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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* At the U.N.: “The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution declaring that Palestinians qualify for full-members status at the United Nations, a highly symbolic move that reflects growing global solidarity with Palestinians and is a rebuke to Israel and the United States. The resolution was approved by a vote of 143 to 9 with 25 nations abstaining. The Assembly broke into a big applause after the vote.”
* In Ukraine: “Russian troops launched an armored ground attack on Ukraine’s northeast Friday, in what Kyiv said was a major new offensive it had been expecting for months. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it was rushing reserve units to the Kharkiv border region after a Russian effort to break through its defense lines backed by armored vehicles and artillery.”
* In related news: “The U.S. announced a new $400 million package of military aid for Ukraine on Friday, as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the northeast Kharkiv region. This is the third tranche of aid for Ukraine since Congress passed supplemental funding in late April after months of gridlock.”
* Quite a setback: "The Pentagon this week formally ordered all 1,000 U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Niger, a blow to the Biden administration’s effort to counterterrorism and Russian influence in West Africa."
* It’s tough to understand the drive to honor those who took up arms against the United States: “A Virginia school board voted Friday to restore the names of Confederate military leaders to a high school and an elementary school, four years after the names had been removed, a reversal that some experts believe may be the first of its kind.”
* This bill, one of the last big floor votes of the year, passed 88 to 4: “The Senate on Thursday passed legislation to reauthorize federal aviation programs for the next five years and put in place new safety measures and consumer protections for passengers, at a moment of intense uncertainty and disruption in the air travel system.”
* Hmm: “The House Ethics Committee disclosed investigations Thursday into Reps. Ronny Jackson and Wesley Hunt, though the two Texas Republicans denied any wrongdoing.”
* In modern American life, few have fallen this far, this fast: “Rudolph W. Giuliani was suspended by WABC radio on Friday and his daily talk show was canceled after he violated station policy by trying to discuss discredited claims about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election on air.”
* Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene complained on Steve Bannon’s program today, “Fox News wants to control what Republican voters think. ... Fox News wants to make sure, make sure that you guys don’t have your own opinion, that you only have the opinion that Fox News tells you to have.”
Have a safe weekend.