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Today's edition of quick hits:
* News from the CDC: "Outdoor activities are safe without masks — regardless of whether a person is vaccinated — as long as people are either alone or with immediate family members, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. And fully vaccinated people can gather safely outdoors without masks in small groups."
* Elizabeth City: "The Black man who died during an attempted arrest in North Carolina last week was shot five times, including once in the back of the head, his family said Tuesday. And less than hour after an independent autopsy concluded Andrew Brown Jr., 42, was killed by a bullet in the back of his head, the FBI announced it was opening a federal civil rights investigation into this police shooting."
* OSHA: "The Biden administration is advancing emergency workplace safety rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after weeks of delay and growing pressure from Democrats and safety advocates. The Labor Department sent the safety standards to the Office of Management and Budget for review Monday night, according to a DOL spokesperson, the first step before they are released publicly and go into effect."
* Keep an eye on this one: "America's top spies say they are looking for ways to declassify and release more intelligence about adversaries' bad behavior, after a group of four-star military commanders sent a rare and urgent plea asking for help in the information war against Russia and China."
* I'm glad they did this: "Republican members of Congress who also happen to be medical professionals released a video on Tuesday encouraging people to get COVID-19 vaccinations -- an important public health message meant to counter vaccine hesitancy among their constituents."
* The fuss about earmarks has long been exaggerated: "Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick J. Leahy on Monday officially announced a return to earmarking, clearing the way for senators to request funding for home-state projects for the first time in a decade."
* Boosting the IRS is a very good idea: "President Biden, in an effort to pay for his ambitious economic agenda, is expected to propose giving the Internal Revenue Service an extra $80 billion and more authority over the next 10 years to help crack down on tax evasion by high-earners and large corporations, according to two people familiar with the plan."
* Oh my: "Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum drew criticism for comments last week that 'there isn't much Native American culture in American culture.'"
* It just had to be Miami, didn't it? "A Miami private school said it won't employ anyone who has received the Covid-19 vaccine, citing concerns that the injection might not be safe."
See you tomorrow.