Today’s edition of quick hits.
* If you’re not following this story, it’s time to start: “Just as the global supply chain flashes signs of returning to normal, a new crisis now threatens to disrupt the transport of a vast range of goods, from agricultural crops to lumber to coal. If tens of thousands of rail workers follow through on threats to strike as soon as Friday in pursuit of better working conditions, that would unleash potentially monumental havoc on the system used to move products from place to place.”
* In Ukraine: “Russian cruise missiles struck the central Ukraine Wednesday hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the recently retaken city of Izyum. Ukrainian officials said the eight missiles had struck the central city of Kryvyi Rih which lies to the south of Kharkiv.”
* Jan. 6 guilty plea: “A man who wore a ‘Trump 2020’ hat as he beat one officer and dragged another down the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6 has pleaded guilty, admitting that he told officers they were ‘gonna die tonight’ and repeatedly assaulted law enforcement. Jack Wade Whitton, a 32-year-old from Georgia, bragged in a message obtained by the government that he ‘fed’ a cop ‘to the people.’”
* In related news: “A federal judge handed down verdicts Tuesday in the trial of three Jan. 6 defendants that could have a major impact on the trajectory of Capitol attack prosecutions going forward.”
* I wish this were more surprising: “Russia has spent more than $300 million in a global campaign to influence foreign political events, according to a newly declassified U.S. intelligence review.”
* A familiar problem: “Sweden’s center-left Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Wednesday conceded defeat in a weekend election while the leader of a nationalist anti-immigration party declared victory for his right-wing bloc. Jimmie Akesson, leader of the populist Sweden Democrats, said his party would be ‘a constructive and driving force in this work’ of rebuilding safety in Sweden. He said it was ‘time to put Sweden first.’” * All is not well in the Sunshine State: “Florida saw a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents last year, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League, the New York-based organization that tracks anti-Semitic incidents and other extremist activity across the country.” * A bold move from Patagonia’s billionaire founder, Yvon Chouinard: “Rather than selling the company or taking it public, Mr. Chouinard, his wife and two adult children have transferred their ownership of Patagonia, valued at about $3 billion, to a specially designed set of trusts and nonprofit organizations. They were created to preserve the company’s independence and ensure that all of its profits — some $100 million a year — are used to combat climate change and protect undeveloped land around the globe.” 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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