Trump Is Assailed for Saying He Would Take Campaign Help From Russia (New York Times)
Mr. Trump’s defiant declaration that “I’d take it” if Russia again offered campaign help and his assertion that he would not necessarily tell the F.B.I. about it drew bipartisan condemnation on Thursday, fueling calls for legislation requiring candidates to report such offers to the authorities and emboldening Democrats seeking his impeachment.

Mike Bloomberg: Foreign Election Meddling Is Wrong, Mr. President (Bloomberg Opinion)
“For all the different interpretations of the Mueller report, there is one aspect of it where there should be no debate among Republicans and Democrats: The threat of foreign meddling in U.S. elections has increased, it must not be tolerated or abetted, and campaigns must be held accountable for assisting in policing this national security imperative,” Mike Bloomberg wrote in an oped published Thursday.

“On this issue, the standard for ethical and patriotic behavior should not be whether someone engages in a criminal conspiracy. It should be whether someone acts with honor in rebuffing — and reporting — attempts at foreign influence. That did not happen in 2016, and unless Congress acts soon, we may see an even worse breach in 2020.

“Congress can start by passing the Foreign Influence Reporting in Elections Act, sponsored by Senator Mark Warner of Virginia. This sensible legislation would require campaign officials to maintain a basic compliance system to monitor election-related contacts with foreign nationals, and to report any such contacts to the Federal Election Commission.”

“Still, the larger problem remains: the absence in the Oval Office of an understanding that patriotism requires ethical actions that transcend one’s own fortunes.” Read the full column here.

Why Credibility Matters: Gulf on Edge as Conflicting Accounts of Tanker Attacks Swirl (Bloomberg)
Tehran denied involvement in Thursday’s attack, and the owner of the ship refuted the U.S. assertion that the blast came from a mine, adding to the confusion over what happened and who was responsible.

The Race to Succeed Theresa May:
-Tory Rivals Plot to Stop Boris Johnson From Winning Power in U.K. (Bloomberg)
-What Brussels Thinks of Boris Johnson (Bloomberg)
-The Tories are Throwing Away their Reputation for Economic Prudence (The Economist)
The Economist calls the leadership race “a Conservative clown show.”

Bloomberg Condemns Indictment of Journalists in Turkey: Turkish Prosecutor Requests Jail for Two Bloomberg Reporters (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait said “we condemn the indictment issued against our reporters, who have reported fairly and accurately on newsworthy events. We fully stand by them and will support them throughout this ordeal.”

Financial News:
The Stock Market is Desperate for a Hero (Axios)
In the absence of strong balance sheets or strong profits, the U.S. stock market is lavishing dollars on any new company that can put together a plausible theory of future success.

BlackRock Looks to Five ‘Megatrends’ to Expand Its ETF Business (Bloomberg)

Last Call: No More Day Drinking for Metals Traders as London Metal Exchange Bans Alcohol (Bloomberg)

Aviation Today: Southwest Air Joins American Airlines in Extending Boeing 737 Max Cancellations (Bloomberg)

Aviation Future: Airbus May Make the Next Version of Its Top-Selling Jet an Electric Hybrid (Bloomberg)

Celebrating Five Years of Results for Women on U.S. Boards: The U.S. 30% Club celebrated its fifth anniversary Wednesday at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters with a preview of This Changes Everything, a new documentary on gender inequality in Hollywood featuring an appearance by Bloomberg Chairman Peter Grauer.

Grauer chairs the U.S. 30% Club, which launched in June 2014 with a goal of achieving 30% female directors on S&P 100 boards by 2020. Today, 27.7% of S&P 100 directors are women, up from 20.2% at launch. The screening was followed by a panel about women in the entertainment industry that was moderated by Bloomberg’s Kiersten Barnet and included actress Susan Lucci, Director Tom Donahue, and Susan Lyne of BBG Ventures.

Happy Pride! Bloomberg is celebrating Pride Month in its offices around the world in June, building on decades of the company’s support for its LGBT employees and the community at large.

Tomorrow, in celebration of World Pride in New York City, Bloomberg employees will be volunteering at #AscendWithPride, where the monumental staircase in FDR Four Freedoms State Park on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island is being transformed into NYC’s largest LGBTQ+ Pride Flag, sponsored by Bloomberg, to celebrate the universal human rights articulated in President Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms Speech. Check out the giant flag here.

Best of late night.

On Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau initiating a ban on single use plastic:

“We got to find a way to stop using single use plastic and I don’t know how exactly. Maybe we can find a way to just carry a knife and fork with us at all times…just like hanging off our belts like a cellphone used to and it won’t look weird if we all do it.”
–Trevor Noah

On Walmart offering a new service that will have employees bring groceries into your home directly into your kitchen:

“It’s perfect for anyone who felt that the one thing lacking from their Walmart experience was home invasion.”
–Stephen Colbert

On Donald Trump Jr. testifying in Washington this week about the Russia election meddling investigation:

“Donald Jr. was questioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee and surprisingly they found he tested negative for intelligence!”
–James Corden

On Microsoft launching a new product line of Xbox body wash in Australia associated with the Xbox gaming system:

“If there’s one thing important to people who play video games for 18 hours straight it’s personal hygiene. And, since it’s from Microsoft there’s a security update every three to five days!”
–James Corden