New York — The Washington Post said Sunday that its executive editor, Sally Buzbee, has stepped down after three years at the top of one of journalism’s most storied brands.

She will be replaced by Matt Murray, former editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, through this fall’s presidential election. Following that, Robert Winnett, deputy editor of the Telegraph Media Group, will take over as editor as the newsroom restructures its operations.

No reason was given for Buzbee’s departure. She wasn’t quoted in the news release announcing that she was leaving and did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The Post also announced that it was launching a new division in its newsroom dedicated to reaching audiences who want to pay for and consume news in a different way.

Buzbee, former top editor at The Associated Press, was selected as the Post’s top editor in May 2021. She replaced a renowned predecessor, Martin Baron, after the Post exploded in popularity during the Trump administration.

Buzbee was the first woman to serve as executive editor of The Washington Post. And like Jill Abramson, the first woman to be top editor at The New York Times, her tenure was short: Abramson had her job from 2011 to 2014.

It has been a miserable few years financially for the news industry, including for the Post. It has bled subscribers to the point where new publisher, Will Lewis, told employees last month that the newspaper lost $77 million last year.

“To speak candidly, we are in a hole, and have been for some time,” Lewis said, according to the Post.

Lewis was named late last year to replace Fred Ryan as Post publisher. He has worked at both The Wall Street Journal and The Telegraph in England, the places he turned to to find the new executives.

He’s talked about creating a multi-tier subscription plan for The Post, similar to that in place at Politico. In an email to employees late Sunday, Lewis said the new department will focus on more video storytelling, embrace artificial intelligence and flexible payment methods. It will begin this fall, he said.

In an earlier meeting, “we highlighted the need to move away from the traditional one-size-fits-all approach in the news media industry and focus on creating news for a broader range of readers and customers.”

It augurs a change to the traditional structure of the Post. In his memo, Lewis mentioned “three newsrooms.” Winnett will not take on the title of executive editor, but he will be responsible for the “core coverage areas” of politics, investigations, business, technology, sports and features. He has run The Telegraph’s news operations since 2013, the Post said.

Murray will take over as leader of the newly created department starting Nov. 6, the Post said. No one will have the title of executive editor: Murray, Winnett and David Shipley, the editorial page editor who will lead the “opinions newsroom,” will each report directly to Lewis, the Post said.

“By creating three strong journalism functions — core, service/social and opinions — we are taking a definitive step away from the ‘one size fits all’ approach and moving towards meeting our audiences where they are,” Lewis said.

The Post won three Pulitzer Prizes last month, including one in national reporting for a vivid series on the impact of the AR-15 rifle.

 
…

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico Rep. Jesús Manuel Ortiz defeated Sen. Juan Zaragoza in a gubernatorial primary held Sunday by their Popular Democratic Party, which seeks a return to power in the upcoming general elections.

Zaragoza conceded defeat after obtaining 38% of the votes to his rival’s 62%, even though only a little more than 60% of the votes had been counted.

Meanwhile, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi was still locked in a battle against Puerto Rico congresswoman Jenniffer González in a primary held by the pro-statehood New Progressive Party. The two ran on the same ticket four years ago, but González announced her plan to challenge Pierluisi in early December.

All candidates face disgruntled voters on an island still struggling with chronic power outages and awaiting completion of reconstruction projects following Hurricane Maria, which hit as a Category 4 storm in September 2017.

Other ongoing complaints include the difficulty of obtaining business permits, a fractured education system and the lack of access to capital markets after the local government emerged two years ago from the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in history after announcing in 2015 that it was unable to pay its more than $70 billion public debt load.

The debt was accumulated by governments that overspent, overestimated revenue and borrowed millions despite a ballooning debt.

Running alongside Pierluisi for the position of congressional representative was Puerto Rico Sen. William Villafañe, while senior U.S. naval military officer Elmer Román, a former secretary of state for Puerto Rico, sought the position under González.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico Sen. Juan Zaragoza, who was highly lauded for his work as the island’s former treasury secretary, ran against Rep. Jesús Manuel Ortiz to be the main candidate for the Popular Democratic Party, which supports the island’s status quo as a U.S. territory.

Attorney Pablo José Hernández was running unopposed to be the party’s candidate for resident commissioner, the first person in 20 years to seek that nomination.

Voting centers closed Sunday evening, with political pundits warning that voter turnout appeared low and that electronic voting machines did not properly work in some towns, although it was too early to determine the magnitude of the problem.

All candidates faced disgruntled voters on an island still struggling with chronic power outages and high electric bills as it awaits completion of reconstruction projects following Hurricane Maria, which hit as a Category 4 storm in September 2017.

Power outages were reported at more than a dozen voting centers, including one where Ortiz arrived to cast his vote, forcing officials to revert to a manual process. Heavy rains also pelted parts of the island, with flood warnings issued for nearly a dozen towns and cities.

Power outages remain such a big concern that the State Commission of Elections rented more than a dozen generators and a private power company identified 81 alternate voting sites with guaranteed electricity.

