Kremlin backs Serbia, denies Russia is stoking tensions
MERDARE, Kosovo, Dec 28 (Reuters) – Kosovo closed its biggest border crossing with Serbia on Wednesday after protesters blocked it on the Serbian side to support their ethnic kin in Kosovo in refusing to recognise the country’s independence.
Tensions between Belgrade and Pristina have been running high since last month when representatives of ethnic Serbs in the north of Kosovo left state institutions including the police and judiciary over the Kosovo government’s decision to replace Serbian issued car licence plates.
Kosovan Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said on Tuesday Serbia, under the influence of Russia, was aiming to destabilise Kosovo. Serbia denies it is trying to destabilise its neighbour and says it just wants to protect its minority there.
The Kremlin on Wednesday also denied the Kosovan accusations but said it supported Belgrade. “Serbia is a sovereign country and it is absolutely wrong to look for Russia’s destructive influence here,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
For over 20 years, Kosovo has been a source of tension between the West which backed its independence and Russia which supports Serbia in its efforts to block the country’s membership in international organisations including United Nations.
Since Dec. 10, Serbs in northern Kosovo have exchanged fire with police and erected more than 10 roadblocks in and around Mitrovica. Their action followed the arrest of a former Serb policeman accused of assaulting serving police officers.
Serbia on Monday put its troops on highest alert. Late on Tuesday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who said Serbia was continuing to fight peace and seek a compromise, inspected the troops close to the border.
CROSSING BLOCKED
[1/7] A view of Merdare border crossing between Kosovo and Serbia which was closed by Kosovo after protesters blocked it on the Serbian side to support their ethnic kin in Kosovo in refusing to recognise the country’s independence, near Podujevo, Kosovo, December 28, 2022. REUTERS/Florion Goga
Serbs in Serbia used a truck and tractors on Tuesday to create the latest roadblock, close to the Merdare crossing on Kosovo’s eastern border, Belgrade-based media reported.
The government in Pristina has asked NATO’s peacekeeping force for the country, KFOR, to clear the barricades. But KFOR has no authority to act on Serbian soil.
Kosovo’s Foreign Ministry announced on its Facebook page the Merdare crossing had been closed since midnight, saying: “If you have already entered Serbia then you have to use other border crossings … or go through North Macedonia.”
The Merdare entry point is Kosovo’s most important for road freight, as well as complicating the journeys of Kosovars working elsewhere in Europe from returning home for holidays.
With two smaller crossings on the Serbian border in the north closed since Dec. 10, only three entry points between the two countries remain open.
Pristina main airport was also closed on Tuesday morning over a bomb threat, Kosovo police said in a statement. Police did not say if it was related to the recent tensions.
Serbian Defence Minister, Milos Vucevic, said Vucic was in talks with the so called Quint group of the United States, Italy, France, Germany and Britain about the current tensions can be resolved.
Around 50,000 Serbs living in ethnically divided northern Kosovo refuse to recognise the government in Pristina or the status of Kosovo as a country separate from Serbia. They have the support of many Serbs in Serbia and its government.
Albanian-majority Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with the backing of the West, following a 1998-99 war in which NATO intervened to protect ethnic Albanian citizens.
Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Bradley Perrett and Alison Williams
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
We got a lot to get to this week. Read Claire’s blog, you’ll get smarter.
Come back here to kill those brain cells.
Let’s talk NXT Roadblock!
Show Off
Dolph Ziggler is the new NXT champ. Yup, not even going to bury the lede here or pretend that’s not the biggest story. It is. Did he do it in a respectful way? Of course not. Dolph is a heel and real heels do heel things. Actually, the way he won is so critical to his character, and true to character for Tommaso Ciampa and Bron Breakker.
But before we get to that, let’s get to the match. Dolph was the smartest cat in the match, illustrated when he refused to lock up with anyone and let Bron and Ciampa fight each other for just a bit. It wasn’t long, but it was long enough to break up their little alliance and truly make it a triple threat rather than a glorified handicap match. Ziggler came in with a plan while his opponents seemingly just came to wrestle.
