Today’s edition of quick hits.
* One of the scariest stories in the world: “Russia has allegedly told workers at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant not to show up to work Friday, Ukrainian military intelligence has exclusively confirmed to NBC News. This comes amid allegations and speculation from both Russia and Ukraine that an incident is being planned Friday at the plant.”
* Monkeypox news: “The Biden administration is speeding up its monkeypox vaccine distribution effort, federal health officials said Thursday…. The Department of Health and Human Services will make an additional 1.8 million doses of the Jynneos vaccine available next week, allowing states and localities to start ordering more vaccine doses sooner than officials originally planned.”
* This could take a while: “More than a week after they searched former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence, FBI agents are still sifting through the seized documents, two law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told NBC News.”
* A hefty penalty: “A federal judge in Cleveland awarded $650 million in damages Wednesday to two Ohio counties that sued CVS, Walgreens and Walmart over the way the national pharmacy chains distributed opioids to their communities.”
* A Black family in Maryland had their home appraised at $472,000. Then they had a white man they knew pretend to be the house’s owner. Then the same house was valued at $750,000. (Other Black families have had the same experience elsewhere.)
* No good will come of this: “A Texas school district is pulling all books from library shelves and classrooms that were challenged by parents, lawmakers and other community members in the last year — including the Bible.”
* A case worth watching: “An elected Florida prosecutor who was removed from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis because of his positions on abortion and transgender rights filed suit Wednesday to get his job back, saying the Republican leader violated his First Amendment rights.” * Speaking of Florida, what U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart has endured after approving the Mar-a-Lago search warrant is evidence of an unhealthy society: “He has faced a storm of death threats since his signature earlier this month cleared the way for the FBI to search former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of a probe into whether he inappropriately removed sensitive materials from the White House. Reinhart’s home address was posted on right-wing sites, along with antisemitic slurs. The South Florida synagogue he attends canceled its Friday night Shabbat services in the wake of the uproar.” * You’ve got to be kidding me: “A Republican group in Alabama is apologizing after accidentally using a picture of the GOP elephant that contained Ku Klux Klan imagery. The Lawrence County Republican Party intended to post an image of the GOP elephant on its Facebook page, but ended up using one in which the white spaces between the animal’s legs were drawn to resemble hooded Klansmen.” Have a safe weekend. (Yes, I’m off 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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