Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Afghanistan: “Attackers stormed a Shiite Muslim cultural center in the Afghan capital Thursday, setting off multiple bombs and killing dozens, authorities said. A health ministry spokesperson said 41 people had been killed, including two children, with 84 others injured.”
* Yemen: “Airstrikes on a market and a farm in Yemen killed at least 68 civilians in a single day, including eight children, the United Nations said on Thursday. The two attacks occurred on Tuesday, making it one of the bloodiest days for civilians so far in Yemen’s civil war.”
* EPA: “A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to revise its nearly 17-year-old standard for dangerous levels of lead in paint and dust within one year, a rare legal move that amounts to a sharp rebuff of President Trump and Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator.”
* I’m not sure what to make of this one: “A jailed Russian who says he hacked into the Democratic National Committee computers on the Kremlin’s orders to steal emails released during the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign now claims he left behind a data signature to prove his assertion.”
* Joy Villa “filed a police report this week accusing Corey Lewandowski, President Trump’s former campaign manager, of slapping her twice on the buttocks at a party in Washington in November.” * There’s a lot of this going around: “A significant number of fake comments appear among thousands criticizing a proposed federal rule meant to prevent conflicts of interest in retirement advice, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. At issue is the Labor Department’s ‘fiduciary rule,’ which would require investment advisers handling retirement accounts to act in the best interest of clients.” * I guess the end of the stop-and-frisk policy didn’t hurt the city after all: “It would have seemed unbelievable in 1990, when there were 2,245 killings in New York City, but as of Wednesday there have been just 286 in the city this year — the lowest since reliable records have been kept.” 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
