Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In the Middle East: “The United States announced it is sending an advanced anti-missile system and a number of troops to Israel, deepening America’s involvement in the spiraling conflict as the region readies for Israeli retaliatory strikes against Iran. The decision was announced just hours before a Hezbollah drone strike on an Israeli base killed four soldiers and wounded 61 others without triggering an alert.”
* Following up on a report from earlier: “On Monday, the Rutherford County sheriff’s office confirmed in a statement that it had arrested William Jacob Parsons, 44, of Bostic, N.C., for making threats against Federal Emergency Management Agency employees. The office concluded that the suspect had acted alone and that there were not ‘truck loads of militia’ targeting relief workers, it added.”
* Wall Street: “The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to fresh records Monday as investors awaited the next batch of key corporate earnings. The broad market index climbed 0.77% to 5,859.85, while the 30-stock Dow advanced 201.36 points to 43,065.22. Both averages hit all-time highs and closed at records, with the Dow ending the session above the 43,000 mark for the first time.”
* New Nobel laureates: “Three U.S.-based academics won the 2024 Nobel economics prize on Monday for their research into why global inequality persists, especially in countries dogged by corruption and dictatorship. Simon Johnson and James Robinson, both British-American, and Turkish-American Daron Acemoglu were commended for their work on ‘how institutions are formed and affect prosperity,’ the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.”
* Litigation worth watching: “The Justice Department is suing Virginia election officials over their recent efforts to cancel voter registrations, alleging their actions violate a federal law that bars the purging of voter rolls so close to the election.”
* Twitter banned a variety of extremists. Then Elon Musk bought the platform and let them back in. Guess what happened next: “Many of these people picked up where they left off, according to a New York Times analysis of 50,000 posts by more than 100 high-profile reinstated users. ... All have a broad reach — at least 100,000 followers — and were identified by researchers who study disinformation or extremism on X.”
* Best wishes to Lilly Ledbetter’s many friends and family: “Lilly Ledbetter, whose lawsuit against her employer paved the way for the Fair Pay Act of 2009 and who dedicated decades of her life to fighting for equal pay, died on Saturday in Alabama. She was 86.”
See you tomorrow.