Today’s edition of quick hits.
* This seems like a major development: “UAW President Shawn Fain on Friday declared a ‘transformative win’ with General Motors after the automaker agreed earlier in the day to include its battery plant workers in the union’s national labor agreement, thereby avoiding an expansion of the union’s strike to one of GM’s critical assembly plants.”
* In related news: “The United Auto Workers strike against the Big Three U.S. automakers continues, but union President Shawn Fain said Friday that the labor stoppage isn’t expanding as the walkout closes out its third week.”
* In Russia: “Vladimir Putin has said Russia successfully completed the testing of a new nuclear-powered strategic missile and could revoke its ratification of a nuclear test ban treaty, raising fears that Moscow could resume nuclear testing for the first time in decades.”
* On a related note: “The Biden administration on Friday ordered two Russian diplomats expelled from the United States in retaliation for the expulsion of two U.S. diplomats from Moscow last month.”
* NATO politics: “The Swedish defense ministry said on Friday it could contribute its Gripen warplanes to a Western coalition that is trying to speed fighter jets to Ukraine — but only after Sweden is allowed into NATO.”
* Good choice: “Jailed Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for fighting against women’s oppression in Iran and advocating for human rights.”
* Just in time to avoid a deposition: “Former President Donald Trump on Thursday unexpectedly dismissed a $500 million lawsuit against his former lawyer Michael Cohen while vowing to revisit it later. In a two-page document filed in federal court in Miami, an attorney for the former president said Trump was ‘voluntarily dismissing’ the lawsuit, which alleged breaches of attorney-client privilege.”
* I just don’t know what to say about rhetoric like this: “Fox News host Greg Gutfeld, supposedly the right-wing network’s resident comedian, dove into extremely dark and violent territory on Thursday, seemingly urging for a new American civil war because ‘elections don’t work’ and the nation is in ‘peril and chaos.’”
Have a safe weekend.