“It’s been years since I last voted,” said Benito López, a 66-year-old retiree wearing a T-shirt that read, “The Island of Enchantment.” He planned to cast a vote for a candidate he would not reveal “to see if there’s any improvement and change.”

Other voter complaints include the difficulty of obtaining business permits, a fractured education system, and the island’s lack of access to capital markets after the local government emerged two years ago from the largest debt restructuring in U.S. history.

Meanwhile, more than $9 billion of debt owed by Puerto Rico’s power company, the largest of any government agency, remains unresolved. A federal judge overseeing a bankruptcy-like process has yet to rule on a restructuring plan following bitter negotiations between the government and bondholders.

“They have broken Puerto Rico,” said 79-year-old Cecilio Rodríguez of the current and previous administrations as he waited to cast his vote. “Economic development must be a priority.”

For other voters, stopping the exodus of doctors from Puerto Rico and improving the U.S. territory’s crumbling health system is a priority.

“The patients are the ones who have to stay here and endure this. It’s not fair,” said Dr. Alfredo Rivera Freytes, an anesthesiologist who left Puerto Rico for the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas because of the ongoing problems with the local health system.

He returned two years ago with plans to retire but found himself working again because of the need for anesthesiologists in Puerto Rico.

Ahead of the primaries, Pierluisi has touted record tourist numbers, ongoing hurricane reconstruction and growing economic development among his successes as he seeks re-election. He has pledged to prioritize projects targeting children and the island’s growing elderly population, among other things.

An event marking the end of his campaign held a week before the primaries was headlined by former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, who resigned in August 2019 following nearly two weeks of massive protests touched off by a leak of crude and insulting chat messages between him and his top advisers.

His opponent, González, did not hold a campaign closer. She has pledged to crack down on corruption, award more funds to agencies to help victims of violence amid a surge in killings of women, and stem an exodus of doctors and other medical workers to the U.S. mainland.

Meanwhile, Zaragoza has promised to prioritize climate change and renewable energy, decentralize the island’s education department and improve access to health. His opponent, Ortiz, has pledged to improve the licensing process to retain doctors, simplify the island’s tax system and revamp health care.

Puerto Rico’s next governor will have to work alongside a federal control board that oversees the island’s finances and was created after the government declared bankruptcy.

Ahead of Sunday’s primaries, more than 4,900 inmates voted in prisons across the U.S. territory. The State Commission of Elections also has received and counted more than 122,000 early ballots.
…

McALLEN, TEXAS — At least two Texas border mayors are headed to Washington on Tuesday when President Joe Biden is expected to announce an executive order that will mark his latest and most aggressive plan to curtail the number of migrants allowed to seek asylum in the U.S.

Brownsville Mayor John Cowen and Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza both confirmed they were invited by the White House for an immigration announcement on Tuesday. Cowen told the Associated Press that he plans to attend, while Garza said he would have more details on Monday about his plans.

Notably, the Democratic mayor of Eagle Pass, the Texas-Mexico border town where the number of migrants led to a state-federal clash over border security, had not received an invitation as of Sunday. The mayor from McAllen said he was invited but could not attend because of a prior commitment.

A White House spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment on other mayors who were invited to the announcement.

The AP reported last week that the White House was finalizing an executive order that could shut off asylum requests and automatically deny entrance to migrants once the number of people encountered by U.S. border officials exceeded a new daily threshold.

The unilateral action is expected even as the number of border crossings at the southern U.S. border has declined since December, due in large part to Mexico’s escalated enforcement efforts. But Biden wants to head off any potential spike in crossings that could occur later in the year, as the fall election draws closer, when the weather cools and numbers tend to rise.

Immigration remains a concern for voters ahead of the November elections, with Republicans eager to punish Biden electorally over the issue. Democrats have responded that Republicans, at the behest of Donald Trump, killed a bipartisan border deal in Congress that would have led to the toughest legislative restrictions on asylum in years.

 
…

New York — Marchers chanted for the release of hostages in Gaza on Sunday at a New York City parade for Israel that drew thousands of people under heightened security.

The parade was held almost eight months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. About 100 hostages remain in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.

Dubbed “Celebrate Israel,” the annual parade’s normally exuberant atmosphere was markedly toned down this year. People chanted “Bring them home now!” and waved Israeli flags as they marched up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan for what this year was called “Israel Day on Fifth.”

Crowds of spectators and hundreds of police officers lined the route, and steel barricades were installed along the sidewalk. One sign read: “From the river to the sea, Hamas will cease to be.”

“Especially this year, after Oct. 7, it’s especially important to have this show of unity,” said Rena Orman, a Bronx native who took part in the parade as part of Mothers Against College Antisemitism. “Everybody wants [the] hostages back. Everyone wants this to end. No one is cheering for this. Everyone wants peace.”

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said earlier this week that the event would focus on solidarity, strength and resilience.

