Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Important developments in Russia: “Ukraine was behind explosions that rocked two airbases deep inside Russia and killed three military personnel, Moscow said Monday. The blasts at sites hundreds of miles from the border between the two countries were the result of a Ukrainian drone attack, Russia’s defense ministry said, potentially signaling a new ability for Kyiv to strike far from the front lines of the conflict.”
* The latest from Iran: “Iranian protesters were seeking to build pressure with three days of nationwide strikes starting Monday, posing more upheaval in the country gripped by unrest even as one senior official suggested that the Islamic Republic’s morality police had been abolished.”
* The latest Jan. 6 sentence: “A South Carolina man who opened a door to Jan. 6 Capitol rioters and has since renounced former President Donald Trump’s false allegations of a stolen 2020 election was sentenced Monday to three years in federal prison. George Tenney III, 36, of Anderson County was sentenced by U.S. Judge Thomas Hogan, who said he could not ignore ‘the facts of this riot.’”
* SCOTUS: “Conservative Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared sympathetic toward an evangelical Christian web designer’s bid to avoid working on same-sex weddings as they weighed the latest clash between religious conservatives and LGBTQ rights.”
* A story worth watching: “Officials on Sunday cautioned residents of Moore County, North Carolina, to prepare for days without electricity after a targeted attack on substations left 45,000 customers in the dark.”
* Russian oil: “The Group of Seven price cap on Russian seaborne oil came into force on Monday as the West tries to limit Moscow’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine, but Russia has said it will not abide by the measure even if it has to cut production. The price cap, to be enforced by the G7 nations, the European Union and Australia, comes on top of the EU’s embargo on imports of Russian crude by sea and similar pledges by the United States, Canada, Japan and Britain.”
* In New York: "A federal judge in Manhattan dismissed bribery and corruption charges against former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin of New York on Monday, saying prosecutors had failed to demonstrate an explicit quid pro quo in what they had asserted was a scheme to funnel $50,000 in state money to a developer in exchange for campaign contributions."
* The new B-21: “Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin unveiled the new B-21 Raider at Northrop Grumman’s California plant on Friday, giving the public its first look at the Pentagon’s first new bomber in more than three decades. The debut of the super secret bomber comes as the Defense Department intensifies its focus on China as a potential adversary.”
* At the border: “A private border wall built along the Rio Grande in South Texas could collapse during extreme flooding, according to a federally commissioned inspection report that the government sought to keep secret for more than a year.”
See you tomorrow.