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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In the Middle East: “Israel’s military sent ground troops back into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces announced, just over a day after it broke a two-month ceasefire with a sprawling bombing campaign that killed hundreds across the enclave. The ‘targeted ground operation’ has focused on the central and southern Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the IDF said in a statement.”
* Interest rates: “The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it was leaving interest rates unchanged — but warned of rising uncertainty about the direction of the economy, in part due to President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda. The Fed said its key federal funds rate, which serves as a benchmark for interest rates throughout the economy, would remain at approximately 4.5%.”
* Ongoing diplomatic efforts: “The Trump administration and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Ukraine has agreed to move forward with a partial ceasefire with Russia, which President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had discussed a day earlier.”
* All is not well in Ankara: “Turkey arrested the top political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on accusations of corruption and terrorism on Wednesday, days before he was set to be named the opposition’s candidate in the next presidential election. The opposition blasted the arrest of the rival, Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of Istanbul, as politically motivated and said that the government was trying to remove a potential political threat to Mr. Erdogan.”
* A striking ruling: “A federal judge Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from enlisting or serving in the military. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes of Washington, D.C., ruled that the ban violates the equal protection clause because it discriminates based on transgender status and sex.”
* The latest in a series of unfortunate elections-have-consequences moments: “The Department of Health and Human Services recently removed a former surgeon general’s warning declaring gun violence a public health crisis to comply with the president’s executive order to protect Second Amendment rights, according to a White House official.”
* The administration’s anti-DEI crusade is increasingly ridiculous: “The military story of Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball after serving as a 2nd lieutenant in the Army, no longer exists on the Department of Defense’s website as part of the Trump administration’s wiping out of diversity, equity and inclusion within the federal government.”
* Eichorn recently gained notoriety proposing a bill that would’ve recognized “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as a form of mental illness: “A Minnesota state senator is facing calls to resign after he was arrested and accused of arranging to solicit a teenage girl for prostitution. Justin Eichorn, a Republican, thought he was talking to a 17-year-old girl when he arranged a meetup in Bloomington, a suburb of Minneapolis, police said, but he was actually communicating with an undercover detective. ... It was unclear whether he had retained an attorney, and his Senate office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”
See you tomorrow.
