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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In Israel: “Israel’s response to the Iranian attack may be ‘imminent,’ an Israeli official said Monday. Speaking after Israel’s war Cabinet met for several hours, the official said Israeli decision-makers believe it’s important for any response to closely follow the attack. Several diplomatic and military options were examined during the Cabinet meeting, the official said.”
* In Baltimore: “The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the cargo ship that slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused it to collapse in Baltimore last month, according to two senior law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation. The news was first reported by The Washington Post on Monday morning.”
* Louisiana’s latest mass shooting: “A mass shooting near a nightclub in New Orleans on Sunday night left one woman dead and 11 others injured, police and eyewitnesses said. The incident took place shortly before midnight at the 800 block of South Peters Street in the city’s Warehouse District, an address near the Republic NOLA nightclub, according to a press release from the New Orleans Police Department.”
* In Ukraine: “As Ukrainian officials plead for more Western arms and a U.S. aid package remains stalled in Congress, Russia is advancing on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, seizing new territory and intensifying attacks to capture the town of Chasiv Yar and others in the Donetsk region.”
* Consumer spending: “Rising inflation in March didn’t deter consumers, who continued shopping at a more rapid pace than anticipated, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Retail sales increased 0.7% for the month, considerably faster than the Dow Jones consensus forecast for a 0.3% rise though below the upwardly revised 0.9% in February, according to Census Bureau data that is adjusted for seasonality but not for inflation.”
* Prosecutors continue to undercut Sen. Bob Menendez’s claims: “Some of the cash [found in the New Jersey Democrat’s home] was wrapped in bands showing it had been withdrawn, at least $10,000 at a time, from a bank where Mr. Menendez and his wife ‘had no known depository account.’ This, prosecutors said, indicated ‘that the money had been provided to them by another person.’”
* Good news on crime rates: “Homicides in American cities are falling at the fastest pace in decades, bringing them close to levels they were at before a pandemic-era jump. Nationwide, homicides dropped around 20% in 133 cities from the beginning of the year through the end of March compared with the same period in 2023, according to crime-data analyst Jeff Asher, who tabulated statistics from police departments across the country.”
* Hmm: “Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was not present at the court for oral arguments on Monday, with the court giving no reason for his absence.”
* A case worth watching: “Progressive media watchdog group Media Matters for America celebrated a legal win Friday, announcing that a federal judge has imposed a preliminary injunction against Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general who sought to investigate the group after it reported on white nationalist content appearing on X, formerly Twitter.”
See you tomorrow.