Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A virtual summit of sorts: “President Joe Biden met virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday night, in a conversation that the White House said did not result in any breakthroughs in the U.S.-China relationship but took a step toward managing a relationship that has been increasingly defined by hostility.”
* Inflation isn’t hurting retail sales: “U.S. shoppers accelerated their level of spending in October even as the prices of goods jumped at their fastest pace since the 1990s, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Retail sales, a measure of how much consumers spent on goods ranging across categories from autos to sporting goods and food and gas, increased 1.7% for October, compared with 0.8% the previous month.”
* FDA: “Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to authorize its experimental Covid-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid.”
* At the border: “After a major influx of migrants overwhelmed the southwestern border throughout much of the spring and summer, unauthorized crossings in October were down for the third straight month, federal authorities announced on Monday, with the number of Haitians plummeting by more than 90 percent.”
* On Capitol Hill: “Senate Democrats hope to pass President Joe Biden’s social safety net and climate plan before Christmas and put the finishing touches on their agenda before next year’s midterm elections can stifle progress.”
* Time will tell whether this strategy will work: “House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sought to navigate the delicate intraparty divisions over the new infrastructure law, making the case on Tuesday that Republicans should focus on criticizing Democrats instead of each other.” * Iowa: “A state audit report on government spending released Monday accused Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds of using nearly $450,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds to pay salaries for 21 staff members for three months last year and concealing the spending by passing it through the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.” * I think he’s right: “NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told “Axios on HBO” that the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol was also an attack on the core values of the world’s biggest military alliance.” 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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