Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Russia’s war in Ukraine: “Russian forces launched drones and missiles across the Ukrainian capital overnight, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 150 others, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a 6-year-old boy was among those killed in the strikes, which he said also injured at least 12 children. Earlier Thursday, Klitschko said the strikes had injured the highest number of children in Kyiv in one night since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.”
* Donald Trump’s stance against another delay apparently changed again after chatting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum: “Trump said this morning that the U.S. and Mexico agreed to delay their deadline for a trade deal by another 90 days. The announcement came the day before higher, so-called reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries’ imports were set to go into effect.”
* I continue to find it weird that the White House wants to steer Canada’s diplomatic policies: “President Trump said early Thursday that it would be ‘very hard’ to make a trade deal with Canada after its prime minister said he planned to recognize Palestine as a state. It was Mr. Trump’s latest threat against an ally on the eve of a deadline to impose tariffs.”
* In related news: “Two failed votes [Wednesday night] in the Senate to block offensive arm sales to Israel in response to the killings of civilians in Gaza and the ongoing humanitarian crisis there marked a notable shift in the Democratic caucus on the issue of supporting the Israeli military campaign, with 12 additional Senate Democrats voting in support of a resolution similar to one they had not backed in April.”
* Another case worth watching: “A dozen House Democrats who were barred from visiting immigration detention facilities sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, arguing that a new policy imposed by the Department of Homeland Security to limit lawmakers’ access was an illegal infringement on their ability to conduct congressional oversight.”
* Speaking of legal developments, the Legal Accountability Center has made some interesting accusations: “A legal watchdog group accused three Justice Department lawyers of professional misconduct on Thursday, saying they had made false statements to a federal judge in a high-profile case challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.” * It’ll be worth watching to see what Judge Royce Lamberth does with this: “A federal judge said Wednesday that it was likely that the Trump administration had violated his April order mandating a restoration of news programming at Voice of America, a federally funded news organization that provided independent reporting to countries with limited press freedom.” * I don’t seriously expect the court to overturn Obergefell, but the fact that groups like Liberty Counsel are giving this a try matters: “A conservative Christian legal group asked the United States Supreme Court to review a decade-old case involving a former Kentucky county clerk who cited her faith when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples — a long-shot effort activists hope will result in justices ending nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage.” 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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