Extra, Extra

Another Winter is Coming: “The meeting in Brussels, less than two weeks into the campaign, illustrates how a counteroffensive born in optimism has failed to deliver its expected punch, generating friction and second-guessing between Washington and Kyiv and raising deeper questions about Ukraine’s ability to retake decisive amounts of territory.” WaPo (Gift Article): Miscalculations, divisions marked offensive planning by U.S., Ukraine. It will take a few history books to place blame for what went wrong in the past few months. In the next few months, it could be a lot more clear. “The Biden administration on Monday sent Congress an urgent warning about the need to approve tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance to Ukraine, saying Kyiv’s war effort to defend itself from Russia’s invasion may grind to a halt without it.”

+ Don’t Ask, Don’t Sell: Meanwhile, on the broader issue of defense spending… Loyalists, Lapdogs, and Cronies. This is part of a new series from The Atlantic: If Trump Wins. And from the NYT (Gift Article): Why a Second Trump Presidency May Be More Radical Than His First. (I think NYT headline editors can safely replace the word May with the word Will.)

+ Consumers Not Spent: Here’s something that has confused a lot of economists. “Throughout a period of sky-high interest rates, depleted savings and grinding inflation, Americans have spent with abandon.”

+ Awaiting a Stipe End: The end of the world as Michael Stipe knew it came to an end when REM disbanded. Recently, he’s been working on a solo album. But life keeps getting in the way. NYT Mag (Gift Article): Michael Stipe Is Writing His Next Act. Slowly.