Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Interesting story out of Main Justice: “The U.S. Justice Department is cooperating with the International Criminal Court and supporting Ukrainian prosecutors carrying out war crime investigations, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday as he reaffirmed his department’s aid more than a year after the Russian invasion.”
* Following up on a Florida story from last week: “Florida and the College Board appear to have come to a resolution over the inclusion of LGBTQ topics in the state’s Advanced Placement Psychology classes. The resolve came a day after the education nonprofit said the state ‘effectively banned’ the course due to its content on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
* This will not improve Cannon’s reputation: “More questions were asked of Judge Aileen Cannon’s fitness to preside over Donald Trump’s high-profile classified documents case on Monday after the South Florida federal judge rejected special counsel Jack Smith’s bid to preserve “grand jury secrecy” through sealed filings. In her ruling, Cannon questioned the ‘legal propriety’ of Smith using an ‘out-of-district grand jury to continue to investigate and/or to seek post-indictment hearings.’”
* In Minnesota: “Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, was sentenced Monday to 4 years and 9 months.”
* Another ISIS leader is killed: “Islamic State confirmed on Thursday that its little-known top leader had been killed, the third time in less than two years that the extremist group’s senior leader had met that fate. In an audio statement attributed to its spokesman, the group said its previous leader, code-named Abu al-Husayn al-Qurayshi, had been killed in clashes with a rival militant group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls part of northwestern Syria.”
* The Sixth Circuit makes the obvious call: “A federal appeals court on Thursday overturned the sentence and the conviction of a Black man after a white federal judge in Michigan had said during a court proceeding that the man ‘looks like a criminal to me.’ The remarks were made in 2020, two years after the man, Leron Liggins, was charged in Michigan with possession and distribution of heroin.”
* When art influences life: “A bipartisan bloc of senators added an amendment to the annual defense bill aimed at helping victims exposed to nuclear contamination from the federal Manhattan Project, which has garnered headlines thanks to a summer blockbuster.”
See you tomorrow.
