IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Friday's Mini-Report

Today's extra-early edition of quick hits:* An unpredictable crisis continues to unfold in Egypt.* On a related note: "The top human rights official at the

Today's extra-early edition of quick hits:

* An unpredictable crisis continues to unfold in Egypt.

* On a related note: "The top human rights official at the United Nations, Navi Pillay, expressed concern on Friday at the reported detention of Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Egypt and called on military authorities there to make clear the basis on which they are being held or release them."

* Was Egypt a coup or a popular uprising? The answer may be expensive: "By all accounts, the generals removed the democratically elected president, put him in detention, arrested his allies and suspended the Constitution. Army vehicles and soldiers in riot gear roamed the streets, while jet fighters roared overhead. But was it a military coup d'etat? For the White House and the new Egyptian government, that is the $1.5 billion question."

* A simmering Latin American diplomatic crisis: "South America's leftist leaders rallied to support Bolivian President Evo Morales after his plane was rerouted amid suspicions that NSA leaker Edward Snowden was on board and demanded an apology from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The presidents of Argentina, Ecuador, Suriname, Venezuela and Uruguay joined Morales in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba late Thursday to address the diplomatic row."

* San Francisco's commuter-train strike ends: "BART trains will be running again beginning Friday afternoon after the transit district and its striking unions agreed to a 30-day extension of the current contract."

* Four U.S. senators -- John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) -- made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan yesterday, and met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, before also visiting with U.S. troops.

* Rupert Murdoch's troubles haven't gone away; they've gotten worse. We'll have more on this on Monday.

* Let's say you live in Maryland and you marry your same-sex partner. Let's also say you live in Virginia, where marriage equality doesn't exist. What happens? The AP takes a closer look.

* Warren Mosler fights the fight for a Keynesian "modern monetary theory."

* And Paul Krugman at the intersection of July 4th and contemporary conservative hypocrisy: "The wealthy may defend their privileges, but given the temper of America, they have to pretend that they're doing no such thing. The block-the-vote people know what they're doing, but they also know that they mustn't say it in so many words. In effect, both groups know that the nation will view them as un-American unless they pay at least lip service to democratic ideals -- and in that fact lies the hope of redemption. So, yes, we are still, in a deep sense, the nation that declared independence and, more important, declared that all men have rights. Let's all raise our hot dogs in salute."

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.