Here are links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. That will be it for today. — MCM

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As Russia presses assault, Ukraine given possible path to EU. From the Associated Press KYIV — The executive arm of the European Union recommended today that Ukraine be granted candidate status to one day join the 27-nation bloc. The promise of membership in a union created to safeguard peace on the continent holds deep symbolism for the nation at war. But it . . . READ MORE . . .

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Analysis: With record pump prices, Biden hard-pressed to ramp up Russia sanctions, by Timothy Gardner | Reuters WASHINGTON — As the Biden administration contemplates expanding punitive measures on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, a big hurdle lies closer to home: the American consumer. U.S. drivers are embarking on summer vacations with gasoline prices averaging . . . READ MORE . . .

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U.S. ambassador to Ukraine: ‘It’s going to be a long, grinding, tough war.’ Reported by Greg Myre, Julian Hayda and Fatma Tanis | National Public Radio The war is nearly four months old and there’s no end in sight. The momentum has swung back and forth, and Russia now appears to have the upper hand in the current fighting . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

First, links to reports heard on National Public Radio and from Reuters and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. Then, an appeal from Joe Lauria, editor of Consortium News. Next, via CN, a link to a Common Dreams article on a Climate Action Tracker study that shows governments are ignoring “a massive opportunity” to change energy policy to address the realities of climate change. — MCM

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As Russia pushes deeper into eastern Ukraine, some flee on medical evacuation train. Reported by A Martínez and Nathan Rott | National Public Radio President Biden has announced another $1 billion in weaponry for Ukraine, including anti-ship missile launchers, longer range artillery and rounds for mobile rocket launching platforms. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Ukraine finds itself outnumbered as Russia advances in the Donbas. Reported by Steve Inskeep | NPR “The math problem is very difficult for the Ukrainians,” Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview Wednesday with NPR’s Morning Edition. An army gains an advantage when it concentrates more forces at a decisive point than its enemy does. In the war’s early weeks, Russia scattered its forces, attacking multiple objectives at once and failing to capture Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. Russia then refocused, withdrawing some forces and placing heavier emphasis on the eastern Donbas region. Milley, President Biden’s top military adviser, told NPR that Russia has massed greater numbers of combat units, as well as more artillery, than the local defenders have. At the time of the interview . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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EU leaders criticised for tepid support bring ‘message of unity’ to Ukraine, by Natalia Zinets | Reuters * Arms needed to fend off Russian advances in south and east * Ukrainian troops, civilians holed up in Sievierodonetsk plant | KYIV — The leaders of Germany, France and Italy – all criticised in the past by Kyiv for support viewed as too cautious – made a joint visit to Ukraine today, touring a town devastated by Russia’s invasion. “It’s an important moment. It’s a message of unity we’re sending to the Ukrainians,” French President Emmanuel Macron said after pulling into Kyiv on an overnight train along with Germany’s Olaf Scholz and Italy’s Mario Draghi. They were also joined by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. READ MORE . . .

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Germany steps up calls to save energy as Russia reduces gas. From the Associated Press BERLIN — Germany’s vice chancellor is stepping up an appeal for the country’s residents to save energy after Russia’s Gazprom announced significant cuts in natural gas deliveries through a key pipeline. State-owned Gazprom announced on Tuesday that it was cutting gas flows through the undersea Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany by 40%, then, a day later, announced a further cutthat brings the overall reduction to about 60%. In both cases . . . READ MORE . . .

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CN Spring Fund Drive is wrapping up. Joe Lauria of   Consortium News writes on the final day of the drive that it “began with PayPal permanently suspending us in an effort to choke off an avenue for donations. Then we responded to NewsGuard’s charge that CN has published ‘false content’ on Ukraine. This was followed by word that the former head of the U.S. Disinformation Governance Board thinks Consortium News is a bunch of ‘useful idiots.’ Our loyal readers and viewers . . .” Click HERE to read more and, possibly, donate.

