Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Syria : “A Syrian cease-fire backed by Russia and Turkey is crumbling five days after it began, with government forces pushing offensives around Damascus and rebels threatening to suspend participation in new peace talks.”
* Turkey : “The massacre targeting New Year’s Eve revelers at an Istanbul nightclub illustrates that the relationship between ISIS and Turkey has shifted from an uneasy peace to an all-out war, according to experts.”
* A State Department spokesperson said today that the administration “is 100 percent certain in the role that Russia played in trying to sow discord and confusion and getting involved, through the cyber domain, in our electoral process.” He added, “There’s no question about that.”
* Good idea : “Thousands of veterans who were forced to pay back the millions of dollars in bonuses they’d gotten for reenlisting to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan will get their money back.”
* An unfortunate end : “U. S. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court expired at noon Tuesday, clearing the way for President-elect Donald Trump to fill a vacancy Senate Republicans held open for months with an appointee championed by conservatives.”
* Filling the remaining vacancies : “President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Robert Lighthizer, a veteran trade attorney and supporter of Trump’s defensive view of trade, as his pick for the next U. S. trade representative, according to two transition officials.”
* It’s awfully difficult to relate to this : “If the world does not envy the French enough already for their generous vacations, universal health care and fine food and wine, the arrival of 2017 brings this: a newly created ‘right to disconnect.’”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
