Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Disaster in Brazil: “An airplane carrying 58 passengers and four crew members crashed in Brazil on Friday, according to the airline operating the flight. The plane took off from Cascavel and was headed to the São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, according to a statement from the airline Voepass Linhas Aéreas. Cascavel is in the state of Paraná, southwest of São Paulo.”
* In Moscow: “Russian President Vladimir Putin convened a meeting of his Security Council on Friday and his military commanders rushed to send reinforcements as a stunning Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region presented the biggest challenge to the Russian leader since an uprising by Wagner mercenaries in June 2023.”
* A case we’re watching closely: “U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday approved a request from special counsel Jack Smith to allow for more time to propose the next steps in the government’s election interference case against former President Donald Trump. The decision came a day after Smith and fellow prosecutors asked the judge to delay the deadline to offer a new timetable in the case until Aug. 30.”
* A 20-year sentence for David Dempsey: “A Donald Trump supporter who stood in front of a gallows and spoke of his desire to hang Democratic politicians before he assaulted numerous police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Friday. It’s the second-longest sentence handed out in a Jan. 6 case to date.”
* Difficult diplomacy: “Leaders of the United States, Egypt and Qatar jointly demanded Israel and Hamas return to stalled talks on the war in Gaza next week, saying Thursday that ‘only the details’ of carrying out a cease-fire and hostage release remain to be negotiated.” * In Maine: “With eleventh hour guidance from the state, Maine gun retailers on Friday began requiring a three-day wait period for gun purchases under one of the new safety laws adopted following the state’s deadliest mass shooting.” * Donald Trump told a story at his Mar-a-Lago press conference about being in a helicopter with Willie Brown, the former speaker of California’s state assembly, which had to make an emergency landing. Nearly all of the details of the story were wrong, and that wasn’t the only problem with the made-up story. 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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