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Biden's D-Day, Bannon's jail date and space race victors

 
Today's INTERNATIONAL story

Biden links Ukraine fight to World War II on D-Day

What happened
President Joe Biden addressed dozens of World War II veterans at the Normandy American Cemetery above Omaha Beach on Thursday, using the 80th anniversary of D-Day to highlight current battles against autocracy. Biden met individually with 41 Americans who stormed the beaches of Normandy, many of them over 100 and wheelchair-bound, then gathered with other world leaders at Omaha Beach for a larger D-Day commemoration. 

Who said what
The "last living voices of those who fought and bled on D-Day" will soon be gone, and "we can't let what happened here be lost in the silence of the years to come," Biden said. Just as the U.S. and its allies joined forces to beat the Nazis 80 years ago, "we will not walk away" from Ukraine as it fights off Russia's invasion, because if we "surrender to bullies" and "bow down to dictators," we'd be "forgetting what happened here on these hallowed beaches."

Biden "never mentioned his Republican rival by name, but his speech offered an implicit critique of Donald Trump's 'America First' approach," The Associated Press said. While Biden was in France "warning of totalitarian evil and the dangers to democracy," CNN's Stephen Collinson said, Trump was "back home, seeking a favor from Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, mulling revenge and trashing U.S. elections." 

What next?
Biden will give a longer speech at the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc on Friday and return to the U.S. on Sunday.

 
 
Today's LEGAL story

Steve Bannon ordered to prison by July 1

What happened
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on Thursday ordered Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's former campaign chair and White House chief strategist, to report to prison by July 1 to serve a four-month sentence after being convicted of contempt of Congress nearly two years ago. 

Who said what
Bannon was convicted in July 2022 for "stonewalling a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol," Politico said. Bannon's initial sentence was paused while he appealed, but he "lost the first round of that challenge" last month, The New York Times said, prompting the order from Nichols, a Trump appointee.

Bannon vowed to fight his conviction "all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to," and accused the Justice Department of "shutting down the MAGA movement, shutting down grassroots conservatives, shutting down President Trump."

What next?
Bannon is "unlikely to be able to stave off prison" unless a higher court "steps in to block Nichols' decision," Politico said. He faces separate charges in Manhattan for allegedly defrauding investors in a private wall along the southern U.S. border.

 
 
Today's SPACE Story

Boeing, SpaceX successfully test key rockets

What happened
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft docked at the International Space Station on Thursday afternoon, depositing astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams for a brief stay, a day after the aerospace giant's first crewed space flight launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Hours earlier, rival space company SpaceX conducted the first successful full test flight of its Starship, the world's largest and most powerful rocket.

Who said what
NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX to build spacecraft to replace the retired shuttle fleets, and Space X's Dragon capsules have been flying astronauts to the ISS since 2020. "When Starliner is certified, the United States will have two unique human transportation systems for ISS," said Jim Free, NASA's associate administrator.

This was Starship's fourth test flight and Boeing's third attempt to launch Wilmore and Williams into space aboard Starliner. Neither flight was flawless. Starliner had four helium leaks and briefly lost the use of five maneuvering thrusters. "Despite loss of many tiles and a damaged flap," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, "Starship made it all the way to a soft landing in the ocean!"

What next?
Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth no earlier than June 14, Boeing said.

 
 

It's not all bad

Researchers recently discovered that statins, medications used to lower cholesterol, can also suppress chronic inflammation, a major cause of cancer. Environmental toxins that lead to chronic inflammation activate the TLR3/4 and TBK1-IRF3 pathways, resulting in the production of the IL-33 protein. A team from Mass General Cancer Center found that the statin pitavastatin blocks the activation of TBK1-IRF3, suppressing IL-33. In mice testing, the drug repressed inflammation of the skin and pancreas caused by environmental factors and averted the development of inflammation-related pancreatic cancers.

 
 
Under the radar

"Celibacy has had a rebrand," said Refinery29. Previously it was "intertwined with religious ideas of purity and chastity," but now the motives for abstaining from sex are "more varied." "#Celibacy" has tens of thousands of posts on TikTok, said Time Out, while the word "boysober," coined by comedian Hope Woodard to describe abstaining from dating, is gaining traction. 

The movement is about "keeping your 20s untainted by toxic dating habits and roundabout relationships," said Oliver Keens at The Independent. In the comedian's words, it's about removing the "fake sense of validation that we get from dating and situationships and sleeping around, and refocusing that energy." 

Various studies suggest that Gen Z and millennials are having "less sex than previous generations," said Refinery 29. And celibacy "persistently returns to the public conversation," said The New York Times. Much of the "current vogue for celibacy" is driven by "disgust with the digital-age dating scene." 

A recent marketing campaign by dating app Bumble sparked a backlash over slogans including "Thou shalt not give up on dating and become a nun." The negative reaction felt like the "death knell" for "sex-positive feminism," said Arwa Mahdawi at The Guardian. The campaign, which seemingly attempted to "make casual sex great again," did not land well. The "brouhaha," she said, pointed to a "fascinating change in culture."

 
 
On this day

June 7, 1965

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut, a landmark decision declaring that married couples had a constitutional right to birth control. Six decades later, concerns remain that the current Supreme Court could strike down contraception protections the same way it overturned Roe v. Wade.

 
 
TODAY’S newspaperS

Most newspapers Friday feature large photos of the D-Day celebrations in Normandy, including President Joe Biden linking the "fight for Ukraine with Allied effort" to take down the Nazis 80 years ago, the Miami Herald says. "D-Day shows 'alliances make us stronger,'" the Houston Chronicle says, quoting Biden. The president met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy near Omaha Beach, but Russian President Vladimir Putin wasn't invited due to his invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been making gains after two years of fighting, but "Putin's dilemma," The Wall Street Journal says, is there are "not enough Russians" — and his "war has made matters worse." 

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Mamma mia!

The Italian village of Ingria, with a population of 46 people, is seeing a fierce political contest play out, as 30 residents vie for spots on the town council. Igor De Santis, who's hoping to be elected mayor for the fourth time, is facing a "tough challenge" from his mother, Milena Crosasso, who joined a "rival camp," The Guardian said. Crosasso says she's confident the competition will not upset "family harmony," given everyone wants what's "best for the community."

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, Harriet Marsden, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Win McNamee / Getty Images; Kent Nishimura / Getty Images; Paul Hennessy / Anadolu via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images