Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Let’s hope this is the first of many: “The first ship carrying grain from Ukraine left a port in the southern city of Odesa on Monday, after months of a Russian blockade helped fuel a mounting global food crisis.”
* Deadly flooding in Kentucky: “The death toll is climbing as recovery efforts continue across several Eastern Kentucky counties ransacked by last week’s historic flooding as local and state agencies, as well as national relief organizations, help residents starting to return to their homes and begin the cleanup process. The record floodwaters have killed at least 35 people, including four children, and hundreds of Kentuckians still unaccounted for, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday.”
* McKinney Fire: “The size of California’s McKinney Fire surpassed that of a blaze to the south overnight to become the state’s largest of 2022. The 51,468-acre blaze near the state’s northern border has thrived on deadly heat in the Pacific Northwest that has preliminarily been linked to the deaths of seven people in Oregon.”
* Guy Reffitt: “A Donald Trump fan from Texas who attempted to storm the U.S. Capitol while armed with a gun was sentenced to more than 7 years in prison on Monday after a judge denied the Justice Department’s request for a ‘terrorism enhancement’ that would have resulted in a lengthier prison sentence.”
* Unrest in Baghdad: “Influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for changing Iraq’s constitution and election procedures a day after his supporters occupied its parliament building, deepening his standoff with an alliance of Iran-backed Shiite rivals.”
* Biden continues to have no symptoms, but he’s back to testing positive: “President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid again late Saturday morning in a ‘rebound’ case after testing negative several days in a row, his doctor said in a letter.”
* Interest in Joshua Findlay: “In addition to a group of former President Donald Trump’s top lawyers, the Justice Department’s Jan. 6 probe is also seeking communications to and from a Republican National Committee staffer in a sensitive role.”
* Donald Trump argued over the weekend that it’s “illegal” for telecommunications companies to drop a far-right channel called OAN. In reality, the former president is often confused about what “illegal” means.
* Filling every judicial vacancy, as quickly as humanly possible, should be a priority: “With an extended summer recess looming and their majority at risk in November elections, Senate Democrats were facing the prospect of allowing dozens of judicial vacancies to go unfilled by President Biden this year, and under pressure from progressive activists to move more quickly and aggressively to push them through.”
* Do you ever get the feeling the former president doesn’t much care about ethics laws? “Former president Donald Trump was spotted using the presidential seal on multiple items during the LIV Golf tournament at his Bedminster, N.J., golf course. The seal was plastered on towels, golf carts and other items as the former president participated in the pro-am event of the Saudi-sponsored tournament Thursday. It is against federal law to use the presidential and vice-presidential seals in ways that could convey ‘a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States.’”
See you tomorrow.