QUICK HITS

Desantis backtracks: Florida

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Gov. Ron Desantis is walking back his characterization of Russia’s war on Ukraine as a“territorial dispute.” The reversal follows criticism from a number of fellow Republicans who expressed concern about the potential 2024 presidential candidate’s dismissive description of the conflict. In excerpts of an interview with Piers Morgan that aired Thursday, Desantis said his earlier written statement had been “mischaracterized.”

Autism rates rise: For the first

2 time, autism is being diagnosed more frequently in Black and Hispanic children than in white kids in the U.S. The CDC on Thursday released the new estimates of how common autism is. It estimates that 1 in 36 children who were age 8 in 2020 had autism. That’s up from 1 in 44 two years earlier. But the rate rose faster for children of color.

Arizona court rejects most of Lake claims:

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The Arizona Supreme Court has declined to hear most of Republican Kari Lake’s appeal in a challenge of her defeat in the governor’s race but revived a claim that was dismissed by a trial court challenging the application of signature verification procedures on early ballots in Maricopa County.

Union

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The African Union appealed for nearly $90 million for its peacekeeping force in Somalia, which is providing support to its military forces battling al-shabab extremists. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye said that the more than 19,600-strong AU force won’t be able to help the Somalis unless that funding gap is filled.

African seeks more funding: ‘Printed’ rocket fails quickly:

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5 rocket made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts has finally taken flight but didn’t last long. The second stage failed three minutes after liftoff from Florida late Wednesday, and the mission failed to reach orbit.