Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Over the skies of Syria: “Two U.S. fighter jets intercepted two Russian planes in Syria on Wednesday after the Russians crossed a ‘deconfliction line,’ and the U.S. fired chaff and warning flares in a confrontation that lasted 40 minutes, an American military spokesman said Thursday.”
* Somalia: “A suicide bomber disguised as a policeman blew himself up inside a police training camp in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Thursday and killed at least 15 officers, officials said.”
* It’s hard not to think of Colin Powell getting Iraq wrong on days like this: “The Trump administration accused Iran on Thursday of violating United Nations resolutions, unveiling what U.S. officials said was proof that Iran is exporting missiles and other military hardware to a rebel group in Yemen.”
* RT: “New filings with the Justice Department show that the original US distribution company for RT, also known as Russia Today, is in the process of ‘winding down’ and has been since earlier this year.”
* The Dan Johnson story is stunning in so many ways: “A Kentucky state representative who had denied allegations of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in 2013 died Wednesday in a probable suicide, the county coroner said.” * This was an impressive undertaking from the New York Times: “After we published a list of President Trump’s lies this summer, we heard a common response from his supporters. They said, in effect: ‘Yes, but if you made a similar list for previous presidents, it would be just as bad.’ We’ve set out to make that list.” 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
