Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Quite a sight: “President Joe Biden made history Tuesday when he visited a picket line in Michigan in a show of loyalty to autoworkers who are striking for higher wages and cost-of-living increases. Biden is looking to polish his pro-labor persona, becoming the first sitting president to appear on a picket line.”
* An important case worth watching: “The Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. government’s primary business regulator, sued Amazon on Tuesday, alleging that the company has used its market power to warp ecommerce across the internet.”
* The latest sentence in a Jan. 6 case: “A conspiracy theorist convicted of felony Capitol riot charges told a federal judge at his sentencing on Tuesday that he wanted to ‘protect the Capitol’ by ‘arresting the traitors’ on Jan. 6 before being sentenced to more than four years in prison.”
* In the Golden State: “California will double the taxes on guns and ammunition and use the money to pay for more security at public schools and various violence prevention programs under a new law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Tuesday.”
* So much about this case has been weird: “The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals this morning abruptly withdrew Monday’s order giving red states a chance for an even bigger win in a case that has blocked much of the Biden administration from flagging misinformation on social media sites. The 5th Circuit’s Clerk of Court told TPM that the original order was a ‘clerical error.’”
* Seems sensible: “A judge granted Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ request to restrict identifying information about jurors in the Georgia election interference case, a new court filing shows. In a two-page order Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee imposed strict limits regarding the identities of jurors involved in any trial in the case against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants.”
* Striking new evidence that climate deniers will pretend not to notice: “Sea ice levels around Antarctica just registered a record low — and by a wide margin — as winter comes to a close, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). This significant milestone adds worry that Antarctic sea ice may be entering a state of decline brought on by climate change.”
See you tomorrow.
