Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In Gaza: “The bodies of three more hostages who were killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks were recovered from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said Friday, as the CIA chief headed to Europe in a bid to revive cease-fire talks and as the top United Nations court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.”
* The effects of Russia destabilizing the region: “Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to eastern Europe next week as concerns mount about Russia’s advances in Ukraine, potential Russian interference in neighboring Moldova and pro-Moscow legislation being promoted in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, the State Department said Friday.”
* In related news: “The United States is expected to announce an additional $275 million in military aid for Ukraine on Friday as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, two U.S. officials say.”
* Now that he’s been convicted, the rioter known as “Sedition Panda” will be sentenced in September: “A Jan. 6 rioter dubbed ‘Sedition Panda’ for the costume head he wore when he stormed the Capitol has been convicted on each of the eight charges he faced, including assaulting a police officer. Jesse James Rumson was convicted Friday of assaulting Prince George’s County Cpl. Scott Ainsworth, a lifelong Republican who testified about the Jan. 6 riot during Rumson’s trial last week.”









