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Friday's Mini-Report, 10.22.21

Today's edition of quick hits.

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Today's edition of quick hits:

* SCOTUS news: "The Supreme Court said Friday it will leave the Texas abortion law in place for now but take up legal challenges over the statute in a pair of courtroom arguments Nov. 1."

* A story we've been following: "Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian businessman whose work with Rudy Giuliani made him a character in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, was found guilty of campaign finance crimes on Friday."

* The latest on boosters: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday officially endorsed booster shots for both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines, one day after the Food and Drug Administration authorized the additional shots."

* The latest from the Hill: "The Democrats are hoping to strike a deal on the nearly $2 trillion social spending package that would include some key elements of President Joe Biden's agenda like universal preschool, while others — like expanded Medicare coverage — appear destined for the cutting room floor."

* This raised a few eyebrows: "President Biden said on Thursday that he was open to ending the Senate filibuster so Democrats could pass voting rights legislation, raise the federal debt limit and possibly enact other parts of his agenda that had been blocked by Republicans."

* A big new gig for Tanden: "Neera Tanden, the former president of the Center for American Progress whose nomination as White House budget director was pulled earlier this year, has been named President Joe Biden’s staff secretary, a White House official confirmed Friday."

* Three-quarters of House Republicans voted against this: "The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a bill supported by the White House and major business groups that would extend workplace protections for nursing mothers to millions of workers. The House voted 276-149, with 59 Republicans joining every Democrat in the chamber, to advance the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections to Nursing Mothers (PUMP) Act to the Senate."

* Ethics probes: "The House Committee on Ethics on Thursday released four reports into separate violations of ethics rules by four congressmen, portraying what investigators suggested was a sweeping array of improper financial conduct. The allegations against three Republicans and one Democrat center on stock trades and the improper use of campaign funds, according to the Office of Congressional Ethics, which investigated the cases."

* The Farmers to Families Food Box program was a Trumpian mess: "A $6 billion federal program created to provide fresh produce to families affected by the pandemic was mismanaged and used by the Trump administration for political gain, a new congressional report has found."

* A deeply unsettling story out of south Florida: "In a police department with a history of brutality, Captain Javier Ortiz holds a special distinction as Miami’s least-fireable man with a badge, a gun and a staggering history of citizen complaints for beatings, false arrests and bullying."

Have a safe weekend.