Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A serious allegation: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that Attorney General William Barr committed a crime during testimony last month.”
* In related news: “A Democratic congressman brought a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken and — presumably, in case his point was lost — a ceramic chicken to a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday to show his displeasure with Attorney General William Barr for opting against testifying before the committee.”
* Awful new numbers from the Pentagon: “Acting Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan called for sweeping changes in the way the military handles sexual assaults and harassment following a reported 38% increase in assaults from 2016 to 2018. That spike in crime within the ranks comes after years of focused effort and resources to eradicate it.”
* The latest from Venezuela: “At least four people were killed and more than 200 were wounded in Venezuela during two days of massive demonstrations in the opposition’s latest attempt to oust embattled President Nicolás Maduro, a human rights group said.”
* I still think it was worth forcing the veto on this: “The Senate on Thursday failed to overturn President Donald Trump’s veto of legislation that would have ended U.S. military assistance for the Saudi-led war in Yemen against Iran-backed rebels, but lawmakers promised to keep close watch on the administration’s ties with the kingdom.”
* A misguided HHS rule: “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday released a final rule allowing doctors, nurses and other health workers to opt out of procedures such as abortions and sterilizations which violate their personal or religious beliefs.”
* A little something for everyone: “The Congressional Budget Office published a much-awaited paper about the possible design of a single-payer or ‘Medicare for all’ system in the United States. The budget office most often provides detailed estimates about the cost of legislation. But anyone looking for many numbers in Wednesday’s long report would be disappointed.”
* Facebook makes a move: “Facebook announced Thursday that it plans to ban a group of far-right media personalities, as well as Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, from its social network and Instagram. The ban affects Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos, and other far-right figures and the conspiracy and far-right politics website Infowars.” * This was inevitable: “Embattled Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who has been away from the job amid a corruption scandal centered around a children’s book, announced her resignation through her lawyer on Thursday.” * And speaking of interesting political developments in Maryland: “Baltimore County’s Del. Adrienne A. Jones was unanimously elected the next speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates on Wednesday, making history as the first woman and African American to hold the position.” 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
