Today’s edition of quick hits.
* An astonishing figure: “Russia’s winter push in Ukraine may have made little progress and at a ‘stunning’ cost. More than 100,000 fighters from the Kremlin’s forces have been killed or wounded since December alone, the United States now estimates — outlining Moscow’s massive losses as its military leaders scramble to recruit more men and prepare for an impending counteroffensive.”
* At the U.S./Mexico border: “The Biden administration will send active-duty troops to the southern border as it braces for what is expected to be a surge in migration after the lifting of Covid restrictions next week. At the request of the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Department is expected to provide a temporary increase of 1,500 military personnel for 90 days to augment the 2,500 military personnel currently providing support at the border, DHS said in a statement.”
* Overdue regret: “Gov. Greg Abbott expressed regret Monday after facing intense criticism for labeling all the victims of the Cleveland, Texas, shooting rampage as ‘illegal immigrants,’ even though it appears at least one of them was not.”
* The Carroll/Trump case continues: “A longtime friend of E. Jean Carroll’s testified in federal court Tuesday that the writer called her ‘minutes’ after Donald Trump allegedly raped her in a Manhattan department store.”
* Delicate diplomacy: “The United States is ready to hold high-level talks with China and wants to forge better communication channels between the two countries, the U.S. ambassador to China said Tuesday.”
* This rather obvious outcome was the result of a 6-1 ruling: “Wisconsin’s conservative-controlled Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a hospital could not be forced to give a deworming drug to a patient with COVID-19.”
* In Missouri: “A Missouri judge on Monday temporarily blocked a unique rule that would require adults and children to undergo more than a year of therapy and fulfill other requirements before they could receive gender-affirming treatments such as puberty blockers, hormones and surgery.”
* HHS: “Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found.” * A big resignation in Oregon: “Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigned Tuesday morning, less than a week after she admitted to WW that she was moonlighting as a consultant for an embattled cannabis company whose owners are major political donors to Fagan.” * It’s not just that some communities are failing to progress, it’s that some seem to be regressing: “Following a record-setting surge in efforts to change curriculums and ban books at schools nationwide, the education culture war has now reached the stage. [A controversy in Ohio] is one of a number of recent instances in which school administrators have intervened to nix or alter school theatrical productions deemed objectionable — often because they feature LGBTQ characters or deal with issues of race and racism.” 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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