Today's edition of quick hits:
* These conversations ought to be interesting: "President Joe Biden will meet with Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., separately Wednesday, meetings likely to discuss the $3.5 trillion spending and tax bill moving through Congress."
* The latest on Gen. Milley: "President Biden said Wednesday he had 'great confidence' in his senior military adviser, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, after Republicans called for his ouster following reports he had been in touch with his Chinese counterpart to ease tensions in the frenetic waning days of the Trump administration. 'I have great confidence in Gen. Milley,' Mr. Biden said at an event."
* The problem isn't limited to the Southeast: "Alaska's largest hospital is now implementing crisis standards and rationing medical care amid a crush of COVID-19 patients and staff shortages that have forced providers to prioritize patients most likely to recover."
* An ongoing legal fight: "The U.S. Justice Department late Tuesday sought an immediate court order to stop Texas from enforcing its restrictive new law that effectively bans most abortions. The request, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleges that the law is an 'unprecedented scheme' that seeks to deny women and providers the ability to challenge the statute in federal court and is unconstitutional."
* Korean Peninsula: "North Korea fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast Wednesday and South Korea said hours later that it had carried out a successful test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile."
* DOJ: "The Justice Department has opened an investigation into allegations of unconstitutional abuses of prisoners in Georgia, a sweeping civil rights inquiry that could force the state to carry out a federally mandated overhaul."
* If Covid-19 could express preferences, it would probably endorse this: "Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has unleashed another wave of lawsuits against school districts over their masking policies — but one of them says it doesn't even require face coverings."
* What's scarier than the Jan. 6 rioters? The prospect of Capitol Police officers who agreed with the rioters.
* Maybe this will help persuade some Catholic holdouts? "Pope Francis said Wednesday he didn't understand why people refuse to take COVID-19 vaccines, saying 'humanity has a history of friendship with vaccines,' and that serene discussion about the shots was necessary to help them."
* That's quite a headline: "This pastor will sign a religious exemption for vaccines if you donate to his church."
See you tomorrow.
