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Thursday's Mini-Report, 2.4.21

Today's edition of quick hits.

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Today's edition of quick hits:

* An important shift: "President Joe Biden announced on Thursday the end of U.S. support for offensive operations in Yemen and named a new envoy to oversee the nation’s diplomatic mission to end the civil war there, part of a broader foreign policy address highlighting greater U.S. engagement in the world."

* Also encouraging: "President Joe Biden announced Thursday he plans to raise the cap on the number of refugees allowed to enter the U.S. as he inherits a resettlement program whittled down by former President Donald Trump."

* Making the response to a deadly crisis harder on purpose: "Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature on Thursday repealed Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ mask mandate, brushing aside warnings from health experts against making Wisconsin one of only 10 states without a statewide order."

* The Federal Service Impasses Panel: "President Joe Biden continues to take an ax to former President Donald Trump’s labor policies, removing all 10 of his predecessor’s appointees to the Federal Service Impasses Panel."

* An important initiative: "Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is ordering military leaders to spend time talking to their troops about extremism in the ranks, after a number of former and current military members took part in the riot at the U.S. Capitol last month."

* Quite a breakthrough: "The Virginia Senate on Wednesday voted 21-17 along party lines to pass a bill that would abolish the death penalty.... The bill, which the Virginia House and Gov. Ralph Northam (D) are expected to approve, marks a major policy shift."

* Hmm: "The Manhattan district attorney’s office has opened an investigation into Steve Bannon, who was a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, in connection with his role in a charity that was supposed to use private funds to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall, according to a senior law enforcement official."

* A mess in the making: "Complaining about what he called indoctrination in schools, former President Donald Trump created a commission that promoted 'patriotic' education and played down America’s role in slavery. But though he’s out of the White House and the commission has disbanded, the cause hasn’t died. Lawmakers in Republican states are now pressing for similar action."

* A case worth watching: "Fox News is being sued for $2.7 billion by Smartmatic, a voting systems company, which has accused the network of damaging it with a false election narrative."

See you tomorrow.