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Friday's Mini-Report, 8.19.16

Today's edition of quick hits.
Today's edition of quick hits:
 
* President Obama will travel to Louisiana on Tuesday to meet with officials and assess flooding damage.
 
* CDC: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [issued] a new travel advisory for pregnant women, telling them to consider avoiding Miami-Dade County altogether due to evidence of widespread transmission of Zika, which can cause birth defects."
 
* Syria: "A Pentagon spokesperson confirms that the Syrian Air Force dropped bombs Thursday in an area where U.S. Special Operations forces were operating on the ground."
 
* Russia is "bolstering its military presence on its western border, sending tens of thousands of soldiers to newly built installations within easy striking distance of Ukraine."
 
* Automatic voter registration faces a second Christie veto: "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) vetoed a bill Thursday that would have made it easier for people to register to vote, claiming the measure would increase voter fraud."
 
* Sadly predictable: "Texas experienced a sudden and dramatic spike in pregnancy-related deaths in 2011, the same year the state slashed funding for Planned Parenthood and women's health programs, according to a study in the September issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology." [Disclosure: my wife works for Planned Parenthood, but her work is unrelated to affiliates in Texas.]
 
* Good advice: "Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake says Donald Trump needs to issue specific apologies to Sen. John McCain, the judge in the Trump University lawsuit, and to Mexican immigrants."
 
* A new era: "The University of Mississippi's marching band will no longer play any variation of the song 'Dixie' -- a tradition some seven decades old at football games and other sporting events -- Mississippi Today has learned."
 
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.