s Ashes” about growing up dirt poor in Ireland. Malachy followed it with a memoir of his own, “A Monk Swimming.”

  Between pouring drinks for customers and himself, McCourt became an occasional guest on talk shows, entertaining with his own particular blarney. He wasn’t afraid to show up drunk.

  We once spent an evening drinking with Malachy McCourt. When he spilled his beer on the table he mopped it up with dollar bills and said, “It’s all mind over matter. If you don’t mind it doesn’t matter.”

THE SPIN RACK: New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez and his wife pleaded not guilty for the third time yesterday to federal corruption charges. Menendez faces 18 counts including conspiracy, bribery, extortion, and wire fraud. — Marcia Fudge, the secretary of Housing and Urban development, announced that she’s leaving after three years on the job to spend time with her 92-year-old mother. — Voters in Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, and Washington cast their primary ballots today.

BELOW THE FOLD: Days after Donald Trump’s daughter in law and another Trump pick took over the Republican National Committee, the purge has begun. Sixty employees have been fired on the brink of a critical election.

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