Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A big day for NATO: “Finland formally joined NATO on Tuesday, its flag unfurling outside the military bloc’s Brussels headquarters, in a historic policy shift brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, drawing a threat from Moscow of ‘counter-measures.’ Finland’s accession, ending seven decades of military non-alignment, roughly doubles the length of the border that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization shares with Russia and bolsters its eastern flank as the war in Ukraine grinds on with no resolution in sight.”
* ISIS in Syria: “A drone strike carried out by the American-led coalition in northwestern Syria has killed a senior member of the Islamic State terrorist group who was responsible for planning attacks in Europe, the United States military said Tuesday.”
* The latest Jan. 6 conviction: “A Jan. 6 defendant who was charged alongside the Donald Trump supporter who drove a stun gun into the neck of a D.C. police officer during the Capitol attack was convicted Tuesday on three counts.”
* Biden has a compelling story to tell: “President Joe Biden touted efforts to boost U.S. manufacturing after touring a Cummins facility in Minnesota on Monday, as the company announced it will invest $1 billion in making cleaner engines.”
* An important political story developing in Tennessee: “Yells rang out through the state Capitol as Tennessee House Republicans on Monday introduced resolutions to expel three Democrats for ‘disorderly behavior’ after the trio led protest chants for gun reform on the floor of the chamber last week in the wake of the deadly Covenant School shooting.”
* It’s a shame states have to start thinking along these lines: “Washington state officials have stocked up on a key abortion drug in preparation for the possibility that it could become much more difficult to access nationwide, pending the outcome of a federal lawsuit brought by anti-abortion-rights groups. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, says he ordered the Washington Department of Corrections to use its pharmacy license to buy 30,000 doses of mifepristone, an estimated three-year supply for patients in Washington state. The pills were received on March 31.”
* Justice KBJ: “Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson continues to make her mark in criminal cases, drawing attention to appeals in which the court has ignored defendants’ rights. The latest example came Monday, in a death penalty case from Louisiana that the Supreme Court’s Republican majority rejected without comment.” * An unbelievable story: “The former chief of staff to ex-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan died after he was captured Monday in Tennessee, nearly three weeks after he failed to appear in federal court last month on fraud and other charges, authorities and his lawyer said. Roy McGrath, 53, suffered a gunshot wound and succumbed to injuries, lawyer Joseph Murtha said in an email.” * Headlines that didn’t seem necessary until very recently: “Can kids see ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’? How DeSantis’ anti-drag war is affecting the performing arts.” 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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