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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Difficult diplomacy: “Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi today as part of his trip to the Middle East to promote the framework of a hostage release and cease-fire deal. He is also set to meet with several Qatari ministers. Yesterday, he discussed an ‘enduring end’ to the war in Gaza with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”
* Stay tuned: “Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told media today that officials received the first response from Hamas regarding a hostage deal framework and it indicated the group is open to negotiations.”
* In related news: “For decades the United States has pushed a two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East but not formally recognized an independent Palestinian state. That may be about to change.”
* A worthwhile return on investment: “The IRS is poised to take in hundreds of billions of dollars more in overdue and unpaid taxes than previously anticipated, according to new analysis released Tuesday by the Treasury Department and the IRS. Tax revenues are expected to rise by as much as $561 billion from 2024 to 2034, thanks to stepped-up enforcement made possible with money from the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which became law in August 2022.”
* A closely watched case: “Jennifer Crumbley, the Michigan woman charged in connection with her son’s deadly school shooting rampage in 2021, was convicted Tuesday of involuntary manslaughter in the unprecedented case. The unanimous verdict came on the second day of jury deliberations in a landmark trial that turned on an unusual question: Can the parent of a child who commits a mass shooting also be held criminally responsible?”
* The latest Jan. 6 arrest: “A man who worked for the State Department as a diplomatic security officer was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday in Washington in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Kevin Alstrup faces the same four misdemeanor charges that have typically been given to non-violent Jan. 6 participants who entered the Capitol building during the attack.”
* Time is of the essence: “President Joe Biden promised to remake the federal judiciary. With less than a year left to deliver, Democratic senators worry they’re missing their last chance to do that, especially as funding fights increasingly drain their time.”
* Category 6? “Stronger and more destructive hurricanes fueled by climate change may require a rethinking of how storms are classified, according to a new study that suggests adding a Category 6 for ranking them to better convey damaging wind speeds.”
* I might need to change my strategy: “If you’ve presented the same arm for every dose of a particular vaccine, you may want to reconsider. Alternating arms may produce a more powerful immune response, a new study suggests. The researchers studied responses to the first two doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Those who alternated arms showed a small increase in immunity over those who got both doses in the same arm.”
See you tomorrow.