Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Not the news a lot of families wanted to hear: “Pfizer-BioNTech is postponing its rolling application to the Food and Drug Administration to expand the use of its two-dose Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months to 4 years.”
* The latest out of Canada: “Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency on Friday and said he’ll use all government resources to end a two-week protest by Canadian truckers over Covid-19 rules. Ford said the trucker protest amounts to a ‘siege’ of downtown Ottawa and the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor and Detroit.”
* An intensifying crisis: “The Biden administration believes there is a ‘distinct possibility’ Russia could invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, but U.S. officials do not believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a final decision yet.”
* A rare monthly surplus: “The U.S. government posted a $119 billion budget surplus in January, the first in more than two years, amid strong growth in tax receipts and a sharp drop in pandemic-related outlays, the Treasury Department said on Thursday. The January surplus compared to a January 2021 deficit of $163 billion, a record for the month as direct payments to individuals from COVID-19 aid legislation enacted in December 2020 were distributed.”
* Gitmo: “A U.S. government review panel on Thursday approved the release with security guarantees of a Saudi prisoner at Guantánamo Bay who was captured in Pakistan and held as a suspected bomb maker.”
* I’d be interested in hearing more about this one: “The CIA has a secret, undisclosed data repository that includes information collected about Americans, two Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee said Thursday. While neither the agency nor lawmakers would disclose specifics about the data, the senators alleged the CIA had long hidden details about the program from the public and Congress.” * Our A block on this from last night is well worth your time: “A Republican-led Assembly panel took testimony Wednesday from a felon convicted of mail and bank fraud who is now conducting his own investigation of the 2020 election.” * The Gaetz saga isn’t over: “A Florida collectibles dealer connected to the federal investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz formally entered a guilty plea in Orlando on Wednesday, marking another twist in the ongoing probe into the Republican congressman.” Have a safe weekend.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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