And it was damn fine wrestling. Neither man dominated, a great way to show they’re evenly matched. Ciampa kicked out of a Fameasser and a Zig Zag, Breakker kicked out of a Fairytale Ending (although it was a delayed count), and Dolph refused to stay down for anything. He broke up every pin attempt and showed his time in a WWE ring truly put him a sliver above the rest. If just a sliver. Dolph wanted to divide, conquer, and buy time because he had an ace up his sleeve. A rather big ace.
Bron Breakker had the match won. Ciampa was out of commission and Dolph was flat on his back, courtesy of a Military Press and Powerslam. Just like last week, Big Bob Roode put his nose in the match, and pulled the ref out of the ring just before the count of three. Bron, just like the rookie he is, went after Roode rather than keeping his composure and focusing on the match. I like touches like that because, like I said, they’re true to character while enforcing a match’s underlying narrative: Bron is the underdog due to a lack of experience. And, not for nothing, it’s easy to get him off his axis because of his temper.
While Bron is running after Robert, it gives Ciampa time to recoup, while Dolph waits in the wings. Bron gets back in the ring and gets handled by Ciampa. Tommaso was ready for a running knee strike after failing to put Bron away. But, once again, Roode saved the day for his partner. He pulled Bron out of the way of Ciampa’s knee, and when Ciampa turned around to gather himself, he ate a mouth full of Dolph’s superkick.
And now? Dolph Ziggler is the new NXT champion.
This is the right move if only because it gives more options for the story. Ciampa or Bron winning just resets everything and makes Dolph’s entire time in NXT irrelevant. But as champion? Now there’s mystery, intrigue, and genuine confusion for the brand. How does this work now with Dolph as champion? Who is he fighting at Stand and Deliver? Does this affect Ciampa and Bron’s uneasy alliance? And if so, how?
While not as good as Dolph and Ciampa’s bout, this one delivered. And the “shock” ending was well worth the overrun.
Extracurriculars
Bedlam
LA Knight almost did it. Knight almost eradicated Grayson Waller in their Last Man Standing match. But he let his hatred blind him to the most important part of any wrestling match. No, not “stealing the show,” despite what some people will tell you. It’s paramount to, ya know, win.
Knight started the match before the bell went ding, a touch you all know I love. And he pretty much stayed on top of Waller for most of the match. Inside the ring, outside of the ring, Knight’s purpose was pain. LA thought the match was over when he tossed Grayson from the top scaffolding in the arena, but surprise surprise, Sanga reared his head, cradling Grayson in his arms like a newborn.
Needless to say, Sanga changed the tone of the match. Waller found his second wind with the big man at ringside, bringing out handcuffs to “lock down” his opponent. But Knight, knowing he had no shot with Sanga there, turned those pesky tables on the bodyguard and cuffed him around the ring post.
With Sanga neutralized, Knight punished his opponent. Not just chair shots, but putting a trash can around Waller’s head and then giving the chair shots. But LA refused to let well enough go. Waller looked down for the count but Knight wanted more.
After clearing the announce table, Knight fell victim to a foreign object hidden in Waller’s pockets. And yes, I know how that reads. Let’s move on.
Waller hit his favorite high risk maneuver off the top rope on a defenseless Knight, broke the turntable, and stumbled over to his bodyguard to prop him up as the ref counted to 10. When the man didn’t have a leg to stand on, literally, Sanga kept him afloat and carried him to the W.
Great match with an earned finish, telegraphed through solid storytelling. Clearly, this will continue into Stand and Deliver. I can’t wait.
Sabotage!
The headline here should be Dakota Kai and Wendy Choo moving to the Dusty Cup finals. Unfortunately, NXT Roadblock had other ideas. Midway through the very good opening tag team semifinals match, Toxic Attraction descended from their perch to attack Raquel Gonzalez’s knee. And not the normal attack either. “WWE officials” checked on Raquel to see if Big Mami could still go, and she powered through.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work. While Cora Jade did her best to carry the match, she eventually needed to tag in the former champ. It was obvious Raquel’s knee was no good, and it gave way when she went to hit her finisher. Dakota Kai had a moment where she hesitated taking out her old partner, but finished the job anyway.
Toxic Attraction did everything in their power to stop Raquel and Cora from getting a shot at their tag titles. Mission accomplished. Cora, clearly upset and with every reason, attacked Mandy Rose in the Toxic Lounge. Again, completely justifiable.
