Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would like to revive efforts to reduce gun violence, but he told reporters today he simply doesn’t have the votes.
* Trying to understand what precipitated yesterday’s rampage: “The 34-year-old gunman behind Monday’s mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard had a history of run-ins with the law, early stages of the investigation revealed. But now, more details about Aaron Alexis’ mental health history are beginning to emerge.”
* The Washington Post pulled together profiles on each of the Navy Yard victims.
* No one said this would be easy: “Thrust back into a central role in resolving the Syrian conflict, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council met on Tuesday to negotiate a draft resolution that would hold Syria to its pledge of identifying all chemical weapons under government control for destruction, but diplomats said major differences over a draft quickly emerged.”
* Colorado: “The torrent of water that gushed over and down the Rocky Mountains late last week resulted from a fateful confluence of geography and weather. While the deluge is unprecedented in the historic record, it may offer a window onto the new normal as the planet continues to warm.”
* Scaling back: “Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) won’t bring back his expanded background checks bill in the wake of the Navy Yard massacre, an aide said Tuesday.”
* Nice while it lasted: “Internet users in Iran lost access Tuesday to Facebook and Twitter, a day after they were surprised to find that they could get on the sites without having to evade a government’s firewall that had blocked direct access to the Web sites for years.”
* In Pennsylvania, Montgomery County Clerk D. Bruce Hanes lost in court last week, but he’s taking his case on equal access to marriage licenses to a state appeals court. * Jonathan Cohn takes a deep dive into the new Census Bureau report on income, poverty, and health insurance. * Heartbreaking: “This weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jonathan Ferrell was shot to death by law enforcement while looking for help after a car accident.” * Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) told MSNBC this morning that there’s a “sense of madness” in the GOP right now. “You have people in my party who didn’t come to limit government, but to stop it” (thanks to reader F.B. for the tip). Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
