Today’s edition of quick hits.
* An important court ruling in Texas: “A Texas judge on Thursday granted an emergency order allowing a pregnant woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis to get an abortion in the state. Late last month, Kate Cox, a 31-year-old Dallas-area mother of two who is about 20 weeks pregnant, found out that her developing fetus has trisomy 18, a rare chromosomal disorder likely to cause stillbirth or the death of the baby shortly after it’s born.”
* In Gaza: “Israel says its forces are in the heart of the southern Gaza Strip’s main city, Khan Younis, and encircling the home of top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is thought to be hiding underground. … Palestinian civilians are fleeing the fighting at Israel’s urging, but residents and aid groups have warned there is nowhere safe to go and a dire lack of supplies.”
* In related news: “As Israel’s military assaults southern Gaza above ground in pursuit of Hamas leaders, it is also considering a plan to disable the militant group’s vast labyrinth of underground tunnels by flooding them with seawater, two U.S. officials told NBC News.”
* The ongoing fight over immunity: “Former President Donald Trump filed a notice Thursday indicating that he will appeal a ruling that he does not have immunity from prosecution in his federal election case that’s set to go to trial in March.”
* The latest Jan. 6 prison sentence: “A former California police chief who called for the execution of Donald Trump’s political enemies, joined the U.S. Capitol attack and then spread conspiracy theories about Jan. 6 was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison on Thursday.”
* Biden really cares about student debt relief: “The White House on Wednesday announced $4.8 billion in student debt relief for some 80,300 people. … That brings the total approved student debt cancellation by the Biden administration to $132 billion for more than 3.6 million Americans.” * Russian hacking: “Two Russian intelligence officers have been indicted by the Justice Department as part of what prosecutors allege was a broad campaign to hack into U.S. and British government agencies in an effort to gather intelligence in the two countries — and to influence British politics.” * Keep an eye on this one: “The Biden administration is putting pharmaceutical companies on notice, warning them that if the price of certain drugs is too high, the government might cancel their patent protection and allow rivals to make their own versions.” 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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