Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Difficult diplomacy: “U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that a deal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages was in the hands of Hamas, as delegations held a third day of talks with no sign of a breakthrough.”
* In related news: “A report by the United Nations has found ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ that the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel included sexual violence — including rape and gang rape — and that some Israeli hostages experienced such violence while in captivity in Gaza.”
* A rare comment from Trump about Gaza: “Former President Trump on Tuesday said Israel has to ‘finish the problem’ in its war against Hamas in Gaza as Israeli leaders face mounting criticism for their handling of the war.”
* It’s not a sexy story, and it won’t make any front pages, but White House officials continue to work on measures to make Americans’ lives a bit better: “The Biden administration announced a rule Tuesday to cap all credit card late fees, the latest effort in the White House push to end what it has called junk fees and a move that regulators say will save Americans up to $10 billion a year. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new regulations will set a ceiling of $8 for most credit card late fees or require banks to show why they should charge more than $8 for such a fee.”
* In related news: “The White House is launching a multi-agency ‘strike force’ on Tuesday in an effort to curb unfair and illegal pricing across the economy, according to Lael Brainard, chair of the National Economic Council.” * DeSantis sure does lose a lot of court fights: “A federal appeals court upheld a ruling Monday that blocked Florida from enforcing a law, backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that restricts how private companies teach diversity and inclusion in the workplace. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled Monday that the ‘Stop Woke Act’ ‘exceeds the bounds’ of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression in its attempts to regulate workplace trainings on race, color, sex and national origin.” * A changing labor landscape: “The Dartmouth Men’s Basketball team voted 13-2 in favor of becoming the first-ever labor union for college athletes on Tuesday afternoon. The vote could present a huge shakeup to the National Collegiate Athletics Association’s (NCAA) model, which currently only allows college athletes to financially benefit from their role on teams through name, image and likeness.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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