Oz proclaims himself presumptive Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, channeling Trump as recount begins
On the first day of a statewide recount in Pennsylvania’s undecided Republican Senate primary, Dr. Mehmet Oz preemptively proclaimed himself the party’s presumptive nominee over David McCormick on Friday, following the advice of his top booster: former President Donald Trump. In a new campaign video that was posted on Twitter, the celebrity physician backed by Trump seemed to be pivoting to the general election, calling for unity and solutions to rising energy costs, an uptick in crime in the cities and infant formula supply shortages. “I am blessed to have earned the presumptive Republican nomination for the United States Senate,” Oz said in the nearly 90-second video.
Trump’s federal suit against New York AG is dismissed
In the latest legal blow to Donald Trump, a federal judge Friday dismissed a lawsuit the former president filed that sought to halt the New York attorney general’s civil investigation into his business practices. The ruling was Trump’s second defeat related to the investigation in two days. On Thursday, an appellate court ordered Trump and two of his children to sit for questioning under oath from the office of the state Attorney General Letitia James. Together, the rulings clear the way for James to complete her investigation. It is unclear if Trump plans to appeal either of the rulings.
Russian attacks spur accusations of genocide in Ukraine
The increasing carnage and destruction inflicted by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine — punctuated by the use of thermobaric explosives that set off huge, destructive shock waves — led to fresh accusations Friday that President Vladimir Putin of Russia was waging a genocidal campaign to wipe out a substantial part of the Ukrainian population. A new report by international legal scholars and human rights experts said mass killings, deliberate attacks on shelters and evacuation routes, and the indiscriminate bombardment of residential areas by Russian forces had established a “genocidal pattern” against Ukrainians, in violation of the United Nations Genocide Convention.
Russian academics aim to punish colleagues who backed Ukraine invasion
Some academic researchers in Russia are quietly working to prevent colleagues who have supported their country’s invasion of Ukraine from being elected to the Russian Academy of Sciences this month. If they succeed, they will deny those who back the war a prized credential that confers prestige in Russian institutions of higher learning. This month, a group of Russian researchers started circulating a list of dozens of candidates for the group who have publicly supported the invasion of Ukraine by signing pro-war declarations or letters their universities or institutions released or by making such statements themselves.
Iran seizes 2 Greek tankers in the Persian Gulf
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Friday that its naval forces in the Persian Gulf had seized two oil tankers belonging to Greece, escalating tensions between Iran and the West at a time when diplomatic efforts to revive the deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program have stalled. The two ships were seized in retaliation for Greece impounding an oil tanker in April carrying Iranian oil near its shore, with the seizure carried out at the request of the United States, according to reports in two semiofficial Iranian news agencies, Tasnim and Fars News, which are affiliated with the Guard.
Sensitive Iranian military site was targeted in attack
A drone strike Wednesday evening targeted a highly sensitive military site outside Tehran, Iran, where Iran develops missile, nuclear and drone technology, according to three Iranians with knowledge of the attack and to a U.S. official. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack fit a pattern of past Israeli strikes on Iran and Lebanon in a covert campaign of hostility that has been going on for years. A statement from Iran’s Ministry of Defense indicated that it viewed this as an attack, not an accident. Israeli officials refused to comment.
Iraqi parliament expands law against normalizing ties with Israel
Iraq’s parliament passed sweeping legislation this week that would broaden the crime of normalizing ties with Israel. The legislation, passed Thursday, goes further than a similar law dating to 1969 by setting out much wider definitions for acts that would be considered a violation. The law makes Iraq an outlier in the Arab world, where a growing number of countries have signed on to a campaign driven by the United Arab Emirates to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Iraq cites support for Muslims and opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories as its rationale for refusing to forge ties with Israel.
Liberal Los Angeles could take right turn in mayor’s race
Los Angeles is a heavily Democratic city, but voters this year could take a turn to the political right. A leading candidate for mayor is Rick Caruso, a billionaire former longtime Republican who sits on the Reagan Presidential Foundation board. He’s promising to expand and not defund the police. Caruso is in a tight race with Democratic U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, who is a favorite of the party’s progressive wing. Twelve names are on the ballot for the June 7 primary but several candidates have dropped out. Bass and Caruso, who is now a Democrat, could end up in a November runoff that would present a stark choice.
By wire sources