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Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Alsu Kurmasheva, who is in custody after she was accused of violating Russia's law on foreign agents, attends a court hearing in Kazan, Russia May 31, 2024.
Hard Numbers: Russia jails another US journalist, Latinos warm to RFK Jr., Paris tightens security for Olympics, India looks to roll in the deep, HIV prevention milestone for Africa
6.5: A Russian court revealed on Monday that Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was sentenced on Friday to 6.5 years in prison for “spreading false information” about the Russian army. Kurmasheva, a dual citizen who works for the US-funded Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe service in Prague, was arrested while visiting her family in Russia in October. Her husband says the charges relate to a book of profiles of anti-war Russians that Kurmasheva edited. She is the second American journalist that Russia has sentenced to a lengthy prison term in the past four days alone.
24: ¿Latinos por Roberto? A new poll shows 24% of US Hispanic voters support third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. That’s nearly 10 points above the national average. Respondents were split 36 to 36 on Biden vs. Trump. The poll was taken before Biden dropped out of the race, but it illustrates the increasingly uphill battle that Democrats face in keeping the support of a traditionally blue voting group. Read our in-depth look at the “Latino vote” here.
30,000: France is not messing around when it comes to security for the Paris Olympics, which begin later this week. Authorities will deploy 30,000 police throughout the event, rising to 45,000 during peak times. Alongside them will be 15,000 French military personnel and nearly 2,000 foreign police. Security officials have already conducted hundreds of raids, arresting members of far-right, far-left, and jihadist groups suspected of planning attacks. At least two plots have reportedly been broken up already.
4: India wants to get into the deep-sea mining game as it tries to secure supplies of rare minerals critical for its economy and energy transition. New Delhi has already won several licenses for the Indian Ocean, but it’s eyeing a bigger prize: a vast swathe of the Pacific between Mexico and Hawaii. Experts say it will take India at least four years to develop the required skills and technology to compete with Asian rival China. In the meantime, international authorities are still working out rules for deep-sea mining.
56: For the first time ever, a majority of new HIV infections occurred outside of sub-Saharan Africa, a UN report says. The milestone, based on numbers from 2023, reflects sustained progress against the disease by governments in Africa – where new infections have fallen 56% since 2010. Globally, new infections have fallen 39% during that time. But experts warn that case numbers are currently rising elsewhere in the world, particularly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and north Africa.
Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced 'No Spoiler' pledge for the upcoming elections at a campaign stop in Brooklyn, NY on May 1, 2024.
Will RFK Jr. make the debate?
Last week, President Joe Biden and Donald Trump agreed to debate on CNN on June 27 and on ABC News on Sept 10. Under the rules laid out by the networks, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could qualify to participate.
History lesson: Only two independent candidates have ever qualified for a general election debate. The last time was Ross Perot in 1992, when he faced off against Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush and saw a boost in thepolls from the spectacle.
Kennedy’s about halfway to qualifying. The rules saycandidates must attract 15% support in four national polls and have ballot access in enough states to theoretically win 270 electoral votes – the minimum to capture the Electoral College.
Kennedy has met the polling requirements in two polls and is close on multiple others. But the ballot requirement could be more complicated. Kennedy is officially on the ballot in five states worth 35 electoral votes. Kennedy’scampaign claims that it has submitted enough signatures to make it in 10 other states worth 166 electoral votes, pending approval by state election officials. He has until June 20 to make up the difference.
Why it matters: Kennedy appearing beside Trump and Biden would further legitimize his campaign. It would also complicate Biden and Trump’s debate strategy – which could prove particularly difficult for Biden, who has stumbled during harder-to-rehearse speaking endeavors in recent months.Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
What’s driving (some) Republicans to donate to a Democrat?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been raking in donations from GOP donors since he announced he would be challenging Joe Biden to be the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee. He has also been making headlines for propagating conspiracy theories and refusing to toe the party line.
The most recent controversy came last week, when RFK Jr. was accused of spreading a racist and antisemitic conspiracy theory by suggesting that COVID-19 was “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. Democrats, including RFK’s sister, Kerry Kennedy, have condemned his remarks, with some calling for him to be disinvited from addressing the House at Thursday’s hearing on censorship.
Who is RFK Jr? The nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of JFK’s attorney-general, Bobby Kennedy, RFK Jr has gained notoriety as a prominent vaccine skeptic. His campaign, which has seen poll numbers as high as 20% among Democratic primary voters, aims to limit the influence of corporate money in politics, is against the government’s COVID response and seeks to cut US military aid to Ukraine.