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.”