“This is not a mood of confetti and music,” Treyger said. “This is more of a mood of unwavering, ironclad solidarity with hostages to bring them home, and also our unwavering love and pride in our Jewish identity.”

The parade, in its 59th year, kicked off late Sunday morning with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams among the elected officials attending.

“I think it’s important — especially with what’s going on in the Middle East, in Israel with the war going on — to show our support and to show that the hostages aren’t forgotten and the country itself is not forgotten,” said participant Michael Garber of New Jersey.

New York Police Department officials employed measures typically used for high-profile events such as New Year’s Eve and July 4. That included drones, K-9 units, bike patrols, fencing and barriers and designated entry points for spectators along the parade route. Backpacks, large bags and coolers were prohibited, and spectators had to pass through metal detectors.

Police did not report any parade-related arrests by late Sunday afternoon. The parade represents the first large-scale Jewish event in the city since the war started, although there have been roughly 2,800 protests in the city, with about 1,300 of them related to the conflict, the Democrat said.

Over 36,430 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s offensive, according to the Hamas-run, Gaza Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths, accusing it of operating from dense residential areas.
…

Atlanta, Georgia — Hilbert Margol says he didn’t look on himself as a hero when his U.S. Army artillery unit fought its way across Europe during World War II. But he will be feted in France as one of 60 American veterans of that conflict traveling to Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

“I know my brother and I never looked at it as we were any kind of heroes, nothing like that,” Margol said recently of himself and his twin brother Howard, who served with him. “It was just our time. That we were asked to serve. And we did.”

The 100-year-old Margol, who lives in suburban Atlanta, is among the dwindling band of veterans of the conflict leaving Atlanta on Sunday on a chartered flight for Deauville, Normandy. The veterans will take part in parades, school visits and ceremonies — including the official June 6 commemoration of the landings by soldiers from across the United States, Britain, Canada and other Allied nations on five beaches.

Margol didn’t land at D-Day, but the Jacksonville, Florida, native was among those that liberated the Dachau Concentration Camp on April 29, 1945.

The trip also includes high school and college students selected to escort the veterans and learn about their experiences.

Charter flights also took veterans from Atlanta to France in 2022 and 2023.

Andy Negra of Helen, Georgia, came ashore with the 6th Armored Division at Utah Beach on July 18, 1944, about six weeks after D-Day. It’s his second trip back to France after also taking part in last year’s flight.

“Well to me, we fought for freedom, and we fought for peace, and we fought for a good life,” Negra, a native of Avella, Pennsylvania, said in a recent interview.

The trip is being organized by Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, the Best Defense Foundation and the North American branch of French tire maker Michelin.

“It is our privilege to celebrate and honor these heroes by flying them directly to Normandy and recognizing their incredible sacrifices and contributions to the world,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement.
…

Former President Donald Trump weighed in Sunday on the possibility of being sentenced to jail next month after his conviction for falsifying business records. The ‘guilty’ verdict is already being used by both the Trump and Biden campaigns to fire up their respective supporters. But swaying undecided voters will be trickier, analysts say. Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details.
…

…

…

U.S. and Chinese defense officials offered competing visions for Asia, even as they agreed to keep channels open during the three-day? Shangri-La security summit that wrapped up Sunday in Singapore, as VOA’s William Gallo reports from Seoul, South Korea. (Camera: William Gallo)
…

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia — On one side of the classroom, students circled teacher Maria Fletcher and practiced vowel sounds. In another corner, children read together from a book. Scattered elsewhere, students sat at laptop computers and got reading help from online tutors.

For the third graders at Mount Vernon Community School in Virginia, it was an ordinary school day. But educators were racing to get students learning more, faster, and to overcome setbacks that have persisted since schools closed for the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago.

America’s schools have started to make progress toward getting students back on track. But improvement has been slow and uneven across geography and economic status, with millions of students — often those from marginalized groups — making up little or no ground.

Nationally, students made up one-third of their pandemic losses in math during the past school year and one-quarter of the losses in reading, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard, an analysis of state and national test scores by researchers at Harvard and Stanford.

But in nine states, including Virginia, reading scores continued to fall during the 2022-23 school year after previous decreases during the pandemic.

Clouding the recovery is a looming financial crisis. States have used some money from the historic $190 billion in federal pandemic relief to help students catch up, but that money runs out later this year.

“The recovery is not finished, and it won’t be finished without state action,” said Thomas Kane, a Harvard economist behind the scorecard. “States need to start planning for what they’re going to do when the federal money runs out in September. And I think few states have actually started that discussion.”

Virginia lawmakers approved an extra $418 million last year to accelerate recovery. Massachusetts officials set aside $3.2 million to provide math tutoring for fourth and eighth grade students who are behind grade level, along with $8 million for literacy tutoring.

But among other states with lagging progress, few said they were changing their strategies or spending more to speed up improvement.