That said, I wish the bigger story out of the match was Wendy and Dakota moving forward rather than the shenanigans around their victory.
Geniuses
As opposed to the first semifinal match, Kay Lee Ray & Io Shirai vs. Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter was all about them. And it was another banger on a night filled with them. The turning point of this match was a simple miscalculation from Carter and Catanzaro. Kay Lee Ray and Io had Kacy in the worst possible position. Not Lotus, but on the top turnbuckle with nowhere to go but down.
Carter, out of nowhere, threw Io to the outside, and put KLR on her shoulders. What followed was a crazy inverted hurricanrana, that, in any other world, ends the match. But both women lost sight of Shirai. As a result, Io charged back into the ring and pushed Carter into Catanzaro, breaking up the pin attempt at two when it was a heartbeat away from three.
Heart. Breaking.
One KLR bomb later, and KLR and Io are the second makeshift tag team entering the Dusty Cup finals for a shot at the champs. It’s an interesting development that two odd couple teams, begrudgingly put together out of necessity, are fighting for the whole enchilada.
Creedence
The parking lot is the most dangerous place to be in NXT. Everyone knows that. Except the Brothers Creed, apparently, since they got caught slipping. Someone attacked the two cats with a shot at NXT gold, putting their title shot in jeopardy. While everyone pointed fingers at different tag teams (Imperium, Briggs & Jensen, Legado del Fantasma), Malcolm Bivens’ boys were ruled unable to compete. Guess who took their place? Okay, don’t have time for you to guess. MSK!
And the NXT tag title match between MSK and Imperium was, shockingly, going really well. Imperium stuck to their script and slowed MSK down in a lot of moments. MSK still got their offense in, but the match was trending in the direction of the champs.
And then the Creed boys came to the ring and chose all the violence. They attacked both teams, clearly irate and just wanting to fight.
My guess? We’re getting a triple threat at Stand and Deliver with all three teams while Bivens uncovers the assailants. While I wanted a winner, I actually prefer this scenario since it gives us a title match with three dope teams with very different styles, and a story with a whole lot of intrigue.
Revenge? Thy Name is Sarray
Tiffany Stratton and Sarray got into it last week. By “got into it” I mean the former slammed the latter into a wall all because she felt disrespected. Sarray got revenge this week, interfering in Stratton’s match against Fallon Henley. Sarray resorted to the tried and true “smoke near the entrance” trick for a distraction, attacked Tiffany when no one was looking, and Fallon picked up the upset.
It was a pretty good match before the shenanigans, with both women showing growth in the ring. Stratton is a great character who is putting everything together in the ring. Bears watching…unless Sarray says otherwise.
Pursuit U
Chase U continues its streak of entertainment. That is all.
Lashing Out
THIS is how you use Lash Legend’s talk show. Advance her beefs, show her character, and highlight her future opponent. This week we got…Nikkita Lyons and yes, she deserves all the highlights. Lash, believing Nikkita is gassed for her looks, “ass implants” and not her skill, is tired of getting overshadowed. So, yeah, they’re going to fight.
Roadblock was on point from start to finish. A new champion, Dusty Cup finals are set, drama between Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta, Carmelo Hayes set the rules for his next challengers, and the Creed Bros are very, very angry.
The only negative I have for the show is Xyon Quinn getting thrown into this Joe Gacy and Draco Anthony. Meh.
But other than that? A show even without the A champion.
Grade: A
That’s my grade and I’m sticking to it. Your turn.
Sometimes, you wake up in the morning, read a piece, and think, “I should have written that.” That’s how I felt reading Carl Hulse in this morning’s New York Times about the real reasons the bipartisan infrastructure bill might not make it out of Congress: Capitol Hill’s “trust deficit.”
As the Senate approaches its scheduled August recess — a soft deadline before which Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER hopes to pass both BIF and the budget reconciliation package — it’s clear that the devil isn’t in the details so much as in one overarching reality: “everyone in Congress these days seems to believe everyone else is up to something,” Hulse writes.
You don’t have to look hard to find evidence.
— On Friday, the bipartisan deal hit a snag when some Republicans feared that Democrats had made last-minute changes to sneak liberal provisions into a 2,540-page draft of the bill.
