By
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* On Capitol Hill: “The House and the Senate are at odds over how to proceed with President Joe Biden’s sweeping funding request for foreign aid and national security goals. On Tuesday, the Senate sought to bolster its position of approving the measure in one package at a hearing called ‘A Review of the National Security Supplemental Request,’ where Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made their case for the full spending measure.”
* In Gaza: “The Israeli military reported ‘fierce battles’ with Hamas deep inside the Gaza Strip as its ground operation pushed deeper into the north of the enclave and rescued a soldier who had been taken captive.”
* In Yemen: “Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesperson, said in a post on X that the Houthis, a group of Iran-backed Shia rebels in Yemen, ‘launched a large number of ballistic and winged missiles’ at Israeli targets. He wrote that the group ‘will continue to carry out more qualitative missile and drone attacks’ until Israel’s ‘aggression’ against Palestinians in Gaza ends.”
* Only two Republicans voted for him: “The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Jack Lew to be the new U.S. ambassador to Israel as Congress gears up for a fight over how to provide funding to support Israel in its war against Hamas.”
* Up until fairly recently, the general was working 18-hour days due in large part to Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade: “Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine Corps’ top officer and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was hospitalized Sunday night after suffering what military officials said was a health emergency.”
* At the White House: “President Biden signed a far-reaching executive order on artificial intelligence on Monday, requiring that companies report to the federal government about the risks that their systems could aid countries or terrorists to make weapons of mass destruction. The order also seeks to lessen the dangers of ‘deep fakes’ that could swing elections or swindle consumers.”
* Abandoning subtlety: “References to ‘climate emergency’ and ‘climate crisis,’ once used primarily by activist groups like the U.K.-based Extinction Rebellion or the U.S.-based Sunrise Movement, are spiking in the academic literature. Meanwhile, scientists’ communication to the media and the public has gotten more exasperated — and more desperate.”
* A story we’ve followed for a long time: “Prosecutors in Michigan said Tuesday that a series of appellate court rulings meant they could no longer pursue criminal cases against the state’s former governor, Rick Snyder, and others accused of wrongdoing in the Flint water crisis. The announcement was the latest, and apparently final, setback in a troubled prosecution effort that had stretched over seven years and spanned the terms of two attorneys general.”
See you tomorrow.