Today's edition of quick hits:
* The latest transcript release: "The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, Bill Taylor, told House impeachment investigators last month that President Donald Trump directed officials to tie military aid to Ukraine to demands that the country open political advantageous probes, according to a transcript of his testimony made public Wednesday."
* According to one federal judge, the so-called "conscience rule" is unconstitutional: "A federal judge in New York on Wednesday struck down a new Trump administration rule that would have allowed health care clinicians to refuse to provide abortions for moral or religious reasons."
* The first open hearing is scheduled to be held on Nov. 13: "Public hearings in Congress will begin next Wednesday in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Wednesday."
* It sounds to me like Dems were worried about a bad ruling: "House Democrats on Wednesday pulled their subpoena for testimony from Charles M. Kupperman, a former top national security official of Mr. Trump, according to a court filing. It's unclear why the committee gave up on seeking Mr. Kupperman's testimony."
* The Stone trial is underway: "President Trump's longtime friend Roger Stone lied to Congress 'because the truth looked bad for Donald Trump,' a federal prosecutor said Wednesday at the opening of Stone's trial for allegedly trying to conceal his efforts before the 2016 election to gain insights about Democrats' hacked emails."
* I'm struggling to see the point of efforts like these: "The Republican National Committee paid to generate thousands of calls to the congressional offices of nearly three dozen House Democrats in recent weeks, an effort that was aimed at both shaping opinion around the impeachment inquiry and tying up the phone lines of the elected officials, according to two people briefed on the effort."
* I don't know what the Trump administration is waiting for: "The Kremlin warned that time is fast running out to negotiate a fresh strategic nuclear weapons deal with the U.S. before the current New START treaty expires."
See you tomorrow.