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Today's edition of quick hits:
* A big story on international tax policy: "The world's most powerful nations agreed on Friday to a sweeping overhaul of international tax rules, with officials backing a 15 percent global minimum tax and other changes aimed at cracking down on tax havens that have drained countries of much-needed revenue."
* Notable diplomacy: "Top U.S. officials met with their Mexican counterparts Friday to launch discussions of a new security deal to replace a 13-year-old agreement that has failed to stem violence and drug-trafficking at the U.S.-Mexico border."
* This resolution passed easily: "The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday recognized access to a clean and healthy environment as a fundamental right, formally adding its weight to the global fight against climate change and its devastating consequences."
* She's right: "CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky cannot predict when the pandemic will end, saying it largely depends on human behavior — and that might be a problem."
* Elections have consequences: "President Joe Biden on Friday restored environmental protections to major national monuments in Utah and New England that had been stripped by the Trump administration."
* That such a response is now necessary is evidence of an unhealthy society: "President Joe Biden said Thursday that he has instructed the Justice Department to address rising violence on airplanes as passengers resisting mask requirements threaten airline staff."
* Good choices: "Journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their fight for freedom of expression in countries where reporters have faced persistent attacks, harassment and even murder."
* He is the man he appears to be: "Former President Donald Trump stumbled down a well-worn, extremely racist path on Thursday night, striking fear into the hearts of Fox News viewers about how Haitian migrants coming into the United States 'probably have AIDS,' and somehow represent a 'death wish for our country.'"
* Cruz does it again: "At a hearing last month, Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, made an astonishing claim: Leading members of the Democratic Party don't just want to reform policing, he said — they want to get rid of law enforcement altogether.... The problem is that it's not true, of course, and Cruz's office could not provide any proof that it is."
* Noted without comment: "In June, the term [critical race theory] was mentioned 993 times during Fox News programming, including overnight rebroadcasts of daytime and prime-time shows. In July, it was mentioned 921 times. That was after being mentioned only 132 times in all of 2020. But the network seems to have largely moved on from critical race theory."
Have a safe weekend.