Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Ukrainian Independence Day is different this year: “Ukraine was ‘reborn’ when Russia invaded six months ago, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday as his country observed its Independence Day marked by fears that Moscow may step up its attacks.”
* Airstrikes in Syria: “The U.S. launched airstrikes in Syria on Tuesday, targeting what it said was infrastructure used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
* Mark your calendars: “The Food and Drug Administration plans to authorize updated versions of Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s Covid boosters around Labor Day, said two people familiar with the discussions. The Biden administration is preparing to distribute the updated booster shots to teenagers and adults as part of its fall booster campaign.”
* A huge move on energy policy in a state with tens of millions of consumers: “California is expected to put into effect on Thursday its sweeping plan to prohibit the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035, a groundbreaking move that could have major effects on the effort to fight climate change and accelerate a global transition toward electric vehicles.”
* The latest Jan. 6 arrests: “Federal authorities have arrested and charged five members of a militia allegedly run by a former candidate for Congress for their alleged actions on Jan. 6. A criminal complaint only names one of the five individuals, Brian Preller, who, according to court records, was arrested in Vermont in connection with the case.”
* Speaking of the investigation: “Aides to the Jan. 6 select committee traveled to Copenhagen last week to review documentary footage related to Donald Trump ally and pardon recipient Roger Stone, according to two people familiar with the trip.”
* The door isn’t closed, but it’s close: “The Biden administration is expected to weigh in this week on Iran’s latest offer to resume its compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, but neither side is offering a definitive path to revive the agreement, which has been on life-support since former President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018.” * Some good news for many from the IRS: “The Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday it was waiving late-filing penalties and issuing refunds to 1.6 million taxpayers who missed extended filing deadlines for tax year 2019 and 2020 federal income-tax returns. The automatic refunds of penalties and interest to individual and business taxpayers will total $1.2 billion. That works out to an average refund of about $750.” * An update on a story we briefly discussed a few months ago: “The House Ethics Committee is dismissing a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics regarding allegations that Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.) failed to file periodic transaction reports for a number of transactions related to stocks and bonds in a timely manner.” 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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