Today’s edition of quick hits:
* North Korea “is calling off high-level talks with South Korea because of ongoing military exercises between South Korea and the United States, South Korean media reported Wednesday local time.”
* On a related note, let’s note for context that now-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo boasted in March that Kim Jung-un “has allowed [us] to continue our [military] exercises on the peninsula.”
* Breaking late this afternoon: “A federal judge on Tuesday denied former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s motion to dismiss the indictment returned against him by a grand jury in Washington, DC — rejecting Manafort’s challenge to special counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment.”
* Following dozens of Palestinian deaths yesterday: “U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley walked out of a Security Council meeting on Tuesday when the Palestinian envoy began to speak, just hours after she praised Israel for acting with ‘restraint’ in handling the protests in Gaza.”
* Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) “declared victory as prosecutors abruptly dropped a felony invasion-of-privacy charge alleging he had taken a revealing photo of a woman with whom he has acknowledged having an affair. The St. Louis circuit attorney’s office said it still plans to pursue the case, either through a special prosecutor or an appointed assistant.”
* With Democratic Sens. Mark Warner (Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), and Bill Nelson (Fla.) announcing their support for CIA director-nominee Gina Haspel, her confirmation is staring to look like a foregone conclusion.
* Iraq: “Moktada al-Sadr, a firebrand militia leader whose forces once battled American troops in Iraq and were implicated in widespread atrocities against civilians, has emerged as the surprise front-runner in the Iraqi national elections, according to Iraqi election officials.”
* What’s the defense? “Scott Pruitt began receiving round-the-clock security from the moment he stepped foot inside the Environmental Protection Agency in February 2017, at the behest of a Trump administration political appointee, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post.”
* A curious choice: “President Donald Trump has nominated Gordon Hartogensis, the brother-in-law of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, to head the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.”
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."