Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A major prisoner swap: “Three American citizens who had been detained for years in China were released, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. They are Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung.”
* Kellogg wouldn’t have been my first choice: “President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he will nominate retired Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.”
* Economic growth in the United States continues to impress: “The US economy expanded at a solid pace in the third quarter, largely powered by a broad-based advance in consumer spending and steady business investment. Gross domestic product increased at a 2.8% annualized pace in the third quarter, the second estimate of the figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed Wednesday. The economy’s primary growth engine — consumer spending — advanced 3.5%, the most this year.”
* In related news: “Inflation edged higher in October as the Federal Reserve is looking for clues on how much it should lower interest rates, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The personal consumption expenditures price index, a broad measure the Fed prefers as its inflation gauge, increased 0.2% on the month and showed a 12-month inflation rate of 2.3%.”
* Dangerous and indefensible tactics: “Several of President-elect Donald Trump’s planned Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were subjected to bomb threats and ‘swatting’ attacks Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for the Trump transition team said.”
* A needlessly messy transition: “President-elect Donald J. Trump’s team has signed a transition agreement with the White House that will allow them to begin formal briefings with outgoing staff members in agencies across the government, Mr. Trump’s chief of staff said on Tuesday evening. But Mr. Trump’s team has so far refused to sign an agreement with the Justice Department to allow the F.B.I. to do security clearances for transition members. Without that, Biden administration officials will be unable to share classified information with many of Mr. Trump’s transition aides.”
* A story we’ve been following: “Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, a Democrat, on Tuesday vetoed a bill passed by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature that would strip his office of important powers and shift more authority to G.O.P. officials.”
* When Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk laughs off a Republican case, you know Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has gone too far: “A Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas has rejected the state’s long-shot attempt to temporarily block special counsel Jack Smith from destroying records related to his investigation into President-elect Donald Trump, calling the state’s argument ‘unserious.’”
* Factual details too many Republicans prefer to overlook: “Donald Trump’s claim that illegal border crossings are out of control — which was among the reasons he cited for the tariffs that he said Monday would be enacted against Mexico, Canada and China — is belied by U.S. Customs and Border Protection data showing lower levels of illegal crossings than during the final months of his first term.”
* Remember when GOP lawmakers were heavily invested in this guy? “A former FBI informant who is charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family has been indicted in a new case on federal tax charges. The tax indictment against Alexander Smirnov was unsealed this week in California federal court, months after his arrest on charges that he fabricated a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company.”
Have a safe holiday weekend.