Resting Mitch Face: “Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history who maintained his power in the face of dramatic convulsions in the Republican Party for almost two decades, will step down from that position in November.” The next leader may not be as effective at getting what they want, but they’ll be a hell of a lot more Trumpy.

+ Family Separation: “It’s been almost two years since Sasha Radchuck, then 11, pleaded with Russian soldiers not to separate him from his mother at what was called a ‘filtration camp’ in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine, where they had both been forcibly resettled after being forced from their home in besieged Mariupol. He still talks of his mother in the present tense, but hasn’t seen or spoken to her since April 2022.” Ukrainian children recount horrors of being kidnapped by Russian soldiers.

+ Brokering Out of Jail: “Since the disgraced crypto mogul was convicted of fraud, his supporters have maneuvered to secure a lenient sentence, with his lawyers recommending he serve no longer than 6.5 years in prison.” NYT: Sam Bankman-Fried Makes His Last Stand. “Since last summer, he has been housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has spent much of his time working on the case, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Mr. Bankman-Fried has also shared crypto market tips with the guards, the person said, recommending investments in the digital coin Solana.”

+ Out of the Pan and Into the Panhandle: “The five fires have burned 575,000 acres, which is larger than Houston, as residents have fled or sheltered in place.” Texas firefighters battling massive Panhandle wildfires, including second largest in state’s history. “Since the fire started, it has spread at an average rate of 150 football fields every minute.” Here’s the latest from CNN.

+ Jair Head: “Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is under investigation for having allegedly ‘harassed’ a humpback whale while riding a personal watercraft off Sao Paulo’s coast last year.” (Somewhere at Mar-a-Lago an intern is being ordered to get the boss a whale to harass.)