Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Nabra Hassanen: “Human remains found in a Virginia pond are believed to belong to a teen who went missing early Sunday on her way to a mosque in Fairfax County, according to police.”
* The suspect in the U.K. is in custody: “A van plowed into pedestrians near a London mosque early Monday, injuring 10 people in what the city’s mayor called a ‘horrific terrorist attack.’ It appeared to be the third incident in as many months in the British capital involving a vehicle being driven into a crowd. All the victims were Muslims, police said.”
* Otto Warmbier: “One American who was held captive in North Korea said he was interrogated up to 15 hours a day by officials who wanted him to confess to plotting to overthrow their government. Another said she was held in a 5-by-6-foot windowless cell. Yet another former American inmate shivered on the concrete floor of a room ‘no bigger than a dog’s house.’”
* The USS Fitzgerald: “The bodies of seven U.S. sailors missing after a Navy destroyer collided with a container ship off Japan were found in flooded berthing compartments, a defense official said.”
* Syria: “An American warplane shot down a Syrian government jet on Sunday, the Pentagon said, marking the first time in Syria’s civil war that a U.S. pilot has struck a regime plane and signaling an increased willingness by the Trump administration to directly challenge President Bashar al-Assad and his allies.”
* In related news: “Iran announced Sunday the Iran Revolutionary Guards had launched ballistic missile strikes on Saturday against ISIS targets in Syria, dramatically escalating the country’s role in the Syrian conflict.”
* Afghanistan: “Five Afghan police officers were killed and 18 people were wounded in a Taliban attack Sunday on a major base in the eastern province of Paktia, Afghan officials said.”
* As if there weren’t enough going on with Kushner: “Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, is traveling to the Middle East this week in pursuit of a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a White House official confirmed Sunday night.” * This isn’t populism: “The DOJ said Friday that it will switch sides in a Supreme Court case, dropping its previous support for workers to throw its weight behind management. The case, NLRB v. Murphy Oil, addresses whether an employment contract that requires the employee to waive his or her right to bring a class-action lawsuit against the employer violates the National Labor Relations Act.” * Resignations: “Six members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) have resigned, furious at what they say is the new administration’s regressive health policies and a lack of care shown by President Trump.” * An important missed opportunity in Nevada: “Gov. Brian Sandoval scuttled a plan that would have allowed anyone in the state to buy into a Medicaid-like system of health insurance that had attracted national attention as the first of its kind.” 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
