‘We reserved a place in this queue back in 1991’: Crowds of people apply for Russian passports in Melitopol

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10-year-old resident of Mariupol Nikita told a reporter about how he was sheltering in a basement

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❗Moscow: New package of US 'military assistance' to Ukraine includes four Mi-17 helicopters Russia previously transferred to US for Afghanistan

A woman says hi to her relatives on camera and sincerely explains who saved her life

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⚡Putin: Europe's short-sighted policies provoked energy crisis

Russian President Putin addresses the supply chain and energy crises:

▪The supply chain crisis started during the pandemic, long before Russia's special operation;

▪The situation with fertilizers will worsen due to sanctions, food prices will only go up;

▪Sanctions against Russian fertilizer producers will affect the world's crop prospects;

▪Statements that Russia "does not allow" the export of Ukrainian grain are "a bluff";

▪Russia is ready to raise wheat exports to 50 million tonnes;

▪Ukraine should demine its ports, and there will be no problems with grain exports, Russia will not interfere with this;

▪Ukrainian grain could be exported through the Danube, Poland, and the cheapest way is through Belarus, but then sanctions must be lifted;

▪The West has overestimated the possibilities of alternative energy;

▪Decent people in the US, like the Treasury Secretary, admitted that they had made mistakes that caused the crisis;

▪The acceleration of inflation is connected with the US' actions to inject funds into the economy, and not with Russia's actions in Ukraine

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🚀 After being asked by a reporter about a report that Elon Musk wants to fire 10% of Tesla’s workforce due to his “super bad feeling” about the US economy, Joe Biden underlined that "Ford is increasing their investment overwhelmingly", saying he wishes the space tycoon “lots of luck on his trip to the moon”

❗Canada needs to be ready to send warships, cargo ships to export Ukraine grain - foreign minister

❗Russian air defenсe systems activated near Kherson, three blasts heard, Sputnik correspondent reports

🚔 Police Arrest Man With Body Armor, Ammunition Outside US Capitol

A Michigan man was arrested outside the US Capitol on Friday morning after he presented a fake badge to police who then discovered a BB gun, body armor and high-capacity magazines inside his vehicle, US Capitol Police said.

Jerome Felipe, 53, a retired police officer, showed a badge with "Department of the INTERPOL" printed on it to a US Capitol Police patrol officer and claimed he was a criminal investigator.

Shortly afterward, officers searched his vehicle and discovered a BB gun, two ballistic vests, several high capacity magazines and other ammunition in the car, which he had parked near the Capitol. "No real guns were found," the statement said. He faces charges for illegally possessing high-capacity magazines and unregistered ammunition.

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🦠 2 monkeypox strains in US suggest possible undetected spread

Genetic analysis of recent monkeypox cases suggests there are two distinct strains in the US, health officials said Friday, raising the possibility that the virus has been circulating undetected for some time.

Many of the US cases were caused by the same strain as recent cases in Europe, but a few samples show a different strain, federal health officials said. Each strain had been seen in US cases last year, before the recent international outbreak was identified.

Analysis from many more patients will be needed to determine how long monkeypox has been circulating in the US and elsewhere, said Jennifer McQuiston of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Friday, the US had identified at least 20 cases in 11 states. No monkeypox deaths have been reported so far.

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💼 Biden’s challenge: Inflation overshadows robust job gains

Voters have made clear in surveys that their attention is focused much more on soaring gasoline and food prices than on the plentiful availability of jobs. A yearlong acceleration of prices in the aftermath of the pandemic recession has left many Americans struggling with the cost of necessities and dissatisfied with the overall economy.

At just 3.6%, the unemployment rate is near a half-century low, and on Friday the government reported employers added 390,000 more jobs in May. Businesses advertised more than 11 million open jobs in April, down only slightly from a record high in March.

Two-thirds of Americans disapprove of his handling of the economy. Higher inflation, partly stemming from supply chain snarls and the Ukraine crisis, is causing hardships for millions of Americans, particularly lower-income and Black and Hispanic households, which spend a disproportionate share of their income on gas, rent and food.

