Assessing Super Tuesday

Plus the ICC issues arrest warrants for Russian commanders and Biden takes on 'junk fees' [View this email in your browser]( [Brand Logo]( Super Tuesday, Russian war crimes and a break on late fees   Good morning, In the end, neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump got a clean sweep on Super Tuesday. But they both got what they needed. There's little suspense as to who the nominees will be. But fear not, politics fans! Tuesday set up a number of races between candidates you may not be familiar with, from a controversial GOP gubernatorial candidate in North Carolina to a hope-springs-eternal former NFL player who's taking on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Peter Weber The Week Digital     Today's POLITICS story Biden, Trump sweep Super Tuesday, with 2 exceptions What happened? President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump nearly swept their respective primaries on Super Tuesday, including in delegate-rich California and Texas. But Nikki Haley won a surprise victory in Vermont's Republican primary and a little-known Democrat, Jason Palmer, beat Biden in American Samoa's caucus. Who said what? "Millions of voters" showed they are ready to "defend democracy" and "fight back against Donald Trump's extreme plan to take us backward," Biden said. Trump called Tuesday an "amazing night" but spent the bulk of his 20-minute speech criticizing Biden's America. Haley's campaign highlighted the "large block of Republican primary voters" showing "deep concerns about Donald Trump." Palmer said he learned he won American Samoa, 51 votes to Biden's 40, when "my phone started blowing up" with text messages. The commentary Trump's Super Tuesday "dominance" ensures he'll face Biden in "America's great presidential unpopularity contest," where "the two major parties are marching to nominate perhaps the only candidates who could lose to the other," The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial. There were "cautionary signs" for both candidates, The Associated Press said. Trump keeps losing a "stubborn chunk" of the GOP electorate to Haley, and Biden "faces a lack of Democratic enthusiasm on paper," though evidently "not in the primary." What next? Even with a third of delegates doled out Tuesday, "not enough states will have voted until later this month for Trump or Biden to formally become their parties' presumptive nominees," AP said.     Today's INTERNATIONAL story International court orders arrests of 2 Russians What happened?The International Criminal Court on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two senior Russian military officers, accusing Lt. Gen. Sergei Kobylash and Adm. Viktor Sokolov of war crimes in Ukraine. Last year the ICC ordered the arrests of Russian President Vladimir Putin and children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova. Who said what? Kobylash, a top Air Force officer, and Sokolov, who led Russia's Black Sea Fleet, "bear responsibility for missile strikes" against "the Ukrainian electric infrastructure" in late 2022 and early 2023, disproportionately harming civilians, the ICC said. The commentary Russia has "repeatedly bombed" and "killed uncounted civilians" in Ukraine, The New York Times said. But here "the weight of evidence and the clarity of the command structure" could help prove the allegations in court. Putin won't turn over Kobylash or Sokolov, so this is "mostly symbolic," The Washington Post said. But last year's arrest warrant did limit Putin's travel. What next? It's unlikely Kobylash or Sokolov will ever be "arrested or tried," but these warrants "can become the building blocks for a broader legal framework after the war," the Times said.     Today's Business Story Feds cap credit card late fees at $8 What happened?The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule Tuesday that will cap credit card late fees at $8 a month, from the current average of $32, saving households an estimated $10 billion a year. Who Said What?"Big credit card companies" have been "hiding behind the excuse of inflation" to "harvest billions of dollars in junk fees" from consumers, said CFBP director Rohit Chopra. This rule will "stop some credit card companies from ripping you off," President Joe Biden said. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said it will limit "credit card products for those who need it most." The commentaryThe Biden administration is "messaging this rule as a 'win' for consumers going into an election year," but "it's anything but," said Lindsey Johnson at the Consumer Bankers Associate. "On the surface, this is undoubtedly a good thing for credit cardholders," Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, told NPR. But banks will likely "raise other types of fees to make up for the lost revenue." What next?The rule will go into effect in about 60 days. Banking groups said they will sue to block it.     Why The Week is asking you to subscribe We've spent the past year developing a new approach to covering the news – one that's more rewarding for readers and more sustainable for The Week. [Click here to find out more]( about what you get with a new digital subscription.     On this day March 6, 1981 Walter Cronkite signed off as anchor of "CBS Evening News" for the last time. Cronkite anchored the news program for 19 years and was often considered the "most trusted man in America," reporting on everything from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to the Apollo 11 moon landing.     TODAY’S newspaperS ['Passing years cloud memory of Trump term']( President Joe Biden and Donald Trump "dominate votes on Super Tuesday," the Los Angeles Times reports on Wednesday's front page. Trump "romps across America," the New York Daily News says, and "pulls closer" to the Republican nomination, The Washington Post adds. Meanwhile, the "passing years cloud memory of Trump term," The New York Times says, exploring the "collective amnesia" that befell the country after Trump left office — to his benefit, for now. ► [See the newspaper front pages](     It's not all bad Pilot Jakarin Sararnrakskul welcomed an extra passenger on his VietJet flight from Taipei to Bangkok after a woman on board gave birth inside the plane's bathroom. On Instagram, Sararnrakskul shared photos of him holding the child, nicknamed Sky Baby, and said this was his first time helping with a midair delivery in 18 years as a pilot. Giving birth in the air is rare, and there is no blanket rule on what citizenship newborns receive.     Under the radar [The US Army is revamping itself by cutting jobs]( The United States Army is implementing a new strategy for the future of American defense, and it is using an unconventional method: slashing 24,000 jobs. The Army cuts are part of the a "rigorous assessment of its force structure" across the military, according to an Army document seen by The Associated Press. Thousands of the eliminated jobs are empty administrative positions, and the Army's ultimate goal is to "increase the number of active-duty soldiers to 470,000 by fiscal year 2029," up from the current 445,000, Forbes said. The short-term downsizing also reflects the reality that the "percentage of young Americans who qualify, and are interested, in military service has dropped," The New York Times said. The 24,000 cuts "implicitly acknowledge the recruiting woes that have plagued the Army — and indeed, other military services — in recent years." The restructuring is part of a broader strategy that "emphasizes rising threats to the United States from an emboldened Russia and China," the Times said. For years, defense officials have "fretted over whether the focus on counterinsurgency fighting had left the military unprepared for a great powers land war," but it is becoming apparent that the Army will "have to do both." The job cuts will allow the Pentagon to focus on widespread missions "against technologically advanced military powers," the Army document said. So while the number of active duty soldiers will shrink, the Pentagon will be "building up the Army's integrated air and missile defense," Task and Purpose said, and incorporating "Army capabilities with other branches and international partners."     Tall tale Magic mushroom? Scientists in India are trying to solve the mystery of a golden-backed frog that sprouted a mushroom out of its side. The frog was spotted in a pond and appeared to be in good health, the researchers said in a study published in Reptiles and Amphibians. Scientists speculate they may have discovered a previously unknown fungus-frog interaction, or perhaps a piece of wood got under the frog's skin, providing a fungus-friendly habitat.     Become a digital subscriber to The Week from just $1. [Discover our offers]( And if you already subscribe to The Week, [click here]( to activate your digital access.     Later today Not everything is about war and elections. Today's Evening Review offers some (perhaps welcome) escape from politics, from a survey of moon landings to recommendations for movies to watch in March. Thanks for reading, Peter     Morning Report was written and edited by Catherine Garcia, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek. Image credits, from top: Eva Marie Uzcategui / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Fadel Senna / AFP via Getty Images; Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images   © Future US, Inc • [theweek.com]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Privacy Policy]( The Week is published by Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036.