Today’s edition of quick hits:
* FDA news: “The Food and Drug Administration on Monday cleared the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 booster dose for children ages 12 to 15.”
* Good move from the White House: “President Joe Biden met virtually with independent farmers and ranchers on Monday to discuss initiatives to reduce food prices by increasing competition within the meat industry, part of a broader effort to show his administration is trying to combat inflation.”
* Tell-tale indicator: “With at-home Covid-19 tests in high demand and their efficacy in question, health departments from California to Massachusetts are turning to sewage samples to get a better idea of how much the coronavirus is spreading through communities and what might be in store for health care systems.”
* A terrifying disaster in Colorado late last week: “Hundreds of homes burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated after a rare wind-driven wildfire tore through suburban neighborhoods in Colorado on Thursday, authorities said.”
* Given recent history, this is a story worth watching: “Bosnia’s fragile multiethnic government is facing its greatest crisis since the Balkan wars. The Serb nationalist leader, Milorad Dodik, is threatening to tear the country apart.”
* It looked like the Trump administration’s Phase I deal with China wasn’t going to work, and we now know it didn’t work: “Beijing’s commitment to step up purchases of U.S. goods and services under a 2020 trade pact expires Friday with China expected to miss its targets by a wide margin.” * Minimum wage hikes: “A record number of states and cities will increase their minimum wage rates in 2022, with many exceeding $15, according to a new report…. The National Employment Law Project found that 25 states and 56 municipalities will raise their minimum wages by the end of 2022. In many areas, the wage floor will meet or exceed $15 per hour.” * A big FDIC shift: “Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Jelena McWilliams on Friday unexpectedly submitted her resignation after the Trump appointee faced partisan strife at the bank regulator, in a move that will give Democrats control of the agency in the coming weeks.” 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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