Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The White House’s plan: “President Biden, confronting a worrisome new coronavirus variant and the potential of a winter surge, laid out a new pandemic strategy on Thursday that includes hundreds of vaccination sites aimed at families, boosters for all adults, new testing requirements for international travelers and free at-home tests that will be covered by private insurers or available at community health centers.”
* On Capitol Hill: “House Democrats are planning to bring a short-term government funding bill to the floor Thursday that would prevent a shutdown before the Friday night deadline.”
* Infrastructure investments: “The first major infusion of federal cash from the bipartisan infrastructure law is on its way to states across the U.S. to overhaul the nation’s aging water infrastructure and dangerous lead pipes.”
* NDAA: “Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Wednesday night blocked a quick deal for votes on amendments to a sweeping defense policy bill, the latest setback for hopes of passing the legislation this week.”
* Not all news related to the supply chain is discouraging: “Manufacturing activity continued to tick up last month as pockets of the supply chain showed signs of relief, according to a new survey from the Institute for Supply Management.”
* I hope you saw Rachel’s segment on this last night: “When a pregnant, undocumented 17-year-old staying in a federal refugee shelter in Texas sought an abortion in 2017, it was the job of Scott Stewart, then a Department of Justice lawyer, to help defend the ultimatum issued by the Trump administration: go through with the pregnancy — or leave the country…. Mr. Stewart now finds himself once again at the center of a high-profile abortion case, one that may lead to one of the most consequential rulings on reproductive rights in decades.” * Ryder Winegar: “A New Hampshire man who threatened to hang six members of Congress if they did not ‘get behind Donald Trump’ will spend 33 months in federal prison, according to officials.” * As political stunts go, this one was awfully expensive: “Gov. Ron DeSantis over the summer sent dozens of Florida law enforcement officers and equipment to the southern border in Texas, and racked up a taxpayer-funded bill that so far amounts to at least $1.6 million but is expected to keep growing.” 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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