Today’s edition of quick hits:* Iowa: “The fatal shootings of two Iowa police officers who were gunned down in their patrol cars were a ‘cowardly act of calculated murder,’ Des Moines’ top cop said in an emotional news conference Thursday.”* Al Qaeda: “The Pentagon says a U.S. airstrike in Syria last month killed what the Defense Department describes as a senior al-Qaida leader who once had ties to Osama bin Laden. A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, identifies the target as Haydar Kirkan.”* Off Libya’s coast: “At least 239 migrants, believed to be from West Africa, have died in two shipwrecks off Libya, a spokesman for the United Nations migration agency, said on Thursday.”* Brexit is dealt a blow: “A senior British court on Thursday dealt a severe blow to Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans to begin the process of exiting the European Union early next year, ruling she must get Parliament’s approval before she acts.”* Mosul: “For the first time in more than two years, residents of eastern Mosul enjoyed a day without the Islamic State. As Iraqi security forces drove the muddy streets of the neighborhood, families stepped from the gates of their driveways, waving, flashing two-fingered victory signs and yelling, ‘Heroes!’ Others held white flags.”* Aleppo: “Syrian rebels launched a fresh wave of attacks on government-controlled western Aleppo on Thursday, killing 12 civilians and wounding 200 according to state media, one day before a 10-hour ‘humanitarian pause’ unilaterally declared by Moscow was set to take effect.”* Good move: “The Obama administration is designating roughly 25,000 miles of U.S. highways as ‘electric vehicle charging corridors’ where drivers will never be more than 50 miles from the closest charging station.”* A little late: “North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr is walking back from his promise to block any nominees Democrat Hillary Clinton would make to the U.S. Supreme Court if she’s elected president…. Burr said in a statement Thursday he would ‘assess the record of any Supreme Court nominee.’”* Inviting a visit from the Secret Service: “State Rep. John Bennett, a Sallisaw Republican seeking re-election next week, appeared to call for the execution of Hillary Clinton in a recent Facebook post. Bennett wrote, ‘2 words … firing squad,’ in a Tuesday night post that included a link to a conservative blog criticizing Clinton for the 2012 deaths of American officials in Benghazi.”Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."