Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In Lebanon: “The Israeli military carried out an airstrike Tuesday in a suburb of southern Beirut, targeting a commander they say was in charge of an attack last week on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 young people.”
* In Venezuela: “At least 11 people — including one soldier — have died and about 750 more have been arrested as a result of protests in Venezuela following the highly contentious presidential election over the weekend, according to government officials and rights groups. The nation’s autocratic leader, President Nicolás Maduro, was declared the winner of another six-year term, but his government has refused to release the full results and many countries, including the United States, have said the vote was marred by widespread irregularities.”
* In Ukraine: “Ukraine’s campaign to replenish its war-weary troops is ramping up and should help fill personnel gaps on the front line in the coming weeks, according to Ukrainian officials, soldiers and military analysts.”
* An ongoing investigation: “The acting director of the Secret Service testified Tuesday that he was ‘ashamed’ at the security gaps that led to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and pledged to discipline any agents who failed to do their jobs.”
* The same report added: “FBI deputy director Paul Abbate … said investigators found a social media account that may have belonged to [Thomas] Crooks, which espoused anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant views and had posts about political violence. Abbate said the FBI has not yet confirmed the account belonged to Crooks. The agency still does not know a motive.” * Attorney General Merrick Garland told NBC News he disagreed with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s recent ruling that his appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutional. “I picked this room for this interview. This is my favorite room in the Justice Department. It’s a law library. For more than 20 years, I was a federal judge,” Garland said. “Do I look like somebody who would make that basic mistake about the law? I don’t think so.” * The floor vote was 91 to 3: “The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a pair of children’s online safety bills — a rare sign of bipartisan cooperation in the middle of a volatile and acrimonious presidential campaign. But the legislation won’t make it to President Joe Biden’s desk anytime soon.” See you tomorrow.
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."
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