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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Halted shipments: “The United States halted a large shipment of offensive weapons to Israel last week in a sign of its growing concern over a possible military offensive on Rafah, senior administration officials told NBC News.”
* On a related note: “The Israeli military appeared to play down the dispute, with a spokesman saying Wednesday that the two allies would resolve any disagreements ‘behind closed doors.’ But an Israeli official told NBC News there is deep frustration in the Israeli government over the decision.”
* A bizarre story: “An American soldier who was detained in eastern Russia while visiting a woman he was romantically involved with has been charged with “theft with major damage,” state media reported Wednesday. Staff Sgt. Gordon Black was arrested in the city of Vladivostok last week after leaving his posting in South Korea. He was supposed to travel to Fort Cavazos, Texas, to begin a new assignment, but opted to travel to Russia instead, the U.S. Army said.”
* Speaking of Russia: “Vladimir Putin began his fifth term at a glittering Kremlin inauguration Tuesday, embarking on another six years as leader of Russia after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands. At the ceremony in the gilded Grand Kremlin Palace, Putin placed his hand on the Russian Constitution and vowed to defend it as a crowd of hand-picked dignitaries looked on.”
* Keep an eye on this one: “Georgia’s state Court of Appeals said Wednesday that it will consider an appeal from former President Donald Trump challenging the decision not to disqualify Fani Willis as the district attorney overseeing the 2020 election interference charges against him. The order said that Trump can file a notice of appeal within the next 10 days.”
* This White House cares about NATO: “President Joe Biden hosted Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, on Tuesday at the White House, with the two leaders celebrating their joint cooperation on issues including international security, the economy and continued support for Ukraine. The meeting in the Oval Office was meant to mark Romania’s two decades as a NATO member, according to the White House.”
* This ruling came from a Trump appointee: “A federal judge has ruled Arkansas cannot prevent two high school teachers from discussing critical race theory in the classroom, but he stopped short of more broadly blocking the state from enforcing its ban on ‘indoctrination’ in public schools.”
* The latest from Baltimore: “The body of the sixth and final victim who died in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was found on Tuesday, officials said, bringing to a close a difficult salvage mission after the country’s deadliest bridge collapse in more than a decade.”
See you tomorrow.