Today’s edition of quick hits.

* That he chose not to speak to the Ukrainian representative who was already in the White House says a great deal: “President Trump said he met with a senior Russian official in Washington on Thursday and promised a Ukraine peace deal that ‘might involve all of Europe,’ a sign that the president remains involved in talks to end the war even after his party was trounced in the midterm elections.”

* Arch on ice, for now: “A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration late Thursday from beginning construction on President Donald Trump’s 250-foot arch, which a planning commission had approved hours earlier after a contentious online meeting.”

* All eyes on Mississippi: “An unlikely battle in Mississippi’s Senate race remained tight on Friday, after the latest tranche of votes reported showed Scott Colom, a Democratic prosecutor, leading Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, the Republican incumbent, by just over 2,000 votes. Mr. Colom netted an additional 100 votes over Ms. Hyde Smith from a report at 3:59 p.m. Eastern from Pike County, bringing his statewide lead to 2,129 votes, according to The Associated Press.”

* Elections continue to have consequences in Texas: “Mayor John Whitmire of Houston said he was directing city police officers on Friday to limit their cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement during traffic stops, bucking a policy imposed on Texas’s largest city by Gov. Greg Abbott. Under an executive order from the mayor, Houston police officers will no longer alert ICE agents when they encounter an unauthorized migrant during routine traffic stops or in connection with other low-level infractions.”

* I wonder why an administration would pay more than $1 million for something that’s free? “Last year, when Starlink, the satellite internet provider operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, appeared at the White House, officials said the company had donated the service. But contracting records reveal that the Trump administration has been spending taxpayers’ dollars since last year to install and service Starlink equipment at the White House.”

* So many conflicts of interests, so few explanations: “Four of the eight people appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to an influential health panel in September own stock in companies that make drugs and other products affected by the group’s decisions, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.”

* Measles claims the life of another child: “A Grant County infant died of measles as southwest Wisconsin’s outbreak continues to spread, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Grant County Health Department have reported. The coroner listed the immediate cause of death as measles, according to a Nov. 5 news release pushed out midday by the department. It is the first measles death in the state since 1990.”

* I can think of a certain billionaire who’s having a heck of a week: “Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Friday said the electric vehicle maker will ‘be winding down’ production of the Cybertruck at its Texas gigafactory around the middle of next year.”

* Good news on the senator’s recovery: “Sen. Chris Murphy was discharged from Johns Hopkins Hospital after suffering a stroke and is expected to make a full recovery, he announced Friday. Murphy, 53, will spend several weeks at a rehabilitation center and miss several weeks of Senate votes.”

Have a safe weekend.

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