Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The latest round of talks between Russian, Ukrainian and American officials: “A familiar pattern played out as two days of negotiations wrapped up in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Everyone said the talks were productive. More talks were planned. Yet with little to show for them but an announced exchange of prisoners of war, the major sticking points in any peace deal appeared a long ways from being unstuck.”
* Speaking of negotiations that aren’t going anywhere: “Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands made by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officers are ‘unrealistic’ and warned that the Department of Homeland Security will shut down next week if they do not work with Republicans and the White House.”
* Vance’s comments got me thinking about the time Trump publicly rooted against American Olympic athletes whom he deemed “woke”: “U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Milan with his family Thursday, telling U.S. athletes competing in the Milan Cortina Winter Games that the competition ‘is one of the few things that unites the entire country’ before taking his family to see a hockey game.”
* Warehouses for human beings are quickly becoming the next big fight over Trump’s immigration agenda: “Department of Homeland Security plans to purchase and operate mega warehouses to use as immigration detention centers are raising concerns among lawmakers, local residents and government contractors in the running to operate them.”
* Life in prison: “U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon sentenced Ryan Routh on Wednesday to life in prison for trying to assassinate Donald Trump when he was running for president in 2024, the Associated Press reported.”
* The latest pointless step backward: “Close the cover on the CIA World Factbook: The spy agency announced Wednesday that after more than 60 years, it is shuttering the popular reference manual. The announcement posted to the CIA’s website offered no reason for the decision to end the Factbook, but it follows a vow from Director John Ratcliffe to end programs that don’t advance the agency’s core missions.”
* A striking report from ProPublica: “It doesn’t happen often, but local law enforcement can arrest and charge federal agents. Legal experts say there’s a moral obligation to at least try to hold federal immigration officers accountable when they violate the Constitution and the law.” * An overdue decision: “Stephen Miran, who took a leave of absence from advising President Trump so he could become a governor of the Federal Reserve, said on Tuesday that he would resign from his White House post.” * Virginia’s new Democratic governor is off to a good start: “Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) took additional steps Wednesday to distance state law enforcement agencies from federal immigration operations, ordering the end of partnership agreements and condemning federal operations in other states as undermining public confidence.” 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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