Ukrainian civilians are being sent to Russia against their will, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Monday.
Driving the news: "We certainly have seen indications that Ukrainians are being moved from Ukraine into Russia," Kirby said at a press briefing, per Reuters.
Congressional leaders struck a deal Monday to send $39.8 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine that could be taken up by the House as soon as Tuesday, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The deal, which is billions more than the $33 billion the White House initially requested, is slated for quick passage after Democrats agreed to drop a key priority: separating the Ukraine aid from roughly $10 billion in funding for the coronavirus pandemic.
President Biden on Monday highlighted the urgency surrounding respective measures to provide funding to Ukraine in its war against Russia and for COVID-19 relief money at home — and he told Congress in a statement he doesn't want them packaged together.
The big picture: Biden said U.S. aid shipments to Ukraine will end in about 10 days if Congress doesn't act. At the same time, "more Americans will die needlessly" if legislators don't approve the COVID-19 funding soon, Biden wrote.
Amazon is partnering with the National Immigration Forum, an advocacy group based in D.C., to help refugee and humanitarian-based immigrant employees obtain citizenship, the group announced Monday.
Details: The partnership is an extension of Amazon's Welcome Door program, which launched about a month ago.
Lincoln College in Illinois is closing its doors on Friday after 157 years of operation due to financial strains from the pandemic and a ransomware attack last year.
Why it matters: The small private college's reality underscores the deepening financial strains that the pandemic is having on institutions of higher education.
Is a non-fungible token a piece of property? Is it tangible? Tax authorities are grappling with these and other questions as they start to set policy on the sale and transfer of NFTs.
Why it matters: NFTs are being bought and sold for huge sums — the $69 million Beeple is an anomaly, but symbolically important — and federal and state revenue departments want to get their due shares.
The U.S. will lift tariffs on Ukrainian steel for the next year in a bid to help Ukraine as its war with Russia continues, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondoannounced on Monday.
Why it matters: The move temporarily pauses part of a 2018 measure by the Trump administration to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on a broad swath of countries.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday that "Republicans have made clear that their goal will be to seek to criminalize abortion nationwide."
Driving the news: "Make no mistake: Once Republicans have dispensed with precedent and privacy in overturning Roe, they will take aim at additional basic human rights," Pelosi wrote in a "Dear Colleague" letter.
Two Molotov cocktails were discovered during the investigation into a fire that ignited Sunday at an anti-abortion rights group's office in Madison, Wisconsin, Police chief Shon Barnes said Monday at a press conference.
The latest: Barnes also said that there are no suspects in custody and that the investigation is still ongoing as a case of arson.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that protests "should never include violence, threats, or vandalism."
Driving the news: "POTUSstrongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest," Psaki wrote in a tweet. "But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism."
Vice President Kamala Harris has hired a new deputy chief of staff, Erin Wilson, who'll officially join the team on May 31, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Wilson is joining after several other notable hires throughout the VP's office, as Harris staffs up ahead of this fall's midterm elections. Wilson has ties to the West Wing, and she was Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign national political director.
More than four dozen former national security leaders are calling on Congress to exempt international advanced technical degree holders from green card caps in a bid to maintain U.S. science and tech leadership, especially over China, according to a copy of a letterviewed by Axios.
Why it matters: The breadth of signatories suggests widespread concern about China's rise could bolster bipartisan support for change in one corner of the otherwise politically charged issue of immigration policy.
New York magazine's new cover,by artist Barbara Kruger, reimagines her iconic 1989 silk-screen portrait, "Untitled (Your body is a battleground)."
Kruger tells the magazine: "If the end of Roe has come as a shock to anyone, that means they haven’t been paying attention. The left and center are asleep at the wheel of a slow-moving car crash."
Russian President Vladimir Putin railed against NATO as he spent much of his Victory Day speech in Moscow on Monday trying to justify his troops' invasion of Ukraine, per multiple reports.
Why it matters: Putin didn't use his Victory Day speech to officially declare war on Ukraine or fully mobilize Russia's reservists, as some Western officials feared he would.
Lockheed Martin intends to almost double production of Javelin missiles from 2,100 per year to 4,000 a year, CEO James Taiclet told CBS News on Sunday.
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper told CBS in an interview broadcast Sunday he helped prevent a series of "dangerous things that could have taken the country in a dark direction" during his time in the Trump administration.
Driving the news: When CBS' Norah O'Donnell asked Esper during the "60 Minutes" interview for examples, he cited a proposal to "take military action against Venezuela," to "strike Iran" and, "at one point, somebody proposed we blockade Cuba."
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