No casualties were reported after Ukrainian air defenses staved off an intense Russian air attack on Kyiv early Tuesday. Also in the news: President Joe Biden will reconvene debt ceiling talks with Republican lawmakers and the curtain raises on the Cannes Film Festival amid strikes by Hollywood writers.
🙋🏼♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Watch this special moment one graduate shared with her immigrant parents.
Now, here we go with Tuesday’s news.
Russia launches ‘exceptional’ air attack in Kyiv
Loud explosions boomed over Kyiv as Russia attacked early Tuesday in an apparent attempt to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses, but Ukraine’s forces thwarted the intense raid, shooting down all 18 missiles aimed at the capital.
Russia’s attack was “exceptional in its density” the head of the Kyiv military administration said.
New Mexico gunman who killed 3 randomly shot at cars and houses
An 18-year-old gunman killed three people and injured six others, including two police officers, in a rampage through a northwestern New Mexico community. In a video released late Monday, Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said the gunman fired three weapons, including an AR-style rifle, shooting randomly at cars and houses. The shooting was “honestly one of the most horrific and difficult days that Farmington has ever had as a community,” Hebbe said. Read more
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Yellen’s warning about debt ceiling deadline: ‘Severe hardship to American families’
President Joe Biden is leaving the door open to stricter work requirements for federal aid including food stamps to get the support of Republicans in Congress to raise the debt ceiling as the president and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy prepare to reconvene Tuesday at the White House. The meeting comes after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen issued another warning Monday in a letter to lawmakers that “it would cause severe hardship to American families” if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by early next month, potentially defaulting as soon as June 1. Read more
Federal prosecutors move to dismiss charges against ex-Florida mayor Andrew Gillum
Federal prosecutors in the Andrew Gillum corruption case are moving to dismiss charges against the former Florida mayor and his political mentor. The charges against Gillum, the 2018 Democratic nominee for governor and former Tallahassee mayor, and his longtime advisor, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, involved the misuse of campaign funds. And after five days of deliberations earlier this month, jurors found Gillum not guilty of lying to the FBI about gifts he had received from undercover FBI agents in New York. Before the move is official, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor must issue an order completely dismissing the case. Read more
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76th Cannes Film Festival kicks off with Johnny Depp film center stage
The Cannes red carpet springs to life again Tuesday as the 76th Cannes Film Festival gets underway with the premiere of the Louis XV period drama “Jeanne du Barry,” with Johnny Depp. This year’s Cannes is unspooling against the backdrop of labor unrest. Protests have roiled France in recent months over changes to its pension system, meanwhile, a strike by screenwriters in ongoing in Hollywood. Read more
Quick hits
Photo of the day: Shohei Ohtani’s historic night
In Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels became the first starting pitcher to reach base five times as a pitcher – he singled twice, walked, tripled and homered – since the New York Yankees’ Mel Stottlemyre against the Washington Senators on Sept. 26, 1964. Read more
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Associated Press contributed reporting.
