Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Quite a career: “Colin Powell, the retired four-star general who became the country’s first Black secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died Monday due to complications from Covid-19, his family said in a statement on Facebook.”
* SCOTUS: “The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Monday to temporarily block enforcement of the Texas law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.”
* An important development: “Russia’s foreign minister said Monday that the country is suspending its mission to NATO. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the move is in response to last week’s expulsion by NATO of eight members of Russia’s mission to the military alliance.”
* Haiti: “A group of American missionaries kidnapped in Haiti over the weekend are being held by one of the country’s most notorious gangs, according to a Haitian police official.”
* So-called forever chemicals: “On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a three-year initiative to regulate PFAS and restrict their use. U.S. manufacturers still use the chemicals, and public water systems are not required to monitor for any PFAS. PFAS are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they never break down and remain present in the human body.”
* Notable speech: “President Joe Biden praised law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol during the attack on Jan. 6 in remarks Saturday at the National Peace Officers’ annual memorial service. Biden said the officers of the U.S. Capitol Police and Washington, D.C. Metropolitan police department ‘thwarted an unconstitutional and fundamentally un-American attack on the nation’s value and our votes’ during the events of Jan. 6.”
* A tragically familiar problem: “During the three years that officials have known about dangerous amounts of lead flowing from faucets in Benton Harbor, Mich., they have sent out notices, distributed filters and tried to improve water treatment. But the problems persisted, and some residents said they never heard about the risks of the toxic water coming from their taps. Now, in scenes reminiscent of the water crisis in Flint, Mich., state officials have told Benton Harbor residents not to drink, cook or brush their teeth with tap water.” * A fascinating story out of Prague: “A wide range of parties in the Czech Republic banded together despite their differences to oppose Andrej Babis, the country’s populist prime minister. Opposition parties in Hungary are hoping to duplicate the feat.” * He always finds new things to whine about: “Former President Trump criticized the Justice Department on Friday for restoring former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s retirement benefits.” 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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