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Politics & Policy
Politics & Policy

Good morning from the WSJ Washington Bureau. We write this newsletter each weekday to deliver exclusive insights and analysis from our reporting team in Washington. Sign up.

Stipple portrait of Miguel Gonzalez

By Miguel Gonzalez

 

What We're Watching

Biden Administration: President Biden was set to unveil a new round of U.S. restrictions on trade with Russia at the Group of Seven summit in Japan. (▶️Video)

Russia-Ukraine War: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to travel to Japan to make an in-person appearance at the G-7 summit this weekend, in his latest effort to press allies for military support.

 
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Politics

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke after a Federal Open Market Committee meeting earlier this month. PHOTO: ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES

The debt-limit impasse could force the Fed to revisit its crisis-management playbook from a decade ago.

The conflict risks leaving the Treasury Department unable to pay all its bills on time, including its obligations to holders of U.S. government securities—the lifeblood of global markets, reports Nick Timiraos. The Fed’s options include buying Treasurys shunned by investors because of the risk of a delayed payment or allowing banks to pledge defaulted securities as collateral for loans from the central bank.

  • How Close Could the U.S. Get to a Default in June? (Read)
Exclusive icon.Exclusive icon. WSJ News Exclusive

An antiabortion group used phone location data to target online content to visitors of some Planned Parenthood clinics.

A nonprofit fund established by the organization Wisconsin Right to Life was using precise geolocation data to target ads from as early as November 2019 through late last year, according to a Veritas Society website, several former employees of an advertising-technology company it used to target the ads, and other people familiar with the matter, reports Byron Tau.

In other politics news...

  • Disney Scraps Plan for $900 Million Florida Campus Amid Dispute With Gov. DeSantis (Read)
  • Biden Appeals-Court Pick Michael Delaney Withdraws (Read)
 

The WSJ’s Evan Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained in Russia after he was arrested while on a reporting trip and accused of spying—a charge the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny. Follow the latest coverage, sign up for an email alert, and learn how you can use social media to support Evan.

 

Economy

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

U.S. home prices posted their largest annual drop in more than 11 years in April.

Existing home sales, which make up most of the housing market, fell 3.4% in April from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.28 million, the National Association of Realtors said, reports Nicole Friedman. A steep rise in mortgage rates this year has made home purchasing less affordable to most buyers and discouraged current homeowners with locked-in low rates from selling.

  • In Today’s Housing Market, It’s Timing Over Location (Read)

In other economic news...

  • Fed Officials Suggest June Rate Rise Will Be Close Call (Read)
  • The Numbers: A Millennial Puzzle: More Diverse but More Segregated (Read)
 

National Security

U.S. airmen prepare to send ammunition and other military equipment to Ukraine. PHOTO: U.S. AIR FORCE/ZUMA PRESS

The U.S. State Department is trying to speed sales and delivery of arms to foreign allies and partners.

The U.S. government oversees about $45 billion in annual arms sales that animate its foreign policy around the world, reports Gordon Lubold. But some of those sales can get mired in a system criticized for being risk averse and sluggish, resulting in delays that can send some of those other countries shopping for arms from some of America’s adversaries, such as Russia and China.

In other national security news...

  • TikTok Creators Sue Montana Over State’s Ban of Short-Video Platform (Read)
 

World

A Ukrainian soldier recently fired a weapon toward Russian positions in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. PHOTO: LIBKOS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Pentagon said an accounting mistake left the U.S. with an additional $3 billion to use in sending arms to Ukraine.

The military services inadvertently used a higher value for at least some of the weaponry the Pentagon sent to Ukraine, using valuations for new equipment instead of the older gear pulled out of U.S. stockpiles, report Gordon Lubold and Doug Cameron. The error could eliminate the Biden administration’s need to ask Congress for more money to keep Kyiv in the fight this spring.

  • Ukraine Races to Forge New Army Ahead of Offensive (Read)
  • Train Derails in Russia-Controlled Crimea, With Authorities Blaming ‘Outsiders’ (Read)
  • ▶️Video: How Russia Tries to Re-Educate Ukrainian Children in Occupied Regions (Watch)

In other world news...

  • U.S., Taiwan Reach Trade Deal as Tensions With China Simmer (Read)
  • China Puts Spymaster in Charge of U.S. Corporate Crackdown (Read)
  • Tokyo Meeting Highlights Democracies’ Push to Secure Chip Supplies (Read)
 

Business Regulation

Concern in Congress about risks posed by new artificial-intelligence tools is fueling calls for a new regulatory agency.

The agency could be charged with granting licenses for AI platforms, setting operating standards and enforcing compliance with the rules, reports Ryan Tracy. It is one of many proposals as lawmakers contend with a technology able to complete an array of tasks, including holding conversations and creating videos—but which also could be used to commit sophisticated crimes and spread false information.

In other regulatory news....

Exclusive icon.Exclusive icon. WSJ News Exclusive
  • The U.S. ‘Fast-Tracked’ a Power Project. After 17 Years, It Just Got Approved. (Read)
  • Dozens of Car Models Tied to Potentially Explosive Air-Bag Part, WSJ Finds (Read)
 

Legal News

The Supreme Court unanimously rejected efforts to hold Twitter, Google and Facebook culpable for Islamic State attacks because they hosted terrorist material on their sites.

The high court sidestepped any fuller reckoning with Section 230, the foundational internet law that shields social-media platforms from liability for user-generated content, reports Jan Wolfe. The decisions—a 9-0 ruling in Twitter v. Taamneh and an order remanding another case, Gonzalez v. Google, to a lower court—are a significant but limited win for tech companies in their fight to curb their liability for their users’ actions.

  • Sanofi Wins Supreme Court Patent Dispute With Amgen (Read)
  • High Court Rules Andy Warhol’s Image of Prince Breaches Copyright Laws (Read)

In other legal news...

  • Arkansas Seeks End to School Desegregation Settlements (Read)
 

What We're Reading

  • Philadelphia’s likely next mayor could offer a model for how Democrats talk about crime. (AP)
  • Recent polling underscores that former President Donald Trump may have to work to regain some evangelicals’ support to win the GOP nomination for president, which could help Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (FiveThirtyEight)
  • The U.S. effort to curb fentanyl use faces geopolitical obstacles since most of the world’s supply of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals come from China or Mexico, where policies and priorities make effective control of production difficult. (Foreign Affairs)
 

Readers, I'm stepping away from the newsletter for several months, as I begin parental leave next week. This branzino with green tahini recipe is a great one to go out on. The seared fish is topped with tahini blended with mint and sorrel, and the Calabrian chiles in the salad dressing truly shine.

PHOTO: LINDA XIAO FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FOOD STYLING BY PEARL JONES, PROP STYLING BY MARINA BEVILACQUA

 

About Us

This newsletter is written by the WSJ Washington bureau. Send feedback to politics@wsj.com. You can follow politics coverage on our Politics page and at @wsjpolitics on Twitter.

 
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