Analysis: Mcconnell's Near-comic Attempt To Not Talk About Trump

The Trump campaign was prepared. Minutes after a Manhattan jury convicted the former President on felony charges of falsifying business records, fundraising pitches inundated mailboxes; right-wing influencers stormed social media with aggrieved tirades; and Donald Trump emerged from the courtroom to delegitimize the verdict. “This was a disgrace,” he told reporters.

Washington — President Joe Biden on Friday detailed 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 grinding, nearly 8-month-old Mideast war. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Biden added that Hamas is “no longer capable” of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel as he urged Israelis and Hamas to come to a deal to release the remaining hostages for an extended cease-fire. The Democratic president in remarks from the White House called the proposal “a road map to an enduring cease-fire and the release of all hostages.” Biden said the first phase of the proposed deal would would last for six weeks and would include a “full and complete cease-fire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. American hostages would be released at this stage, and remains of hostages who have been killed would be returned to their families.

While the summer solstice is not until June 20, many scientists consider the start of summer to be much sooner. That’s because June 1 marks the start of meteorological summer. There are two types of seasons: meteorological and astronomical. Meteorological and astronomical seasons have different start and end dates because meteorological seasons are based on the annual temperature cycle, while astronomical seasons rely on the Earth’s position in relation to the sun, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “Meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months based on the annual temperature cycle as well as our calendar,” the NCEI said on its website.

The bird flu outbreak in U. S. dairy cows is prompting development of new, next-generation mRNA vaccines—akin to COVID-19 shots—that are being tested in both animals and people. Next month, the U. S. Agriculture Department is to begin testing a vaccine developed by University of Pennsylvania researchers by giving it to calves.

Hendersonville, N. C. — A North Carolina aquarium that said it had a pregnant stingray with no male companion now says the fish has a rare reproductive disease. Thursday’s statement from the Aquarium and Shark Lab in Hendersonville did not say what disease the stingray, Charlotte, has or comment on the status of her pregnancy.

This article is part of The D. C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. Even by Donald Trump’s standards, the ex-President’s and newly-minuted felon’s Friday morning free-association session in the lobby of his Midtown Manhattan tower was a doozy—and a warning that the march toward Election Day could be just as befuddling. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Without evidence, Trump claimed once more that the dozen jurors who voted unanimously to convict him on 34 felony charges a day earlier were working at the behest of his political opponent, President Joe Biden.