
The West's leaders agree that democracy is under attack. How they can defend it is less obvious
CNN
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's willful manipulation of migrants, enabling their easy passage to and through his country toward the border of the European Union, is a classic assault on democracy by an autocrat who knows that any attempt to fight back risks undermining the bloc's sacred values.
Lukashenko denies the condemnation made by the G7 group of the world's wealthiest democracies that he is orchestrating "irregular migration" in an "aggressive and exploitative" campaign -- just as he rejects the European Union's accusation that his re-election as president last year, his sixth consecutive five-year term, was a sham.
Not for nothing is the aging autocrat known outside of Belarus as Europe's last dictator.

Janet Mills and her allies are counting on a gender gap to narrow Platner’s wide lead ahead of the June 9 primary to decide who will face incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. They are betting that the unfiltered style that has brought Platner widespread attention as someone who could help Democrats reach young men will backfire with women.

As a shrinking number of Transportation Security Administration agents work to keep hourslong security lines moving despite not being paid, President Donald Trump stepped into the fray Saturday, announcing he will send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports by Monday if Congress doesn’t agree to a plan to end the partial government shutdown.











