By
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A government shutdown this week appears very unlikely: “ The House on Thursday passed a short-term funding bill to avert a partial government shutdown this weekend, sending it to the Senate to buy Congress more time to fund the government. The bill passed the House, 320-99. The Senate could take it up as soon as Thursday afternoon ahead of a Friday night deadline to keep the government open.”
* Optimism is in short supply: “President Joe Biden expressed skepticism Thursday that a cease-fire agreement could be struck in the Israel-Hamas war by Monday, as he had said he hoped would happen. ... Biden held separate calls Thursday morning with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to discuss hostage talks and the overall situation in Gaza.”
* In Moscow: “President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said the West faced the prospect of nuclear conflict if it intervened more directly in the war in Ukraine, using an annual speech to the nation on Thursday to escalate his threats against Europe and the United States.”
* In Gaza: “The White House is exploring the possibility of airdropping aid from U.S. military planes into Gaza as deliveries by land become increasingly difficult, four U.S. officials told Axios.”
* The latest inflation data: “Inflation rose in line with expectations in January, according to an important gauge the Federal Reserve uses as it deliberates cutting interest rates.”
* In Texas: “A federal judge on Thursday blocked a new Texas law that would give police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S., dealing a victory to the Biden administration with a broad rejection of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s immigration enforcement effort.”
* A lawsuit worth watching: “The co-founders of former president Donald Trump’s media company filed a lawsuit Wednesday, claiming that Trump and other leaders had schemed to deprive them of a stake in the company that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.”
* I find reports like these fascinating: “There’s no doubt President Emmanuel Macron wants to take on a mantle of global leadership and reverse faltering Western support for Ukraine, but French politics will make that a hard role for him to pull off.”
See you tomorrow.