Your Thursday Evening Briefing – The New York Times

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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.

They say that with the right weapons and the high morale displayed so far, Ukrainian forces might not only stop the Russian advance but push it back.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to blockade a steel plant where Ukrainian fighters are holding out in Mariupol, the southern port city that has been destroyed in the two-month war.

That order could be a death sentence for Staff Sgt. Leonid Kuznetsov, who texted from inside the plant that he was hoping for a rescue. “If we don’t get it,” he said, “we won’t make it out of this factory.”

2. As routine childhood vaccinations decline, fear of new epidemics rises.

The C.D.C. today reported a percentage point drop in kindergarten vaccines during the 2020-21 school year compared with the year before. The seemingly small slip means that about 35,000 more children lack a full complement of routine childhood shots.

That pulled coverage levels below the target of 95 percent, raising fears that illnesses like the measles could at some point become more prevalent. But C.D.C. scientists said they were hopeful that the return of in-person school attendance would accelerate vaccination efforts.

In other public health news, President Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief law unleashed a massive wave of spending. But it barely registered with voters.

3. “I’ve had it with this guy.”

Previously unreported discussions among top Republican leaders show that in the days after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Representative Kevin McCarthy and Senator Mitch McConnell said President Trump was responsible for inciting the riot and vowed to drive him from politics.

But both backed off. “I didn’t get to be leader by voting with five people in the conference,” McConnell told a friend.

The private discussions were reported in a new book by Jonathan Martin, a Times political correspondent: “This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future.” McConnell’s office refused to comment, and a spokesman for McCarthy denied that he had wanted to push Trump from office.

4. Elon Musk is closing in on his goal of buying Twitter.

Today he said he has $46.5 billion worth of commitments toward financing his bid. In documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk also said he was considering making a “tender offer” directly to shareholders, bypassing Twitter’s board.

Musk has said he hopes to take Twitter private and allow more free speech. A Twitter spokesperson confirmed that the company had received Musk’s updated proposal. It’s likely to address the situation in more detail after reporting quarterly earnings on April 28. Here are the latest updates.

In other business news, the Fed signaled it was ready to raise interest rates, perhaps by half a percentage point, starting in May. Stocks fell on the announcement.

5. South Korea will no longer punish consensual gay sex between military members. ​

The landmark ruling by the South Korean Supreme Court applies to sexual activities conducted outside military bases.

The ruling struck down guilty verdicts for two male soldiers who had sex off base in 2016. Both received suspended prison sentences. The court said punishing them violated “the constitutionally guaranteed right to equality and human dignity, as well as their right to pursue happiness.”

In South Korea, assertions of the rights of sexual minorities are largely taboo and politically unpopular.

6. The Florida Legislature voted to revoke Disney World’s special tax status.

Today the Florida House approved a measure to revoke the privileged status that has allowed Disney to independently govern its theme park, Disney World, for over 50 years. It passed the Senate yesterday, and Gov. Ron DeSantis will almost certainly sign it into law, which would take effect in June of next year.

The move is seen as reprisal to Disney’s current pause on political donations in the state and its criticism of a state education law that opponents have called “Don’t Say Gay.” Among other things, the law prohibits classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity through the third grade, and limits it for older students.

7. Netflix woes could be a bellwether for the streaming industry.

The company said this week that it lost more subscribers than it enrolled in the first quarter, the first such loss in 10 years. Stock plummeted 35 percent, and the company shed $50 billion in market capitalization.

Netflix blamed issues including stiffer competition and its banning of Russian subscribers during the Ukraine invasion. But it’s not clear that newcomers like Disney and Apple will have the last laugh. How many services will consumers pay for? “Maybe trees don’t grow to the skies,” Barry Diller, a veteran entertainment executive, said.

In other streaming news, CNN is shutting down CNN+, its paid streaming service, less than a month after its splashy debut.

8. Play ball? Maybe not, as referee shortages plague youth teams.

For years, disruptive parents and fans have made it increasingly difficult to referee games at the high school or even elementary school levels. Then the pandemic exacerbated conditions. From 2018 to 2021, some 20 percent of high school referees quit. A national high school athletics official called it “a nightmare across all sports.”

The core problem may be increased parental spending on children’s sports, creating professional-level expectations. Organizations are looking for new solutions, like pregame speeches meant to draw empathy from spectators, or classes for parents on sports etiquette.

9. Time-restricted dieting may not work, disappointing even experts.

A yearlong study found that participants who ate only at certain hours lost no more weight than those who ate any time, after some shorter studies had suggested that eating within a six- to eight-hour daily window might aid in weight loss. Some researchers believe circadian rhythms accounted for these differences.

But a rigorous Chinese study of 139 obese people didn’t bear that out. Part of the study group ate a low-calorie diet only between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.; the other half consumed the same amount of calories at any time of the day. All lost weight, but neither group lost more than the other.

“This was a hard thing to accept,” said one diet researcher who had studied the approach and practiced it for seven years. Other researchers disagreed, saying more detailed studies are needed.

10. And finally, get out your razors.

Shaved heads are 2022’s trending cut. Watching a stylist intricately prepare a model’s hair led one TikTok influencer to seek the buzz. “I didn’t have the emotional energy to go all out with my hair.”