Today’s edition of quick hits.
* William Russell has an important perspective: “A federal grand jury deciding whether to indict former President Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election is meeting Thursday and hearing testimony from an aide who was with Trump for much of the day on Jan. 6, 2021.”
* I’ll have more on this in the morning: “The Supreme Court would have to abide by stronger ethics standards under legislation approved on Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, a response to recent revelations about donor-funded trips by justices. The bill faced united opposition from Republicans, who said it could ‘destroy’ the court.”
* Biden in Philly: “Flanked by cranes and shipyard workers, President Joe Biden made the pitch Thursday that unions will be building America’s renewable energy future — a courtship of organized labor at a moment when some major unions are weighing strikes that could disrupt the growth he wants to campaign on in 2024.”
* A notable Jan. 6 conviction: “A Donald Trump political appointee who attempted to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6 was convicted of seven felonies on Thursday, the same day that a grand jury deciding whether to indict the former president for his efforts to stop the peaceful transfer of power was hearing testimony from former White House aide William Russell.”
* At the border: “New government data shows illegal border crossings plummeted to the lowest levels in over two years — another piece of good news for President Biden on one of his toughest issues.”
* Keep a close eye on this one: “An IRS plan to test drive a new electronic free-file tax return system next year has got supporters and critics of the idea mobilizing to sway the public and Congress over whether the government should set up a permanent program to help people file their taxes without needing to pay somebody else to figure out what they owe.”
* An important lawsuit in Texas: “A hearing in a lawsuit challenging Texas’ abortion ban opened Wednesday with dramatic testimony from three women who experienced serious pregnancy complications but were denied abortions. One of the plaintiffs in the suit, Samantha Casiano, vomited on the stand while discussing her baby’s fatal birth defect, which she said also put her life at risk.”
* A rapidly changing conversation about legacy admissions: “Wesleyan University, a liberal arts college in Connecticut, is ending legacy admissions, which give a leg up to the children of alumni, just weeks after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action.”
See you tomorrow.