Virginia hired online tutoring companies and gave schools a “playbook” showing how to build effective tutoring programs. Lisa Coons, Virginia’s superintendent of public instruction, said last year’s state test scores were a wake-up call.

“We weren’t recovering as fast as we needed,” Coons said in an interview.

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has called for states to continue funding extra academic help for students as the federal money expires.

“We just can’t stop now,” he said at a May 30 conference for education journalists. “The states need to recognize these interventions work. Funding public education does make a difference.”

In Virginia, the Alexandria district received $2.3 million in additional state money to expand tutoring.

At Mount Vernon, where classes are taught in English and Spanish, students are divided into groups and rotate through stations customized to their skill level. Those who need the most help get online tutoring. In Fletcher’s classroom, a handful of students wore headsets and worked with tutors through Ignite Learning, one of the companies hired by the state.

With tutors in high demand, the online option has been a big help, Mount Vernon principal Jennifer Hamilton said.

“That’s something that we just could not provide here,” she said.

Ana Marisela Ventura Moreno said her 9-year-old daughter, Sabrina, benefited significantly from extra reading help last year during second grade, but she’s still catching up.

“She needs to get better. She’s not at the level she should be,” the mother said in Spanish. She noted the school did not offer the tutoring help this year, but she did not know why.

Alexandria education officials say students scoring below proficient or close to that cutoff receive high-intensity tutoring help and they have to prioritize students with the greatest needs. Alexandria trailed the state average on math and reading exams in 2023, but it’s slowly improving.

More worrying to officials are the gaps: Among poorer students at Mount Vernon, just 24% scored proficient in math and 28% hit the mark in reading. That’s far lower than the rates among wealthier students, and the divide is growing wider.

Failing to get students back on track could have serious consequences. The researchers at Harvard and Stanford found communities with higher test scores have higher incomes and lower rates of arrest and incarceration. If pandemic setbacks become permanent, it could follow students for life.

The Education Recovery Scorecard tracks about 30 states, all of which made at least some improvement in math from 2022 to 2023. The states whose reading scores fell in that span, in addition to Virginia, were Nevada, California, South Dakota, Wyoming, Indiana, Oklahoma, Connecticut and Washington.

Only a few states have rebounded to pre-pandemic testing levels. Alabama was the only state where math achievement increased past 2019 levels, while Illinois, Mississippi and Louisiana accomplished that in reading.

In Chicago Public Schools, the average reading score went up by the equivalent of 70% of a grade level from 2022 to 2023. Math gains were less dramatic, with students still behind almost half a grade level compared with 2019. Chicago officials credit the improvement to changes made possible with nearly $3 billion in federal relief.

The district trained hundreds of Chicago residents to work as tutors. Every school building got an interventionist, an educator who focuses on helping struggling students.

The district also used federal money for home visits and expanded arts education in an effort to reengage students.

“Academic recovery in isolation, just through ‘drill and kill,’ either tutoring or interventions, is not effective,” said Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district’s chief education officer. “Students need to feel engaged.”

At Wells Preparatory Elementary on the city’s South Side, just 3% of students met state reading standards in 2021. Last year, 30% hit the mark. Federal relief allowed the school to hire an interventionist for the first time, and teachers get paid to team up on recovery outside working hours.

In the classroom, the school put a sharper focus on collaboration. Along with academic setbacks, students came back from school closures with lower maturity levels, principal Vincent Izuegbu said. By building lessons around discussion, officials found students took more interest in learning.

“We do not let 10 minutes go by without a teacher giving students the opportunity to engage with the subject,” Izuegbu said. “That’s very, very important in terms of the growth that we’ve seen.”

Olorunkemi Atoyebi was an A student before the pandemic, but after spending fifth grade learning at home, she fell behind. During remote learning, she was nervous about stopping class to ask questions. Before long, math lessons stopped making sense.

When she returned to school, she struggled with multiplication and terms such as “dividend” and “divisor” confused her.

While other students worked in groups, her math teacher took her aside for individual help. Atoyebi learned a rhyming song to help memorize multiplication tables. Over time, it began to click.

“They made me feel more confident in everything,” said Atoyebi, now 14. “My grades started going up. My scores started going up. Everything has felt like I understand it better.”
…

…

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Last-minute computer trouble nixed Saturday’s launch attempt for Boeing’s first astronaut flight, the latest in a string of delays over the years.

Two NASA astronauts were strapped in the company’s Starliner capsule when the countdown automatically was halted at 3 minutes and 50 seconds by the computer system that controls the final minutes before liftoff.

With only a split second to take off, there was no time to work the latest problem and the launch was called off.

Technicians raced to the pad to help astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams out of the capsule atop the fully fueled Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Within an hour of the launch abort, the hatch was reopened.

The team can’t get to the computers to troubleshoot the problem until the rocket is drained of all its fuel, said Tory Bruno, CEO for the rocket maker, United Launch Alliance.

Bruno said one of the three redundant computers located near the rocket at the pad was sluggish. All three must work properly to proceed with a launch, he said.

