QUICK HITS

1 Marcos says a death may trigger pact with U.S.:

The Philippines will invoke its defense treaty with the U.S. if a Filipino soldier dies from a foreign attack, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said, in remarks that come amid growing tensions with China. Marcos’ comments come in the aftermath of a joint summit with President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington last week. They offer clarity on the circumstances that may draw in the U.S. — a treaty ally of the Philippines — as tensions between Manila and Beijing ratchet up over the disputed South China Sea.

2 Zimbabwe recalls tainted cough syrup:

Zimbabwe’s health regulator as a precautionary measure recalled a tainted children’s cough syrup manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, which was sold in six African nations. Two batches of Benylin Paediatric Syrup manufactured in South Africa that were sold there and in Eswatini, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria were recalled over the weekend by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority after some were found to contain unsafe levels of a toxic industrial solvent.

Movie armorer sentenced to 3 18 months in fatal shooting:

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the “Rust” armorer found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for her role in the fatal shooting of the film’s cinematographer, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by a New Mexico district court judge. A jury had convicted Gutierrez-Reed in March in the 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins — the first trial verdict connected to the incident. Alec Baldwin, who was rehearsing a scene with a revolver when the gun went off, was indicted by a grand jury for involuntary manslaughter in January with a trial set for this summer.

GM to leave iconic downtown 4 tower in Detroit:

General Motors plans to move its iconic Detroit headquarters to a new downtown office tower and redevelop its home office site, a person briefed on the plans said. The plan does not involve GM selling the Renaissance Center, or RenCen, as the tower complex is known locally. The complex is the centerpiece of Detroit’s skyline and often appears on sports television broadcasts.

5 EU releases billions of blocked euros to Poland:

The European Union disbursed 6.3 billion euros (about $6.7 billion) to Poland as a part of the 27-nation bloc’s post-pandemic recovery fund, the biggest single transfer ever to the country, a government minister said. Poland’s former national conservative government, voted out of power in October, made changes to the judiciary, which the EU said violated democratic checks and balances, and so decided to block the money.