— Among Democrats, suspicions abound that some of their Republican colleagues were complicit in the Jan. 6 insurrection — which makes it hard to trust one another, let alone work together. And even if there are areas of common cause — say, for instance, MITCH MCCONNELL’S support of the BIF — there’s still the lingering memory of past slights.
— Then there are the intraparty suspicions. Hulse writes that progressives are leary that “their more moderate colleagues will give too much ground in their zeal to notch a bipartisan achievement.” But you also see it on issues like the eviction moratorium: “We cannot in good faith blame the Republican Party when House Democrats have a majority,” Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.) said on CNN this morning. See also: “Progressive members of Congress pen letter urging Biden, CDC chief to act on expiring eviction ban,” by ABC’s Molly Nagle.
— And then, there’s Capitol Hill’s oldest rivalry: The House doesn’t trust the Senate, and vice versa. But for reconciliation to work, they have to trust one another.
This is all paranoia inducing. And this week is shaping up as a test of whether or not that paranoia can be overcome.
— As AP’s Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro report, the Senate hopes to wrap up the draft text of the infrastructure bill today. “To prod the work along, Schumer kept senators in a weekend session, encouraging the authors of a bipartisan infrastructure plan to finish drafting the bill so that senators can begin offering amendments,” they write.
We’ll see soon if they’re able to sing kumbaya and pass bipartisan legislation instead of maintaining the very public perception that they can’t work together.
MANCHIN DOWNPLAYS HIS OWN BOOING: On CNN’s “State of the Union” this morning, JAKE TAPPER asked Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) about our scoop on Friday that the centrist Democrat was booed at a Demcratic caucus luncheon last week when he dared mention the deficit. The senator said it was more of a “boo-no, no-boo or something.” (Pretty sure that’s the same.)
Good Sunday morning, and thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.
THREE TOP READS FOR SUNDAY …
— Ruby Cramer sits in on the private weekly Zoom meeting where the descendents of FDR’s cabinet members talk politics. “They are determined to polish the legacy of America’s 32nd president by pushing the 46th to embrace a legislative agenda as transformational as the New Deal,” she writes. And though JAMES ROOSEVELT JR. tells Ruby that they’ve “not been invited to the White House,” the administration has come to them: Labor Sec. MARTY WALSH joined one of their meetings in July. “[C]ertainly we see indirectly a lot of evidence that what we’ve advocated is showing up,” says Roosevelt.
— NYT’s Ross Douthat assesses the strength of Trump’s grip on the GOP. This week, some observers were quick to declare that DONALD TRUMP’s influence is waning, pointing to the loss of his favored candidate in a Texas special election and the collective shrug that met his demand that Republicans not support the BIF. As Douthat sees it, reality is a bit more complicated. “In areas that involve the details of policy or the machinery of governance, Trump can be defeated,” he writes. “In any referendum on the question ‘Should Donald Trump be our leader in the battle against liberalism?’ his winning record is unmatched. … Trump has a certain kind of political genius and a strong personal bond with the Republican base, and Trump’s influence ebbs the further you get from the world of rhetoric and personal identification.”
— WaPo’s William Wan on the grieving families who want Congress to create a Covid Memorial Day. “[T]heir most immediate ask — the one they previously thought would be the least objectionable and easily secured — was for the country to designate a day of national remembrance to recognize all the people they, and the entire country, had lost,” Wan writes. “Despite all their work, they had not won a single new sponsor for the covid memorial day resolution. No Republican seemed remotely close to joining.”
SUNDAY BEST …
Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) on CNN’s “State of the Union” on the infrastructure legislation timeline: “On Friday night, we did send out to Senate offices a large amount of the authorizing, the policy legislation. Overnight, we have been finishing up the spending provisions, the appropriations provisions, and marrying them to the bill. And we really are just about finished. But large parts of text have already been shared with Senate offices. … My hope is that we will finish it — the bill by the end of the week.”
— On Trump’s threat to campaign against Republicans who support the bill: “I think each senator will make his or her own decision and look at the benefits to his or her own state. I have worked with the members of our group, so that we have a state-by-state analysis. And, in the end, I think we will have more than 10 Republicans who support the bill.”
