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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Putin couldn’t have been pleased to hear this: “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin that now is not a time for war, with food, fertilizer and fuel security among the major concerns of the world at present.”
* Bold move in Europe: “Germany took control of the German business of Russian oil giant Rosneft Oil Co. as Berlin races to safeguard its energy supplies before its planned ban on Russian oil imports kicks in later this year. The German government said it would place Rosneft’s German subsidiaries under trusteeship.”
* The latest on the victims of DeSantis’ stunt: “Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration ... said shelter and humanitarian supports will be provided at Joint Base Cape Cod for the approximately 50 Venezuelan migrants who arrived in Martha’s Vineyard this week. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency is coordinating efforts with state and local officials to ensure access to food, shelter and essential services for the men, women and children.
* If only Viktor Orban’s American admirers cared about designations like these: “Hungary can no longer be considered a democracy, and European values are under systemic threat in the country, the European Parliament declared in a report adopted on Thursday. At this point, the report concluded, Hungary has become an ‘electoral autocracy.’”
* When Republican officials ignore court orders, there’s cause for concern: “Just hours after a Montana judge blocked health officials from enforcing a state rule that would prevent transgender people from changing the gender on their birth certificate, the state on Thursday said it would defy the order.”
* Good: “A long-delayed plan to dismantle Interstate 375, a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) depressed freeway in Detroit that was built by demolishing Black neighborhoods 60 years ago, was a big winner of federal money Thursday, the first Biden administration grant awarded to tear down a racially divisive roadway.”
* I wish this could pass the Senate, too: “The House passed legislation on Thursday aimed at curbing a president’s authority to hire and fire tens of thousands of federal workers, moving to bolster the job security of civil servants targeted by former President Donald J. Trump and his allies as disloyal ‘deep state’ operatives.”
* A worthwhile event: “President Biden convened a summit meeting at the White House on Thursday to denounce white supremacy and other forms of bias, calling on Americans to speak out against prejudice and taking a veiled swipe at former President Donald J. Trump for in his view countenancing hate-fueled violence.”
* Get boosted: For the first time, the United States is rolling out Covid vaccines updated to match variants that are currently dominant, as well as the original strain. This bivalent character will provide a better response to the most threatening variants today but probably to future variants, too, because when the immune system faces different versions of the same virus it generates broader protections overall. This is terrific news, and there’s more. Not only will a booster with the new vaccines decrease the likelihood of infection and severe illness and help reduce transmission of the virus; it could also decrease the likelihood of developing long Covid.
* MTG’s latest mess: “Marianna Pecora, an 18-year-old activist with the group Voters for Tomorrow, claims that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) kicked her outside the Capitol on Thursday afternoon as several members of the Gen-Z group pressed the congresswoman about gun violence.”
* And speaking of ugliness on Capitol Hill: “Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) got into a heated discussion with Raya Salter, executive director of the Energy Justice Law and Policy Center, during a House Oversight hearing on the climate crisis. In the confrontation, Higgins yelled at Salter and patronizingly called her ‘young lady’ and ‘boo.’”
Have a safe weekend.