Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A bold Russian move: “After months of threats, the Kremlin cut off gas supplies to two European Union nations Wednesday and warned others could be next. The long-feared move against the continent’s energy supply marks a dramatic escalation of Moscow’s bid to weaken the collective resolve of Ukraine’s allies as they send growing numbers of weapons to help Kyiv fight.”
* An important ask on the way: “The White House is preparing to send a new funding request to Congress as soon as Thursday for additional Ukraine aid that’s likely to be designed to last for the next five months, administration officials said.”
* An important swap: “Russia has released former Marine Trevor Reed in a prisoner exchange with the U.S., his family and officials said Wednesday…. The exchange between Russia and the U.S. unfolded Wednesday, trading Reed, who was jailed in Moscow, for convicted Russian drug trafficker Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the U.S. in 2010.”
* Fauci speaks: “Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed optimism about the state of the pandemic in the U.S. on Tuesday. ‘We are certainly right now in this country out of the pandemic phase,’ Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told PBS NewsHour.”
* I have a hunch he’ll say no: “The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol is redoubling its efforts to have GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy appear for an interview amid new revelations concerning his private conversations about the deadly attack, the chairman said Tuesday.”
* I hope you saw Rachel’s coverage of this last night: “Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Tuesday that his department was targeting a Times journalist in a criminal leak investigation for her reporting on a departmental cover-up, but after a barrage of criticism from politicians, the newspaper and press freedom groups, he backed off his announcement and denied that he considered the reporter a suspect.”
* The perils of a 50-50 Senate: “A trio of positive coronavirus tests scrambled the Senate schedule on Tuesday, as Democrats lost the votes they needed to advance multiple nominees this week in an evenly divided Senate.” * This bill, which already cleared the Senate, passed today by voice vote: “Legislation that would subject U.S. Supreme Court justices and federal judges to tougher disclosure requirements for their financial holdings and stock trades passed the House of Representatives in a rare show of bipartisanship on Wednesday.” * This is good for energy use, consumers, climate, and innovation: “The end has come for the old-fashioned incandescent lightbulb. The Energy Department finalized two rules Monday requiring manufacturers to sell energy-efficient lightbulbs, effectively putting a sell-by date on older, inefficient bulbs that don’t meet the new standards.” 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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