Today’s edition of quick hits.
* This bill now moves on to the House, where its fate is uncertain: “The Senate passed a sweeping new package of sanctions targeting Russia and Iran on Friday, approving a measure aimed at supporting Ukraine in its fight against President Vladimir V. Putin’s war of aggression.”
* Trump hasn’t given up on trying to fire Lisa Cook: “President Donald Trump is renewing his attempt to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve, according to a letter from the White House obtained by MS NOW. … Cook’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that the allegations of mortgage fraud ‘are as baseless now as they were a year ago’ when Trump first tried to remove Cook.”
* The case against David Hearn officially ends: “A judge in Washington dismissed a felony vandalism charge on Thursday against a former Olympic canoeist who had been accused of damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, ending an embarrassing saga for the Justice Department and the top prosecutor in Washington.”
* Keep an eye on this one: “The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted to eliminate a long-standing regulation constraining the size of large television broadcasting companies, a major deregulatory move pushed by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. The FCC’s commissioners voted 2-1 to replace the cap, which prevents a company from owning broadcasting stations that collectively reach more than 39 percent of U.S. households, with a case-by-case review.”
* Imagine a world in which Trump talked about Russia with the kind of seething contempt he has for Canada: “Mr. Trump repeatedly called Canadians nasty in a speech in Las Vegas on Wednesday after claiming that Canada and other countries had long been unfairly using tariffs against the United States. ‘Canada’s nasty. They are. They’re nasty,’ Mr. Trump said. ‘I love the people, but they’re nasty. Nasty leadership.’”
* Your check is not in the mail: “The Trump administration has refunded about $100 billion in tariffs in response to the Supreme Court ruling that declared the tariffs illegal, according to a new court filing this week. Major corporations are getting huge refunds: $2.2 billion for Apple, $1.3 billion for Ford, $600 million for Amazon. … While some companies have said they will use the refunds to reduce their prices, experts say not to expect many price cuts.”
* It seems every day brings a round of stories that would spark dramatic controversies in a normal administration. Take this one, for example: “The Japanese tech giant SoftBank Group gave $50 million to Donald Trump’s presidential library in January 2026 — two months before the Trump administration approved a federal land lease that will allow the firm to build what could become the world’s largest artificial intelligence data center.”
* Speaking of AI: “For the first time, scientists have used artificial intelligence to create new kinds of viruses, raising hopes for medical advances while also raising the disturbing possibility that the technology could someday be used to invent dangerous pathogens.”
Have a safe weekend.
The post Friday’s Mini-Report, 8.7.26 appeared first on MS NOW.
