Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The death toll in China is up to 127: “A strong earthquake and a series of aftershocks have struck a mountainous region of northwestern China, killing at least 127 people, officials said Tuesday. Many people were still buried under the rubble in the area in the mountainous Tibetan Plateau. The magnitude-6.2 earthquake hit Jishishan County in Gansu province before midnight local time Monday, and also jolted the neighboring province of Qinghai.”
* The news is more encouraging in Iceland: “Lava continues to spew from a volcano in southwestern Iceland that erupted late Monday, but local officials said Tuesday that it ‘does not present a threat to life.’”
* If only Republicans and U.S. allies were on the same page: “Britain and France reiterated their determination Tuesday that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine ends in failure, with the U.K. foreign minister saying that Ukraine’s allies must better leverage their economic might to vastly outmatch Moscow’s war machine.”
* This news has already sparked congressional pushback: “U.S. Steel agreed on Monday to sell itself to Nippon Steel for $14.1 billion, capping months of speculation about the fate of the American industrial heavyweight.”
* Expect spirited litigation: “Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed legislation that makes it a criminal offense to enter the state illegally, setting up a potential clash with President Joe Biden’s administration over immigration policy and border enforcement.”
* A Jan. 6 case I’ve been keeping an eye on: “A Republican mayoral nominee who lost his race in Connecticut last month plans to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to his lawyer and court documents. Gino DiGiovanni Jr., a former alderman and candidate for mayor in Derby, Connecticut, was charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack in August.”
* Speaking of suspected election-related crimes: “Six Nevada Republicans, including state party Chair Michael McDonald, pleaded not guilty in a Clark County court on Monday to felony charges brought after their attempt to pledge the state’s electoral votes to Donald Trump following the 2020 election, despite President Joe Biden’s victory in the state.”
* Fascinating research: “If 100 homeless people were given $750 per month for a year, no questions asked, what would they spend it on? That question was at the core of a controlled study conducted by a San Francisco-based nonprofit and the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.”
See you tomorrow.
