Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Mass shooting in Minnesota: “At least three people are dead and multiple others are injured, including three police officers, after a shooting Wednesday at an apartment building in downtown Minneapolis, officials said.”
* Speaking of Minneapolis, it’s hard not to wonder whether these charges will lead to a presidential pardon: “The Justice Department has charged a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer for allegedly lying to investigators about the circumstances of his shooting a Venezuelan man in an enforcement operation in Minneapolis, according to reports Thursday.”
* No end in sight: “When the U.S. launched its campaign against Iran six months ago, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised a quick, decisive blow that would avoid a long entanglement. Now, he is quietly extending troop deployments in a sign that the conflict could drag well into next year, according to people familiar with the matter. It is part of an open-ended military strategy designed to give President Trump options in the war, the people said.”
* Speaking of Hegseth, the Pentagon has “pulled decades of classified documents from a secret computer system commonly used by defense officials and U.S. troops, after The Washington Post published a story detailing senior military officers’ concerns about the Iran war.”
* The warning lights are blinking red: “The U.S. Postal Service has been swiftly developing a complex screening system for mail-in ballots ahead of this year’s midterm elections, despite ongoing legal wranglings over President Trump’s executive order to restrict voting by mail.”
* The White House’s war on higher education is ongoing: “The Trump administration released new rules that could revoke tax-exempt status from any school offering targeted support to Black or other minority students, a sweeping change that opens another front in the president’s campaign to reshape American education.”
* Et tu, Apple? “Apple is the latest tech giant to replace the name ‘Lake Ontario’ with ‘Lake America’ on its maps following President Donald Trump’s executive order Thursday amid a bitter trade war between the United States and Canada.”
* As the trade deficit gets worse, remember that Trump has spent decades placing enormous emphasis on the trade deficit: “The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services grew to the biggest gap in 16 months in July, as America imported more electronics to feed the country’s artificial intelligence boom.”
* Filling congressional vacancies: “The House added two new members this week to fill seats that had been vacant, bringing its roster to 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, and one independent: Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, who caucuses with Republicans.”
* Noted without comment: “Maria Bartiromo, a longtime Fox Business anchor who is close with President Donald Trump, is leaving Fox News Media after more than 12 years, the company announced Thursday.”
It’s a four-day weekend for me, but I’ll return to a normal publishing schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Enjoy Labor Day.
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