Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A notable filing: “A team of federal prosecutors led by special counsel Jack Smith said in a filing Wednesday that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump bears responsibility for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In a filing responding to Trump’s attempt to dismiss the case, Smith’s team said it ‘is incorrect’ for Trump’s team to assert that the superseding indictment returned against Trump in August does not show that Trump bears responsibility for the events of Jan. 6.”
* In related news: “A federal judge overseeing the federal election interference case against Donald Trump rejected the former president’s claim that he was actually concerned about foreign influence and interference in the 2020 election — rather than the false claims about domestic voter fraud he continuously repeated in the weeks before the Jan. 6 attack.”
* In Ukraine: “President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unveiled his much anticipated “victory plan” on Wednesday, calling on his allies to take urgent steps to bolster Kyiv at a precarious moment in a bid to end the war with Russia next year. As Moscow’s forces advance in the east and a bleak winter of power cuts looms, he told parliament his plan contained five main points that were in the hands of his allies, including an unconditional invite to join NATO now and weapons support.”
* SCOTUS news: “The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Biden administration at least in the short term to enforce its latest attempt to curb climate-harming carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants that contribute to climate change. The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, rejected emergency requests brought by Republican states led by West Virginia and various industry groups seeking to block the regulation.”
* Sensible move: “The U.S. Justice Department will send election monitors to an Ohio county where a sheriff was recently accused of intimidating voters in a social media post, federal officials announced Tuesday. The Justice Department said it will monitor Portage County’s compliance with federal voting rights laws during early voting and on Election Day.”
* Elections have consequences in Italy, too: “Italy’s parliament made it illegal on Wednesday for couples to go abroad to have a baby via surrogacy — a project of Prime Minister’s Giorgia Meloni party which activists say is meant to target same-sex partners. Since taking office in 2022, Meloni has pursued a highly conservative social agenda, looking to promote what she sees as traditional family values, making it progressively harder for LGBTQ couples to become legal parents.” * Consumer-friendly government: “The Federal Trade Commission is announcing a finalized rule to make it easier for people to cancel subscriptions and memberships they just don’t want anymore. It’s called click to cancel. FTC Commissioner Lina Khan said in an interview Tuesday that the rule is designed so that if consumers signed up online, they must also be able to cancel on the same website in the same number of steps.” * For workers, a welcome shift in direction: “President Joe Biden on Tuesday celebrated new data from the National Labor Relations Board showing that the number of workers filing for union representation has doubled since the start of his administration. In a statement, Biden said his is the ‘first administration in five decades to have an increase in union petitions.’” 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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