Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Suicide bombing in Iraq: “A suicide bomber struck the funeral of two Sunni tribesmen who joined forces against al-Qaida in Iraq, killing at least 50 people Thursday and reinforcing fears that insurgents are hitting back after American-led crackdowns. The sudden spike in bloodshed this week adds to the other worries now piling up in Iraq: violent rivalries among Shiites and persistent cracks in the Iraqi security forces.”
* And a suicide bombing in Afghanistan: “A suicide attack in front of a mosque in southwestern Afghanistan killed 16 people and wounded more than 30 others on Thursday, a provincial governor said…. At least two other suicide attacks have hit Nimroz this month, including an attack on April 1 that left two policemen dead in Zaranj, and another on Saturday that killed two Indian road construction engineers and their Afghan driver in Khash Rod district.”
* More discouraging economic news: “The number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits increased by more than expected last week after a big decline in the previous week. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits rose to 372,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week.”
* Oh my: “More than 10 million viewers tuned into Wednesday’s Democratic debate on ABC, making it the most-watched debate of the primary election season. The debate, the first to air on a weeknight on a broadcast network, attracted an average of 10.7 million viewers between 8 and 10 p.m., according to Nielsen Media Research. The debate topped the ‘reality’ fare of ‘Deal or No Deal’ on NBC and ‘Big Brother’ on CBS during the 8 p.m. hour.”
* Good idea: “A pair of lawmakers on Thursday urged Congress to move forward with legislation aimed at remedying what they view as questionable practices of the credit card industry that keep consumers mired in debt. Speaking before a panel of the House Financial Services committee, Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich. and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged action as Americans face rising unemployment and sluggishness in the overall U.S. economy. ‘If this is going to be resolved, it has to be resolved here in Congress,’ said Levin.”
* Air travelers had a rough week last week, so those responsible are having a rough week this week: “The head of the Federal Aviation Administration faced withering criticism from lawmakers Thursday for massive flight cancellations that stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers last week while airlines scrambled to make repairs that the FAA had ordered.”
* The Senate measure to request that the Justice Department initiate an investigation of Don Young’s Coconut Road earmark passed easily.
* This would be all manner of fun: “House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and other panel members are calling on Karl Rove to testify before Congress on the alleged White House-led investigation of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D).”
* I get the sense Bush didn’t wow his international critics yesterday on global warming policy: “Leading players in talks to forge a pact for tackling climate change took the lash on Thursday to President George W. Bush’s new blueprint for global warming, with Germany mocking it as ‘Neanderthal.'”
* Dan Froomkin’s daily piece was especially good today: “Standing alongside Pope Benedict at the White House yesterday, President Bush took a swipe at moral relativism. ‘In a world where some no longer believe that we can distinguish between simple right and wrong, we need your message to reject this dictatorship of relativism,’ Bush said…. Yet some of Bush’s most defining decisions — such as launching a war of choice against Iraq and his picking and choosing which laws actually apply to him — suggest a highly subjective sense of right and wrong. Most notably, he defends the use of interrogation tactics that violate human dignity by arguing that the ends justify the means.”
* I had no idea a 90-second clip about healthcare policy could be this hilarious.
* Tragic: “‘Some 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from major depression or post traumatic stress (PTSD) from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 320,000 received brain injuries,’ according to a study from the RAND Corporation. The study put the percentage of PTSD and depression at 18.5 percent, but only ‘about half have sought treatment.'”
* You may have caught Obama today brushing off his shoulders in reference to various political attacks, but I didn’t realize it may have been the first-ever example of hip-hop dog-whistle politics in the history of presidential campaigns.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.