Today's edition of quick hits:
* An important priority: "President Obama on Wednesday announced a new task force that will examine ways to better prevent sexual assaults on college campuses, warning that the scourge of sexual violence 'threatens our families, our communities, and ultimately our country.'"
* Difficult diplomacy: "Friction and acrimony broke out almost immediately on Wednesday with the start of a long-delayed peace conference on Syria, punctuated by a testy exchange between the Syrian foreign minister and the leader of the United Nations, casting doubt on the prospects for easing hostilities or even opening up emergency aid corridors to help besieged civilians."
* Foiled plot: "Israel on Wednesday said it had foiled an 'advanced' al-Qaida plan to carry out a suicide bombing on the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and bomb other targets, in what analysts said was the first time the global terror network's leadership has been directly involved in plotting an attack inside Israel."
* U.S. policy in Afghanistan: "The Pentagon has proposed to President Obama that 10,000 American troops remain in Afghanistan when the international combat mission there ends after this year, or none at all, senior government officials said Tuesday."
* The bill to sabotage nuclear diplomacy with Iran hasn't garnered any new co-sponsors in two weeks, but it continues to gain opponents: "Add two more prominent Senators to the list of lawmakers who oppose a vote on an Iran sanctions bill right now: Patty Murray and Elizabeth Warren."
* Ukrainian protests turn deadly: "After two protesters were shot to death during clashes with the police on Wednesday, the first fatalities in Ukraine's two-month civil uprising, President Viktor F. Yanukovich met with opposition leaders as efforts to defuse the crisis took on new urgency."
* Activists in Texas want to know if fracking is causing earthquakes: "A busload of residents from the Azle area packed a Texas Railroad Commission meeting on Tuesday and urged commissioners to halt the use of nearby injection wells following a series of minor earthquakes."
* And in New Jersey, we probably won't be hearing too much from Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer (D) in the media anytime soon. After raising allegations of Christie administration extortion, Zimmer said in a statement this morning, "The U.S. Attorney's Office has asked that we not conduct additional media interviews and we are respecting their request."
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.