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Thursday's Mini-Report, 3.27.14

Today's edition of quick hits.
Today's edition of quick hits:
 
* Breaking news out of Texas: "A federal appeals court has upheld new abortion restrictions that shuttered many of the abortions clinics in Texas. The New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit issued the ruling Thursday, overturning a lower court's decision that the rules violated the U.S. Constitution and served no medical purpose."
 
* Washington mudslide: "The official count of fatalities stands at 16, but Travis Hots, chief of Snohomish County Fire District 21/22, said that within the next 24 to 48 hours 'you're going to see these numbers increase substantially' as medical examiners work to catch up with the bodies that have been rescued from the mud."
 
* Russia, isolated: "In the first barometer of global condemnation of Russia's annexation of Crimea, Ukraine and its Western backers persuaded a large majority of countries in the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to dismiss the annexation as illegal, even as Russia sought to rally world support for the idea of self-determination."
 
* Ukrainian aid bill: "While both the House and Senate passed Ukraine aid bills Thursday, Congress is not yet done with the legislation. The House and Senate passed similar but not identical bills Thursday, which means they can't send a bill to the White House just yet."
 
* Doc fix: "The House on Thursday approved legislation by voice vote that prevents a pending cut to Medicare physician rates for another year. The move, which dodges a 24 percent cut to those rates set to hit on April 1 without congressional action, came after a lengthy delay in which the bill's passage appeared in doubt."
 
* Air Force: "The U.S. Air Force announced Thursday that it has fired nine mid-level officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., assigned to safeguard the nation's nuclear arsenal following a wide-ranging probe into a test cheating scandal that implicated scores of airmen."
 
* A Turkish court ruled this week that officials could no longer block public access to Twitter. Turkish authorities responded to the news by moving to block access to YouTube.
 
* Domestic violence: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a broad interpretation of a federal law that makes it a crime for people convicted of domestic violence to possess guns."
 
* Every year for four years, the Congressional Progressive Caucus has released its own budget. Every year for four years, it's a pretty darn good plan. Every year for four years, it's been largely ignored.
 
* Common core: "Indiana became the first state to officially withdraw from the Common Core on Monday, despite reaffirming support for the education standards last year. The decision, sparked by a Tea Party backlash, comes as some schools in the state have already begun to transition to the Common Core, investing in books and learning materials in line with the standards."
 
* Ron Fournier believes it's an "inconvenient truth" that climate-change deniers are, in his mind, equal to "debt-crisis deniers." It's important to note how spectacularly wrong this is.
 
* In light of recent events, it's kind of amazing The Daily Caller still exists.
 
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.