Manchin on “State of the Union”on the reconciliation package: “I can’t really guarantee anybody. And I have not guaranteed anybody on any of these pieces of legislation. Would we like to do more? Yes, you can do what you can pay for. This is paid for. Our infrastructure bill is all paid for. … And on the other, as far as reconciliation goes, it should be looked at the same. … Let’s start the process and then see where it goes. On that, we should just work in good faith and be honest with each other, so no one’s misled in any way, shape or form, and there should be no quid pro quo.”
AOC on “State of the Union” on the two-track infrastructure plan: “If there is not a reconciliation bill in the House, and if the Senate does not pass the reconciliation bill, we will uphold our end of the bargain and not pass the bipartisan bill until we get all of these investments in. And I want to be clear that the investments in the bipartisan bill are not all candy land. There are some of these — quote, unquote, pay-fors — that are very alarming that we need to see the language on.”
— On how many House progressives support her approach: “I am not the whip of the Progressive Caucus. But what I can tell you is that it’s certainly more than three. And it is in the double digits, absolutely.” TAPPER: “Enough to prevent it from passing?” AOC: “More than enough.”
Rep. ADAM KINZINGER (R-Ill.) on ABC’s “This Week” on the Jan. 6 select committee: “I would expect to see a significant amount of subpoenas. … I want to know what the president was doing every moment that day. … I want to know if the National Guard took five or six hours to get to Capitol Hill. Did the president make calls? If he didn’t, why?” More from Craig Howie
BIDEN’S SUNDAY — The president has nothing on his public schedule.
KAMALA HARRIS’ SUNDAY — The VP has nothing on her public schedule.
CONGRESS
BENNIE THOMPSON’S BIG DECISION — “Jan. 6 committee faces unprecedented choice of whether to call Republican lawmakers to testify,” by WaPo’s Karoun Demirjian, Marianna Sotomayor and Jacqueline Alemany: “[Rep. BENNIE] THOMPSON (D-Miss.), said in an interview that there is ‘no reluctance to subpoena’ any member of Congress ‘whose testimony is germane to the mission of the select committee’ if they resist cooperating voluntarily. …
“But legal experts said there is little precedent for forcing lawmakers to testify as part of a congressional inquiry if they resist a subpoena, an issue members of the Jan. 6 panel said they have yet to fully investigate or plan for.”
THE HOUSE DIVIDED — “Tensions in the House of Representatives boil over after 1/6 hearing and mask rule,” by CNN’s Annie Grayer
CLASSY — Main Street Nashville’s @Vivian_E_Jones: “The Tennessee delegation just presented @GOPLeader [KEVIN MCCARTHY] with an oversized gavel. ‘I want you to watch Nancy Pelosi hand me that gavel… It’ll be hard not to hit her with it,’ he joked.”The audio
JAN 6. AND ITS AFTERMATH
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS — “Already Distorting Jan. 6, G.O.P. Now Concocts Entire Counternarrative,” NYT’s Lisa Lerer and Nicholas Fandos, not mincing words in the paper of record: “This past week, amid the emotional testimony of police officers at the first hearing of a House select committee, Republicans completed their journey through the looking-glass, spinning a new counternarrative of that deadly day,” they write. “No longer content to absolve Mr. Trump, they concocted a version of events in which those accused of rioting were patriotic political prisoners and Speaker NANCY PELOSI was to blame for the violence. … This rendering of events … pointed to what some democracy experts see as a dangerous new sign in American politics: Even with Mr. Trump gone from the White House, many Republicans have little intention of abandoning the prevarication that was a hallmark of his presidency.”
TRUMP CARDS
CASH DASH — “Trump political groups raised $82M in first half of 2021,” by Alex Isenstadt and Meridith McGraw: “Trump’s political committees raised $82 million during the first half of 2021 and have $102 million in the bank … The scenario is virtually unprecedented: Never in history has a former president banked nine figures’ worth of donations to power a political operation.”
— And $56 million of that was online, as NYT’s Shane Goldmacher and Rachel Shorey report: “The next strongest online fund-raiser among Republican politicians was Senator TIM SCOTT of South Carolina … Mr. Trump raised by far the most online money among any Republican, even though he had paused much of his online solicitations starting on Jan. 6.”
— NYT’s Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher): “NEW: A Trump-affiliated super PAC, Make America Great Again Action Inc., received a $250,000 check from KELLY LOEFFLER in May 2021. Potential sign of her interest in a 2022 Senate run?”
