What Actually Mattered This Week: Biden Says ‘Putin Is Responsible’ for Navalny’s Death

?? Want to stay updated on global politics every weekday? Subscribe to GZERO Daily to get the news delivered straight to your inbox.

WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERED THIS WEEK

Biden says 'Putin is Responsible' for Navalny's Death

The story around the mysterious death of Russian anticorruption campaigner (and one of Putin's loudest critics) Alexei Navalny is still developing.

What we definitely know? He paid the ultimate price for wanting freedom in his country.?

And Putin is sending a clear message: he does not fear reprisal from the West….or from his own people.

Indonesia presidential election: Subianto claims victory

Over 200 million people voted in Indonesia in a single day in an election overwhelmingly viewed as free and fair, with no efforts by losing candidates to contest the results.

We’ll see similar outcomes around the world in democratic elections this year.

Just not in the United States.

UK enters recession after steeper-than-expected fall in GDP

GDP per capita in the United Kingdom has now shown no growth for seven consecutive quarters…the longest period since records began in 1955.

#Bregret

Russia's pursuit of a space-based nuclear weapon raises national security concerns in Washington

The loudest concerns about the sudden “serious national security threat” from Russia are coming from the House of Representatives…not the Senate or the White House.

What does that mean?

It has more to do with GOP infighting over Ukraine funding than Russia sending nukes into space.

?

TRUTHS, DAMNED TRUTHS, AND STATISTICS

Percent of Americans that believe Taylor Swift is taking part in a conspiracy theory to reelect Biden: 18%

Share of that 18% that also think the 2020 election was stolen: 73%

?

(I'm beginning to sense a pattern here)

?

- Monmouth University

?

THE GZERO WORLD WE’RE JUST LIVING IN

?THE GRAPHIC TRUTH

YOUR GZERO WORLD

How do you solve a problem like the US southern border? If that question makes you hum a certain Sound of Music song, just know that it's more pleasant than whatever has been floating through the minds of the hundreds of members of the US Congress. Because if there was ever a week of dysfunction on Capitol Hill, this was it. Congress failed to advance, or even entertain, a bipartisan US border deal, which also included much-needed funding to Ukraine. Why? Because of a man who is not even in government now, but very well might be back again soon: Former President Donald Trump. To unpack why the border crisis is getting worse instead of better,?I spoke with lawmakers on opposing sides of the aisle in Capitol Hill.

"We have an urgent need for funding for Ukraine," California Democratic Congresswoman?Zoe Lofgren?says in an interview for GZERO World. "I mean, urgent...I look at some of my colleagues, and it's like the communist wing of the Republican party. They're ditching Taiwan to China, ditching Ukraine to the Russians. I mean, it's really unbelievable."

Republican Congresswoman and Ukrainian immigrant?Victoria Spartz, however, defended why she wouldn't support a border deal in its current form. "I don't think that this piece of legislation really addresses the important issues and strategies that we have to deal with. I don't think it's really addressed in our border situation. It's just kind of lipstick on a pig."

For a longer, wider-ranging version of my interviews check out the GZERO World podcast.

WORLD IN 60

Will the House ever pass the Senate-approved aid package for Ukraine and Israel?

How likely will Israel proceed with a ground invasion of Rafah in Gaza?

What are the wider implications for the Indonesia presidential election?

Find out in this week’s World in 60 Seconds!

?Do you like what you’ve seen??Sign up for GZERO Daily by Ian Bremmer?

?

BECAUSE THE INTERNET

?America, still undefeated:

WHAT TO READ THIS WEEK

Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House by Jared Cohen

When looking back at influential American leaders, their legacies are exclusively defined by only four years (give or take). But did you know Thomas Jefferson would go on to found a university after his presidency? Or that George W. Bush would leave politics to become a portraitist? In “Life After Power,” Jared Cohen takes readers behind the curtain to show how some of the most important men on the planet would cope with their newfound irrelevancy—in a masterful blend of both history and life lessons that make for a fun and informative read.

DEEP THOUGHTS?

“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” —Shirley Chisholm

?

?

Thanks for reading!?Please subscribe to GZERO Daily for coverage on global politics. And make sure to read my latest book?The Power of Crisis?for a roadmap of this decade's great crises and how they might help us build a better world.

I am president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media and foreign affairs columnist at TIME. I currently teach at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University. You can follow me on?X, Threads,?Facebook, and?Instagram.