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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Indefensible: “A Russian court extended until at least Aug. 30 the pretrial detention of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter deemed by the U.S. to be wrongfully held, after investigators requested more time before his trial.”
* Jan. 6 sentence: “The Arkansas man who was photographed on Jan. 6, 2021, with his feet on a desk in then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office was sentenced Wednesday to four and a half years in prison. Federal prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Richard ‘Bigo’ Barnett to more than seven years for his actions before, during and after the riot at the U.S. Capitol.”
* The latest warning from DHS: “The Department of Homeland Security is warning about the potential for violence in the lead-up to the 2024 election cycle that could target the nation’s critical infrastructure, faith-based institutions, government facilities and minority communities, according to a bulletin posted Wednesday.”
* She’s right: “Amanda Gorman, the nation’s first National Youth Poet Laureate, spoke out Tuesday against what she described as a book ban after access to the poem she recited at President Joe Biden’s inauguration was limited at a Florida school.”
* One year later: “As families and loved ones mourn the unimaginable loss of 19 children and two teachers shot dead last year in Uvalde, Texas, President Joe Biden said from a solemn White House memorial that too many schools, too many everyday places have become ‘killing fields.’”
* Soon, every state south of Virginia will have bans like these: “The South Carolina Senate on Tuesday voted to ban abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy following the end of a filibuster by the chamber’s five female senators, who had become the bill’s most outspoken opponents.”
* Target responds to right-wing intimidation tactics: “Mega retailer Target is pulling some of its merchandise that celebrates Pride month after threats to employees, the company said Tuesday.”
* Jimmy Carter is hanging in there: “Three months after entering end-of-life care at home, former President Jimmy Carter remains in good spirits as he visits with family, follows public discussion of his legacy and receives updates on The Carter Center’s humanitarian work around the world, his grandson says. He’s even enjoying regular servings of ice cream.”
See you tomorrow.