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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In the Middle East: “President Joe Biden’s administration is aware of reports that Israeli airstrikes targeted an Iranian Consulate [in Syria] and reportedly killed an Iranian commander, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said during her briefing today. ‘Our team is looking into it so, I’m not going to get ahead of anything just yet,’ she said. ‘But obviously, we’re aware of the reports and our team is looking into I’m just not gonna go beyond that.’”
* Israel vs. Al Jazeera: “Israel’s Knesset passed a law today that would allow senior officials to shut down broadcasts that threatened the country’s security, which Netanyahu said he would use against Qatari news outlet Al Jazeera.”
* Maybe he’s not much of a businessman? “Former president Donald Trump’s social media company said Monday it lost more than $58 million last year, sending its stock plunging roughly 25 percent only days after a highflying public debut valued it at more than $8 billion. Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, said in a new Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday that the company generated just over $4 million in revenue last year, including less than $1 million in the last quarter of 2023.”
* On a related note: “An auditor has raised doubts about the ability of Donald Trump’s publicly traded company to stay in business, according to a new regulatory filing.”
* Indianapolis mass shooting: “Seven children were injured in a shooting outside a mall in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday night, police said. Indianapolis police officers were on patrol when they heard gunshots just after 11:30 p.m. and arrived on a block outside Circle Centre Mall. According to police, officers saw six people injured with gunshot wounds. All of the victims were ages 12 to 17, police said.”
* I continue to think this is important: “Through the most tense encounters with President Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia over the past decade, there has been one project in which Washington and Moscow have claimed common cause: keeping North Korea from expanding its arsenal of nuclear weapons. Now, even that has fallen apart.”
* I’m glad the White House is doing the right thing, though it’s impossible to be optimistic about Mangi’s nomination: “Even with three Democratic senators signaling their opposition to attorney Adeel A. Mangi becoming an appellate court judge, the White House is standing by its nominee.”
* A notable piece from a Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial: “The north star here is truth. We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information. The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency. He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power. No president in our history has done worse. This is not subjective. We all saw it. ... Trust your eyes.”
See you tomorrow.