Today’s edition of quick hits.
* At the White House: “Standing next to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Thursday, President Biden defended calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a ‘dictator’ at a recent campaign event. And he went on to characterize the American relationship with Modi — who has been accused of aiding the erosion of democratic principles in India — as different from the one with Xi because India shares the same ‘democratic character’ as the United States.”
* In related news: “President Joe Biden said the blowback over his calling President Xi Jinping of China a ‘dictator’ would not undermine recent diplomatic progress between Washington and Beijing.”
* SCOTUS: “The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the Navajo Nation over claims that the federal government has failed to assert the tribe’s desperate need for water access in the arid West. The justices, divided 5-4, said a lawsuit the tribe filed against the federal government must be thrown out.”
* In Florida: “A federal judge struck down Florida’s prohibition on Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care, the second decision to upend restrictions put into place at the urging of Gov. Ron DeSantis.”
* Ordinarily, this probably wouldn’t be a national news story, but you can probably guess why it’s raised eyebrows: “A former F.B.I. intelligence analyst from Kansas received nearly four years in prison on Wednesday in a case that bears parallels to that of former President Donald J. Trump, including the same charge of willful retention of national security secrets.”‘
* Important survey data: “Sweeping restrictions and even outright abortion bans adopted by states in the year since the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling have had an overwhelmingly negative effect on maternal health care, according to a survey of OBGYNs released Wednesday that provides one of the clearest views yet of how the U.S. Supreme Court decision has affected women’s health care in the United States.”
* A tricky situation in Austin: “State Sen. Angela Paxton will not be able to vote in the impeachment trial of her husband, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, under rules set by Republicans in the state Senate Wednesday night.”
See you tomorrow.