Your First Look at Today's Top Stories - Daybreak Insider

Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.

Sponsored By

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Subscribe for free to the Daybreak Insider Podcast, and hear the latest reporting and analysis on these stories and more every weekday morning. Click here to subscribe.

Evidence Mounts for Putin’s War Crimes; Zelensky: “Peaceful People Tortured, and Shot Dead”

From the story: Moscow faced global revulsion and accusations of war crimes Monday after the Russian pullout from the outskirts of Kyiv revealed streets strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians, some of whom had seemingly been killed at close range. The grisly images of battered bodies left out in the open or hastily buried led to calls for tougher sanctions against the Kremlin, namely a cutoff of fuel imports from Russia (AP). From CBS News: Independent journalists who went into the town of Bucha, just northwest of the capital, over the weekend found the streets littered with bodies. The dead were wearing civilian clothing, and some had their hands tied behind their backs, apparently executed. Others were buried in a mass grave. More than 300 residents were killed, according to the town’s mayor (CNBC News). Zoya Sheftalovich: In Bucha, Zelenskyy says, Ukrainian forces retaking the city found “Hundreds of dead people. Peaceful people tortured, and shot dead. Dead bodies on the streets. Mined land. Even the bodies of those who were killed were mined. Everywhere, the consequences of looting” (Twitter).

President Biden Calls for President Putin to Be Placed on Trial for War Crimes

From the story: President Joe Biden on Monday called for evidence to be gathered to put Russian leader Vladimir Putin on trial for war crimes related to his nation’s invasion of Ukraine. “This guy is brutal, and what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone’s seen it,” Biden told reporters, a day after video and still images revealed the town’s streets littered with dead bodies. “I think it is a war crime. … He should be held accountable” (CNBC). From USA Today: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the U.S. will announce the sanctions later this week to “raise the pressure and raise the cost on Putin in Russia.” He did not elaborate but said new sanctions on Russia’s energy sectors are on the table (USA Today).

Eleven, and Counting: The Latest Kamala Harris Staffer Resigns

From the story: Vice President Kamala Harris’s deputy chief of staff Michael Fuchs is set to leave the administration in May, the 11th staffer to leave in as many months. Fuchs has advised Harris on domestic and international issues, helped manage staff and accompanied her on foreign trips. He worked as a foreign policy advisor for President Bill Clinton and in the State Department under President Barack Obama (The Daily Mail). From The New York Post: Questions have been raised as many of last year’s departures from the vice president’s office coincided with growing criticism over her reported treatment of staff. The White House has insisted the departures are in keeping with usual levels of Washington churn (The New York Post).

Elon Musk Becomes Twitter's Largest Shareholder Owning 9.2 Percent of All Shares

From the story: Tesla CEO Elon Musk opened a new front in his criticism of Silicon Valley tech giants on Monday morning when he disclosed he acquired a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter in mid-March, meaning Musk is now the company’s biggest shareholder (Townhall). From The New York Times: The purchase, made public on Monday in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is worth about $2.89 billion based on the closing price of Twitter’s stock on Friday. News of Mr. Musk’s buy-in sent Twitter share prices soaring (The New York Times). Musk is clearly motivated—at least in part—by First Amendment free expression. From his Tweet on March 26: Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done? (Twitter).

Hunter Biden Laptop Story Exposes Elite Media

From the story: A surge of recent reporting on Hunter Biden by outlets that once widely dismissed and downplayed reports about him in 2020 marks the latest chapter in the debate over mainstream media credibility… A year-and-a-half later, the laptop’s contents are part of reporting on what the Washington Post called “the ways in which his family profited from relationships built over Joe Biden’s decades in public service” and how what the New York Times says “his professional life has intersected with his father’s public service” (Fox News). The Washington Post’s editorial board wrote a piece stating the story is a chance for a media reckoning: For now, what’s more compelling than the assorted accusations about the Bidens’ behavior is this question: Why is confirmation of a story that first surfaced in the fall of 2020 emerging only now (The Washington Post)?

President Biden Called Out for Gas Prices by Oil Executive

From the story: “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Will Cain set out to explore the crux of America’s energy industry by getting the inside scoop from Discovery Operating, an independently-owned oil company supplying energy to the U.S. from over 300 wells across Texas. “We were energy independent under the Trump administration, and we can be again.” [Canary CEO] Eberhart answered. “The American oilfield is definitely capable of more, and it frustrates me giantly when I hear Biden calling OPEC, Venezuela saying ‘we want more oil’” (Fox News).

New York City Mayor Fails in Attempt to Shame Florida

From the story: In a desperate attempt to gain back citizens who have moved out of the Big Apple, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is dunking on Florida and lying about the recently signed Parental Rights in Education bill. New York has lost more people to Florida than any other state thanks to leftist policies, out of control crime and tyrannical Wuhan coronavirus measures. This fact was not lost on the office of Governor Ron DeSantis (Townhall). NY School Superintendent Joel Petlin: What a waste of NY taxpayer dollars to start an advertising war with another State (Twitter).

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s SCOTUS Voting Moves to The Senate

The upper chamber voted 53-47 to discharge Jackson’s nomination from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which earlier Monday deadlocked 11-11 on sending her nomination to the Senate floor. The successful discharge means that Jackson is on track for final confirmation this week. All Democrats voted in favor of proceeding to debate the nomination, as did three Republicans: Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine (The Washington Examiner).

No, Ketanji Brown Jackson Will Not Be the “First Black Supreme Court Justice”; Politico Issues Correction

In an article discussing the pending likely confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, Politico falsely claimed that Jackson would have been the first black justice — then issued a correction. “Let’s walk you through how the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first Black Supreme Court justice is likely to unfold this week,” the outlet originally said. Now, the word “female” has been added after the word “Black” (The Daily Wire).

10.

The U.S. Seizes Superyacht of Russian Billionaire Close to Putin

It’s the 16^th seizure of a Russia oligarch-linked yacht, but the first including U.S. involvement (Yahoo). From the story: U.S. authorities seized a 255-foot luxury yacht in Spain owned by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg on Monday under a new sanctions drive to punish the financial elite close to Russian President Vladimir Putin by seizing assets such as ships, luxury real estate and private aircraft (The Washington Post). From CNN: The US Justice Department said the $90 million superyacht, dubbed “Tango,” was seized based on alleged violations of US bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions statutes. Its seizure happened on Spain’s Mallorca island in the Mediterranean, according to court documents. The US judge who allowed the seizure, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui, issued a scathing eight-page order in which he cited Putin’s “murder of civilians” and destruction of Ukraine’s cities (CNN).