Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Afghanistan: “A suicide bomber killed at least 43 people Tuesday at a wedding hall, where victims had gathered for a religious event, authorities said. The people were celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad’s birth, a Ministry of Public Health official told NBC News. At least 80 people were also injured in the attack, officials said.”
* Yesterday’s shooting in Chicago: “A police officer and two female staffers were killed in a shooting at a Chicago hospital on Monday afternoon.”
* The shooting in Denver soon after: “One person was killed and four others were injured in a shooting in downtown Denver late Monday afternoon, authorities said. The shooter or shooters remained at large Monday night.”
* Hmm: “In the three years after he arrived in Washington in 2014, Matthew G. Whitaker received more than $1.2 million as the leader of a charity that reported having no other employees, some of the best pay of his career. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust described itself as a new watchdog nonprofit dedicated to exposing unethical conduct by public officials.”
* I wonder who Trump will blame for this: “The stock market slid dramatically on Tuesday after a slew of disappointing corporate earnings dragged down the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, erasing all gains for 2018. The Dow fell by 648 points at its session low, and closed at 24,465.”
* Rachel had a good segment on this lawsuit last night: “A group of Senate Democrats are suing to try to strike down President Trump’s appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general. The suit, filed in DC federal district court by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), and Mazie Hirono (HI), argues that Whitaker’s appointment was unconstitutional because he was not confirmed by the Senate to his prior position.” * David Bernhardt, deputy secretary of the Department of Interior: “Having worked for years as a lobbyist representing many of the very businesses he now regulates, he walked into the No. 2 job at Interior with so many potential conflicts of interest he has to carry a small card listing them all.” * Trump finds a new country to offend: “Pakistan reacted angrily on Monday to criticism by President Trump that the country had not done enough in return for years of United States military aid and that the government had harbored Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda.” 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