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Study Finds Fossil Fuel Gold Rush After War in Ukraine, by Kenny Stancil | Common Dreams Progressives have been urging governments to embark on an accelerated global clean energy transition since Russia’s late-February invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing Western sanctions unleashed chaos in energy markets around the world, but policymakers have opted instead to expand fossil fuel infrastructure. That’s according to researchers from Climate Action Tracker, which released a new report last week warning that this reaction . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to reports heard on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition,” and from the Associated Press and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. — MCM

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High gas prices have people in Colorado changing their travel habits. Reported by Matt Bloom | Colorado Public Radio Skyrocketing gas prices in Colorado have people changing their spending and commuting habits. The record prices are forcing some to reevaluate summer travel plans. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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For pianist Vadim Neselovskyi, Ukraine war adds urgency to his most personal work. Reported by Nate Chinen | WGBO 88.3 FM  During his first few years in the United States, as a virtuoso pianist and composer studying at the Berklee College of Music two decades ago, Vadim Neselovskyi was often asked about his origins. “I would say, ‘I’m from Odesa,’ or even ‘I’m from Russia,’ ” he recalls, “because nobody knew what Ukraine was.” His evocative new solo piano suite, Odesa: A Musical Walk Through a Legendary City, enters the world at quite a different moment. Mostly recorded . . . Click HERE to listen and read the rest.

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Momentum in the war has shifted and Ukraine says it needs more weapons. Reported by A Martínez and Greg Myre | National Public Radio As NATO countries begin talks in Brussels, Ukraine is making its message clear: send more heavy weapons and fast. Ukraine’s outgunned military is losing ground to Russia in the east of the country. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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In Ukraine, mines take lives even after fighting moves on, by John Leicester and Yuras Karmanau | The Associated Press MAKARIV, Ukraine — The truck driver had the radio on, his daughter’s stuffed toy keeping him company, and was bouncing his lumbering vehicle down one of the innumerable dirt tracks in Ukraine that are vital thoroughfares in the country’s vast agricultural heartlands. Then the right rear wheel hit a Soviet-era TM-62 anti-tank mine. The explosion blew Vadym Schvydchenko and his daughter’s toy clean out of the cabin. The truck, and his livelihood, went up in flames. Astoundingly, the . . . READ MORE . . .

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Exclusive: U.S. targets Russia with tech to evade censorship of Ukraine news, by James Pearson and Christopher Bingreuters LONDON/WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has pushed new, increased funding into three technology companies since the start of the Ukraine conflict to help Russians sidestep censors and access Western media, according to five people familiar with the situation. The financing effort is focused on . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

What is really going on? It’s a question applies to a number of events over the years. The essay linked just below may seem to read like a fictional thriller. Accompanied is a video in which someone who has followed developments for decades is interviewed. Visitors can decide for themselves what to think about all of it. The same applies to the next essay linked below, first published on May 31. Both links are from Global Research. — MCM

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It’s Now Crucial to Understand What We’re Up Against. The COVID Pandemic is a Coup d’Etat, a Global Takeover Referred to as ‘The Great Reset,’ by Joseph Mercola | Global Research The Great Reset was introduced by the World Economic Forum, which is tightly coupled to the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Their agenda is to implement a global type of totalitarianism based on technocratic and transhumanist ideologies. Part of that plan also includes reengineering and controlling all life forms, including humans. While the outward expression of technocracy will appear as totalitarianism, the control center is not an individual. Rather than a single person ruling by the decree, technocracy relies on control through technology and algorithm. This is a very important difference. In short . . . Click HERE to read and watch and listen.

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Dear Friends, Sorry to Announce a Genocide, by Naomi Wolf | Global Research I’ve been silent for some weeks. Forgive me. The truth is: I’ve been rendered almost speechless — or the literary equivalent of that — because recently I’ve had the unenviable task of trying to announce to the world that indeed, a genocide — or what I’ve called, clumsily but urgently, a “baby die-off” — is underway. The WarRoom/DailyClout Pfizer Documents Research Volunteers, a group of 3000 highly credentialled doctors, RNs, biostatisticians, medical fraud investigators, lab clinicians and research scientists, have been turning out report after report, as you may know, to tell the world what is in the 55,000 internal Pfizer documents which the FDA had asked a court to keep under wraps for 75 years. By court order, these documents were forcibly disclosed. And our experts are . . . READ MORE . . .

