Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Deadly shooting in Yuma, Arizona: “The confusing situation was still being pieced together by investigators, but it appeared that a lone gunman, Carl Hal Dyess, 73, targeted the victims and then turned the gun on himself . His motivation was unclear, a law enforcement official said. One person who survived the shooting was flown to a Phoenix-area hospital, the authorities said.” It appears that five people were killed, including the gunman.
* We need this number to drop much quicker and by larger margins: “More Americans than forecast filled applications for unemployment benefits last week, signaling the labor market is struggling to pick up. Jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 422,000.”
* Iraq: “A series of bombings ripped through the capital of Iraq’s western Anbar province Thursday night, killing nine people, Iraqi officials said.”
* Tornados killed three people in central and western Massachusetts late yesterday, and injured 200 more.
* As of yesterday, all of the people reported missing in Joplin, Missouri, are accounted for. A total of 134 people have been confirmed killed by last week’s massive tornado.
* Delta Air Lines’ anti-union activities really are outrageous: “The National Mediation Board said Wednesday it will conduct a full-blown investigation into allegations by a flight attendants union that Delta Air Lines Inc. interfered in last year’s fractious organizing drive at the world’s second-largest airline by traffic.” It’s like the Wal-Mart of the airline industry.
* “Zero-tolerance” policies in schools have long been absurd: “Nearly two decades after a zero-tolerance culture took hold in American schools, a growing number of educators and elected leaders are scaling back discipline policies that led to lengthy suspensions and ousters for such mistakes as carrying toy guns or Advil.”
* Similarly, I’m glad to see the Global Commission on Drug Policy declare the “global war on drugs” a failure.
* Jill Abramson will succeed Bill Keller as the executive editor of the New York Times. She will be the first woman to be editor in the paper’s 160-year history.
* Bob Bauer is stepping down as White House counsel, resuming his role as a lawyer for the DNC and President Obama’s re-election campaign. Bauer will be replaced by the deputy presidential counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler.
* Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) has successfully rolled back child-labor laws in the state.
* Americans getting pulled over for “driving while black” remains a real problem. Just ask Warrick Dunn.
* ROTC is back: “Participation in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), the country’s college-based, officer commissioning program, is apparently up 27 percent over the last four years.”
* And Glenn Beck — remember him? — will air his last Fox News program later this month, wrapping up on June 30. He won’t exactly be going out with a bang, since his ratings for May were “among the worst he’s ever posted during his Fox News run.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
