In Other Brews…

• At least 158 people have died in Spain after a year’s worth of rain fell in one day. Flooding Wednesday submerged farmlands in the eastern region of Valencia—a global leader in citrus exports—and swept away bridges and buildings. Rail service was suspended as rescue operations began combing through mud and debris yesterday. 

• In a story that only appears to be satirical, Russia fined Google $20 decillion over their decision to ban state-run media on YouTube. What’s a decillion? It’s a 1 followed by 33 zeros ($1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)... oh, and the fine is doubling every day. For comparison, Google is worth $2 trillion, and the entire world’s GDP is $120 trillion.

• Roughly 12,000 North Korean troops are donning Russian uniforms and moving toward Ukraine. The Pentagon says these troops trained at five bases in Russia, and “the likelihood is pretty high” that they’ll be used in combat. Global leaders worry that the action will expand the war in Ukraine and wonder what aid Moscow is giving Pyongyang in exchange. 

• Put America’s largest newspaper chain in the no-endorsements column. Gannett, which owns USA Today and over 200 other publications, announced that none of its outlets will publish presidential endorsements this year (but local and state endorsements have the green light). Meanwhile, the Washington Post’s decision to skip the endorsement has cost it 250,000 subscribers (roughly 10%).

• Bird flu traded its beak for a snout. The USDA announced its first detection of H5N1 in a pig at a small Oregon farm. The farm’s five pigs were euthanized for further testing, and the other animals quarantined. Officials are not overly concerned but say the development is noteworthy since pig-borne viruses pose a higher risk to humans.