Today's edition of quick hits:
* Sleiman Daoud al-Afari captured: "A senior defense official tells NBC News that an ISIS official captured by U.S. Special Operations Forces is a chemical weapons specialist and a 'key operator' in terrorist and military operations."
* Missouri: "After more than 36 hours of non-stop debate, Republicans who control the Missouri Senate shut down a Democrat-led filibuster of a controversial same-sex marriage proposal early Wednesday. Republicans used a parliamentary maneuver ... to end the blockade, which had put a national focus on a GOP-sponsored measure to shield clergy, wedding vendors and religious organizations from penalties if they oppose same-sex marriage."
* Volkswagen America CEO Michael Horn stepped down from his post this afternoon: "Volkswagen says Horn, through mutual agreement with the company, will be leaving to pursue other opportunities, effective immediately."
* And then there were five: "Vermont has become the fifth state in the nation to enact legislation that requires businesses to provide their workers with paid sick leave. Gov. Peter Shumlin praised the measure at a bill-signing ceremony Wednesday morning in the Statehouse."
* Seems like a good idea: "President Obama will sign legislation aimed at ensuring a smooth transition between his administration and the next, the White House said Wednesday.... The legislation requires the administration to set up two interagency councils by May to ensure the government continues to function during the transition."
* Virginia: "Republicans in the Senate and House of Delegates are poised to elect Court of Appeals Judge Stephen R. McCullough of Spotsylvania County to the Supreme Court of Virginia, after former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli took himself out of the running."
* Some of the country's most distinguished historians, including Stanford's David Kennedy and Doris Kearns Goodwin, signed onto an open letter to U.S. senators this week. It read in part, "The refusal to hold hearings and deliberate on a [Supreme Court] nominee at this level is truly unprecedented and, in our view, dangerous."
* Oh my: "Some West Virginia lawmakers and Capitol staffers had a very bad weekend after drinking raw milk to celebrate a law loosening restrictions on the product. Now state health officials are investigating whether the milk was to blame for their fever, vomiting and diarrhea, and weighing allegations the raw-milk party broke the law."
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.