Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The latest on the mass shooting in a mall near Indianapolis: “The suspected gunman in the Indiana mall mass shooting carried two rifles, a pistol and more than 100 rounds of ammo, authorities said Monday, and the ‘good Samaritan’ who fatally shot him is credited with saving ‘countless lives.’”
* In Ukraine: “Russian missiles hit the strategic southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Sunday, even as Moscow’s forces pounded Ukraine’s eastern region with new attacks.”
* Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes two big personnel moves: “In two separate decrees Sunday, Zelenskyy dismissed Ukraine’s first female prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, who has been leading the country’s efforts to prosecute Russian war crimes, and the chief of the state security agency, known as SBU, Ivan Bakanov, the president’s longtime friend and former business associate.”
* Brutal findings: “A scathing report released Sunday by a Texas House committee investigating the mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde faulted ‘systemic failures and egregiously poor decision making’ by law enforcement and the school district.”
* An unfortunate ruling from a Trump-appointed judge, Part I: “A federal judge in Tennessee has temporarily blocked Biden administration directives allowing transgender workers and students to use bathrooms and locker rooms and join sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.”
* An unfortunate ruling from a Trump-appointed judge, Part II: “A federal judge temporarily blocked the Education Department’s Title IX guidance, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.”
* DOJ: “The Justice Department declared Friday that the Jan. 6 select committee has adequately justified its subpoena for testimony and documents from Mark Meadows, a former chief of staff in Donald Trump’s White House.”
* New detail on the fake-electors scheme: “A little-known Donald Trump campaign operative delivered lists of false electors to Capitol Hill in a bid to get them to Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021, according to two people familiar with the episode.”
* John Eastman’s case: “A U.S. district judge denied former President Trump’s lawyer John Eastman’s motion to implement a temporary restraining order preventing the Department of Justice (DOJ) from accessing his phone.”
* The end of unfortunate mess: “The White House is abandoning plans to nominate a Kentucky lawyer who opposes abortion rights and is backed by Senator Mitch McConnell to a federal court seat, citing opposition from Senator Rand Paul, Mr. McConnell’s home-state colleague.” * A new lifeline: “People experiencing a mental health crisis can now call or text a three-digit number, 988, to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and connect with mental health professionals trained to respond to such emergencies.” * Simpson has always been a candid GOP voice: “Former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson blasted the current iteration of the GOP as a ‘cult’ and said former President Donald Trump has ‘poisoned our democracy,’ according to a recently-released book by Mark Leibovich, a staff writer at The Atlantic.” * Another setback in the conversation about education: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday claimed he has ‘woke math’s’ number, and he doesn’t like it. The Republican railed about the mysterious (and nonexistent) form of mathematics in a speech in Tampa to the conservative group Moms for Liberty, who are opposed to several aspects of public education. DeSantis was unable to elucidate exactly what ‘woke math’ is. He suggested it’s math with little regard for correct calculations.” 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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