Permawar: The US military for the first time dropped its most powerful non-nuclear bomb yesterday on an Islamic State complex of tunnels and bunkers in Afghanistan.

The Massive Ordnance Air Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed the “Mother of All Bombs,” bursts in the air with the force of 11 tons of TNT. The bomb is pushed out the back of a cargo plane and guided to its target by GPS. The Pentagon said the purpose of dropping the MOAB was to minimize the risk to ground troops going into one of the Islamic State’s toughest strongholds.

Although President Trump described the strike as a “very, very successful mission,” there’s been no bomb damage assessment so far. Afghanistan says the bomb killed 36 ISIS fighters.

Incidental Collection: CNN Reports that British and other European intelligence agencies intercepted communications between Trump political campaign associates and Russian figures and told US intelligence and other authorities about it. CNN says the communications were captured “during routine surveillance of Russian officials and other Russians known to western intelligence.”

Planned Cutoff: President Trump signed a law yesterday that will allow the states to withhold federal funding from Planned Parenthood and other organizations that perform abortions. It’s a reversal of  an Obama order that said states could not cut off the money for any other reason than the organization’s failure to provide proper services.

The new law is intended to take the feet out from under Planned Parenthood, which already is not allowed to use federal money to perform abortions.

Re-accommodated: The lawyer for Dr. David Dao, who was forcibly ejected from a United Airlines flight last Sunday, says his client suffered a badly broken nose, and a concussion. Dao is expected to have reconstructive surgery on his nose. His lawyer is expected to file a lawsuit against United.

Northern Exposure: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a proposed law that would make recreational marijuana legal north of the border. President Trump may want to build a wall up there, too.

Prep: The exclusive Choate Rosemary Hall school in Connecticut has revealed that at least 12 teachers sexually molested, and in one case raped a student, going all the way back to the 1960s. Their report says no current students or teachers are involved.

The report says that in some cases teachers who were caught were allowed to resign and were given letters of recommendation.

Choate was once an all-male school, but merged with the girls’ school Rosemary Hall in the 1970s. It is not alone among New England boarding schools reaching into their pasts to reveal sexual misconduct.

The Obit Page: Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, one of the great leaders in the entire National Football league, has died at age 84. Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement, “A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he was one of the finest men in the history of our game and it was a privilege to work alongside him for so many years.”

The Steelers won six Super Bowls with Rooney running the team. He pushed for diversity in hiring in the NFL.

Rooney was the son of Steelers founder Art Rooney and for a bit of trivia, was a relative of the actress Rooney Mara, whose father came from the family that owns the New York Giants.

Out There: NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has sent information  back to earth that has scientists wondering whether microbial life is possible on one of Saturn’s moons. Cassini has seen plumes to gas that contain hydrogen, similar to gas fissures under earth’s oceans that feed microbial life. We’re not talking about humanoids with big eyes and hands with three fingers.

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