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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The latest on the Half Moon Bay mass shooting: “The slayings of seven people, gunned down in a small Northern California city, was an act of ‘workplace violence’ that victimized members of the ‘migrant community,’ officials said Tuesday.”
* If you’ve struggled to keep up with the number of mass shootings lately, it’s not your imagination: “As of Tuesday, at least 39 mass shootings had unfolded across the country since the year began, according to the Gun Violence archive, a nonprofit that tracks the spread of what has been called an American disease and which defines a mass shooting as a single incident in which at least four people — other than the shooter — are shot.”
* In Ukraine: “In what would be a reversal, the Biden administration is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront against the Russians begins to erode. The decision could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though it could take months or years for the tanks to be delivered.”
* Important diplomatic work: “U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen traveled from a small farm on a rural red clay road to a ramen noodle manufacturing plant in Zambia’s bustling capitol of Lusaka on Tuesday to showcase Africa’s potential to help solve the world’s problems with food shortages.”
* It’s such a shame to see Turkey stand in the way of such important progress: “Sweden should not expect Turkey’s support for its NATO membership bid, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday following tensions over anti-Islam protests in Stockholm over the weekend.”
* This is the second such withdrawal in less than a week: “Former president Donald Trump on Tuesday withdrew a second lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) related to her office’s fraud probe of his business practices. A stipulation of voluntary dismissal signed by Trump lawyer Alina Habba and a lawyer for James’s office was filed with a federal appeals court in Manhattan. No reason was given for the withdrawal.”
* Elections have consequences: “Arizona’s new Democratic attorney general, Kris Mayes, is redirecting an election integrity unit her Republican predecessor created, focusing its work instead on addressing voter suppression. The shift by Ms. Mayes is one of her first acts since she took office this month.”
* A worthwhile hearing, with a few too many strained pop-culture references: “Senators grilled Ticketmaster Tuesday, questioning whether the company’s dominance in the ticketing industry led to its spectacular breakdown last year during a sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets. Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee also debated possible action, including making tickets non-transferable to cut down on scalping and requiring more transparency in ticket fees.”
See you tomorrow.