Today's edition of quick hits:
* On the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, deadly bombings rocked the country, leaving as many as 52 dead and 180 wounded.
* A deadly accident: "Seven U.S. Marines were killed and at least seven wounded when a mortar exploded during a live-fire training exercise overnight at an Army munitions depot in the Nevada desert, military officials told NBC News."
* The Cypriot Parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected an international bailout package today. Now what?
* Syria: "The Syrian government and rebels accused each other Tuesday of firing a chemical weapon near the northern city of Aleppo, killing at least two dozen people in an attack that, if confirmed, would mark the first use of chemical arms in Syria's two-year conflict."
* Malala Yousafzai in Birmingham, England: "The Pakistani teen marked for death because she campaigned for girls' education went back to school Tuesday for the first time since a Taliban gunman shot her in the head five months ago, a family spokesperson said."
* U.S. economy: "Another month of good news on the housing-starts front. New permits for February were up 33.8 percent year-on-year, and new starts (a noisier data series that I like less) were up 27.7 percent year-on-year. Permits continue to exceed starts, seeming to offer indication of momentum built into the system."
* British austerity measures continue to fail, though Tories remain reluctant to change course.
* Dear Donald Rumsfeld, today, of all days, would be an excellent time for you to stop talking.
* Rebecca Blank, the acting Secretary of Commerce, is stepping down in July to become chancellor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
* Sharp piece from Ned Resnikoff: "In a democracy, citizens are not 'customers' of the state."
* And it's worth pausing to remember from time to time that Michele Bachmann says a lot of strange things that aren't true.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.