Sudan fighting:Â U.S. Special Forces have evacuated the staff of the U.S. Embassy from Sudan as fighting in that country intensifies. Some Sudanese civilians are trying to get out of the country. The country’s military and a paramilitary group are fighting for control of Sudan in what is on the verge of becoming a full-fledged civil war.
Pittsburgh shooting trial:Â Jury selection begins today in Pittsburgh in the federal trial of Robert Bowers for the mass shooting in 2018 that left 11 dead at the Tree of Life synagogue. Bowers faces the death penalty if convicted. Federal prosecutors turned down an offer for him to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence rather than face the death penalty.
Biden’s candidacy:Â President Biden is expected to announce as soon as tomorrow his candidacy for a second term. A new poll by NBC News shows that 70% of Americans including 51% of Democrats believe Biden should not run again. About 48% of those polled said age was the primary reason they believed Biden should not run for a second term. Biden is 80. The NBC poll showed Biden’s job approval rating was 41% in April compared with 53% in April of 2021.
Attack on Moscow:Â The Washington Post reported this morning that Ukraine planned to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion by staging an attack on Moscow. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The report said the U.S. persuaded Ukraine not to attack Russia’s capital. Russia has several times accused Ukraine of using saboteurs to stage attacks inside Russia.
Stock tumbles: Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond fell 34% in early trading on the London stock market this morning following yesterday’s announcement by the company that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and was closing all of its stores. Bed Bath & Beyond said in its April 23 announcement that it was conducting “an orderly wind down of its businesses while conducting a limited marketing process to solicit interest in one or more sales of some or all of its assets.”
Trump on trial:Â The trial of Donald Trump on defamation charges is scheduled to begin in Manhattan tomorrow and is expected to last five to seven days. Trump will not attend, according to an attorney for him. Trump was sued by columnist Jean Carroll for defaming her when he denied her allegations that he had raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department story in the mid-1990s. Carroll had written about the alleged rape in an article that appeared in New York magazine.
The passings of Barry Humphries and Len Goodman: Two entertainment icons passed away over the weekend. Barry Humphries, the Australian comedian who convulsed audiences in the guise of his outrageous character Dame Edna Everage, died in Sydney at the age of 89 following complications from hip surgery. And Len Goodman, a British ballroom dancing champion who became an American television star as a judge on the long-running competition program “Dancing with the Stars,” died at a hospice in Kent, England, at the age of 78 following a bout with bone cancer.
Cover photo of Barry Humphries as Dame Edna Everage by StAnselm / Wikimedia Commons