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🚨 Consumers report losing more than $1b from crypto scams

US consumers reported losing more than $1 billion on cryptocurrency-related scams, according to a new analysis from the Federal Trade Commission.

Crypto-based con jobs now account for a fourth of all dollars lost to such fraud, taking in more than 46,000 people from the beginning of 2021 through March, the report found. The losses in crypto last year were almost 60 times what they were in 2018. And those numbers likely represent a small fraction of the total losses, since most of the crimes go unreported, according to the FTC.

Crypto’s lack of federal oversight has helped make it a magnet for criminals. “There’s no bank or other centralized authority to flag suspicious transactions and attempt to stop fraud before it happens,” the FTC’s report said.

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🔧 New York state passes first-ever ‘right to repair’ law

The New York state legislature has passed the United States’ first “right to repair” bill covering electronics. Called the Fair Repair Act, the measure would require all manufacturers who sell “digital electronic products” within state borders to make tools, parts, and instructions for repair available to both consumers and independent shops.

The measure will take effect one year after it passes into law. New York isn’t the first state to pass a right to repair bill, but it’s the first such bill to apply to electronics broadly. 

Still, the law is likely to have an impact far beyond the borders of New York state. Now that manufacturers selling goods in New York are required to make repair manuals available, it’s likely those manuals will quickly become available around the world. 

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🚫 Elon Musk wants to cut 10% of Tesla jobs

Elon Musk told Tesla executives to pause all hiring worldwide because he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy and needed to cut 10% of the company's workforce

Tesla's annual SEC filing indicated that the company employed almost 100,000 people at the end of last year, which means thousands of jobs could be axed. Musk's comments came two days after he sent a memo to all Tesla employees to return to the office or resign.

When asked by a Twitter user whether a recession was approaching, Musk responded: "Yes, but this is actually a good thing. It has been raining money on fools for too long. Some bankruptcies need to happen."

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🗳 Trump is moving from Mar-a-Lago

Former President Donald Trump is leaving Florida to avoid the swampy summer months.  Trump left his beachside Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and as of Friday is at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. He's leaving South Florida just as the area is facing a tropical storm warning throughout the weekend. 

Trump's move north means much of the Republican political braintrust will follow. GOP political hopefuls have flocked to Mar-a-Lago, holding fundraisers and other events there as they hope to get some face time with Trump and perhaps even land a coveted endorsement.

The former president often hints that he'll seek the White House again in 2024 and has raised significant cash for his two political action committees, Save America and the Make America Great Again PAC.

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⚖️ New York lawmakers pass a moratorium on Bitcoin mining

The Bitcoin mining boom in New York state hit a roadblock as the state Senate passed a bill that will halt new permits for certain fossil fuel power plants to be used in mining. The measure, which also initiates a study on the environmental impact mining facilities are having in the state, passed in the state Assembly earlier this year.

After China instituted new restrictions last year, many mining operations have set up shop in the US. New York, with abundant hydroelectricity and retired fossil fuel plants that can be restarted back up to mine Bitcoin, quickly became a new hub for the industry.

However, that energy demand is a threat to the climate goals set by New York state in 2019, which committed the state to an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

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⚖️ Ex-Trump aide Navarro indicted; Meadows won’t be charged

Navarro, who appeared in court later Friday afternoon, is the second former Trump official to be charged with contempt for refusing to cooperate with the investigation. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was indicted in November of last year.

Contempt of Congress carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, as well as a fine of up to $100,000, the Justice Department said in a release.

Navarro, who was a trade adviser to Trump, said he was served by the FBI at his Washington, D.C., house last week. The subpoena was the first known instance of prosecutors seeking testimony from someone who worked in the Trump White House as they investigate the worst attack on the Capitol in two centuries.

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⚡️ Kherson region to continue integration into Russia, despite EU stance, authorities say

⚡️ Ukrainian forces shell city of Donetsk, fire 4 missiles, 11 shells, DPR says