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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In Iran: “Israel’s attack on Iran’s Natanz Nuclear Facility completely destroyed its above-ground fuel enrichment plant where uranium was being produced, the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA) said.”
* In Israel: “Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel is ongoing, according to the Israel Defense Forces. ‘Dozens of additional missiles were launched toward Israel,’ the IDF said.”
* The United States’ role: “The U.S. is assisting in shooting down Iranian missiles and projectiles targeting Israel, according to three U.S. officials.”
* So many Trump administration legal setbacks, so little time: “A federal judge in California on Friday temporarily blocked the U.S. State Department from implementing an agency-wide reorganization plan that includes nearly 2,000 layoffs. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco said during a virtual hearing that her May ruling barring federal agencies from laying off tens of thousands of employees at the direction of President Donald Trump applies to the planned overhaul announced by the State Department in April.”
* Speaking of judges telling Trump what he doesn’t want to hear: “President Donald Trump failed to persuade a federal appeals court to reconsider the $5 million verdict won by E. Jean Carroll after a jury found that he sexually abused and defamed the former magazine columnist in the 1990s. In an 8-2 vote, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Friday left intact its Dec. 30 decision by a three-judge panel upholding the jury award.”
* Keep an eye on this one: “President Donald Trump’s administration this week provided deportation officials with personal data — including the immigration status — on millions of Medicaid enrollees, a move that could make it easier to locate people as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown. An internal memo and emails obtained by The Associated Press show that Medicaid officials unsuccessfully sought to block the data transfer, citing legal and ethical concerns.”
* All is not well in Florida: “Florida’s child welfare agency sent a letter to a Florida newspaper telling it to ‘cease and desist’ its reporting on foster families for a story about a nonprofit associated with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ wife that is the subject of an investigation.”
* Speaking of the Sunshine State: “Florida’s Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey issued a harsh warning to protesters ahead of expected demonstrations, saying anyone who throws a brick, a firebomb, or points a gun at deputies will be killed ‘graveyard dead.’”
* These DOJ moves in Colorado raise all sorts of questions: “The U.S. Department of Justice is demanding an unprecedented amount of election data from at least one state, according to documents obtained by NPR, as the DOJ transformed by the Trump administration reviews cases targeting the president’s political allies and caters to his desire to exert more power over state voting processes.”
* I seem to recall Republicans taking a significant interest in the cost of home appliances during the Biden era, making their silence now that much more conspicuous: “Washing machines, refrigerators and other common household appliances made with steel parts will soon be subject to expanded tariffs, the Commerce Department said Thursday.”
Have a safe weekend.