Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The latest in Tennessee: “Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Nashville on Friday to meet with Democratic legislators, a day after Tennessee GOP lawmakers voted to oust two Black Democratic members who protested on the chamber floor against gun violence.”
* Keep a close eye on this one: “Hundreds of Jan. 6 obstruction cases — one of the most commonly charged felonies against those who breached the Capitol or confronted police that day — are facing new uncertainty after a divided appeals court ruling Friday. The three-judge panel spared the Justice Department an immediate disaster by agreeing to permit three challenged Jan. 6 obstruction cases to continue. But the judges — one liberal and two conservatives — all raised serious questions about whether other Jan. 6 obstruction cases might face legitimate challenges.”
* Airstrikes: “Israel launched its biggest airstrikes on Lebanon in 17 years early Friday, after dozens of rockets struck the north of the country during the Jewish Passover holiday and sent tensions in the region spiraling. The exchanges, which also come during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and in the run-up to the Christian holy day of Easter, represent the most serious escalation between Israel and Lebanon since a 34-day war in 2006.”
* A worthwhile joint statement: “The Senate’s Democratic and Republican leaders on Friday issued a rare bipartisan statement condemning Russia’s ‘wrongful detention’ of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., rebuked Moscow for detaining Gershkovich and called for the journalist’s immediate release.”
* The Pentagon is investigating: “Classified war documents detailing secret American and NATO plans for building up the Ukrainian military ahead of a planned offensive against Russian troops were posted this week on social media channels, senior Biden administration officials said.”
* As if the devastation from the combat weren’t enough: “A growing body of evidence suggests Russian forces are systematically stealing art and cultural artifacts from Ukraine on a scale not seen in Europe since the Nazi plunder of World War II, according to researchers and experts documenting the damage.”
* Doesn’t it seem as if Elon makes things worse on a nearly daily basis? “Twitter has put restrictions on how its users interact with posts that contain links to the newsletter platform Substack, just days after Substack announced it would launch a Twitter-like feature called ‘Notes.’” * Bipartisanship: “The House’s most conservative Republicans and its most liberal Democrats can barely stand each other most days. But lately they’re building an unlikely alliance that could cause real problems for Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The Donald Trump-aligned Freedom Caucus and the Progressive Caucus are openly uniting in favor of repealing two decades-old war authorizations in Iraq.” * Oh, Florida: “A Florida sheriff went on a rant against gun restrictions Friday while announcing the arrests of two minors in connection with a string of shootings that left three teenagers dead.” 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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