Summary
Here is a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
The state department has announced a new aid package for Ukraine worth $275m. It includes ammunition for Himars (high mobility artillery rocket systems), 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, tube-launched wire-guided missiles and javelin anti-armor systems.
The secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, will undergo a non-surgical procedure on Friday related to his prostate cancer, the Pentagon said. Austin will temporarily be unable to perform his duties due to the “minimally invasive procedure” and the deputy defense secretary, Kathleen Hicks, will assume his duties, the Pentagon said.
Ahead of the fourth anniversary of George Floyd’s death, Joe Biden released a statement in which he called for Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The act, which seeks to address racial profiling and the use of force in police encounters, has been stalled in Congress for the last few years. However, it was reintroduced to Congress by Sheila Jackson, a Democratic representative from Texas, on Thursday.
Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has released a new ad called Snapped. The ad criticizes Donald Trump, saying that he “snapped” after losing the 2020 election. It’s voiced by one of the former president’s longtime political foes, actor Robert De Niro.
Speaking after a rally in New York City last night, his first in the city since 2016, Donald Trump predicted that he can win his home state – which happens to also be a historically and fiercely Democratic-voting one.
Donald Trump hinted at the possibility of Nikki Haley joining his administration after she pledged her support to him following a bitter campaign against him for the Republican nomination for this election. “I think she’s going to be on our team because we have a lot of the same ideas, the same thoughts,” Trump told News 12.
The New York Democratic congressman and Bronx native Ritchie Torres hit back at Trump for his rally in the south Bronx yesterday, saying: “His presidency was a catastrophe for the Bronx. His mismanagement of Covid resulted in more deaths than Pearl Harbor and 9/11 combined. Donald Trump should apologize to the people of the Bronx rather than hold a rally.”
Thousands of Trump supporters came out to Crotona Park in New York’s south Bronx on Thursday evening to support the former president as he rallied for nearly 90 minutes. In attempts to woo more Black and Hispanic voters in one of the country’s poorest and most diverse neighborhoods, Trump launched fiery tirades against immigrants and Biden’s immigration policies. He claimed migrants were “building an army” to attack America “from within”.
That’s it as we wrap up the blog for today. Thank you for following along.
Updated
Russian jamming technology has reportedly interfered with US-made satellite-guided ammunition in Ukraine.
The Washington Post, which reviewed confidential internal Ukrainian assessments, reports:
“Russia’s jamming of the guidance systems of modern Western weapons, including Excalibur GPS-guided artillery shells and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which can fire some U.S.-made rockets with a range of up to 50 miles, has eroded Ukraine’s ability to defend its territory and has left officials in Kyiv urgently seeking help from the Pentagon to obtain upgrades from arms manufacturers.
Russia’s ability to combat the high-tech munitions has far-reaching implications for Ukraine and its Western supporters – potentially providing a blueprint for adversaries such as China and Iran – and it is a key reason Moscow’s forces have regained the initiative and are advancing on the battlefield.”
Updated
