Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Afghanistan: “One U.S. Army soldier was killed and two others were injured in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Wednesday.”
* A stunning scene in Caracas: “Venezuelan lawmakers who oppose President Nicolás Maduro were beaten and bloodied on the floor of congress Wednesday, as pro-government mobs stormed the building, apparently facing little or no resistance from security guards.”
* An important ruling: “The Trump administration cannot delay an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule limiting methane pollution from oil and natural gas drilling, a federal court ruled Monday.”
* Mass shooting in Arkansas: “Two people remain in critical condition after a mass shooting at a Little Rock nightclub early Saturday, authorities said during a news conference at city hall that afternoon. Twenty-five people were hit by gunfire when shots rang out during a rap show around 2:30 a.m.”
* Pentagon: “A plan to allow transgender recruits to join the United States military beginning on Saturday has been delayed for six months by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, a Pentagon spokeswoman said on Friday.”
* Sign of the times: “In their campaign program for the German election, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives have dropped the term ‘friend’ in describing the relationship with the United States.”
* “Medicaid Worsens Your Health? That’s a Classic Misinterpretation of Research.”
* I’m glad we could get this straightened out: “A report on Alex Jones’ InfoWars claiming child sex slaves have been kidnapped and shipped to Mars is untrue, NASA told The Daily Beast on Thursday.” * Volvo “is going all-electric by 2019. The automaker announced Wednesday that all future models will use some form of electric propulsion, whether in hybrid form with a gas engine or all-battery models.” * One of the right-wing activists accidentally shot himself at this ridiculous rally in response to a threat that didn’t exist: “A few hundred armed militia group members, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Ku Klux Klaners, supporters of President Donald Trump, and other self-described patriots descended upon the Gettysburg battlefield Saturday to defend the site’s Confederate symbols from phantom activists with the violent far-left group Antifa.” * Alas, this story is real: “NPR Tweeted The Declaration Of Independence And Some Trump Supporters Were Offended.” 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
