Today’s edition of quick hits.
* I’ll have more on this tomorrow: “FBI Director Christopher Wray plans to resign at the end of the Biden administration, as President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Wray told bureau employees on Wednesday.”
* The latest from Seoul: “Police faced off with security officials as they sought to raid South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office Wednesday and one of his top lieutenants attempted suicide after being arrested, in a dramatic escalation of the crisis engulfing the key U.S. ally after the failed attempt to impose martial law.”
* In Ukraine: “Russia could launch its lethal new intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine again soon, the Pentagon said Wednesday, as both sides wrestle for a battlefield advantage that will give them leverage in any negotiations to end the nearly 3-year war.”
* A setback on inflation: “Fueled by pricier used cars, hotel rooms and groceries, inflation in the United States moved slightly higher last month in the latest sign that some price pressures remain elevated.”
* NDAA: “The House on Wednesday passed an $895.2 billion defense policy bill, after Democrats blasted the inclusion of a provision — pushed at the 11th hour by Speaker Mike Johnson — to prohibit the military’s health-care system from providing specialized treatments to the transgender children of U.S. service members. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed 281 to 140, with fewer than half of the chamber’s Democrats voting in favor of what is typically a bipartisan piece of legislation.”
* Consumers are unlikely to benefit from Trump remaking the FTC: “President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday selected Andrew Ferguson to lead the Federal Trade Commission, elevating a Republican lawyer who is likely to abandon the Biden administration’s liberal approach to policing mergers while keeping the heat on big technology companies.”
* This report hasn’t been independently verified, but it’s worth keeping an eye on: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign manager and daughter-in-law Amaryllis Fox Kennedy is making a push to serve as deputy director at the CIA next year — and RFK Jr. is making calls on her behalf, Axios has learned.”
See you tomorrow.