First, links to Reuters, Associated Press and National Public Radio reports; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. Then, via Popular Resistance, a link to an analysis by Moon of Alabama. Linked next, from Global Research, a look at Ukraine government policy and shipments of wheat. Finally, a midday update from AP on the stock market. — MCM

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What next? Ukraine’s allies divided over Russia endgame, by John Irish, Andreas Rinke and Humeyra Pamuk | Reuters PARIS/BERLIN/WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) – Is it better to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine or to isolate him? Should Kyiv make concessions to end the war, or would that embolden the Kremlin? Are ramped up sanctions on Russia worth the collateral damage? These are some of the questions testing the international alliance that swiftly rallied around Ukraine in the days after the Russian invasion but that, three months into the war . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russians control 80% of contested city in eastern Ukraine, by Yuras Karmanau | The Associated Press LVIV — Sievierodonetsk, the main focus of the fighting in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, isn’t yet blocked off by Russian troops even though they control about 80% of the city and have destroyed all three bridges leading out of it, an official said today. “There is still an opportunity for the evacuation of the wounded, communication with the Ukrainian military and local residents,” Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine says corpses of thousands of Russian soldiers are piling up in morgues. Reported by Joanna Kakissis | National Public Radio A Russian soldier’s forgotten body is discovered in a liberated village north of Kyiv, setting off emotions and an inquest — as Russia refuses to acknowledge its war dead. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Washington Starts Blame Game over Defeat in Ukraine, by Moon of Alabama | Educate!  I do not believe for one moment that U.S. intelligence services do not know what is going on in Ukraine and in Kiev. They know that the Ukraine has lost the war and will have to sue for peace as soon as possible. They also have told the White House [this] and that the whole idea of setting up the Ukraine to tickle the Russian bear was idiotic from the get go. The question now is . . . READ MORE . . .

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Global Food Crisis: Ukraine Is Demanding Weapons in Exchange for Resuming Wheat Exports, by Andrew Korybko | Global Research The so-called “deadlock” over resolving the global food crisis is just as artificially manufactured as its origins since Kiev has now officially declared that it won’t resume wheat exports by sea to the Global South unless it receives anti-ship missiles first. Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasily Bodnar officially demanded weapons in exchange for resuming wheat exports by sea in what amounts to the blatant blackmailing of the Global South in the midst of the artificially manufactured food crisis. He said . . . READ MORE . . .

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Wall Street tumbles day after wobbling into bear market, by Stan Choe | AP NEW YORK — Wall Street is wobbling today in its first trading after tumbling into a bear market on worries that high inflation will push central banks to clamp the brakes too hard on the economy. The S&P 500 was 0.2% lower in midday trading as investors brace for the Federal Reserve’s announcement Wednesday about what it will do with interest rates. It was an unsteady move, though, and . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

Hello readers. Sometime soon, please take in the 16-minute interview in the first segment below. In it, two career firefighters — one of them the author of an authoritative manual now in its fourth edition — talk about the collapse of the Building 7 skyscraper at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Thanks to members of Boston 9/11 Truth for their diligence and persistence over the years, and to Richard Gage of RichardGage911.org for alerting people about the PAPA conference held last week in Boston, and then attending it. The second segment below will take longer. — MCM

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Protecting All Protectors Alliance Takes a Stand in Boston. Written by Administrator2 | Boston 9/11 Truth PAPA (Protecting All Protectors Alliance) hosted a booth at the National Fire Protection Association Conference (www.nfpa.org) in Boston, MA (6/6/22-6/8/22). Our message was very well received. Visit www.ProtectingAll.org for more information. In the interview HERE, Al Magaletta of Boston 9/11 Truth speaks with Seattle firefighter Erik Lawyer and Capt. Raul Angulo of the Seattle Fire Department, author of Engine Company Fireground Operations, now in its fourth edition. Their subject is the mysterious collapse of a skyscraper at the World Trade Center not struck by any plane on Sept. 11, 2002, and the lack of government interest in dealing with it in a forthright manner, and what that means for the firefighting profession and for all Americans. 

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PAPA Reveals Building 7 Collapse to Thousands of Fire Professionals at Boston NFPA Convention. By Richard Gage | richardgage911.org The incredible volunteers at Boston 9/11 Truth made it all possible. They just want to get it done! They never stop. And they don’t show any signs of doing so. For almost 20 years they have been brainstorming, speaking, tabling, and moving mountains in order to educate their fellow New Englanders. Well… they discovered in April that the annual convention of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) was happening—on their turf, and they weren’t going to miss the opportunity this time to teach thousands about the “Salomon Brothers Building” that collapsed mysteriously, in 7-seconds — due to a “fire-induced progressive collapse” according to NIST, the National Institute of Standards & Technology. Click HERE to read more and watch and listen to several videos about the truth effort at the convention.

First, reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, and National Public Radio; others accessible by clicking on their names below. — MCM

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What next? Ukraine’s allies divided over Russia endgame, by John Irish, Andreas Rinke and Humeyra Pamuk | Reuters PARIS/BERLIN/WASHINGTON — Is it better to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine or to isolate him? Should Kyiv make concessions to end the war, or would that embolden the Kremlin? Are ramped up sanctions on Russia worth the collateral damage? These are some of the questions testing the international alliance that swiftly rallied around Ukraine in the days after the Russian invasion but that, three months into the war . . . READ MORE . . .

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The battle of Donbas could prove decisive in Ukraine war. From the Associated Press Day after day, Russia is pounding the Donbas region of Ukraine with relentless artillery and air raids, making slow but steady progress to seize the industrial heartland of its neighbor. With the conflict now in its fourth month, it’s a high-stakes campaign that could dictate the course of the entire war. If Russia prevails in the battle of Donbas, it will mean that Ukraine loses not only land but perhaps the bulk of its most capable military forces, opening the way . . . READ MORE . . .

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The White House is considering a presidential visit to Saudi Arabia. Reported by Jackie Northam | National Public Radio Despite its concerns over human rights, the Biden administration is changing its stance toward Saudi Arabia in a bid to lower global oil prices and tame gas costs at the pump. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Russia continues to make violent, grinding gains in eastern Ukraine. Reported by A Martínez and Nathan Rott | NPR Ukrainian officials are warning that the next few days could be critical to a key city in the region. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED

On Sunday, June 12, mostly gray-haired David Grover fans in a nearly packed Colonial Theater on South Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, got together one last time to, for nearly four hours, salute the troubadour and bathe joyously in his music as performed by some of his friends and listen to their stories about him. Words from them that kept on coming up were vulnerable, generous, creative, inspirational, loving. A Berkshire Eagle news story about his life and death is HERE. A brief obituary is HERE. A photo on the cover of Sunday’s program is HERE. Just below is the letter on page 2 of it. — MCM

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Dear Friends,

My husband, David Grover, connected with many generations of music lovers. The folk songs he learned with his family in his earliest musical years, he continued to play his whole life. The list of his influences go on and on: he was fascinated with Elvis and, in fact, shared a birthday with him; the awakening of the Beatles; and the deep study of Brian Wilson’s exacting layers. He was deeply in love with “West Side Story” and equally enamored with “Man of La Mancha.” Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman, Chet Atkins, Stan Rogers, there was no genre he didn’t embrace and find the “sweet spots” in, as he would say.

Dave kept thousands of songs in his head. Songs from every era of history. Songs in many languages. Songs that brought back people’s happiest memories and songs that brought tears to your eyes because they were so perfect for the moment. This was one of my husband’s greatest gifts. We know he was incredibly talented and he was sincere and vulnerable. He never tried to be anyone other than himself. Often, though, when I think of all of the music I saw him perform over the years, one of the most amazing things I experienced was that he always managed to read the audience and somehow knew exactly where to go next. He knew somehow what they wanted in every room. Even when it took a hard left from the original set list.

This was also true of his songwriting. He wrote what he knew and understood about people; what he lived through and how he loved. He never shied away from deep pain or great joy. We were all Dave’s kids. He wanted to give us things we loved and the things we needed. He wanted to speak to the problems and the challenges we faced as a society and as individuals. But sometimes he just wanted to make us laugh and be joyous.

For me, today is about celebrating the music and the kinship he found with so many musicians here in the Berkshires and beyond; to take a journey through Dave’s musical history with his friends and fans. Dave played with everyone. He never judged anyone’s skill level. His only expectation was to sit and share music together because he knew it was a healing and comforting process. Who and what he was to each of us individually is between us and Dave, but the music is for all of us. I am grateful for all of those who have joined us today on stage and in the audience to share the song.

[signature]

Kathy Jo Grover

First, links to Associated Press, Reuters and National Public Radio reports; click on their names below to access others. Next, via ScheerPost, a link to a look at new weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Then, from Global Research, a link to a consideration of transforming lawns into food-growing spaces. Linked next, via Popular Resistance, violence in the United States connected to violence abroad. Finally, via raymcgovern.com, a link to an appeal to put Americans’ interests over the Ukraine government’s. — MCM

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Ukraine’s leader says his troops keep defying predictions, by David Keyton and John Leicester | The Associated Press KYIV (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said no one knows how long the war in his country will last but that Ukrainian forces are defying expectations by preventing Russian troops from overrunning eastern Ukraine, where the fighting has been fiercest for weeks. In his nightly . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia says it destroyed depot in Ukraine with Western weapons, by Natalia Zinets and Pavel Polityuk | Reuters * Russia targets Sievierodonetsk in eastern advance * Shelling causes fire at chemical plant, governor says * Ukraine urges West to deliver more heavy arms swiftly | KYIV — Russian forces fired cruise missiles to destroy a large depot containing U.S. and European weapons in western Ukraine’s Ternopil region, Interfax reported today, as street fighting raged in the eastern . . . READ MORE . . .

