Today's edition of quick hits:
* If true, this is a huge story out of the Middle East: "Iraqi forces announced Tuesday that they had driven the Islamic State out of large parts of Ramadi in a campaign to retake the capital of Iraq's largest province seven months after its fall to the extremist group."
* Syria: "Russia's defense minister says the military has launched a barrage of new air and missile strikes on targets in Syria and for the first time has launched a new cruise missile from a submarine."
* Istanbul: "The U.S. Consulate in Turkey's largest city announced it would not be handing out visas or providing any other services on Wednesday because of a 'possible security threat.' The consulate will be operating with only a skeleton crew, State Department spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday."
* Chicago: "Amid a growing crisis over the Chicago Police Department's use of force, the city late Monday released a video that shows officers in a Far South Side police lockup repeatedly using a Taser on a University of Chicago graduate and dragging him out of his cell in handcuffs."
* Paris: "President Obama has talked about climate change with at least three world leaders in the last four days while international negotiators in Paris hash out a final deal on global warming. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Obama talked with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to discuss the progress on a United Nations climate pact."
* CDC: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has replaced its longtime director of national lab regulation in the wake of several high-profile incidents involving bioterror pathogens and an internal review that identified areas of improvement for the oversight program, USA Today has learned."
* Good move: "House lawmakers voted Monday to ban plastic microbeads from bath products such as soaps and body washes. The bill, introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) earlier this year in an effort to protect the nation's lakes and streams from getting clogged with the little pieces of plastic, passed by voice vote."
* Oh my: "The Navy announced Monday that it has reprimanded a two-star admiral for getting drunk and wandering naked around a Florida beachfront hotel while attending a conference with defense contractors."
* And don't forget, Bernie Sanders will be on tonight's show, so tune in.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.