Today's edition of quick hits:
* U.S. troops in Afghanistan have been ordered to "significantly scale back operations with Afghan military and police forces after a spike in fratricidal 'insider attacks' that has seriously undermined U.S. trust in their local allies." The decision is "linked to concerns that American field troops have become more vulnerable to attacks because of Muslim outrage over a controversial anti-Islam video."
* The entirety of Mitt Romney's "47 percent" remarks, first reported by Mother Jones' David Corn, is now available. The first part is included below; the second is online here.
* The Obama campaign put out a video this afternoon, showing regular folks' responses to the clip. Not surprisingly, people weren't impressed with the Republican candidate's comments.
* The Obama campaign also criticized Romney for his intention to ignore the Middle East peace process, saying the comments prove he's "not ready for prime time ... and that's a pretty big test to fail if you are trying to be commander-in-chief."
* Libya: "The White House on Tuesday explicitly left open the possibility that last week's dramatic attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which left four Americans including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens dead, was a preplanned attack."
* Putin apparently isn't a USAID fan: "Russia has ordered the United States to end its financial support for a wide range of pro-democracy groups, human rights organizations and other civil society programs operating in the country, in an aggressive step by the Kremlin to halt what it has come to view as thinly veiled American meddling in the country's internal affairs."
* Chicago: "Chicago could be closing in on an end to its first teacher strike in 25 years. The Chicago Teachers Union's roughly 800 delegates were convening at a union hall near Chinatown to discuss and review the latest contract proposal, according to The Chicago Tribune."
* Oh my: "Fox's Charles Payne refers to Social Security disability benefits as 'the crazy check.'"
* And Clint Eastwood had these insightful thoughts on his recent political debate with an empty chair: "If somebody's dumb enough to ask me to go to a political convention and say something, they're gonna have to take what they get."
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.