Depending on what needs to be fixed, the next launch attempt could be as early as Wednesday. If it doesn’t blast off this coming week, then that would be it until mid-June in order to move the rocket off the pad and replace batteries.

“This is the business that we’re in,” Boeing’s Mark Nappi said. “Everything’s got to work perfectly.”

It was the second launch attempt. The first try on May 6 was delayed for leak checks and rocket repairs.

NASA wants a backup to SpaceX, which has been flying astronauts since 2020.

Boeing should have launched its first crew around the same time as SpaceX, but its first test flight with no one on board in 2019 was plagued by severe software issues and never made it to the space station.

A redo in 2022 fared better, but parachute problems and flammable later caused more delays. A small helium leak in the capsule’s propulsion system last month came on top of a rocket valve issue.

More valve trouble cropped up two hours before Saturday’s planned liftoff, but the team used a backup circuit to get the ground-equipment valves working to top off the fuel for the rocket’s upper stage. Launch controllers were relieved to keep pushing ahead, but the computer system known as the ground launch sequencer ended the effort.

“Of course, this is emotionally disappointing,” NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, the backup pilot, said from neighboring Kennedy Space Center shortly after the countdown was halted.

But he said delays are part of spaceflight. “We’re going to have a great launch in our future.”
…

DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE, Alaska — A Malaysian climber likely died of exposure and altitude-related illness earlier this week after sheltering for days in a snow cave with minimal survival gear near the top of Denali, North America’s tallest mountain in Alaska, park officials said Saturday.

Zulkifli Bin Yusof, 36, likely died Wednesday in a 5,974-meter elevation cave in Denali National Park and Preserve, park spokesperson Paul Ollig said Saturday. The National Park Service recovered his body Friday night, Ollig said.

Yusof was part of a three-man climbing team, all of whom listed their address as the Alpine Club of Malaysia in Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, according to Ollig. Yusof’s two partners survived.

Park rangers first received an SOS message from the team at 1 a.m. Tuesday, indicating the climbers were hypothermic and unable to descend after reaching the Alaskan mountain’s 6,190-meter summit.

One of the men, a 48-year-old, was rescued Tuesday night after descending to a 5,243-meter-camp. He was described by the park as having severe frostbite and hypothermia.

Late Thursday, the park’s high-altitude helicopter pilot was able to drop a bag with survival gear near the snow cave and saw a climber waving at him, but strong winds prevented a rescue at that time, the park said.

The other climber, a 47-year-old, was rescued Friday morning after days of cloudy, windy conditions.

Two of the three men had previous experience on Denali, Ollig said. All three had previously climbed other high-elevation mountains, he said.

The climber rescued Friday was medevaced to an Anchorage hospital for additional care and “was in surprisingly strong condition, walking on his own even, considering what he endured,” Ollig previously said. The climber’s name and additional information about him and the other survivor would not be released by the park.

The other climber is also recovering at a hospital.
…

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — In 2021, the Biden administration turned down a meeting request with El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, on a trip to Washington, snubbing the self-proclaimed “world’s coolest dictator” for fear a photo op would embolden his attempts to expand his power base. 

A little more than three years later, it’s the United States that’s courting Bukele. A high-level delegation led by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and senior White House and State Department officials, attended Bukele’s inauguration in San Salvador on Saturday to a second term. 

The visit caps a quiet, 180-degree shift in Washington’s policy toward the small Central American nation of 6 million that reflects how the Biden administration’s criticisms of Bukele’s strong-armed governing style have been overtaken by more urgent concerns tied to immigration — a key issue in this year’s U.S. presidential election. 

“They’ve realized what he’s been doing works,” Damian Merlo, an American adviser to Bukele who is registered to lobby on the Salvadoran government’s behalf, said in an interview from El Salvador. “If the U.S. is serious about wanting to address the root causes of migration, then Bukele is someone who has actually done it.” 

The 42-year-old Bukele, who was reelected with 85% of the vote, has been wildly popular at home for his frontal attack on powerful gangs, which has converted what was once the world’s murder capital into one of Latin America’s safest countries. The improvement in public security is credited with a more than 60% drop in migration from the Central American country to the U.S. since Bukele took office in 2019 — a stark contrast with a growing exodus of migrants from other parts of Latin America. 

“We conquered fear, and today are truly a free nation,” Bukele said in a speech Saturday to hundreds of supporters from the balcony of the National Palace after being sworn in for a second, five-year term. 

Cured of what he called the cancer of gang violence, he said that his next term would be devoted to strengthening El Salvador’s economy, vowing to apply the same independent, unconventional approach that has characterized his rule and won him admirers from conservatives throughout Latin America. 

“I’m not here to do what others think I should do. I’m here to do what’s best for our country,” he said. 

Until recently, Bukele’s crackdown on the gangs — as well as political opponents — had drawn fire from Washington. A state of emergency originally declared in 2022 and still in effect has been used to round up 78,175 suspected gang members in sweeps that rights groups say are often arbitrary, based on a person’s appearance or where they live. The government has had to release about 7,000 people because of a lack of evidence. 