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People who drive for a living question profitability with the surge in gas prices. Ayesha Rascoe of National Public Radio asks Dennis Briggs how inflationary pressures such as higher gas prices are affecting his Pittsburgh transportation business. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, listen.

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Russia has achieved at least one of its war goals: return Ukrainian water to Crimea. Reported by Jason Beaubien | NPR Access to water for the Crimean peninsula was one of the issues that led to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, listen.

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Faced With Donbass Defeat, U.S. & UK Up the Ante in Ukraine, by Christopher Nineham | Consortium News / scheerpost.com The British government, as ever following the U.S.  lead, is sending longer range missile systems to Ukraine for the first time. The government described the M270 weapon system they are despatching as a “cutting edge” military asset which can strike targets up to 80 kilometres away “with pinpoint accuracy.” Ukrainian soldiers are due to be brought to Britain for training in how to use the missiles. As even some of the mainstream media point out, on top of the four precision-guided, medium-range rocket systems sent by the U.S. last week, this decision . . . READ MORE . . .

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The Food Shortage Solution in Your Own Backyard, by Ellen Brown | Global Research While the global food systems we depend on come under increasing strain, there’s a solution to the growing crisis that most Americans can find in their own backyards — or front lawns. A confluence of crises — lockdowns and business closures, mandates and worker shortages, supply chain disruptions and inflation, sanctions and war — have compounded to trigger food shortages; and we have been warned that they may last longer than the food stored in our pantries. What to do? Jim Gale, founder of Food Forest Abundance, pointed out in a recent interview with Del Bigtree that in the United States there are 40 million acres of lawn. Lawns are the most destructive monoculture on the planet, absorbing . . . READ MORE . . .

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When America No Longer Exports Carnage as a Business Model, Maybe We’ll Stop Seeing It in the Streets Here, by Jacqueline Luqman | Black Agenda Report / Educate! Here is Joseph Biden and the Congress he leads repeatedly approving hundreds of millions of dollars of weapons to be sent to Ukraine in a war that the U.S. and their white supremacist international army NATO started with the sole purpose of provoking Russia. The Biden Administration and everyone in Congress has approved military support to Ukraine repeatedly since February, seven times to be exact, on Feb. 25, March 12, March 16, April 5, April 13, April 21, and April 24. The earlier . . . READ MORE . . .

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Who Does Joe Biden Represent? Americans, Not Ukraine, Should Decide U.S. Policy, by Doug Bandow | The Cato Institute / raymcgovern.com Americans increasingly wonder where U.S. involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian war is heading. Although this nation is not officially in the fight, it is a belligerent in all but name. U.S. officials have essentially declared war on the Russian Federation and its president, Vladimir Putin. In an apparent attempt to assuage . . . READ MORE . . .

A short entry today, with links to Reuters, Associated Press and National Public Radio reports. Click on their names below to access others. — MCM

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Ukraine says it will prevail over Russia as eastern battle grinds on, by Natalia Zinets and Max Hunder | Reuters * Russia targets Sievierodonetsk in eastern advance * Ukraine urges West to deliver more heavy arms swiftly * War blocks vital Ukraine grain exports from Black Sea * Separatists say they will put South Korean fighter on trial | KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelenskiy insisted today that Ukraine would prevail in its almost four-month-long war with Russia that has become focussed on a grinding artillery slugging match over an eastern Ukrainian city. Russian forces have been . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia said to be using more deadly weapons in war, by David Keyton and John Leicester | The Associated Press KYIV — Ukrainian and British officials warned today that Russian forces are relying on weapons able to cause mass casualties as they try to make headway in capturing eastern Ukraine and fierce, prolonged fighting depletes resources on both sides. Russian bombers have likely been launching heavy 1960s-era anti-ship missiles in Ukraine, the U.K. Defense Ministry said. The Kh-22 missiles were primarily . . . READ MORE . . .

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Opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murray and other dissidents detained in Russia. Scott Simon of National Public Radio  speaks with Evgenia Kara-Murza, wife of jailed Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, about her efforts to free him. Click HERE to listen and, another day, read.