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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Biden delivered quite a speech in Warsaw: “President Joe Biden framed the war in Ukraine on Tuesday as an existential test for democratic nations which are proving on the battlefield that they will aggressively defend political freedoms in the face of autocracies bent on extinguishing them for good.”
* Meanwhile, in Moscow: “Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Western countries Tuesday of igniting and sustaining the war in Ukraine, dismissing any blame for Moscow almost a year after the Kremlin’s unprovoked invasion of its neighbor that has killed tens of thousands of people.”
* In related news: “Putin also said that Russia would suspend its participation in a treaty aimed at keeping a lid on nuclear weapons expansion. The so-called New START Treaty was signed by Russia and the U.S. in 2010. It caps the number of long-range nuclear warheads they can deploy and limits the use of missiles that can carry atomic weapons. Putin said Tuesday in a major address that Russia was not fully withdrawing from the treaty yet.”
* In the aftermath of the East Palestine derailment: “Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday said that his office has made a criminal referral in response to the recent train derailment over the border in East Palestine, Ohio, and the aftereffects on the environment and nearby communities.”
* The EPA also made some news on this: “The Environmental Protection Agency announced a sweeping enforcement action against Norfolk Southern on Tuesday, compelling the rail company to conduct and pay for cleanup actions associated with the Feb. 3 derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio.”
* This raised a few eyebrows, and for good reason, though the quotes remain cryptic: “A special grand jury that investigated election interference by former President Donald J. Trump and his allies in Georgia recommended indictments of multiple people on a range of charges in its report, most of which remains sealed, the forewoman of the jury said in an interview today.”
* Covid fatalities are far from over: “The U.S. has dodged a major wintertime Covid-19 surge as the pandemic continues to recede into the background. But the death toll is still growing. The U.S., which recently topped 1.1 million Covid-19 deaths since the pandemic began, continues to record several hundred more each day, death-certificate data show.”
* It’s entirely reasonable for the White House to take at least some credit for this: “United Airlines will now let children under 12 sit next to an adult in their travel group at no additional cost, the company said on Monday. The move follows a push by the Biden administration and consumer groups to get airlines to cut back on ticket fees for families.”
* Evidently, Mormon leaders illicitly hid billions behind shell companies: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a nonprofit entity that it controlled have been fined $5 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission over accusations that the religious institution failed to properly disclose its investment holdings.”
See you tomorrow.