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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Donald Trump entered the expected plea: “Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he engaged in criminal conspiracies aimed at subverting the 2020 presidential election results and keeping himself in power.”
* The near future: “The first hearing in former president Donald Trump’s case is set for Aug. 28 at 10 a.m. Judge Tanya Chutkan has been assigned the case. U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya told Trump during Thursday’s arraignment that she’s consulted with Chutkan.”
* Good advice: “In discussing the conditions of Trump’s release, Judge Upadhyaya warned him against discussing the cases with any witnesses. ‘The defendant must not communicate about the facts of the case to individuals known to be a witness except through counsel or in the presence of counsel,’ she said.”
* ISIS: “The Islamic State group announced on Thursday the death in Syria of its little-known leader, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi, who headed the extremist organization since November, and named his successor.”
* Warnings from NATO members: “The leaders of NATO members Poland and Lithuania warned on Thursday against ‘provocations’ and ‘sabotage actions’ from neighboring Belarus by relocated members of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, a warning that comes just days after two Belarusian helicopters breached Polish airspace and heightened jitters in the region.”
* In Mississippi: “Six white former law enforcement officers in Mississippi who called themselves the ‘Goon Squad’ have pleaded guilty to a racist assault on two Black men who were brutalized during a home raid that ended with an officer shooting one man in the mouth, federal prosecutors say.”
* Hostility toward church-state separation persists: “A new law in Louisiana went into effect Tuesday requiring public schools in the state to display the nation’s official motto, ‘In God We Trust,’ in each classroom.”
* Climate crisis: “The world has just gotten its first real taste of a planet that is 1.5 degrees Celsius — or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit — hotter than preindustrial times. According to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, July of this year was the most scorching July on record, clocking in at somewhere between 1.5 and 1.6 Celsius hotter than the average before the widespread use of fossil fuels.”
See you tomorrow.