By
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In Ukraine: “Ukrainian cities including the capital, Kyiv, faced new power outages Friday as the country’s energy system struggles to cope with damage from a wave of Russian attacks. Kyiv residents were warned to prepare for temporary blackouts in the city Friday morning, just a day after widespread outages, as the government rationed energy use and urged residents to conserve electricity.”
* Interactions are better than silence: “Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with his Russian counterpart on Friday about the war in Ukraine, the first conversation between the two men in months.”
* Jan. 6 sentencing: “A self-described ‘loudmouth’ who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 after climbing up a wall and entering the building through a door with a broken window as an alarm blared was sentenced to four years in federal prison on Friday. Matthew Bledsoe of Tennessee, who said ‘Where are those pieces of s--- at?’ as he entered the U.S. Capitol, was convicted by a jury in July after he failed to convince them that he was unaware that Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential election when he entered the building.”
* Good news for student borrowers: “Attempts to block President Biden’s student debt relief programs were dealt dual setbacks on Thursday, as a federal judge in Missouri and Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected challenges to the sweeping measure, one that could cost the government hundreds of billions of dollars.”
* A good start: “A Miami judge on Friday tossed out a criminal case against one of 19 people accused by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ election fraud force of voting illegally in the 2020 election. In the first legal challenge to DeSantis’ arrests, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch rejected the idea that the Office of Statewide Prosecutor could charge Robert Lee Wood, 56, with registering to vote and casting a ballot in the general election.”
* Sensible policymaking at the DOD: “The Pentagon will pay for service members to travel to obtain abortions, in a move the military says will ease the burden on troops who wish to receive reproductive care and are stationed in states where the procedure is no longer legal, the department announced Thursday.”
* In related news: “President Biden would support a federal fund for people who need to take time off work and pay for childcare to obtain an abortion, he said in an interview forum with NowThis that will air Sunday on social media.”
* Keep an eye on this one: “Biden administration officials are discussing whether the US should subject some of Elon Musk’s ventures to national security reviews, including the deal for Twitter Inc. and SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, according to people familiar with the matter.”
* A worthwhile investigation: “The Environmental Protection Agency is launching an investigation into whether the Republican-controlled state of Mississippi violated the Civil Rights Act by depriving the predominantly Black city of Jackson of federal funds to repair its beleaguered water system.”
* Newsmax has its limits: “Nearly a year after she was kicked to the curb by Fox News for essentially calling Dr. Anthony Fauci a Nazi, Lara Logan was on Newsmax’s primetime airwaves pushing QAnon tropes, invoking blood libel, and fear-mongering about a ‘global cabal’ planning to ‘dilute the pool of patriots’ in the United States with ‘100 million illegal immigrants.’ Following the publication of this article, Newsmax told The Daily Beast that it will not be bringing her back on the air going forward.”
Have a safe weekend.