Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The latest out of Spain: “A terrorist-driven rental van plowed through a crowded pedestrian plaza in the heart of Barcelona on Thursday afternoon, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens, the latest in a series of low-tech attacks in European cities.”
* The end of an important case: “A settlement in the lawsuit against two psychologists who helped devise the Central Intelligence Agency’s brutal interrogation program was announced on Thursday, bringing to an end an unusual effort to hold individuals accountable for the techniques the agency adopted after the Sept. 11 attacks.”
* This probably won’t make it to Trump’s Twitter feed: “The Dow Jones took a triple-digit dive on Thursday afternoon as escalating worries about the Trump administration’s ability to push through its agenda rattled investors. The Dow closed at 21,750, its biggest drop in three months and the second-worst day of the year.”
* I wonder how a vote on this would turn out: “Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) will introduce legislation after Congress reconvenes next month calling for the removal of at least a dozen statues of Confederate soldiers and politicians located inside the U.S. Capitol.”
* On a related note: “Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, called on Thursday for the removal of Confederate statues from the United States Capitol, opening a new front in the debate ignited by the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.”
* Good decision: “A leading U.S. hospital pulled its annual fundraiser from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on Thursday, reversing course after initially resisting pressure from health professionals and others over the president’s support for repealing the Affordable Care Act and cutting federal budget dollars to medical research.” * Quite a sight: “Activists in Durham County, North Carolina, attempted to surrender en masse at a courthouse on Thursday morning in an act of solidarity with those charged for the act of pulling down a statue of a Confederate soldier on Monday, news reports and social media accounts say.” * Good riddance: “Carl P. Paladino is out as a member of the Buffalo Board of Education. That’s the ruling today from State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, according to the board’s attorney. ‘He is out effective immediately,’ said Frank W. Miller, the board’s attorney.” 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
