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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Vaccine news: “Moderna said Tuesday it had asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize an updated version of its Covid booster shot that targets the highly contagious BA.5 omicron subvariant.”
* In Ukraine: “It’s usually an occasion for summer barbecues and celebrating all things Ukrainian. But this year, the country’s independence day also marks six months since Russia launched its full-scale invasion — a dual symbolism that has the United States warning of intensified attacks against civilian and government targets.”
* On a related note: “As Russia’s war on Ukraine drags on, U.S. security assistance is shifting to a longer-term campaign that will likely keep more American military troops in Europe into the future, including imminent plans to announce an additional roughly $3 billion in aid to train and equip Ukrainian forces to fight for years to come, U.S. officials said.”
* A Twitter whistleblower? “Twitter’s former head of cybersecurity has accused the company of a number of egregious security flaws and oversights, according to a whistleblower complaint filed with the U.S. government this year.”
* Jan. 6 investigation: “The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol interviewed former national security adviser Robert O’Brien on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the panel’s work told NBC News.”
* The effects of the climate crisis: “Five weeks. Five instances of 1,000-year rain events. If it seems like the weather across the Lower 48 as of late has been bonkers, you’re not imagining things. It’s been a maelstrom of weather extremes, a seesaw fluctuating wildly from significantly dry to record wet conditions.”
* A major development in the case surrounding Breonna Taylor’s shooting: “A former police detective admitted on Tuesday that she had helped mislead a judge into authorizing a raid of Breonna Taylor’s apartment in Louisville, Ky., setting in motion the faulty nighttime operation in which the police fatally shot Ms. Taylor.”
* The latest former state House Speaker facing serious legal troubles: “Tennessee’s disgraced former House Speaker Glen Casada and his top aide were arrested Tuesday on federal charges including bribery, kickbacks and conspiracy to commit money laundering.”
See you tomorrow.