POLITICS ROUNDUP
A NEW GIULIANI — “Andrew Giuliani tries to shed city boy image — and win a shot at Cuomo,” by Bill Mahoney: “[ANDREW] GIULIANI, the son of former New York City Mayor RUDY GIULIANI, would like to replace ANDREW CUOMO as governor of New York next year. Republicans have attempted to center the conversation about the still-crowded field of gubernatorial candidates on Rep. LEE ZELDIN. The party declared [Zeldin] the “presumed nominee” in June, a full year before primary voters will decide who the actual nominee will be. …
“Giuliani is promising to bring something resembling a Trumpian style of politics to office if elected. There’s long been an unwritten rule in New York politics that governors should not publicly feud with individual state legislators … But for Giuliani, directly combating members of the Democratic-dominated Legislature is part of his campaign pitch. … [Trump] hasn’t publicly tipped his hand on whether or when he’ll make an endorsement in the gubernatorial race.”
2022 WATCH — “Sarah Palin teases 2022 Senate run in Alaska,” by NY Post’s Jon Levine: “Former Alaska Gov. SARAH PALIN said she may yet jump back into politics, teasing the possibility of a Senate run in 2022 against incumbent LISA MURKOWSKI. ‘If God wants me to do it I will,’ Palin told an enthusiastic audience during a discussion last week with New Apostolic Reformation leader CHÉ AHN.”
TWEET OF THE DAY — @JoshMandelOhio: “The last letters in Democrat: RAT. The last letters in Republican: I CAN. That should tell you everything you need to know.”
PANDEMIC
THE NEW EPICENTER — “Florida sets a record with 21,683 new COVID-19 cases reported Saturday, the CDC says,” byMiami Herald’s David J. Neal: “Saturday, the state of Florida reported more new COVID-19 cases to the Centers for Disease Control than any previous day in the coronavirus pandemic. … Florida, which represents about 6.5% of the U.S. population, accounts for about 21.4% of the country’s new cases, based on the data the state is reporting to the CDC.”
— AP’s Mike Schneider: “Republican Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS has resisted mandatory mask mandates and vaccine requirements, and along with the state Legislature, has limited local officials’ ability to impose restrictions meant to stop the spread of COVID-19. DeSantis on Friday barred school districts from requiring students to wear masks when classes resume next month.”
OH GREAT — “When will the summer coronavirus surge peak? It will get worse before it gets better, experts predict,” by WaPo’s Ben Guarino and Dan Diamond: “The newly resurgent coronavirus could spark 140,000 to 300,000 cases a day in the United States come August … The nation is already reporting more than 70,000 cases a day.”
AND THE TASK AHEAD — “Who Are the Unvaccinated in America? There’s No One Answer,” by NYT’s Julie Bosman, Jan Hoffman, Margot Sanger-Katz and Tim Arango: “One segment of people who have avoided shots is vehemently opposed to the idea. But there is a second group, surveys suggest, that is still deciding.”
BEYOND THE BELTWAY
IMMIGRATION FILES — “Audio from migrant shelter reveals allegations of sex misconduct by staff with minors,” by NBC’s Julia Ainsley and Didi Martinez: “New audio from inside a U.S. government shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in Fort Bliss, Texas, reveals allegations of sexual misconduct by staff toward minors, acknowledgment the children were running low on clean clothes and shoes and a reluctance by officials to make public the scope of the facility’s Covid outbreak.
“‘We have already caught staff with minors inappropriately. Is that OK with you guys?’ says a federal contractor running a training session with staffers inside Fort Bliss in May. The crowd shouts back, ‘No!’ ‘I hope not,’ she says. … In a statement, Health and Human Services Secretary XAVIER BECERRA said the agency takes ‘every allegation of wrongdoing seriously.’”
AMERICA AND THE WORLD
WARNING SIGNS FOR THE IRAN DEAL — “Biden Promised to Restore the Iran Nuclear Deal. Now It Risks Derailment,” by NYT’s David Sanger, Lara Jakes and Farnaz Fassihi: “Days before a new hard-line president is set to be inaugurated in Iran, Biden administration officials have turned sharply pessimistic about their chances of quickly restoring the nuclear deal that President Donald J. Trump dismantled, fearing that the new government in Tehran is speeding ahead on nuclear research and production and preparing new demands for the United States.”
