Today’s edition of quick hits.
* On Capitol Hill: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday delivered an impassioned speech to Congress, taking on protesters inside the House chamber and hundreds gathered outside the Capitol, while emphasizing the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
* In related news: “The Israeli parliament gave preliminary approval on Monday to a bill that declares the main United Nations relief organization for Palestinians a terrorist organization and proposes to sever relations with the body. The vote against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is the latest step in a Israeli push against the agency, which Israeli leaders have accused of collaborating with the Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza.”
* The latest on the investigation into the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania: “The gunman who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump may have had a firearm with a collapsible stock, making it easier for him to carry and conceal the weapon, the director of the FBI testified Wednesday. The gunman also had researched President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, FBI Director Christopher Wray said.”
* On a related note: “Former President Donald Trump plans to stop holding outdoor rallies like the one where he was shot during an assassination attempt this month in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to two sources familiar with his campaign’s operations.”
* An intensifying climate emergency: “Sunday’s record as the hottest day ever recorded on Earth lasted only one day. According to preliminary data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the global average temperature reached 17.15 degrees Celsius (62.87 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, toppling the prior day’s record of 17.09 C. In other words, the planet had its two warmest days back-to-back this week.”
* Occasionally in Congress, bills pass: “A federal bill that would allow victims of nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes to sue people who create, share and receive them has unanimously passed the Senate and now moves to the House for a vote. The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (Defiance) Act of 2024, introduced by Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., would create a federal civil remedy for identifiable victims of deepfake sexual abuse.”
* Following up on our earlier coverage: “The Justice Department’s inspector general on Wednesday blamed ‘ineffectual leadership’ and not political interference for the softening of Roger Stone’s sentencing recommendation in February 2020 after his conviction for lying to Congress. The report upheld an account by then-Attorney General William P. Barr but also found that line prosecutors’ suspicions of political meddling by President Donald Trump’s administration were not unreasonable.”
* And while this might sound like a weird joke, it’s quite real: “Scientists have found traces of cocaine in wild sharks off the coast of Brazil, in a discovery that highlights the risks to marine life of the illegal cocaine trade.”
See you tomorrow.
