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Thursday's Mini-Report

Today's edition of quick hits.

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Today's edition of quick hits:
 
* Gun violence: "Tennessee National Guard workers managed to take down a  shooting suspect and hold him until police arrived Thursday after an argument at the Millington armory led to gunfire, authorities said. According to a U.S. military official, three men got into an altercation at the National Guard Armory in Millington shortly before 1 p.m. local time and one pulled a small handgun. One guardsman was shot in the foot and the other in the leg, the official said."
 
* NSA: "Leaders and citizens in Germany, one of America's closest allies, simmered with barely contained fury on Thursday over reports that American intelligence had tapped into Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone, the latest diplomatic fallout from the documents harvested by the former National Security Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden. In an unusual move between staunch allies, Germany summoned the United States ambassador over the claims."
 
* This has been characterized by some as a delay of the individual mandate, but as Sarah Kliff reported, it's not: "The Obama administration confirmed to The Washington Post a little bit ago that it is indeed tweaking the way the individual mandate works as to not penalize anyone who purchases coverage during this first open enrollment period."
 
* Rep. Joe Barton's (R-Texas) misguided outburst this morning was even dumber that it originally appeared to be. Kevin Drum explains.
 
* Hardball: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday he regrets being 'too lenient' in previous budget talks with Republicans. Reid said he and President Obama were too willing to compromise in talks that took place in 2011 and 2012, and that he intends to drive a harder bargain going forward."
 
* This turned out to be a dumb story: "The White House on Thursday said it regrets a 'miscommunication' that led to reports that a GOP leader had told President Obama to his face that 'I cannot even stand to look at you.'"
 
* Hmm: "A Republican state representative in Pennsylvania is circulating a memo calling for the impeachment of the state's attorney general, Kathleen Kane, for her "misbehavior in office" and 'violation of her constitutional, statutory, and ethical duties.' Earlier, a Republican state senator also called for her impeachment and asked the legislature to reduce her office's budget."
 
* Fox News's public-relations operation is "essentially a political unit appended to something that presents itself publicly as a cable news operation." This reportedly includes setting up journalists with bogus information to discredit stories they're working on.
 
* If you get a weird email from your Republican uncle claiming President Obama is trying to impose "girly" hats on Marines, remember that this is a made-up story with no basis in reality.
 
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.