Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The importance of Kherson: “The city of Kherson in southern Ukraine near Russian-occupied Crimea is ‘contested territory again,’ a U.S. Defense Department official said. If the city is retaken, it would represent a major setback for Russia.”
* This was a deeply weird speech, even for him: “President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of trying to cancel Russia’s rich musical and literary culture, including composers Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov, in the same way he said it had cancelled ‘Harry Potter’ author J.K. Rowling.”
* Refugees: “Bowing to domestic and international pressure, President Biden said on Thursday the United States would accept up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine and donate $1 billion to help European countries facing a humanitarian crisis not seen on the continent since the end of World War II.”
* No one should be OK with this: “An ice shelf the size of New York City has collapsed in East Antarctica, an area long thought to be stable and not hit much by climate change, concerned scientists said Friday.”
* The latest on Thomas’ condition: “Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was discharged from the hospital Friday, a week after being admitted with flu-like symptoms. The court said Thomas was discharged from Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington early Friday. He was admitted on the evening of March 18.”
* Energy deal: “With stunning speed, Russia’s war in Ukraine is driving Western Europe into the outstretched arms of the United States again, especially apparent when President Joe Biden offered a major expansion of natural gas shipments to his European Union counterpart Friday.”
* At issue are Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino: “The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol will meet Monday to determine whether two former Trump administration aides should be referred to the Justice Department for criminal contempt of Congress charges.” * The news out of Tennessee is definitely worth keeping an eye on: “Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton has been subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury as part of an ongoing FBI investigation into Capitol Hill corruption. Legislative sources had suggested they believed that as many as 10-12 other House Republicans were also served Tuesday with grand jury subpoenas, although NewsChannel 5 Investigates has not been able to confirm that number.” * Kim Jong Un wants attention again: “North Korea, for the first time since 2017, tested what is suspected to have been an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to South Korean and Japanese officials — raising new alarms about its ability to strike the United States.” 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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