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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* If this is true, it’s a big setback for Russia: “Ukraine shot down a Russian spy plane and airborne command center, Kyiv’s military chief said Monday, in what would be a significant blow to the Kremlin’s forces.”
* Election results in Taiwan that got China’s attention: “Voters in Taiwan elected Vice President Lai Ching-te as their next president on Saturday, defying warnings from Beijing not to support a candidate it has called a separatist and a ‘troublemaker.’”
* The outgoing far-right party tried to reject the certification of the election results in Guatemala: “Bernardo Arévalo was sworn in as Guatemala’s president on Monday minutes after midnight despite months of efforts to derail his inauguration, including foot-dragging and rising tensions right up until the transfer of power.”
* Good news on Austin’s health: “Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released Monday after more than two weeks at Walter Reed military hospital, according to a statement by the Pentagon.”
* At the U.S./Mexico border: “The Biden administration on Sunday told Texas to stop impeding U.S. Border Patrol access to a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border that state National Guard took over last week.”
* A case I’ve been keeping an eye on: “The Texas Supreme Court denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to block his deposition Friday in a lawsuit from his former top-ranking deputies, who allege Paxton wrongfully terminated them after reporting him to federal authorities.”
* Kentucky’s junior senator clearly needs a new hobby: “Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that the former U.S. chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, should ‘go to prison’ over his ‘dishonesty’ in handling the COVID-19 pandemic and lying to Congress.”
* John Kerry prepares for the next challenge: “U.S. climate envoy John Kerry will step down from his role, he told NBC News, vacating his position in the Biden administration to continue working on the issue in other ways.”
See you tomorrow.