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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Austin in Israel: “Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is today in Tel Aviv, where he held a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Austin said the U.S. remains steadfast in its belief that Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas, but is also looking to ensure the future stability of the region for both Palestinians and Israelis.”
* Today’s other big news out of the Pentagon: “The U.S. and a host of other nations are creating a new force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced early Tuesday in Bahrain.”
* I plan to explore this in more detail in the morning: “A federal appeals court on Monday rejected an effort by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to move his Georgia election interference case out of state court. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a judge’s ruling from September that said Meadows had not demonstrated that the alleged conduct that prompted his prosecution was related to his official duties in the Trump administration.”
* An unexpected declaration from the Vatican: “Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to ‘an exhaustive moral analysis’ to receive it.”
* An awaited Jan. 6 arrest: “Barbara Balmaseda, 23, is charged with a felony offense of obstruction of an official proceeding, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said Monday. She’s also charged with misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.”
* DOJ: “The Justice Department on Monday unveiled a new national database to track serious misconduct violations by federal law enforcement officers, a move authorities said would help ensure that those officers are not unwittingly hired by other government agencies.”
* A significant civil penalty, one year later: “The Transportation Department fined Southwest Airlines $140 million for major flight disruptions during the 2022 holiday season and resulted in almost 17,000 significantly delayed or canceled flights, the DOT announced Monday.”
* Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island apparently has some strong feelings about the Boston Tea Party: “‘They got drunk, painted themselves like Indians and pushed tea bags into the Boston Harbor, which we in Rhode Island think is pretty weak tea compared to blowing up the goddamn boat and shooting its captain,’ Whitehouse told The Post. ‘But you know, all those Massachusetts people went on to become president and run Harvard ... so they told their story, and their story, and their story.’”
See you tomorrow.