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Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Obama committed today to a full investigation: "President Obama called the Doctors Without Borders chief and the president of Afghanistan to apologize for the airstrike on a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday."
* Syria: "Russia and Syria unleashed a coordinated assault by land, air and sea on Wednesday, seeking to reverse recent gains by rebel groups that were beginning to encroach on President Bashar al-Assad’s last bastion of power."
* Moldova: "In the backwaters of Eastern Europe, authorities working with the FBI have interrupted four attempts in the past five years by gangs with suspected Russian connections that sought to sell radioactive material to Middle Eastern extremists, The Associated Press has learned."
* More on this tomorrow: "In a move that threatens to upend the Republican race to succeed outgoing House Speaker John A. Boehner, a group of hard-line conservatives said Wednesday it will throw its support behind a little known Florida member to become the next speaker."
* Not the response the White House was hoping for: "In her biggest break with the Obama White House thus far, Hillary Clinton came out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty that the president views as a key legacy item."
* VW: "The head of Volkswagen’s American business knew about a potential emissions problem with the company’s vehicles in spring 2014, earlier than previously acknowledged by top management in the United States."
* Progress: "Less than 10 percent of the world's population will be living in extreme poverty by the end of 2015, the World Bank forecast on Sunday.... [T]hat's a stunning decline from the numbers reported over the last 25 years. According to the World Bank, 37.1 percent of the world's population lived in extreme poverty in 1990. In 2015, that number is estimated to drop to 9.6 percent."
* What passes for governing in 2015: "It took them nearly three years to do it, but the Senate on Monday confirmed a desperately needed judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California."
* Quite a statistic: "Vermont is currently the only state where zero people have been killed by police in 2015, according to The Guardian‘s police violence database 'The Counted.'"
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.