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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Biden was very well received in Lithuania: “President Joe Biden promised Ukraine that its Western partners would not back away from its defense in a speech Wednesday following two days of high-stakes meetings with leaders at a NATO summit. Speaking before a heaving crowd on a bright Wednesday evening, Biden vowed that ‘the defense of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It’s the calling of our lifetime — of all time.’”
* A terrific report on inflation: “Inflation fell to 3% in June — the 12th-consecutive month of declines. ... By one measure, the U.S. economy is already close to slaying the price inflation that has bedeviled it for the better part of two years.”
* Kim Jong Un apparently wants attention again: “North Korea launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile Wednesday, its neighbors said, two days after it threatened the U.S. over what it said were spy plane incursions into its airspace.”
* A case we’ve been following: “The Justice Department has abandoned plans to defend Donald Trump in a lawsuit brought by E. Jean Carroll, saying in a court filing Tuesday that it no longer believes he was acting within the scope of his presidential duties in 2019 when he allegedly defamed her while denying her rape accusation.”
* The latest Jan. 6 sentence: “A Jan. 6 defendant who stormed the Capitol and assaulted police with a flagpole while he was out on bail on a charge of first-degree attempted murder was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison Tuesday.”
* In the Sunshine State: “Florida’s coral reefs are facing what could be an unprecedented threat from a marine heat wave that is warming the Gulf of Mexico, pushing water temperatures into the 90s Fahrenheit. The biggest concern for coral isn’t just the current sea surface temperatures in the Florida Keys, even though they are the hottest on record. ... The real worry, scientists say, is that it’s only July. Corals typically experience the most heat stress in August and September.”
* Speaking of Florida: “Another insurer is leaving Florida, where homeowners are paying more than ever for insurance, despite the state’s attempt to shore up the wobbling market. On Tuesday, Farmers Insurance informed the state it was dropping home, auto and umbrella policies across Florida, potentially affecting tens of thousands of people. It’s the fourth company to leave the Florida market in the last year — most citing rising risks from hurricanes.”
* I’m glad Schumer is sticking with this issue: “Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has urged the policymaking body for the federal courts to end a case assignment system that he says allows parties to select their judges, escalating an effort to enact change at the federal judiciary.”
* Incredible images: “The Webb Space Telescope is marking one year of cosmic photographs with one of its best yet: the dramatic close-up of dozens of stars at the moment of birth. NASA unveiled the latest snapshot Wednesday, revealing 50 baby stars in a cloud complex 390 light-years away.”
See you tomorrow.