Morning Must Reads: June 10

3 minute read
Capitol
The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images
By Alex Rogers

  • “Five American troops were killed in southern Afghanistan in a rare friendly fire airstrike that struck a team of Afghan and U.S. troops conducting a security operation in the lead up to Saturday’s presidential election…” [WashPost]
  • “Ukraine’s new President Petro Poroshenko wants to see Russia punished for what he calls the ‘tragedy’ that befell his country this year. But even as Russia has annexed one region of Ukraine and encouraged a violent rebellion in two others, Ukraine does not have the option of breaking off ties with the Kremlin, Poroshenko told TIME in his first interview since taking office. His government has no choice but to seek ‘an understanding’ with Russia, he says, even if for no other reason than the hard reality of Ukraine’s geography.” [TIME]
  • “The Department of Veterans Affairs stopped sending teams of turnaround experts to underperforming hospitals at the same time a growing number of VA facilities showed consistently high death and complication rates, internal agency records and interviews reveal.” [WSJ]
    • “An internal investigation released Monday into the secret waiting lists and other chicanery that kept veterans from receiving timely care was like a Chinese firecracker that kept exploding with every turn of its 54 pages. More than 100,000 vets have experienced waits longer than 90 days for medical care. That includes 57,000 who are waiting 90 days or more for their initial appointment, and 64,000 who requested appointments over the past decade and never got them.” [TIME]
    • Sens. Bernie Sanders and John McCain introduce VA reform bill. [TIME]
  • “With a smile, Hillary Clinton deflected tough questions on Monday on the eve of the release of her book Hard Choices.” [TIME]
  • “Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was once thought to be among the Republican incumbents most vulnerable this year to a Tea Party challenge. But the most pressing question on Tuesday is not whether he will finish first in the party primary, but whether he can avoid a runoff by capturing more than 50 percent of the vote in a seven-person field.” [NYT]
  • “Virginia Republicans snatched control of the state Senate on Monday, immediately ending a budget stalemate by pushing Democrats to agree to pass a spending plan without Medicaid expansion, Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s top priority.” [WashPost]
    • “The fight over expanding Medicaid in Virginia has taken a turn for the bizarre and perhaps the corrupt.” [New Republic]

  • “An internal investigation released Monday into the secret waiting lists and other chicanery that kept veterans from receiving timely care was like a Chinese firecracker that kept exploding with every turn of its 54 pages. More than 100,000 vets have experienced waits longer than 90 days for medical care. That includes 57,000 who are waiting 90 days or more for their initial appointment, and 64,000 who requested appointments over the past decade and never got them.” [TIME]
  • Sens. Bernie Sanders and John McCain introduce VA reform bill. [TIME]

  • “The fight over expanding Medicaid in Virginia has taken a turn for the bizarre and perhaps the corrupt.” [New Republic]

    • More Must-Reads from TIME

    Contact us at letters@time.com