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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* On the Hill: “House Republicans on Thursday appeared to have finessed a second spending agreement to avoid a looming government shutdown, just hours after the original bipartisan agreement was torpedoed by President-elect Donald Trump.”
* This ruling will be appealed, and it’s important to emphasize in the interim that the appellate court left the underlying indictment intact: “A Georgia appellate court Thursday disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and removed her from prosecuting Donald Trump and co-defendants in a case she brought over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.”
* H5N1 news: “In a stark acknowledgment of the increasing seriousness of bird flu’s spread, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California declared on Wednesday that the outbreak of infections among the state’s dairy cattle constituted an emergency. The announcement followed news earlier in the day that an individual in Louisiana had been hospitalized with bird flu, the first infected American to become severely ill.”
* The Biden administration continues to quietly take important steps on behalf of the public: “Consumers are one step closer to saying goodbye to more hidden junk fees for good. The Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday that it had finalized a rule that requires businesses to disclose the total price, including fees, for any live event tickets or short-term lodging they offer consumers. The ruling is meant to prevent bait-and-switch pricing that omits mandatory fees and additional charges from advertised prices, which the agency called ‘deceptive.’”
* This report is very easy to believe: “Disney’s decision to settle President-elect Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against ABC News was supposed to relieve the company of a major headache. Instead, it has set off an internal backlash.”
* David Rivera, of course, is Sen. Marco Rubio’s longtime pal: “Former Rep. David Rivera, R-Fla., was indicted Tuesday on charges that he violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act and laundered funds to ‘conceal and promote his criminal conduct,’ the Justice Department said Wednesday.”
* Mike Pompeo, Trump’s former secretary of state and CIA director, was apparently well slated to be the next defense secretary nominee. Then, according to this report in The Wall Street Journal, far-right media personality Tucker Carlson intervened.
* Closing the loop on a story I recently mentioned: “President-elect Donald Trump has told close aides he is no longer considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s daughter-in-law to serve as deputy director of the CIA, after a campaign by Republican lawmakers who feared she would seek to impose major changes at America’s top spy agency, according to people familiar with the matter.”
* Wexton has demonstrated such extraordinary courage under heartbreaking circumstances: “Rep. Jennifer Wexton made a little more history Tuesday in her final speech on the House floor. The Virginia Democrat, who is retiring from Congress after announcing last year that she had been diagnosed with a severe neurological disorder, delivered her farewell remarks with the assistance of an augmentative and alternative communication device with an artificial intelligence-enabled version of her own voice.”
* Richly deserved: “Bipartisan legislation to honor the late Shirley Chisholm, the nation’s first Black congresswoman, became law last week, as the 118th Congress winds down with a final flurry of bills. President Joe Biden signed the Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act on Thursday, posthumously honoring Chisholm, who died in 2005, with Congress’s highest award for her distinguished service and achievements.”
See you tomorrow.