Today’s edition of quick hits.
* It would’ve been tough to predict a few hours ago, but the jury selection process in Donald Trump’s criminal trial has led to 12 jurors being sworn in: “The court has now seated 12 jurors. ‘We have our jury,’ Merchan said when the 12th juror was picked. The next six jurors selected will serve as alternates.”
* New sanctions: “The Biden administration on Thursday announced new sanctions on Iran targeting its missile and drone program after its attack on Israel last weekend. President Joe Biden said in a statement that the sanctions speak to the commitment he and fellow leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations made to collectively ramp up economic pressure on the Iranian government.”
* Important intel from a European intelligence service: “Russia’s Foreign Ministry has been drawing up plans to try to weaken its Western adversaries, including the United States, and leverage the Ukraine war to forge a global order free from what it sees as American dominance, according to a secret Foreign Ministry document.”
* The Wisconsin Republican’s last day is supposed to be tomorrow, but there’s apparently some flexibility there: “Speaker Mike Johnson may get a much-needed boost for his foreign aid plans as departing Rep. Mike Gallagher has flexibility to remain in town into Saturday to support the package, according to his office. ‘The congressman has the flexibility to stay and support the aid package on Saturday,’ a spokesperson told Politico.”
* If Republicans want to fuel a red-state brain-drain, they can keep going after librarians while blue states offer librarians new protections: “[T]he library-friendly measures are being outpaced by bills in mostly red states that aim to restrict which books libraries can offer and threaten librarians with prison or thousands in fines for handing out ‘obscene’ or ‘harmful’ titles. At least 27 states are considering 100 such bills this year, three of which have become law, The Post found. That adds to nearly a dozen similar measures enacted over the last three years across 10 states.” * At Main Justice: “The Justice Department is ramping up its efforts to reduce violent crime in the U.S., launching a specialized gun intelligence center in Chicago and expanding task forces to curb carjackings.” * Best wishes for a speedy recovery: “Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J. remains hospitalized following a ‘cardiac episode’ early this month stemming from complications tied to his diabetes, his office said in a statement Wednesday.” 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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