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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The latest on today’s mass shooting in Arkansas: "A gunman opened fire at an Arkansas grocery store Friday, killing at least two and wounding several others, authorities said. The deadly incident unfolded about 11:30 a.m. CT at the Mad Butcher in Fordyce, which is about 70 miles south of Little Rock."
* Every justice except Clarence Thomas got this one right: “The Supreme Court has ruled that when an individual has been found by a court to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another, that individual can be temporarily disarmed consistent with the Second Amendment. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion.”
* This ruling, in a case we’ve been following, will be appealed: “A Clark County judge has dismissed the charges filed against the six Nevada Republicans who submitted an invalid slate of electoral votes for former President Donald Trump in 2020 on the grounds that the county was not the appropriate jurisdiction for the case.”
* An important ACA case: “While it upheld the crux of a right-wing district judge’s ruling on a major Affordable Care Act case Friday, a panel of judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals accused that district judge of abusing his discretion by letting insurers nationwide stop offering free preventative care.”
* A notable court filing in New York: “The prosecutor who secured the first conviction of a former U.S. president argued that Donald Trump should still be subjected to rules meant to protect prosecutors and jurors from his ‘inflammatory public attacks,’ citing a wave of threats against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, his family and DA employees this year.”
* Important diplomacy: “The United States and China resumed semi-official nuclear arms talks in March for the first time in five years, with Beijing’s representatives telling U.S. counterparts that they would not resort to atomic threats over Taiwan, according to two American delegates who attended.”
* Tumult at one of the nation’s most important news organizations: “Robert Winnett, the British journalist recently tapped to become editor of The Washington Post later this year, will not take the job and will remain at the Daily Telegraph in London, according to a company email sent to Post employees Friday morning.”
* The dissent in this case came from a Trump-appointed judge: “An appeals court denied former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s request to remain out of prison Thursday while he appeals his conviction on contempt of Congress charges. The three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied Bannon’s request in a 2-1 ruling, with two judges deciding that the arguments in Bannon’s request do not present a ‘substantial question’ of law that could reverse his conviction.”
* It’s not just drug companies and insurers that keep the cost of prescription drugs high: “[T]here is another collection of powerful forces that often escape attention, because they operate in the bowels of the health care system and cloak themselves in such opacity and complexity that many people don’t even realize they exist. They are called pharmacy benefit managers. And they are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government.”
Have a safe weekend.