After Biden took office, the U.S. sanctioned several of Bukele’s top aides on allegations of corruption and shifted foreign assistance from government agencies to civil society groups highly critical of Bukele. 

The about-face, observers say, started a little more than a year ago when Biden sent William Duncan, a career diplomat, to San Salvador as U.S. ambassador. Then, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Salvadoran Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill in Washington. Bukele, who in the past praised former U.S. President Donald Trump and cozied up to China, has also avoided direct confrontation. 

“Migration trumps everything else,” said Michael Shifter, a former president of Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. “The ideal Latin American partner would be effective in its security policy while respecting human rights norms and practices and cooperating with the U.S. on migration. But rarely do all these desirable things go together, which poses tough choices for U.S. policymakers.” 

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

But Ricardo Zúniga, a retired U.S. diplomat who handled migration talks with Central America in the early days of the Biden administration, said that Washington may come to regret its recent embrace of Bukele. 

“Bukele will be in power for many years to come, so you need to have a working relationship,” he said. “But you also have to be clear eyed. This is an authoritarian government ruled by a single party that is not sympathetic to U.S. strategic interests.” 
…

WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver an address the Capitol, a show of wartime support for the longtime ally despite mounting political divisions over Israel’s military assault on Gaza.

The invitation from House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, along with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, has been in the works for some time. No date for the speech was set.

Leaders said the invitation was extended to “highlight America’s solidarity with Israel.”

“We invite you to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy, combatting terror and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region,” they wrote.

A speech by Netanyahu would almost certainly expose election-year divisions in the U.S., where a growing number of Democrats have turned away from the right-wing prime minister, while Republicans have embraced him.

Johnson first suggested inviting the Israeli leader, saying it would be “a great honor of mine” to invite him. That came soon after Schumer, who is the highest ranking Jewish elected official in the U.S., had delivered a stinging rebuke of Netanyahu. Schumer said in the speech that Netanyahu had “lost his way” amid the Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza.

Even so, Schumer had said he would join in the invitation because “our relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends any one prime minister or president.”

The Israel-Hamas war, now in its seventh month after the October 7 terror attack by the Palestinian militant group, has caused widespread concerns in the U.S. and abroad over Israel’s conduct and the extensive civilian death toll.

As Israel pushes into Rafah in Gaza, the International Criminal Court has accused Netanyahu and his defense minister, along with three Hamas leaders, of war crimes — a largely symbolic act but one that further isolates the Israeli leader.

President Joe Biden in supporting Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas lambasted the ICC’s case against Netanyahu, but he has nevertheless grown critical of Israel’s war plans and has pressed for assurances of humanitarian aid.

On Friday, Biden encouraged a three-phase deal proposed by Israel to Hamas militants that he says would lead to the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and could end the war. He urged Israelis and Hamas to come to an agreement to release the remaining hostages for an extended cease-fire, arguing that Hamas is “no longer capable” of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel as it did in October.

Biden called the proposal “a road map to an enduring cease-fire and the release of all hostages.”

It is unclear if Biden and Netanyahu would meet in Washington.

Spain, Norway and Ireland recently recognized a Palestinian state, a move that was condemned by Israel. Slovenia’s government also endorsed a motion to recognize a Palestinian state and asked the parliament to do the same.

Typically, a high-profile congressional invitation is issued jointly and in consultation with the White House. But in 2015, Netanyahu was invited to address Congress in a rebuff to then-President Barack Obama by a previous Republican speaker during disputes over Iran.

On Capitol Hill, the debates over the Israel-Hamas war have been pitched, heated and divisive, amplified during the college campus protests this spring, showing how the once ironclad support for Israel has weakened and splintered.

Republicans, including presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, have been eager to display their support for Netanyahu and expose the Democratic divisions over Israel.

More recently, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, became the highest ranking Republican elected official from the U.S. to deliver a speech before the Israeli parliament.
…

SINGAPORE — Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy arrived in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue conference on Saturday, where he planned to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and discuss support for his embattled country in an address to delegates. 

After arriving at the conference venue in a motorcade amid heavy security, Zelenskyy said in a statement on the social media platform X that he had come to gather support from the Asia-Pacific region for a peace summit planned for June 15-16 in Switzerland. 

“Global security is impossible when the world’s largest country disregards recognized borders, international law, and the U.N. Charter, resorts to hunger, darkness, and nuclear blackmail,” the statement said, referring to Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022. 

The statement said Zelenskyy planned to hold several meetings, including with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta, Austin, and Singaporean investors. 

A U.S. official said Zelenskiy and Ukrainian Defense Minster Rustem Umerov would meet Austin “to discuss the current battlefield situation in Ukraine and to underscore the U.S. commitment to ensuring Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression.” 

The International Institute of Strategic Studies, which organized the security conference, said Zelenskyy would participate in a discussion session on Sunday entitled “Re-Imagining Solutions for Global Peace and Regional Stability.” 

Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Russia is trying to disrupt the Switzerland peace summit, which he hopes will generate support for the withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine’s 1991 borders. 

It is Zelenskiy’s second trip to Asia since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In May 2023, he attended the G7 meetings in Japan. 

Russia has begun renewed assaults against Ukrainian lines and has stepped up missile attacks in recent months. Russian troops have made small gains in Ukraine’s east and south, even as Kyiv’s allies accelerate shipments of ammunition and other arms. 

Russia has not attended the Shangri-La Dialogue since the invasion. 

The United States this year approved $61 billion for weapons for Ukraine, some of which — such as Patriot missiles and ATACMS precision ballistic missiles — have already arrived there.  

On Thursday, U.S. officials said U.S. President Joe Biden had assured Ukraine it could use U.S. weapons to strike targets across the border in Russia that were being used to attack areas around Kharkiv, a city in Ukraine’s northeast. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned NATO members against allowing Ukraine to fire their weapons into Russia and on Tuesday again raised the risk of nuclear war. 

Sweden also approved a new security package this week worth about $1 billion, which included armored vehicles, and for the first time, airborne warning and control aircraft that can spot targets in the air at extreme distances. 

Austin, who spoke earlier on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, noted in his remarks that the support for Ukrainian forces pushing back against Russia’s invasion for more than two years showed that countries around the world could rally in the face of aggression. 

The Shangri-La conference, held annually in Singapore by the International Institute of Strategic Studies for the last 21 years, ends on June 2. 
…

…

As Israeli forces advanced deeper into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, US President Joe Biden declared Hamas had lost its ability to carry out a major terrorist attack on Israel, and he endorsed what he said was the latest Israeli offer of a cease-fire deal. VOA’s White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has the story.
…

THE WHITE HOUSE — Less than a day after U.S. President Joe Biden granted Ukraine authorization to strike inside Russia with American weaponry, Michael Carpenter, senior director for Europe at the National Security Council, spoke with VOA’s Iuliia Iarmolenko to discuss details of the new policy and explain what prompted the president’s reversal of a longstanding ban.

Carpenter, former U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, emphasized that U.S. policies barring Ukraine from using American-provided ATACMS, or long-range missiles, and other munitions to strike offensively inside Russia have not changed.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

VOA: Could you provide details about this shift in policy? What is allowed and what are the limitations?

MICHAEL CARPENTER, SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE AT NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: This is in the context of the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region against Ukraine. Russians were striking targets in Ukraine from just across the border. And at that point, the Ukrainians came to us with a request to use U.S.-provided weapons to be able to hit back at the Russian weapons that were targeting Ukrainian villages and Ukrainian people and their homes. And so the president directed his national security team to look into this and directed them to change the guidance and to allow for the employment of U.S. provided weapons to be able to strike back. That guidance has now gone into effect.

VOA: Does it apply only to the Kharkiv region?

CARPENTER: This applies to counter-fire capabilities that are deployed just across the border. It does not apply to ATACMS or long-range strikes. This is meant to enable Ukrainians to defend themselves against what would otherwise be a Russian sanctuary across the border.

VOA: But in the Sumy region, would it be possible to do so there?

CARPENTER: As I said, this applies to enable Ukrainians to defend themselves. Yes, across the border for Russian attacks that are coming across, where otherwise Russians would enjoy a relative sanctuary on their side of the border.

VOA: What is the hope of the administration on how this policy shift might influence Ukraine’s position on the battlefield?

CARPENTER: Well, we have all long wanted to give Ukraine the capabilities that it needs defensively to push back on this aggressive onslaught on their territory. And we will continue to do that.

VOA: Do you expect, though, that this change in policy might influence the situation on a battlefield, such that Ukraine might have an upper hand in coming months?

CARPENTER: We endeavor to give Ukraine the capabilities over time to enable Ukraine to be able to defend its sovereignty against this aggression. And, yes, the types of weapons systems and the capabilities that we have provided, yes those have changed over time. The battlefield has changed over time. And we have reacted to what Russia has done. Don’t forget that Russia has also benefited from its partners. Principally Iran and North Korea. And we have therefore stepped up the contributions that we have made together with our allies and partners. And we continue to do so.

VOA: A couple weeks ago, Defense Secretary Austin said the United States is talking to allies in Europe about trying to get at least one more Patriot air-defense battery in place. Should we expect another battery directly from the United States as well?

CARPENTER: We are looking very carefully at what we could contribute to Ukraine’s air defense needs, which are very acute at this point in time. We’re talking with allies and partners. We’re talking around the world with various countries that we engage in. And I don’t have any announcements to make today, but I can assure you that this is an ongoing process where we are doing everything possible to unlock air defense capabilities for Ukraine.

VOA: I’d like to talk about the upcoming July NATO summit in Washington. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week said that we’ll see “very strong deliverables for Ukraine” at the summit. Is there a consensus among allies about what those deliverables might look like? And should Ukraine expect the invitation to start accession talks?

