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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A scary story out of Germany: “The news Wednesday that a far-right group had plotted to overthrow the German government in a coup surprised many around the world who thought the country had largely done away with its extremist right wing. ... The plotters, 25 of whom were arrested during the operation, are part of an extremist terrorist organization that harbors a mixture of conspiracy theory-driven beliefs.”
* A brewing political crisis in Peru: “Peru’s president on Wednesday announced the dissolution of Congress and the installation of an emergency government to rule by decree, in a stunning move that political leaders across the spectrum were quick to denounce as a coup attempt. President Pedro Castillo spoke hours before Congress had scheduled a vote on impeaching Mr. Castillo on corruption charges.”
* The Chinese protests appear to have generated change from officials in Beijing: “China announced the scrapping of some of its strictest rules designed to curb Covid-19 on Wednesday, a major step away from a strategy that has constrained daily life for almost three years and set off rare nationwide protests in recent weeks.”
* SCOTUS: “Conservative Supreme Court justices on Wednesday appeared skeptical about a state court’s decision to strike down Republican-drawn congressional districts in North Carolina, but it seemed unlikely a majority would embrace a broad theory that could upend election law nationwide.”
* I wonder if Flynn will take the Fifth in Georgia: “A Florida appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump’s onetime national security adviser, to testify before a Fulton County special grand jury.”
* Another judicial breakthrough: “The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed the first Black person from Indiana to serve on the federal appeals court that hears cases from her state, in a bipartisan vote helped by her state’s two Republican senators deciding to throw their support behind her. The Senate voted 60-31 to elevate U.S. Magistrate Judge Doris Pryor to the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as Democrats push forward with fulfilling President Joe Biden’s pledge to diversify the federal bench.”
* I’d nearly forgotten that Cawthorn is still a member of Congress: “The House Ethics Committee found that outgoing Rep. Madison Cawthorn ‘improperly promoted’ a cryptocurrency in which he had a financial interest in violation of House conflict of interest rules, according to an 81-page report released Tuesday on the North Carolina Republican.”
See you tomorrow.