Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A story we’ve been following: “The Trump administration has scrapped plans to convert a warehouse in Merrimack, N.H., into an immigration detention facility, Governor Kelly Ayotte announced on Tuesday. The announcement comes after months of protest and pushback from Merrimack residents over the proposal.”
* A painful anniversary: “Four years ago this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A war he expected to win in just days has become one of the longest and costliest conflicts Russia has fought since World War II. What began as a blitz intended to decapitate Ukraine’s government has hardened into a grinding war of attrition.”
* A case worth watching: “Aiming to reverse recent changes to federal vaccine recommendations, 15 states led by Democrats announced on Tuesday that they were suing the Trump administration. The lawsuit, filed by a coalition of 14 attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania, asks the courts to nullify the administration’s decision in January to reduce the number of diseases children are routinely immunized against to 11 from 17.”
* Another case worth watching: “FedEx filed a lawsuit on Monday demanding a refund of the U.S. tariffs that the Supreme Court ruled were unlawful last week. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade, asks that Customs and Border Protection, the agency that collects tariffs, make the repayment to FedEx. The company is expected to be one of many that will sue for a refund.”
* The second civil contempt finding: “Minnesota’s federal judiciary has issued another civil contempt finding against the U.S. government tied to violations of orders in immigration cases that continue to flood the courts. U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud found the Trump administration in civil contempt for transferring an immigrant to Texas and releasing him without his belongings in late January.”
* SCOTUS does it again: “If the Postal Service refuses to deliver your mail, surely you can sue the government over your losses, right? Wrong, according to a new Supreme Court opinion. Tuesday’s 5-4 ruling in U.S. Postal Service v. Konan was authored by Justice Clarence Thomas and joined by all the other Republican appointees except for Justice Neil Gorsuch, who joined Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent.” * A gradual dismantling: “The Education Department is handing over more of its programs and grants to other federal agencies, announcing a pair of new agreements Monday that move the Trump administration closer to its goal of shutting down the department. Under one interagency agreement, the Health and Human Services Department will take over grant programs that send millions of dollars to schools for safety and community engagement efforts. Another calls for the State Department to take over a portal that tracks foreign gifts to universities.” * At least for now, Netflix is standing by Rice: “Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos brushed aside a demand by President Trump that the company fire former Democratic diplomat Susan Rice from its board.” 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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