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Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Mariupol: “As fears mount for the besieged city of Mariupol, friends and relatives of people still trapped there are conducting an increasingly desperate search for information.”
* In related news: “An agreed humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steelworks in the besieged southern city of Mariupol ‘did not work as planned,’ Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said Wednesday.”
* Refugees: “More than 5 million people have fled Ukraine in the nearly two months since Russia’s full-fledged invasion began, according to a tracker from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.”
* Mask rules: “The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it will appeal the ruling that lifted the federal mask mandate on planes, trains and transit systems, pending a decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the order is still required for public health.”
* ATF: “The Biden administration is removing the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from his position and replacing him with the U.S. attorney in Arizona, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday.”
* The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $250,00 fine: “A Florida man pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to threatening to kill Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.”
* A worthwhile discussion: “[A]s the House committee investigating last year’s riot uncovers new evidence about the lengths to which Mr. Trump was willing to go to cling to power, some lawmakers on the panel have quietly begun discussions about rewriting the Insurrection Act, the 1807 law that gives presidents wide authority to deploy the military within the United States to respond to a rebellion.”
* If you heard that State Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s remarks were impressive, you heard right: “A Democratic Michigan state senator delivered an impassioned response after a Republican colleague accused her of supporting pedophilia, reiterating a common right-wing talking point.”
See you tomorrow.