Thursday's Mini-Report, 4.20.17

Today's edition of quick hits:* France "was on high alert Thursday after one police officer was killed and another wounded in a shooting in central Paris, the National Police Union reported. The person suspected of opening fire on the officers on the Champs-Elysees was also shot and killed, Reuters reported, citing a police source."* Donald Trump said the incident "looks like another terrorist attack" before French authorities were prepared to offer any such assessment.* Venezuela: "General Motors said Wednesday it has been forced to stop operating in Venezuela after one of its plants was illegally seized by local authorities. The seizure, in the country's industrial hub of Valencia, comes amid a deepening economic and political crisis that has sparked weeks of deadly street protests."* This seems like a bad idea: "The Internal Revenue Service is about to start using four private debt-collection companies to chase down overdue payments from hundreds of thousands of people who owe money to the federal government, a job it has handled in house for years."* Iran: "Former Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was barred from running in next month's election Thursday while President Hassan Rouhani was among six candidates approved by Iran's conservative-controlled Guardian Council, state media reported."* The number of billionaires on Team Trump drops by one: "Unable to untangle his complex financial holdings to the satisfaction of the Office of Government Ethics, Cubs board member Todd Ricketts, tapped by President Donald Trump to be the Deputy Commerce Secretary, on Wednesday withdrew his nomination."* This beats moving to a third state to launch another failed Senate campaign: "President Donald Trump announced Thursday his plan to nominate former Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown as ambassador to New Zealand. The Senate must confirm the nomination."* This would be wise: "The embalmed corpse of Vladimir Lenin has lain in a mausoleum on Red Square since his death in 1924 but now, a century after the revolution he spearheaded, legislation designed to turf him out has been introduced into the Russian parliament."* Donald Trump welcomed Ted Nugent, Sarah Palin, and Kid Rock to the White House yesterday. Former White House photographer Pete Souza, with his usual subtlety, responded appropriately.Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.