QUICK HITS

1 Barron Trump to make political debut as Florida delegate:

Former President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump, has been chosen to serve as a Florida delegate to the Republican National Convention, the state party chairman said Wednesday. Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power said the 18-year-old high school senior will serve as one of 41 at-large delegates from Florida to the national gathering, where the GOP is set to officially nominate his father as its presidential candidate for the November general election.

2 Emboldened Russia marks Victory Day with parade:

Vladimir Putin on Thursday marked Victory Day, the World War II commemoration that is Russia’s most significant holiday, with an unusually harsh speech, accusing the West of “hypocrisy and lies” and of inciting global conflicts, and warning that Russia’s nuclear weapons are always ready for war. Appearing confident and confrontational at the ceremony on Red Square, Putin accused Russia’s former allies of distorting the truth about World War II. Afterward, a parade showcased Russia’s military prowess, including nuclear-capable missile systems.

New “Lord of the Rings” film to 3 focus on Gollum:

A new“Lord of the Rings” movie was announced by Warner Bros. on Thursday, marking a cinematic return to the Oscar-winning film franchise based on the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. The new film, the first of two that will explore previously untold stories in the universe, will see “Lord of the Rings” trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson back at the helm, along with Andy Serkis, who still star in and direct the first of these films, “The Hunt for Gollum.”

New York appeals court 4 rules ethics watchdog that pursued Cuomo was created unconstitutionally:

A state commission that investigates ethical violations in New York was created unconstitutionally, an appeals court said Thursday in a ruling in favor of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo that targets the watchdog agency’s enforcement powers. Cuomo is fighting in court an attempt to force him to forfeit $5 million he got for writing a book about his administration’s efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

5 National Archives and Ancestry team up to digitize millions of records:

The National Archives and the genealogy company Ancestry are teaming up to digitize and put online tens of millions of records from the Archives’ vast holdings. The project, announced Thursday, will take place over five years. In the first phase, about 65.5 million records that had previously not been available online will appear on Ancestry’s website, the organizations said in a statement.