By
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A historic gathering: “President Biden and the leaders of Japan and South Korea agreed to expand security and economic cooperation on Friday, after a summit at Camp David that sought to bridge generations of friction between the two Asian powers and to forge a trilateral bulwark against North Korea and the growing influence of China.”
* In related news: “As President Biden met with the leaders of Japan and South Korea at Camp David on Friday, no country loomed more prominently in the background than China. The three-way talks on Friday focused on establishing more secure supply chains that bypass China and figuring out which emerging technologies to try to keep out of the hands of the Chinese military.”
* Jan. 6 defendant goes missing: “Christopher Worrell, a Florida Proud Boy convicted on seven counts stemming from his actions during the Jan. 6 riot, was scheduled to be sentenced today in Washington, D.C, federal court but is now missing, according to a spokeswoman from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.”
* Hurricane Hilary: “More than a year’s worth of rain could drench parts of Southern California and the Southwest this weekend, as Hurricane Hilary churns in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Heavy rainfall across the southwestern United States is expected to peak on Sunday and Monday, but could persist through the middle of next week, according to the National Hurricane Center.”
* The right call at the Justice Department: “The widow of a police officer who died by suicide after he was assaulted during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has been found eligible for a federal benefits program for the families of fallen officers.”
* The Carroll case: “A U.S. judge on Friday ruled that former President Donald Trump had filed a ‘frivolous’ appeal of his decision not to dismiss the first of writer E. Jean Carroll’s two defamation lawsuits stemming from her claim that he raped her.”
* I literally laughed out loud at this: “Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in polls for the 2024 Republican nomination, is seeking to delay his federal trial on charges related to his efforts to stop the peaceful transfer of power and retain the White House following his 2020 election loss. In a court filing Thursday, Trump’s attorneys recommended starting the trial in April 2026, more than two years after prosecutors are seeking to get the trial underway.”
* Keep an eye on this one: “Georgia’s most powerful Republican politicians rejected pro-Donald Trump calls to change the state constitution to give the governor direct authority to pardon those convicted of crimes.”
* Quite a story: “The FBI arrested multiple police officers in the California cities of Antioch and Pittsburg early Thursday in a series of raids conducted as part of an ongoing investigation into their embattled police departments. The raids were executed in multiple locations across the Bay Area after a federal grand jury in San Francisco handed down an indictment, according to the Bay Area News Group, which first reported the development.”
Have a safe weekend.