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Wednesday's Mini-Report, 8.20.14

Today's edition of quick hits.
Today's edition of quick hits:
 
* More on this on tonight's show: "Federal prosecutors briefed Attorney General Eric Holder about the civil rights investigation into the shooting death of unarmed teen Michael Brown, during Holder's trip to Ferguson on Wednesday."
 
* Making a connection: "Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday told a group of black college students here that he had been a victim of racial profiling."
 
* One of the key angles to watch: "St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch presented preliminary evidence Wednesday to a grand jury in the investigation into the shooting death of Michael Brown, kicking off a process that could help ease tensions in this still uneasy community. But ... the calls for McCulloch to step aside aren't dying down."
 
* You may have seen the video: "The situation in Ferguson ... seemed particularly tense for one police officer on Tuesday night, who aimed his rifle at protesters while shouting obscenities and death threats before being told to calm down by what appear to be fellow officers." He's reportedly been relieved of duty and suspended indefinitely.
 
* Clashes in Liberia: "Liberia's halting efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak spreading across parts of West Africa quickly turned violent on Wednesday when angry young men hurled rocks and stormed barbed-wire barricades, trying to break out of a neighborhood here that had been cordoned off by the government."
 
* So close to basic human decency for same-sex couples in the commonwealth: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday stopped Virginia officials from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, putting on hold a lower court ruling that said the unions could start on Thursday."
 
* Scary conditions in Iceland: "The risk of an eruption at Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano has increased, after a series of earthquakes in the region.... The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010 shut down much of Europe's airspace for six days, affecting more than 10 million people."
 
* Settlement: "Bank of America has reached a record $17 billion settlement to resolve an investigation into its role in the sale of mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis, officials directly familiar with the matter said Wednesday."
 
* Ukraine: "After nearly a week of inaction, a Russian aid convoy destined for the besieged, rebel-controlled Ukrainian city of Luhansk rumbled to life on Wednesday, with 16 of its trucks passing through a Russian border checkpoint."
 
* ALEC loses a high-profile backer: "Microsoft announced Tuesday that it's cutting ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative public-policy lobbying group. It appears this decision was made due to ALEC's lobbing efforts to block the development of renewable energy."
 
* POTUS can still authorize airstrikes, even away from the White House: "House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) suggested President Obama should cut his vacation short in light of the apparent murder of a U.S. journalist by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria." (I'll never understand the right's preoccupation with the president's occasional breaks.)
 
* And no, the nation's founders "were not Tea Partiers."
 
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.