Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The ongoing investigation: “Investigators have identified a person of interest in the mass shooting at Brown University that killed two students and injured nine others, according to people familiar with the investigation who said they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.”
* In related news: “Police are looking into whether the fatal shooting this week of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, 47, in Brookline, Massachusetts, is linked to the mass shooting at Brown University on Saturday, four senior law enforcement officials tell NBC News.”
* The 26th strike: “The U.S. military announced on Wednesday that it had struck a boat earlier in the day that it suspected of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific, killing four people.”
* The topline inflation data looked good, but it came with a lot of caveats: “U.S. inflation eased in November in what economists said likely reflected distortions caused by the government shutdown, creating an uncertain picture for the Federal Reserve as it simultaneously contends with rising unemployment. The latest Consumer Price Index, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday, rose 2.7 percent from the same time last year.”
* Setting the stage for major legal fights: “The Trump administration ramped up its assault on transgender health care Thursday, with top health officials announcing a slate of proposals aimed at stymieing gender-affirming care for trans youth.”
* Oversight matters: “A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked Department of Homeland Security guidance that placed new limits on members of Congress seeking to visit and inspect immigration detention facilities.”
* The candor is welcome, but the policy is indefensible: “The Trump administration acknowledged in a court filing this week that a decision to cut energy grants during the government shutdown was influenced by whether the money would go to a state that tended to vote for Democrats statewide or nationally.”
* Following up on a tragedy from February: “The U.S. government admitted liability in an air collision in the skies above the nation’s capital that killed 67 people early this year, opening the door for the families of victims to seek damages for the crash, according to court documents.”
* A story we’ve been following: “At least two U.S. senators have put holds on the nomination of Adm. Kevin Lunday to lead the U.S. Coast Guard, citing concerns with a new workplace harassment policy that downgrades the definition of swastikas and nooses from hate symbols to ‘potentially divisive.’”
* Ryan Walters’ handiwork is evaporating: “Controversial academic standards for social studies are unenforceable because Oklahoma’s top school board violated state open meeting laws when approving them, the state Supreme Court decided Tuesday.”
* A story I didn’t ever expect to see: “President Trump’s social media company, which recently expanded into streaming and cryptocurrency, is now entering its fourth act: fusion power, a promising but still unproven source of alternative energy.”
See you tomorrow.
