Today’s edition of quick hits.
* New rhetoric from the White House: “President Joe Biden said Wednesday that a ‘pause’ was needed in the Israel-Hamas war to allow more time to get ‘prisoners’ out. ‘I think we need a pause,’ Biden said in response to a question from a protester who interrupted him at a campaign reception in Minnesota. Asked to clarify what a pause meant, he said: ‘A pause means give time to get the prisoners out. Give time.’”
* Circumventing Tuberville: “Adm. Lisa Franchetti was confirmed by a vote of 95-1 to lead the Navy, making her the first woman to serve as a Pentagon service chief and hold a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. David Allvin was also confirmed by a vote of 95-1 to be chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force. The Senate was expected to vote later Thursday to confirm Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney to serve as assistant commandant for the U.S. Marine Corps.”
* Were there are a lot of developments in the Trump Organization’s civil trial in New York today? Of course there were.
* Eric Adams’ admirers might want to start lowering their expectations about his political future: “Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Thursday searched the Brooklyn home of Mayor Eric Adams’s chief fund-raiser, Brianna Suggs, a campaign consultant who is deeply entwined with efforts to advance the mayor’s agenda, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.”
* An effort worth watching: “Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and 22 other Democratic senators are urging federal regulators to investigate multibillion-dollar acquisitions by oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron, saying the deals could lead to higher prices at the gas pump.”
* A lawsuit worth watching: “Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday sued the Republican-controlled Legislature, arguing that it is obstructing basic government functions, including signing off on pay raises for university employees that were previously approved.”
* R.I.P.: “Ady Barkan, an attorney and liberal activist whose story was featured in the 2021 documentary ‘Not Going Quietly,’ has died. He was 39.”
See you tomorrow.
