Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Kamala Harris is, of course, vaccinated: “Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for Covid on Tuesday, her office said. Harris has exhibited no symptoms and will isolate while she continues to work from her residence, said her spokeswoman Kirsten Allen. She will return to the White House once she has received a negative test, Allen said.”
* Seems significant: Germany’s defense minister says her country will enable the delivery of self-propelled armored anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine.”
* An unprecedented intelligence-sharing operation with a non-NATO partner: “As Russia launched its invasion, the U.S. gave Ukrainian forces detailed intelligence about exactly when and where Russian missiles and bombs were intended to strike, prompting Ukraine to move air defenses and aircraft out of harm’s way, current and former U.S. officials told NBC News.”
* Title 42: “The Department of Homeland Security plans to comply with a federal court order to stop planning to lift the Covid-era public health order known as Title 42, senior administration officials told reporters on Tuesday.”
* Clemency news: “President Joe Biden plans to issue his first batch of presidential pardons Tuesday while commuting the prison sentences of 75 nonviolent drug offenders. The pardon recipients are ‘three people who have demonstrated their commitment to rehabilitation and are striving every day to give back and contribute to their communities,’ Biden said in a statement.”
* Paxlovid: “The White House is making a push Tuesday for more Covid patients to get treated with Pfizer’s Paxlovid as hundreds of people in the U.S. continue to die from the coronavirus every day.” * An overdue confirmation: “The Senate voted 52-43 Tuesday to confirm Lael Brainard, a member of the Federal Reserve board, to become vice chair, even as Democrats conceded a subsequent vote to end debate and proceed to a final vote on Lisa Cook’s nomination to Fed would likely fall short.” * Some folks sure have a knack for getting into trouble: “Rep. Madison Cawthorn was cited Tuesday for possession of a dangerous weapon on city property after a gun was discovered in his bag at a security screening checkpoint in Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina.” 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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