Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In Lebanon: “The Israeli military launched a new wave of attacks against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Thursday, after two days of device explosions that left the Middle East fearing all-out war. The attack on southern Lebanon involved airstrikes and artillery but Israeli ground forces had not crossed the border, an Israeli official told NBC News.”
* On Wall Street: “Some major stock indexes surged to all-time highs Thursday in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it was lowering interest rates by half a percentage point. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up more than 500 points, or as much as 1.3%, at one point touching a new high above 42,100. The S&P 500, the broadest index of publicly traded companies, was up 1.8% and also touched new highs above 5,700. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was up more than 2.8%.”
* Student loan debt relief: “President Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan faces another setback as a federal judge extended the temporary restraining order against it on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Randal Hall, who was appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush, said that Biden’s plan would remain blocked for an additional 14 days.”
* Jan. 6 case: “A Donald Trump supporter who bear-sprayed officers during the Jan. 6 attack, and whose photo was featured in a Joe Biden ad in early 2024, has pleaded guilty, admitting that he hit at least three officers during the attack, temporarily blinding at least two of them.”
* Another Elon Musk embarrassment: “As Elon Musk increasingly weighed in on politics in the last several years, he used his massive following on his social media app X to repeatedly amplify content from a company that appears to be at the center of an alleged Russian covert operation to manipulate U.S. public opinion ahead of the 2024 election. Musk, one of the world’s richest people, boosted content from creators and accounts tied to Tenet Media at least 60 times, resharing the operation’s posts and engaging in back-and-forth replies with Tenet’s paid pundits on X.” * On the Korean Peninsula: “North Korea tested new tactical ballistic missiles using super-large warheads and modified cruise missiles on Wednesday as leader Kim Jong Un called for stronger conventional weapons and nuclear capabilities, state news agency KCNA reported. The tests to improve weapons capabilities are required because of the grave threat posed by outside forces to the security of the country, Kim, who led the tests, was quoted as saying.” * Biden’s latest breakthrough: “President Joe Biden secured the record for the highest number of openly LGBTQ judges appointed to the bench by any president when the Senate on Tuesday voted in favor of a military veteran who spent years working as a prosecutor becoming a life-tenured judge in Philadelphia. The Democratic-led Senate voted 52-41 to confirm Mary Kay Costello to serve as a district court judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, becoming the 12th openly LGBTQ judicial nominee under Biden to win confirmation.” 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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