Today’s Headlines and Commentary

Subscribe to receive this newsletter directly to your inbox.

An armed man was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home in Maryland after making threats against the supreme court justice, writes the Washington Post. The man was stopped at a nearby street while carrying a gun, knife, and tools for a burglary before reaching Kavanaugh’s house, according to anonymous sources.

Ukrainian forces are on the verge of retreating from the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, which has been a focus of the Russian campaign in the Luhansk region, writes Reuters. The governor of the region says that while fighting is still ongoing for control of the city, Russian troops occupy most of the urban center. Ukrainian forces in Sievierodonetsk are fighting at an equipment disadvantage, according to a spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, as Russian troops have 10 times the equipment that the Ukrainian forces possess in parts of the city.

The Russian government says that grain shipments will resume from the Russian-controlled Ukrainian port of Berdiansk, amid concerns of a global food crisis, writes the Guardian. The announcement follows talks between Russia and Turkey on establishing a sea lane to export Ukrainian grain. One proposal would have Turkish warships demine Ukrainian ports to allow for safe export of grain along the Black Sea, reports the Wall Street Journal. Ukraine was not present at the talks and has not agreed to a deal with Turkey and Russia, as they are concerned that Russia would use the passage for military attacks.

Major civilian pro-democracy groups are boycotting talks sponsored by the United Nations and African Union focused on re-establishing political stability in Sudan, according to Reuters. Sudan has been experiencing an economic crisis and government deadlock since military leaders seized control of the country last year, ending a power-sharing agreement with civilian political parties instituted in 2019 after President Omar al-Bashir was deposed. The pro-democracy groups say the talks in their present structure provide legitimacy to the military, which they argue has not taken necessary measures to establish trust with civilians.

A train carrying 350 passengers crashed in Iran, leaving 17 dead and 50 more injured, writes the New York Times. The train derailed close to the city of Tabas, southeast of Tehran, according to Iranian state television. The specifics of the crash are still unclear, but there are reports that the train hit an excavator close to the track.

U.S. security agencies say that Chinese state-backed hackers infiltrated the networks of prominent telecommunications companies, according to CNN. To access the networks, the Chinese hackers reportedly exploited weaknesses in the companies’ routers and other networking equipment. The security agencies advised institutions using devices from Cisco and Netgear, among other manufacturers, to take measures to protect their cybersecurity.

A man drove a car into a crowd of people in Berlin, killing one person and leaving multiple injured, according to DW. The suspected driver is a 29-year-old man, who is currently in police custody. As of today, officials are unsure whether the crash was intentional or accidental. 

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Katherine Pompilio posted a national terrorism advisory warning from the Department of Homeland Security stating that the country remains in a “heightened threat environment” amid a rise in domestic extremism threats.

Roger Parloff discussed the legal landscape for Section 3 of the 14th amendment cases in light of the ruling in Cawthorn v. Amalfi et al., and how the ruling may impact former President Trump. 

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of The Lawfare Podcast in which Jack Goldsmith sat down with Richard Hanania to discuss the differences between public choice theory and American grand strategy in explaining U.S. foreign policy outcomes.

Email the Roundup Team noteworthy law and security-related articles to include, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for additional commentary on these issues. Sign up to receive Lawfare in your inbox. Check out relevant job openings on our Job Board.