Today’s edition of quick hits.
* An evolving approach to disclosure: “The Justice Department on Friday dropped more than 3 million pages of documents from its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, completing the release of its records as mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a news conference.”
* A welcome reversal: “The Department of Justice is pursuing a civil rights investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti, reversing a decision that had drawn criticism, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday.”
* The Senate is moving forward with a plan to prevent a partial government shutdown, but the House will not take up the package before the midnight deadline.
* In the Middle East: “Iran will not engage in direct negotiations with the United States unless President Trump stops threatening it, its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Friday. Speaking to reporters during a visit to Istanbul, Mr. Araghchi said talks to calm tensions between Iran and the United States had to be based on a ‘fair and equitable’ approach and could not begin with threats.”
* Warehouses for human beings: “Despite protests in small towns and cities across the US, the Trump administration is pushing ahead with the purchase of warehouses it plans to convert into immigration jails in what could be the largest expansion of such detention capacity in US history.”
* Our crises do not go unnoticed abroad: “The United States defended Greenland during World War II and the Cold War, and Greenlanders used to see Americans as protectors. But now the idea of joining up with the United States — a deeply divided nation with no universal health care, widening inequality and chaos on full display in the streets of Minneapolis — is not so appealing.”
* No-shows: “White House aide Jared Borg said yesterday that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would speak at the annual meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). Secretaries were told that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard would also join. But as the session scheduled for 3 p.m. was set to begin, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, the chair of NASS, informed a packed ballroom that it wouldn’t be happening.”
Have a safe weekend.
