Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Alexey Navalny: “Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison, the country’s prison service said Friday, following a yearslong struggle against official corruption and President Vladimir Putin’s government that saw him survive several poisoning attempts. He was 47.”
* The White House’s reaction: “President Joe Biden expressed shock and outrage at the death of Alexei Navalny on Friday, blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for the opposition leader’s passing in a Siberian prison and saying the incident showed the importance of funding for Ukraine. ‘Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,’ Biden said in a fiery speech at the White House.”
* The international reaction: “Shock, grief and then fury rippled through the hallways and conference rooms of the Munich Security Conference on Friday as the news of Alexei Navalny’s death spread, announced by authorities in the Siberian prison where he’d been taken late last year.”
* In related news: Arriving in Munich even as House Republicans block military aid to Ukraine and former President Donald J. Trump vows to encourage Russia to attack “delinquent” NATO allies, [Vice President Kamala] Harris has the unenviable task of telling European leaders not to worry too much about those things. And she faces the challenge of making the case that Mr. Trump and his backers are wrong about the value of alliances.”
* The latest from the Kansas City shooting: “Two juveniles have been charged in connection with a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade that left one person dead and 22 others injured, officials said Friday.” * The pending NRA case: “Jurors began deliberating Friday in the New York civil corruption trial against the National Rifle Association and its longtime leader, Wayne LaPierre. The jury will decide whether LaPierre, the organization’s former CEO, drew millions of dollars away from the gun rights group on luxuries for himself, as well as whether other executives flouted laws and internal policies to enrich themselves.” * Ronny Jackson appears to have some explaining to do: “A long-awaited inspector general’s report released last month faulted previous White House medical teams for widely dispensing sedatives and stimulants, failing to maintain records on potent drugs including fentanyl, providing care to potentially hundreds of ineligible White House staff and contractors, and flouting other federal regulations. … But a Washington Post review found problems with the unit’s conduct were even more pronounced than the Pentagon’s latest findings.” Have a safe weekend.
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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