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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Life sentence in Buffalo: “The 19-year-old white gunman who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo grocery last year was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole during an emotional hearing that was briefly interrupted after a man charged toward him.”
* Pence confirmed today what we assumed to be the case: “Former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that he plans to ‘fight’ a subpoena from the special counsel investigating Donald Trump’s actions surrounding Jan. 6, calling the demand for his cooperation ‘unprecedented and unconstitutional.’”
* Ohio’s train derailment: “Health and environmental concerns are mounting after the train derailment and toxic chemical fire this month in eastern Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border. According to information provided to the Environmental Protection Agency by the rail operator, Norfolk Southern, around 20 of the train’s roughly 150 cars were carrying hazardous materials.”
* The Biden White House will be pleased to see Malpass go: “David Malpass, the embattled president of the World Bank, announced his intention Wednesday to step down by June, roughly a year before his term expires. Mr. Malpass was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to preside over the World Bank, which lends billions of dollars to developing countries, during a period of intense global need fueled by crises ranging from the pandemic to climate change.”
* Avoided disasters have not gone unnoticed at the FAA: “The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a ‘safety call to action’ and will form a safety review team after a string of concerning airline incidents.”
* Speaking of aviation, it’s entirely possible China’s surveillance balloon sailed into American airspace by accident.
* Too many Republicans will likely keep pushing bogus talking points anyway, but Danny Werfel, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the IRS, “pledged before senators not to expand tax audits on businesses and households making less than $400,000 per year, a key point of concern to legislators, as he faced rounds of questions before the Senate Finance Committee on how he would spend the agency’s big new infusion of money.”
* I wonder how many Virginians understood what to expect from putting far-right Republicans in positions of power: “The administration of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) helped defeat a bill this week to put menstrual data stored on period-tracking apps beyond the reach of law enforcement, blocking what supporters pitched as a basic privacy measure.”
See you tomorrow.