Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Has the tide turned? “In a development that stunned the watching world as much as the Kremlin, Ukrainian troops have set Russian President Vladimir Putin back on his heels after more than six months of grinding conflict — raising hopes that Kyiv could push on and drive Moscow’s invaders out of even more territory.”
* Part of Biden’s cancer moonshot: “President Biden has selected Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, a Boston biotech executive with government experience, as the director of a new federal agency aimed at driving biomedical innovation, the White House said on Monday.”
* An important labor dispute: “President Biden on Monday made calls to union leaders and rail companies, pressing for a deal to avert a national railroad strike that is days away from shutting down much of the country’s transportation infrastructure, according to a White House official.”
* Conditions in Russia: “A group of district council members in St. Petersburg, President Vladimir Putin’s hometown, called for the Russian leader to be charged with treason and removed from office in a rare but brazen protest against the war in Ukraine. The brave move by the Smolninsky District Council drew a predictably swift and unfriendly reaction. A day after the resolution against Putin was made public, a local police station told the lawmakers they were facing legal charges ‘due to actions aimed at discrediting the current Russian government.’”
* Our new national treasurer: “Mohegan Chief Marilynn ‘Lynn’ Malerba was sworn in Monday as the Treasurer of the United States, the first Native American to hold that office. Her signature will now appear along with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on U.S. currency.”
* This measure has long appeared doomed: “A federal judge on Friday blocked enforcement of a new Arizona law restricting how the public and journalists can film police, agreeing with the American Civil Liberties Union and multiple media organizations who argued it violated the First Amendment.”
* An investigation worth watching: “A team from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General arrived in Jackson last week to begin a ‘multidisciplinary’ top-to-bottom review of the current drinking water crisis, an agency spokesperson told NBC News.”
* Remember when Trump said the opposite? “North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stressed his country will never abandon the nuclear weapons it needs to counter the United States, which he accused of pushing to weaken the North’s defenses and eventually collapse his government, state media said Friday.” * The FBI’s understandable concerns: “Federal law enforcement officers scoured social media to identify threats to FBI buildings and agents and issued internal warnings about possibly armed protests in the days after the FBI searched former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, according to emails and other records obtained by Bloomberg.” * Oh my: “Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) presented a flag from the U.S. Capitol on Friday to Simone Gold, who was sentenced to 60 days in prison for her actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.” 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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