Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Ukraine: “A Russian journalist was shot and killed in the Ukrainian capital Tuesday, and the national police said he apparently was targeted because of his work. Ukrainian police said Arkady Babchenko’s wife found him bleeding at their apartment building in Kiev and called an ambulance, but Babchenko died on the way to a hospital. Police said he died of multiple gunshots wounds to his back.”
* Staggering statistics: “At least 4,645 people died as a result of Hurricane Maria and its devastation across Puerto Rico last year, according to a new Harvard study released Tuesday, an estimate that far exceeds the official government death toll, which stands at 64.”
* Landslide: “Ireland voted to overturn its constitutional ban on abortion Saturday in the latest example of how the traditionally Catholic country is embracing a more liberal stance.”
* Why are wealthy Chinese entrepreneurs being told they can buy access to Donald Trump at an upcoming fundraiser?
* Stop digging: “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Monday defended his ‘konnichiwa’ remark to a Japanese-American congresswoman by arguing that he ‘has friends that were Japanese families’ who lived through Japanese internment camps during World War II.”
* Important research, Part I: “Judges appointed by Republican presidents gave longer sentences to black defendants and shorter ones to women than judges appointed by Democrats, according to a new study that analyzed data on more than half a million defendants.” * Important research, Part II: “A new Federal Reserve survey of more than 12,200 Americans about their finances [found that] 40 percent of American adults don’t have enough savings to cover a $400 emergency expense such as an unexpected medical bill, car problem or home repair.” * The White House sent a letter to Yvonne Mason, 61, a former high school English teacher who retired last year, responding to her concerns about gun violence. As the New York Times reported, this didn’t turn out well. 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
