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Monday's Mini-Report, 3.23.15

Today's edition of quick hits.
Today's edition of quick hits:
 
* Unexpected contrition: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized Monday for comments he made in the final hours of last week's election, in which he warned of a left-wing conspiracy to bus in Arab Israeli voters, who he said were voting 'in droves.'"
 
* On a related note, one of today's under-appreciated stories: "White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough made clear in a speech to a left-leaning Israel advocacy group that President Barack Obama isn't letting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu off the hook for his dismissal of a two-state solution."
 
* Yemen: "The evacuation of 125 United States Special Operations advisers from Yemen in the past two days is the latest blow to the Obama administration's counterterrorism campaign, which is already struggling with significant setbacks in Syria, Libya and elsewhere in the volatile region, American officials said Sunday."
 
* Climate crisis: "According to a new study just out in Nature Climate Change by Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and a group of co-authors, we're now seeing a slowdown of the great ocean circulation that, among other planetary roles, helps to partly drive the Gulf Stream off the U.S. east coast. The consequences could be dire – including significant extra sea level rise for the U.S. east coast."
 
* UVA: "After a long investigation, the Charlottesville Police Department said it is unable to substantiate many of the claims made in an explosive November Rolling Stone article, which alleged that a gang rape occurred on the University of Virginia campus and that the school's administration looked the other way."
 
* Florida: "The FBI's civil rights division will meet this week with Fort Lauderdale police officials after an internal investigation led to the firing of three police officers over racial slurs used in text messages and a mock movie trailer. A fourth police officer, who created the video titled 'The Hoods,' resigned before the completion of the five-month Internal Affairs investigation, authorities said."
 
* No one noticed? "The cover of the University of North Georgia's course catalogue does not beat around the bush: Featuring a stock photo that shows two white men in suits beating a woman and a black man at a race, it proves that you can automatically win anything you put your mind to, as long as you are a white man."
 
* From the ATF to the NFL: "Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the N.F.L., told the league's 32 owners on Monday that he would soon appoint the departing director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as the new chief disciplinary officer."
 
* ALEC loses another member: "Major oil-and-gas corporation BP announced Monday it is parting ways with the American Legislative Exchange Council, marking just the latest -- and likely most significant -- departure of a blue-chip company from the conservative group in recent months, National Journal has learned."
 
* And the annual White House Science Fair was this morning, which I consider one of the great traditions of the Obama era. It's easy to be cynical, but seeing these kids fills me with genuine optimism about America's future.
 
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.