Today’s edition of quick hits.
* An understandable reaction: “During his press briefing today, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, reacted to Trump’s Easter Sunday post threatening to destroy bridges and power plants if Iran doesn’t make a deal soon. ‘We were alarmed by the rhetoric, seen in that social media post that threatened American attacks on power plants, bridges and other infrastructure should Iran not agree to a deal,’ Dujarric said.”
* Crisis conditions in Lebanon: “More than 1.1 million people, which is more than 20% of Lebanon’s population, are now displaced within the country’s borders as Israel continues its military offensive, the U.N. said in a report today. A third of those affected are children.”
* Artemis II: “NASA’s Artemis II mission made history on Monday by sending humans farther from Earth than ever before.”
* Keep an eye on this one: “Almost immediately after an immigration agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis this winter, the federal government cast the injured man as an attempted murderer and the agent as the victim of a brutal beating. That version of events began unraveling when prosecutors dropped felony charges against the injured man, Julio C. Sosa-Celis, and one of his housemates, Alfredo A. Aljorna, who had fled from immigration agents. Yet video footage of the shooting, newly obtained by The New York Times, raises questions about why it took weeks for the government’s case to fall apart.”
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* The latest on the Bannon case: “The Supreme Court on Monday granted the Trump Justice Department’s request to vacate an appeals court ruling against Steve Bannon, after the Department of Justice told the high court that it wants to dismiss the matter that was brought against the Donald Trump ally during the Biden administration.”
* U.S. marshals waived training rules? “Members of Elon Musk’s private security team were deputized as federal agents last year even though some of the billionaire’s guards lacked the required training and law enforcement experience, according to newly released government emails.”
* It’s not at all clear why anyone would follow this executive order as binding: “President Donald Trump has signed a second executive order aimed at fixing college sports, this time laying out specific transfer and eligibility rules, limiting how athletes can be compensated for their name, image and likeness and threatening schools that violate rules with financial penalties, the White House announced Friday.”
* Noted without comment: “Just a few months after opening, the controversial Trump Truth Store in [Chicago suburb] Crystal Lake has temporarily shut down, citing a drop in sales amid the ongoing Iran war.”
See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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