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Today's edition of quick hits:
* Capitol Hill: "President Joe Biden's social safety net and climate package could get a House vote as soon as Thursday afternoon, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said at her weekly news conference."
* The end of an important strike: "More than 10,000 striking John Deere workers will go back to work after approving a new agreement that union leadership called a landmark deal."
* An unexpected commutation: "Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday commuted the death sentence of Julius Jones to life in prison without the possibility of parole amid protests and a last-minute court appeal that argued the state’s execution process amounted to 'cruel and unusual punishment.'"
* DOJ: "The Justice Department announced charges Thursday against two Iranians who are accused of helping to orchestrate a cyber-enabled campaign to intimidate and influence American voters in the 2020 election."
* Economic news: "First-time claims for unemployment insurance were little changed over the past week, indicating the heightened pace of layoffs during the pandemic may have hit a plateau, the Labor Department reported Thursday."
* A brutal statistic: "The U.S. recorded its highest number of drug-overdose deaths in a 12-month period, surpassing 100,000 for the first time in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
* This is indefensible: "For the fifth time, Senate Republicans blocked Dilawar Syed, the nominee for the No. 2 spot at the Small Business Administration, from advancing out of committee on Wednesday. Every single Republican on the Senate Small Business Committee skipped the vote for Syed, depriving the committee of a quorum needed to conduct business."
* Great news: "Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, revealed this week that her recent medical exam results show she is cancer-free."
See you tomorrow.