Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrest: “The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was taken off an Air France plane at Kennedy International Airport minutes before it was to depart for Paris on Saturday, in connection with the sexual attack of a maid at a Midtown Manhattan hotel, the authorities said.”
* Given Strauss-Kahn’s role at the IMF, his arrest is likely to affect the global recovery.
* Perceived as a flight risk, Strauss-Kahn is being held without bail. Prosecutors also indicated that a similar attack may have occurred.
* Afghanistan: “Four American soldiers serving with NATO forces in Afghanistan died Monday in an explosion in the country’s south, NATO and a defense department official said, bringing home the human cost of the U.S.-led push into Taliban strongholds.”
* Libya: “Three large explosions rocked the Libyan capital Monday evening, apparently missile strikes targeting Moammar Gaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziya compound, his sprawling residential and governmental complex in the heart of Tripoli.”
* Israel: “Israel’s borders erupted in deadly clashes on Sunday as thousands of Palestinians — marching from Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank — confronted Israeli troops to mark the anniversary of Israel’s creation. More than a dozen people were reported killed and scores injured.”
* Interesting move from Obama’s team: “The White House is threatening to hold up final passage of three coveted free trade agreements unless lawmakers agree to expand retraining assistance for American workers who lose their jobs because of foreign competition.”
* The shuttle’s final flight: “With Gabrielle Giffords, the wounded Arizona congresswoman, watching from a wheelchair, the shuttle Endeavour lifted off Monday morning on a mission to pry secrets from the universe.”
* Obama meets with flood victims: “Days after the Mississippi River crested in Memphis, President Barack Obama met privately with residents forced to flee their homes, and with first responders trying to save their city. The closed-door huddles Monday took place before the president delivered a commencement address at Booker T. Washington High School.”
* Defense Secretary Bob Gates has worked for eight presidents. Referring to Obama’s decision to send Navy SEALs into Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden, Gates told CBS, “I worked for a lot of these guys, and this is one of the most courageous calls, decisions, that I think I’ve ever seen a president make.”
* As is often the case, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is very, very sad.
* Shirley Sherrod, back at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
* I’m glad to hear Matt Yglesias is fine after having been mugged on Saturday night.
* And in case last summer wasn’t fun enough for you, Glenn Beck is now organizing a “Restoring Courage” rally in Israel in opposition to a two-state solution.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
