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Tuesday's Mini-Report, 5.4.21

Today's edition of quick hits.

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Today's edition of quick hits:

* I'm all for setting goals, but this one might be a little overly ambitious: "The federal government plans to shift the way vaccine doses are allocated among states, allowing some governors to turn down doses they don't need or want, as President Joe Biden pushes to get at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to 70 percent of adults by July 4."

* Jan. 6 aftermath: "A federal judge on Tuesday set free pending trial a Connecticut man accused of assaulting an officer who appeared to be crying out in pain while pinned against a door frame in a widely shared video of the pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Patrick Edward McCaughey III had been jailed since Jan. 19, when he was arrested in South Salem, N.Y., and charged with assaulting or resisting government officers."

* A familiar problem in Israel: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel failed to form a new government by the midnight Tuesday deadline, putting his political future in jeopardy as he stands trial on corruption charges and prolonging a political deadlock that has only worsened after four elections in two years."

* Word from Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: "In a potentially significant shift in the debate over combating sexual assault in the military, the nation's top general says he is dropping his opposition to a proposal to take decisions on sexual assault prosecution out of the hands of commanders."

* Good choice: "The Biden administration has tapped Richard Cordray, the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to serve as the top official overseeing the federal government's $1.6 trillion portfolio of student loans and array of financial aid programs."

* Incident at Langley: "The man who tried to drive into CIA headquarters in Virginia on Monday has died of his injuries after being shot by FBI agents who believed he had a bomb, officials said. The man, Roy Gordon Cole, was known to the CIA because he had tried to drive into its heavily guarded facility before, officials said, adding that there were questions about his mental state."

* A case we're following: "The National Rifle Association's hopes of end-running a legal challenge in New York were dealt a serious blow on Monday when a Justice Department official rebuked its leadership and called for the dismissal of its bankruptcy filing or the appointment of an outside monitor to oversee its finances."

* Republicans believe in local control, except when they don't: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended local COVID-19 emergency orders Monday and signed a proposal lawmakers approved last week that limits the government's ability to impose mask requirements and other social distancing measures used to combat the coronavirus this past year.... The legislation also makes it more difficult for local governments to order measures such as wearing masks or place limits on businesses by requiring emergency orders to be narrowly tailored and be in seven-day increments totaling no more than 42 days."

* It was of interest to see Michael Gerson, George W. Bush's former chief speechwriter, make this assertion in his latest column: "The GOP is increasingly defined not by its shared beliefs, but by its shared delusions. To be a loyal Republican, one must be either a sucker or a liar."

See you tomorrow.