Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In Iran: “All government agencies and offices were closed Wednesday in Tehran, and in 13 provinces, including some along the western and eastern borders, hours for government offices were limited to 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Iran also issued a notice to civilian aviation, warning that ‘gunfire will take place’ for several hours on Wednesday night and into Thursday over parts of the country.”
* An apparent assault on the Kursk region in southern Russia: “Russia said Wednesday it was battling an unprecedented cross-border incursion from Ukrainian troops backed by armored vehicles and aerial support, with Moscow scrambling to reinforce the area after what President Vladimir Putin called a ‘major provocation.’ The attack has not been acknowledged by Ukraine but would mark a dramatic shift in strategy as its forces struggle to hold on to key territory on the front lines in the country’s east.”
* Tropical Storm Debby “is taking a breather over the western Atlantic Ocean but it isn’t done dousing the coastal Carolinas before it slowly marches north. Debby, which made landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday, is now loitering off the South Carolina coast, 55 miles southeast of Charleston. With maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, it’s moving northeast at 3 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 2 p.m. Wednesday advisory.”
* In the U.K.: “The British capital was tense Wednesday as police, fearing a possible outbreak of the right-wing rioting that has erupted elsewhere in Britain in recent days, flooded into several neighborhoods with large immigrant populations. Joining them in neighborhoods like Finchley and Harrow were hundreds of counter-protestors carrying signs that said, ‘Refugees Welcome’ and ‘Racists Out, Refugees In.’”
* A scary story out of Austria: “Two men were arrested Wednesday in connection with alleged planned attacks at major events in Vienna, Austria, including Taylor Swift’s upcoming concerts. … Officials said both men had become radicalized through the internet, and allegedly had specific and detailed plans on how to carry out an attack.”
* The latest Jan. 6 indictment: “A California woman is charged with taking a cache of weapons, including a sword, a steel whip and a knife into the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of Donald Trump supporters, according to court records unsealed Wednesday. Kennedy Lindsey had a short sword, a steel tactical whip, a collapsible baton, pepper spray, a butterfly knife and a flashlight taser in her possession when a U.S. Secret Service officer searched her backpack, according to an FBI affidavit.”
* NASA is apparently exploring backup options: “For weeks, NASA has downplayed problems experienced by Starliner, a Boeing spacecraft that took two astronauts to the International Space Station in June. But on Wednesday, NASA officials admitted that the problems with the spacecraft were more serious than first thought and that the astronauts may not travel home on the Boeing vehicle, after all.”
See you tomorrow.