ZOOM DIPLOMACY — “U.S. top diplomat Blinken to court Southeast Asia in virtual meetings next week,” Reuters
PULLOUT FALLOUT — “As Fears Grip Afghanistan, Hundreds of Thousands Flee,” by NYT’s Christina Goldbaum and Fatima Faizi in Kabul: “With the Taliban sweeping across much of the country, at least 30,000 Afghans are leaving each week. Many more have been displaced within Afghanistan’s borders.”
POLICY CORNER
FALLING SHORT — “Across Federal Workforce, People With Disabilities See Need For More Representation,” by NPR’s Deepa Shivaram: “Four years ago, the government set a benchmark calling for every agency to commit to having no less than 12% of its employees made up of people with disabilities. But even that number fell below parity, given that 26% of American adults, or 61 million people, have a disability …
“Tracking the government’s progress has also proven difficult. Despite the 12% benchmark, the Office of Personnel Management ‘does not routinely track or report retention data on employees with disabilities,’ according to the Government Accountability Office.”
TRANSITIONS — John Gans is joining the Rockefeller Foundation as managing director for executive comms and strategic engagement. He most recently has been at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House, and is an Obama Pentagon alum and author of “White House Warriors.” … Patty Stolnacker Koch will be director of compute+ policy for the U.S. and Canada at Google. She previously was director for U.S. federal public sector at VMware government relations. … Brittany Walker is now director of policy and government affairs at the Nevada Health Care Association/Nevada Center for Assisted Living. She most recently was acting deputy chief strategy officer at the Export-Import Bank and is also a Trump HUD alum.
ENGAGED — David E. White Jr., deputy associate counsel at the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, and Dana McKinney, an architect, urban planner and founder of Studio KINN who’s joining the faculty at the University of Maryland at College Park, got engaged at the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles at sunset Friday. They met at Harvard, where he was in law school and she was at the Graduate School of Design for degrees in architecture and urban planning. Pic
WEEKEND WEDDINGS — Dannia Hakki, co-founder of Moki Media, and Christopher Powell were married on the rooftop of the Line Hotel on Saturday before their friends and family. Mayor Muriel Bowser officiated the wedding for the D.C. couple, and gave a shoutout for a cause that Hakki has been championing with the mayor — making D.C. the 51st state.Pic… Another pic
— Mike Bova, VP at Dezenhall Resources, and Kara Garrone, manager of global licensing at Ralph Lauren, got married Saturday at St Raphael’s Church in Long Island, N.Y. They originally met through a mutual friend in Manhattan over margaritas. Pic
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Josh Lipsky, director of the GeoEconomics Center at the Atlantic Council and an Obama State Department and White House alum, and Leah Eiserike Lipsky, a speech language pathologist for Montgomery County Public Schools, welcomed Hannah Beth Lipsky on Saturday morning. She came in at 8 lbs, 7 oz and joins big sister Clara.Pic… Another pic
BIRTHWEEK (was Saturday): Liana Bishop
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Josh Harder (D-Calif.), Van Taylor (R-Texas) and Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) … Howard Kurtz … Ed Gillespie of AT&T … Mikayla Hall … CSIS’ Andrew Schwartz … CEI’s Travis Burk … E&E News’ Hannah Northey … Clare Foran … former Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) … Josie Duckett McSpadden of the Gates Foundation… Karen Marangi … Brian Phillips Jr. of the House Homeland Security Dems … Drew Littman of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck … Roy Loewenstein … U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Philip Goldberg … Sheila Katz … Dana Zureikat Daoud of the Jordanian Embassy … Ellen Brown … Edelman’s Jordan Lubowitz … Benji Englander … Macaulay Porter of Glenn Youngkin’s campaign … Christina Gungoll Lepore of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s D.C. office … Scott Evertz … Hayden Center’s Larry Pfeiffer (6-0) … Martin Hamburger … POLITICO’s Chris Buddie, Emily Andrews and Jackie Ramsay … former Sen. Al D’Amato (R-N.Y.) … former Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) (8-0) … NYT’s Azi Paybarah … William Dean Singleton (7-0) … Dan Shapiro of INSS … Sarah Hagmayer … Raheem Kassam (35)
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