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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In the Gulf of Aden: “At least two sailors were killed Wednesday in a Houthi attack on a Barbados-flagged shipping vessel in the Gulf of Aden, American and British officials said, marking the first fatal attack by the group since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.”
* On the Hill, it’s called the “minibus“: House lawmakers easily passed a package of six spending bills on Wednesday, teeing up a vote in the Senate to pass the legislation and avert a partial government shutdown by Friday’s deadline. The 1,050-page bill would keep parts of the government — including the Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, Justice and Transportation departments — open through September.”
* Delay, delay, delay: “The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Trump’s presidential immunity case on April 25, the court announced Wednesday. The announcement comes after the court said last week that it will decide the issue of whether Trump can claim immunity over the federal election interference charges against him.”
* The Fed: “Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday reiterated that he expects interest rates to start coming down this year, but is not ready yet to say when.”
* The latest Jan. 6 guilty plea: “A colonial-clad Capitol rioter — dubbed ‘Conan O’Riot’ because of his resemblance to former late night talk show host Conan O’Brien — pleaded guilty to a Jan. 6 charge Tuesday. Derek Nelson, 30, a former Marine, was arrested in Illinois in October, more than two years after he was identified by online ‘sedition hunters’ who have aided the FBI in cases against hundreds of defendants.”
* In related news: “A Jan. 6 rioter nicknamed ‘Shield Grampy’ by online sleuths has admitted that he used a stolen police shield during the brutal battle at the lower west tunnel and assaulted officers with a flagpole-like object and a baton. Anthony Mastanduno pleaded guilty to nine counts on Wednesday and was ordered taken into custody by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who set his sentencing for June 27.”
* In Alabama: “Alabama lawmakers are set to vote Wednesday afternoon on a finalized Republican-proposed bill intended to protect in vitro fertilization, following weeks of backlash prompted by a controversial state Supreme Court ruling that embryos are considered children.”
* And in Arizona: “Arizona prosecutors in recent weeks issued grand jury subpoenas to multiple people linked to Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, a sharp acceleration of their criminal investigation into efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state. The new steps, first reported here, are a sign that Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, is nearing a decision on whether to charge Trump’s allies in the state, including GOP activists who falsely posed as presidential electors in December 2020.”
See you tomorrow.