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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The fact that we knew this was coming doesn’t make the developments any less discouraging: “Special counsel Jack Smith filed motions to drop all federal charges against President-elect Donald Trump regarding his mishandling of classified documents and his effort to overturn his 2020 presidential election in the lead-up to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S Capitol.”
* In the Middle East: “A cease-fire deal to end the conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia was close but not complete Monday, three senior Biden administration officials told NBC News. One official said ‘there are still a few issues left to be resolved,’ with another cautioning a deal ‘could still take a couple of days.’”
* The COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan: “Countries agreed to a deal early Sunday that asks rich, developed nations to pay at least $300 billion a year by 2035 to help poorer countries shift their economies away from polluting fuels, bringing to a close two weeks of contentious talks that threatened at multiple points to fall apart. It didn’t come easily, or without caustic criticism.”
* An important ruling: “You probably missed it, because it created barely a ripple in the media, but last Friday, a federal judge appointed by Donald Trump struck down one of President Biden’s most pro-worker policies: his effort to ensure that far more Americans benefit from overtime pay. Around four million salaried workers with lower incomes are the losers in this decision, yet it generated startlingly few news stories and no outraged missives from leading columnists.”
* The number of women who died as a result of Texas Republicans’ abortion ban continues to climb: “Thirty-five-year-old Porsha Ngumezi’s case raises questions about how abortion bans are pressuring doctors to avoid standard care even in straightforward miscarriages.”
* The prospect of Jan. 6 pardons: “A federal judge appointed by then-President Donald Trump criticized his broad promise to pardon Jan. 6 riot defendants at the start of his second term, saying that anything approaching wholesale pardons would be ‘beyond frustrating and disappointing.’”
* One of the stories I missed writing about while on vacation: “A federal judge said Monday he may hold an evidentiary hearing next month to help determine whether to approve the sale of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ media company to satirical publication The Onion.”
* To the extent that readers care, I’ve published my last item to Twitter/X, and I’m optimistic about Bluesky’s future: “At Bluesky, the social media start-up that has been adding 1 million users a day since X owner Elon Musk won his all-in bet on President-elect Donald Trump, the company’s 20 full-time employees have been struggling to keep the site moderated and its servers up and running.”
See you tomorrow.