Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In Gaza: “Israel on Wednesday entered the first stages of a planned assault on Gaza City after approving a plan to take it over that includes calling up 60,000 reservists for an expanded military operation in the besieged Palestinian enclave.”
* The more Trump claims that Putin wants peace, the more Putin attacks: “Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 270 drones, as well as missiles, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday, hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders held talks with President Trump aimed at finding a path toward a peace deal.”
* The latest on the Epstein case: “A federal judge on Wednesday denied the Trump Justice Department’s motion to unseal grand jury transcripts in Jeffrey Epstein’s New York sex trafficking case, dealing the DOJ its latest loss on the subject, in a ruling that spotlights the government’s bumbling legal effort and lack of transparency in the Epstein scandal.”
* A gut-wrenching report: “A United States Senate investigation has identified more than 500 credible reports of human rights abuses in US immigration detention since January, including alarming allegations of mistreatment of pregnant women and children. As of late last month, the investigation—led by US senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat of Georgia—had unearthed 41 cases of physical and sexual abuse; 14 involving pregnant detainees and 18 involving children.”
* This pediatricians group has a lot of nerve providing Americans with accurate information that RFK Jr. chooses not to believe: “The gloves are off in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s feud with American doctors. Hours after the American Academy of Pediatrics, the professional society for doctors who care for children, issued Covid-19 vaccine guidance contradicting that of the health secretary, Kennedy accused the group of engaging in a ‘pay-to-play scheme to promote commercial ambitions of AAP’s Big Pharma benefactors’ in a post on social media platform X.”
* Student visas: “The administration of President Donald Trump has revoked more than 6,000 student visas for overstays and breaking the law, including a small minority for ‘support for terrorism,’ a State Department official said Monday.”
* Presidential finances: “President Donald Trump has purchased at least $103 million worth of corporate and municipal bonds since taking office in January, according to new filings from the Office of Government Ethics. The documents, released late Tuesday night, show that Trump began the bond-buying spree one day after being sworn in on Jan. 20 and include debt sold by companies, local governments and entities that could be directly impacted by his sweeping agenda. All said, Trump made about 690 purchases from Jan. 21 through Aug. 1.” * The underlying policy is obviously what matters, but the juvenile names aren’t helping: “Nebraska announced plans Tuesday for an immigration detention center in the remote southwest corner of the state as President Donald Trump’s administration races to expand the infrastructure necessary for increasing deportations. The facility will be dubbed the ‘Cornhusker Clink,’ a play on Nebraska’s nickname of the Cornhusker State and an old slang term for jail.” * The first, but not the last: “A senior White House official is decamping for K Street — the first instance this year of a prominent aide to President Donald Trump leaving for a lobbying gig. Trent Morse has been serving since January as deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the Office of Personnel, which vets candidates for thousands of roles across the federal government.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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