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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Aid to Ukraine: “The State Department on Wednesday unveiled this year’s final military aid package for Ukraine, as lawmakers continue to negotiate a spending deal that would sustain U.S. support for Kyiv into the new year. In a statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. will provide Ukraine with ‘up to $250 million of arms and equipment under previously directed drawdowns.’”
* Trump’s latest legal disappointment: “A federal appeals court on Thursday denied former President Donald Trump’s request to halt proceedings in the upcoming E. Jean Carroll defamation trial. In a court filing last week, Trump’s attorneys asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to delay the case for 90 days while he considered appealing the court’s previous rejection of his efforts to use presidential immunity as a defense. The appeals court denied that request on Thursday, allowing the trial to begin Jan. 16.”
* Judith Weinstein: “A hard-hit Israeli kibbutz on Thursday announced the death of Judith Weinstein — an American-Canadian-Israeli woman who had been thought to be held hostage in Gaza. The news came six days after Weinstein’s husband, Gad Haggai, was also pronounced dead.”
* At the border: “The United States has given clear signs — temporarily closing key border rail crossings into Texas — that it wants Mexico to do more to stop migrants hopping freight cars, buses and trucks to the border. Mexico, desperate to get crossings reopened to its manufactured goods, is starting to give signs it will crack down a bit.”
* In Idaho: “Idaho cannot enforce a law banning gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers and hormones for transgender minors, a federal judge ruled, a victory for families who had sued the state challenging the law.”
* Interesting case: “A Pennsylvania man who was sentenced in secret for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot cooperated with authorities investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and an unrelated case, according to court documents unsealed this week. The documents provide insight into the unusual secrecy in the case of Samuel Lazar, who had been released from federal custody in September after completing his sentence in his Capitol riot case.”
* Covid data: “As the holiday season winds down and Covid-19 cases start to pick up, a variant called JN.1 has now become the most common strain of the virus spreading across the United States. JN.1, which emerged from the variant BA.2.86 and was first detected in the United States in September, accounted for 44 percent of Covid cases nationwide by mid-December, up from about 7 percent in late November, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
* And on his social media platform this week, Donald Trump claimed his brief cameo in “Home Alone 2” in 1992 “helped make the movie a success.” He didn’t appear to be kidding.
Enjoy the holiday weekend.