Today’s edition of quick hits:
* NATO: “Turkey agreed Tuesday to lift its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, a breakthrough in an impasse clouding a leaders’ summit in Madrid amid Europe’s worst security crisis in decades triggered by the war in Ukraine. After urgent top-level talks, alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said ‘we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO.’”
* In Ukraine: “Exhausted rescue workers picked through the smoldering rubble of what had been a busy shopping mall in central Ukraine on Tuesday, still searching for survivors after a deadly Russian missile strike once again left the country reeling and pleading with its international allies for tougher action.”
* G-7 in Germany: “The Group of Seven nations on Tuesday pledged to spend $4.5 billion to address a global food crisis fueled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
* A terrible situation for an American athlete in Russia: “A Russian court said the trial for the U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner will begin on Friday and she will remain in custody until it ends, her lawyer, Aleksandr Boikov, said on Monday.”
* I guess it’s time to start coming up with some euphemisms: “Facebook and Instagram have begun promptly removing posts that offer abortion pills to women who may not be able to access them following a Supreme Court decision that stripped away constitutional protections for the procedure.”
* A case we’ve been following: “The Michigan Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder and others in the Flint water scandal, saying a judge sitting as a one-person grand jury had no power to issue indictments under rarely used state laws.”
* DOD memo: “The Pentagon on Tuesday said that last week’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade won’t impact service members, spouses and dependents who use military treatment facilities.”
* The more news like this, the better: “The Biden administration announced Tuesday that a number of companies are planning to invest more than $700 million to boost U.S. manufacturing capacity for electric vehicle charging.” * In need of a new ICE nominee: “Ed Gonzalez, President Biden’s nominee to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said on Monday that he was withdrawing from consideration after a long-troubled nomination.” * When a justice becomes unrestrained: “Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday indicated that he believes the Supreme Court should reconsider a ruling that makes it more difficult to sue media organizations, saying he disagreed with the court’s decision to turn away an appeal in a defamation case.” 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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