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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Another 6-3 split: “The Supreme Court’s Republican-appointed majority has granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to lift an order that temporarily restrained the government’s ‘roving patrols’ in Los Angeles. A California judge had ruled that plaintiffs who sued the government, including U.S. citizens, would likely succeed in their claim that officials are conducting such patrols without reasonable suspicion.”
* Speaking of SCOTUS: “Chief Justice John Roberts halted the reinstatement of the lone Democratic commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, whom President Donald Trump sought to fire without cause. Roberts’ move Monday, known as an administrative stay, is technically temporary while the full Supreme Court considers whether to halt Rebecca Slaughter’s reinstatement pending further litigation on appeal.”
* Also in the courts: “While his administration attempts to reshape the country through the courts, Donald Trump just suffered his latest legal loss on his personal docket, when an appellate panel rejected his attempt to overturn the $83.3 million in defamation damages won by writer E. Jean Carroll at one of her civil trials against Trump.”
* In Ukraine: “Russia launched its largest air attack of the war on Ukraine overnight, setting the main government building on fire in central Kyiv and killing at least four people, including an infant, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone and missile barrage killed four people and caused damage across the north, south and east of the country, including the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Odesa, as well as in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions.”
* Speaking of Russia: “Since returning to the White House in January, President Trump has dismantled the American government’s efforts to combat foreign disinformation. The problem is that Russia has not stopped spreading it. How much that matters can now be seen in Moldova, a small but strategic European nation that has since the end of the Cold War looked to Europe and the United States to extract itself from Moscow’s shadow.”
* Things have been better at West Point: “President Donald Trump is publicly cheering the reported cancellation of a ceremony honoring actor Tom Hanks at the prestigious U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Hanks was to receive the 2025 Sylvanus Thayer Award later this month by the West Point Association of Graduates, according to a June statement from the alumni group. The award was set to recognize Hanks’ work throughout his film career that supported ‘veterans, the military, and America’s space program.’”
* An unfortunate list grows longer: “Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Friday that he’s sending 316 members of the state’s National Guard to Washington, D.C., later this month in the latest indication that President Donald Trump’s law enforcement operation in the nation’s capital will drag on. The Republican Kemp said he will mobilize the roughly 300 troops in mid-September to take part in Trump’s D.C. operation to relieve soldiers from elsewhere who deployed earlier.”
* Keep an eye on this one: “Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) is standing in the way of a bipartisan push to tighten sanctions on the country of Georgia, which lawmakers and advocates say is the best way to stand up for pro-democracy forces and counter Russian, Chinese and Iranian influence in the country.”
See you tomorrow.