
Why the big table in Moscow? Macron refused a Russian Covid test
CNN
There's socially distanced, and then there's French President Emmanuel Macron sitting on the opposite end of an enormous table during talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Monday.
There is now insight as to why: The French leader declined the Kremlin's request for a Russian Covid-19 test, the Elysee Palace said Thursday. On Friday, an Elysee spokesperson refused to comment on media reports that Macron did not want Russian doctors getting their hands on his DNA.
The two men spent more than five hours sitting at the table -- estimated to be up to 20 feet (six meters) long -- for head-to-head talks on how to diffuse a potential conflict in Ukraine.

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.











