The Evening: Buffalo Massacre, 1 Million U.S. Covid Deaths, Exile on Main Street, and More

Buffalo Shooter Planned Prolonged Massacre

The accused gunman in the mass shooting in Buffalo had planned a prolonged massacre after attacking a Tops supermarket Saturday, according to the Buffalo police commissioner, who said that the attacker wanted “to continue his rampage,” as the NYT reports.​​​​​​

1 Million U.S. Covid Deaths

More than two years after recording its first Covid-19 death, the U.S. has crossed one million deaths attributed to the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the WSJ reports.

Sweden Announces NATO Bid

As Sweden formally announced it would join Finland in applying for NATO membership—prompted by Russia’s war in Ukraine to end 200 years of military nonalignment—Nordic neighbors pledged to help protect the two countries in the interim, as the Washington Post reports.

Executive Education

The CSIS Accelerator Series is a comprehensive training program for rising professionals who wish to develop their leadership, management, communication, and other professional skills to help advance their career.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS's YouTube Channel for the latest releases in our “Crisis Crossroads: Ukraine” video series.

In That Number

32 years

After thirty-two years in Russia, McDonald's has put its Russia business up for sale as it works to leave the country completely.

Source: NYT

Critical Quote

“The Golden Arches will shine no more in Russia.”

— McDonald’s Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski

iDeas Lab

Violence against civilians in Mali has increased in number and severity since Russian Wagner Group mercenaries arrival in December 2021. In the first quarter of 2022, civilian fatalities in the conflict were greater than in all of 2021.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Usman Khan/Getty Images.) FBI agents look at bullet impacts in a Tops Grocery store in Buffalo, New York, on May 15, 2022, the day after a gunman shot dead 10 people.

Recommended Reading

"U.S. Business Leaders Not Ready for the Next U.S.-China Crisis" by CSIS's Michael J. Green and Scott Kennedy.

This Town Tomorrow

At 10:00 a.m., join the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies for a discussion on the new book, "Daring to Struggle: China's Global Ambitions Under Xi Jinping."

Then, at 3:00 p.m., CSIS and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung host a conversation with Ukrainian member of parliament Halyna Yanchenko and editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda Sevgil Musaieva.

And, at 3:00 p.m., the Wilson Center hosts leading Taiwanese scholars to assess the cost of engaging with Taiwan with the possible backlash of China.

Video

CSIS expert Romina Bandura testified before the House Foreign Affairs committee on "Forest Conservation in the Fight Against Climate Change." Watch the recap here.

Podcasts

CSIS’s Jon Alterman joins the podcast for a discussion of the global rules-based order post Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones’s masterpiece album, “Exile on Main Street.”

Stones aficionados and critics have argued over the decades as to which Stones’ record is best—is it “Exile,” “Sticky Fingers,” “Let It Bleed,” or “Beggars Banquet?”

The thing is, they are all stellar and an argument can be made for each one of them being the Stones’ all-time greatest.

I find myself obsessing over “Exile” and “Sticky Fingers,” but in the end, “Exile” is my favorite.

“Exile” isn’t the most accessible Stones recording. You have to spend time with it for the music to fully resonate. It doesn’t grab you with a blistering opening track like “Sticky Fingers’” “Brown Sugar,” “Let It Bleed’s” “Gimme Shelter” or “Beggars's’” “Sympathy For The Devil.”

“Exile” launches with “Rocks Off,” followed by “Rip This Joint,” and “Shake Your Hips.” Three murky, obscure tracks that never generated much radio play. But imagine if “Exile” had instead opened with the shredding “All Down The Line,” followed by “Happy” and “Tumbling Dice.” Different story.

Of course, “Exile,” a double album, contains a host of gems: “Torn and Frayed,” “Let It Loose,” and “Loving Cup” to name just a few. Throw in songs like “Ventilator Blues,” “I Just Want to See His Face,” “Sweet Virginia” and “Soul Survivor,” and you have a timeless masterwork.

“Exile” was released as a record album—that’s what we had in ’72. Cassette’s and 8-Tracks weren’t that popular and CD’s wouldn’t hit shelves for another decade. In the album’s original form, “All Down The Line” was the first track on Side 4. Again, imagine if it was the first track on Side 1.