By
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The latest tragedy in Ukraine: “Ukraine’s interior minister was among at least 14 people killed after a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten outside Kyiv on Wednesday, authorities said. The cause of the crash, which comes as the country’s war with Russia approaches the 11-month mark, was not immediately clear.”
* In related news: “The U.S. is finalizing a massive package of military aid for Ukraine that U.S. officials say is likely to total as much as $2.6 billion. It’s expected to include for the first time nearly 100 Stryker combat vehicles and at least 50 Bradley armored vehicles to allow Ukrainian forces to move more quickly and securely on the front lines in the war with Russia — but not the tanks that Ukraine has sought.”
* Diplomatic challenge: “U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met on Wednesday with her Chinese counterpart and pledged an effort to manage differences and ‘prevent competition from becoming anything ever near conflict’ as the two nations try to thaw relations.”
* SCOTUS: “The Supreme Court on Wednesday turned away a challenge by a group of firearms dealers in New York to numerous Democratic-backed measures adopted by the state last year regulating gun purchases that the businesses said hurt their businesses. The justices, with no public dissents, denied a request by the dealers to block the laws, some of which imposed gun safety requirements on retailers, while their appeal of a lower court’s decision in favor of New York proceeds.”
* Climate crisis: “The coldest and highest parts of the Greenland ice sheet, nearly two miles above sea level in many locations, are warming rapidly and showing changes that are unprecedented in at least a millennium, scientists reported Wednesday.”
* Explaining what “extraordinary measures“ are all about: “When the country comes close to — or hits — the statutory debt limit, the Treasury secretary can find ways to shift money around government accounts to remain under the borrowing cap, essentially buying time for Congress to raise the cap. That includes seeking out ways to reduce what counts against the debt limit, such as suspending certain types of investments in savings plans for government workers and health plans for retired postal workers. The Treasury can also temporarily move money between government agencies and departments to make payments as they come due. And it can suspend the daily reinvestment of securities held by the Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund.”
* Ticketmaster deserves the scrutiny: “The full Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Jan. 24 in the aftermath of Ticketmaster’s meltdown for fans hoping to score tickets to Taylor Swift’s latest tour, it announced.”
See you tomorrow.