Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Southern Ukraine: “Russian forces are stepping up their efforts to make life unbearable for civilians across the occupied southern Kherson region, where power was cut on Sunday night and Ukrainian officials warned that Russian troops were mining critical infrastructure even as they dig in to fight for their last bridgehead west of the Dnipro River.”
* In related news: “Russian officials on Monday denied allegations that an elite marine unit had suffered catastrophic losses during an ‘incomprehensible’ assault in eastern Ukraine.”
* Sedition trial: “Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes told jurors on Monday there was no plan for his band of extremists to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as he tries to clear his name in his seditious conspiracy trial. Taking the stand in his defense for a second day, Rhodes testified that he had no idea that his followers were going to join the pro-Trump mob to storm the Capitol and that he was upset after he found out that some did.”
* COP27 gets underway in Egypt: “Dozens of presidents and prime ministers spoke on Monday at a global summit on climate change after the United Nations chief opened the day’s session with a warning that the world was ‘on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.’”
* Twitter’s curious new strategy: “Devastating cuts to Twitter’s workforce on Friday, four days before the midterm elections, are fueling anxieties among political campaigns and election offices that have counted on the social network’s staff to help them combat violent threats and viral lies. The mass layoffs Friday gutted teams devoted to combating election misinformation, adding context to misleading tweets and communicating with journalists, public officials and campaign staff.” * On the other hand: “Twitter Inc., after laying off roughly half the company on Friday following Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition, is now reaching out to dozens of employees who lost their jobs and asking them to return.” * Manchin took this in a needlessly ugly direction: “President Biden came under fire from a crucial member of his own party, Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, on Saturday after making comments that suggested coal plants in the United States would be shuttered as the nation shifts to solar and wind power.” 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."
Latest Post
Recommended
