By
Today's edition of quick hits:
* A tough job: "President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he has appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead efforts on stemming migration across the U.S.-Mexico border as the administration faces growing political pressure to address a surge in undocumented migrant children unaccompanied by parents."
* ACA news: "President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he would extend the special enrollment period for people to purchase Affordable Care Act health plans by three months, until Aug. 15, as part of his administration's effort to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic."
* I guess Kim Jong Un wants attention again: "North Korea fired at least one missile over the weekend, two U.S. officials told NBC News Tuesday. It marks the first report of such activity since Joe Biden was sworn in as president."
* Senate controversy: "Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., reversed course on vowing to object to President Joe Biden's nominees because of a lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander representation Tuesday evening after a spokesperson from her office said she had received assurances from the Biden administration."
* The final vote was 57 to 43: "The Senate confirmed a soft-spoken physician as President Joe Biden's surgeon general Tuesday. While Dr. Vivek Murthy says ending the coronavirus pandemic is his top priority, he's also raised concerns over a relapsing opioid overdose crisis."
* Housing policy: "The Biden administration is weighing whether to extend a soon-expiring federal policy that prohibits landlords from evicting their cash-strapped tenants, as the U.S. government seeks to buy more time for an estimated 10 million families who have fallen behind on their rent."
* In the not-too-distant past, this would've been hard to believe: "[Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam] signed legislation Wednesday making Virginia the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, a dramatic shift for the commonwealth, which has the second-highest number of executions in the U.S."
* A nomination I've been watching closely: "The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 13-13 on President Joe Biden's nominee for Pentagon policy chief, Colin Kahl, in a partisan, closed-door vote Wednesday that signaled Democratic leaders will have to mount a series of votes for him to be confirmed."
* Equal Pay Day: "This year, Equal Pay Day falls on March 24, a date that symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn the same as men did in the previous year."
* Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) "got a slap on the wrist from wildlife officials after he violated state hunting regulations in the trapping and killing of a wolf near Yellowstone National Park last month."
* This was informative and very well done: "New videos obtained by The New York Times show publicly for the first time how the U.S. Capitol Police officer who died after facing off with rioters on Jan. 6 was attacked with chemical spray. The officer, Brian D. Sicknick, who had been guarding the west side of the Capitol, collapsed later that day and died the next night. Little had been known about what happened to Officer Sicknick during the assault, and the previously unpublished videos provide new details about when, where and how he was attacked, as well as about the events leading up to the encounter."
See you tomorrow.