Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Well, this sounds absolutely terrifying: “Air traffic controllers temporarily lost communication with planes at Newark Liberty International Airport last week, according to the workers’ union, a revelation that came as travel disruptions there extended into a second week.”
* The future of Gaza: “Israel’s security Cabinet has unanimously approved a plan to seize all of the Gaza Strip in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would be an intensive military operation aimed at defeating Hamas. Palestinian civilians will be moved during the ‘powerful’ new operation in Gaza, Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media, adding that his forces would not launch raids inside the enclave and then retreat.”
* Arizona’s latest mass shooting: “At least three people have died and five more were wounded on Sunday after multiple shooters opened fire in an isolated incident at an Arizona restaurant, police said.”
* A case worth watching: “Twenty attorneys general, including the AGs of New York, California, Colorado and Michigan, sued the Trump administration on Monday over its mass firings and the dismantling of agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services.”
* I’ll have more on this soon: “After a five-year reprieve, the Trump administration restarted forced collections on federal student loans in default, which could include garnishing a portion of borrowers’ paychecks. With collections in place, the last piece of the student loan machinery has been turned back on, officially ending pandemic-era relief, which began when President Trump paused federal student loan payments in March 2020.”
* The administration has already arrested a judge, and it’ll be worth watching to see if a governor is added to the list: “Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers sharply criticized the Trump administration on Friday, calling the White House’s actions ‘chilling’ after border czar Tom Homan threatened consequences — and alluded to criminal charges — over guidance issued to state employees confronted by federal immigration authorities.” * Waltz’s tech troubles: “Michael Waltz got himself in trouble with the White House when, as national security adviser, he inadvertently added a journalist to a sensitive chat on Signal, a commercial messaging app. Now, as he leaves that job, he has raised a new set of questions about White House use of the encrypted app. A photograph of him looking at his phone on Wednesday during a cabinet meeting makes it clear that he is communicating with his colleagues — including the secretary of state and the director of national intelligence — using a platform originally designed by an Israeli company that collects and stores Signal messages.” * And in related news: “TeleMessage, the app that President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Mike Waltz, appeared to use to archive his group chats, has suspended all services after hackers claimed to have stolen files from it.” 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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