Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In Iran: “Pakistan has carried out deadly strikes against targets inside Iran, retaliating for attacks by Tehran days ago that followed similar attacks in Iraq and Syria. The tit-for-tat exchanges appeared to target separatist militants on either side of the border, ratcheting up tensions between the two neighbors.”
* In Yemen: “U.S. forces on Thursday conducted a fifth strike against Iranian-backed Houthi rebel military sites in Yemen as President Joe Biden acknowledged that the American and British bombardment had yet to stop the militants’ attacks on vessels in the Red Sea that have disrupted global shipping.”
* In Israel: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he has told the United States that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of any postwar scenario, underscoring the deep divisions between the close allies three months into Israel’s assault on Gaza.”
* In related news: “Senate Democrats aggressively pushed back Thursday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has informed the U.S. that he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state at the conclusion of the war in Gaza. A key lawmaker, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., warned that Netanyahu’s remarks could complicate delicate bipartisan negotiations in the Senate on a supplemental package that calls for military aid for Israel coupled with immigration measures and aid for Ukraine.”
* Ahead of tomorrow night’s deadline: “Congress passed a bill on Thursday that would prevent a partial government shutdown this weekend and keep federal funds flowing through March 1 and March 8. The Democratic-led Senate voted 77-18 on final passage after considering a few amendments. The Republican-led House soon followed suit, passing it by a vote of 314-108.”
* In Texas: “Texas is refusing to comply with a cease-and-desist letter from the Biden administration over actions by the state that have impeded U.S. Border Patrol agents from accessing part of the border with Mexico.”
* Speaking of radical moves in the Lone Star State: “A federal appeals court on Wednesday blocked a Texas law that would require ratings from booksellers that deal with school libraries, agreeing with a lower court that found it unconstitutional. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, said in a decision published Wednesday that the state could not violate the Constitution.”
* This was always a longshot: “The judge overseeing the federal election interference case against former President Donald Trump has rejected his request to hold special counsel Jack Smith and his office in contempt.”
* The latest Jan. 6 prison sentence: “A Florida man was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison for assaulting at least six police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, including one officer who said that the attack had led him to retire early, the Justice Department announced. Prosecutors described the man, Kenneth Bonawitz, 58, of Pompano Beach, Fla., in court papers as ‘one of the most violent January 6 rioters.’”
* The Justice Department’s findings on the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas: “Children’s lives may have been saved if officers had responded differently to a gunman who opened fire at Robb Elementary School, the Justice Department said Thursday in its scathing report on the 2022 mass shooting that killed 21 people, including 19 students.”
See you tomorrow.
