Five Things to Know, May 6, 2024
1. Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening. The drills are in response to “provocative statements and threats of certain Western officials regarding the Russian Federation,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
2. The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent. The announcement complicates last-ditch efforts by international mediators, including the director of the CIA, to broker a cease-fire. The militant Hamas group and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that invading Rafah — along the border with Egypt — could derail the talks, and the United States has repeatedly urged Israel against the invasion.
3. American and Philippine troops blasted targets in the South China Sea on Monday, honing the skills they’d need to deter an invading force. The training was part of the annual Balikatan exercise involving 16,0000 mostly U.S. and Filipino troops that began April 22 and wraps up Friday. This year’s Balikatan — “shoulder to shoulder” in Tagalog — is underway at a time of increased tension with Beijing, which has territorial disputes with the Philippines and several other nations in the South China Sea, along with designs on reunification with democratic Taiwan, by force if necessary.
4. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown this week will make their fourth appearance of the spring on Capitol Hill to discuss the fiscal 2025 defense budget request, an annual cycle that this year has focused as much on Ukraine and Gaza as the future of the American military force. House and Senate lawmakers have peppered the two Defense Department leaders with questions about American military operations in both regions. Although no U.S. troops are directly involved in the fighting, American military equipment is being used in both conflicts.
5. Burt Rutan was alarmed to see the plane he had designed was so loaded with fuel that the wing tips started dragging along the ground as it taxied down the runway. He grabbed the radio to warn the pilot, his older brother Dick Rutan. But Dick never heard the message. Nine days and three minutes later, Dick, along with copilot Jeana Yeager, completed one of the greatest milestones in aviation history: the first round-the-world flight with no stops or refueling. A decorated Vietnam War pilot, Dick Rutan died Friday evening at a hospital in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with Burt and other loved ones by his side. He was 85.