CARPENTER: Secretary Blinken is in Prague right now to talk about the nature of the deliverable for Ukraine, the nature of the support that will be provided in the aftermath of the Washington summit. We think it’s going to be very robust. This will be essentially a bridge to [NATO] membership, so that when Ukraine does in the future receive an invitation — now, there is no consensus for an invitation now, at the Washington summit — but when conditions permit and when there is that consensus and Ukraine does gain entry to the NATO alliance, we want to make sure that Ukraine is fully capable on day one of being able to deter and defend and also is fully interoperable with NATO and is able to essentially participate in all the benefits but also undertake the responsibilities of being a member of the alliance from day one. So, we’re looking out to build out those capabilities and that support through this package of measures that is currently under discussion among NATO allies in Prague as we speak right now.

VOA: President Biden is meeting today with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo at the White House. What role does President Biden hope Belgium can play in using Russian frozen assets to Ukraine’s benefit?

CARPENTER: Belgium is a great NATO ally. They’re a member of the EU. They’ve had the presidency of the European Union. They play a very important role. And President Biden, as he does with every single European leader, will underscore our partnership in support of Ukraine. Now, Belgium plays a particular role in terms of Russian sovereign assets, and we will be discussing how we can use the proceeds from those immobilized Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine.

VOA: It appears President Biden is likely to skip the Ukraine peace summit that’s going to be happening in Switzerland. Is it a sign that the administration doesn’t believe that this summit can produce some important results?

CARPENTER: So, first of all, I don’t have an announcement for you today on who will participate for the United States. We will have senior-level participation there, no doubt. … But we will look to use the opportunity of this Swiss peace summit to underscore support for Ukraine, for its sovereignty, for its territorial integrity, for the principles of the U.N. Charter. And as wide a participation as possible that will underscore worldwide support for Ukraine and its effort to defend itself.   
…

U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump says the Biden administration engineered his criminal convictions in New York to gain an advantage in this November’s election. President Joe Biden says the justice system should be respected. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns reports.
…

…

KAMPALA, UGANDA — Ugandan authorities objected Friday to new U.S. sanctions over what the United States calls significant corruption and gross human rights violations, saying the sanctions target parliament Speaker Anita Among and other officials who backed the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Law.

On Thursday, the U.S. State Department placed travel and financial sanctions on Among for what it called significant corruption tied to her leadership position. 

Others sanctioned were ministers Amos Lugolobi, Agnes Nandutu and Mary Goretti Gitutu for allegedly misusing public resources and diverting materials from Uganda’s neediest communities. 

Ugandan State Minister for Foreign Affairs Oryem Okello argued that all the ministers who were sanctioned are currently facing Ugandan courts of law, which have yet to find rule on the cases.

The sanctions also target Lieutenant General Peter Elwelu for his role in clashes between Ugandan security forces and a local militant group that resulted in the deaths of over 100 people.  

However, Okello said the U.S. government’s action is really targeting Among. 

“My belief is that this is an insult and undermines our judicial system,” Okello said. 

“The sanctions are unjust. They are punitive,” he said. “They are bullish because they know that we cannot do anything against it. And it’s just deliberate to punish the speaker for her role and leadership to fight LBGTQ and homosexuality in Uganda.”

The U.S. State Department said it stands with Ugandans advocating for democratic principles, a government that delivers for all its citizens and accountability for actions committed by those who abuse their positions through corruption and gross violations of human rights. 

Ugandan political analyst Mary Anne Nanfuka said that those people targeted by the sanctions are not acting on their own and that sanctions never work as a deterrent.    

“I see that these Western countries want to pander to their electorate,” Nanfuka said. 

“They know very well that they need the government to cooperate with them in certain areas. So, once push comes to shove, they will let it pass. Yes, it’s a gesture, but no, we are still not impressed,” she said. 

Chris Obore, the head of public affairs in the Ugandan parliament, said the corruption allegations are political and vendetta-driven, otherwise they would have targeted the entire Ugandan cabinet. 

The State Department specifically mentioned a giveaway of iron roofing sheets that were meant for a poor community but were instead shared by top government members among themselves.  

“It is a sign of their latent anger against the speaker for presiding over the anti-homosexuality law,” Obore said. “It is clear that the U.K., U.S., Canada have been putting pressure when that law was being debated here. Because it is not about iron sheets. How did the speaker personally benefit from those iron sheets when public schools that were roofed are there?” 

Okello said Uganda will engage U.S. government officials and get to the bottom of how the State Department decided to approve the sanctions.
…

It’s an emergence that’s been more than a decade in the making. Trillions of cicadas that have burrowed underground for 13 or 17 years are now emerging in parts of the Midwestern and Southern United States. And, VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, they are ready to mate.
…

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is guilty of falsifying financial records to hide a payment to an adult film star to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Tina Trinh reports from New York.
…