Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Impeachment: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a letter to Democratic lawmakers on Friday that she will consult with them Tuesday as she announced steps to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate.”
* Pointless cruelty: “The Texas governor said that his state will reject the resettling of new refugees, making Texas the first state to do so following a Trump administration order granting local governments the authority to do so.”
* Looks like they came up with some sanctions after all: “The Trump administration on Friday announced a new round of economic sanctions against Iran in response to the regime’s missile attacks on Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. and coalition forces.”
* Trump can’t ask Putin to stop doing this? “A Russian naval ship ‘aggressively approached’ a U.S. Navy destroyer in the North Arabian Sea on Thursday, in a dangerous near-collision, authorities said Friday.”
* Not a good look for the troubled company: “Boeing on Thursday released hundreds of emails and communications that appear to show employees criticizing the company’s troubled 737 Max jet, which was grounded after two crashes killed 346 people.”
* In case you missed this last night: “The House adopted a war powers resolution Thursday with the aim of limiting President Donald Trump’s military actions against Iran. The adoption of the measure on a largely party-line vote of 224-194 came amid heightened tension between the two countries after the United States killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Iran retaliated with a ballistic missile attack against Iraqi air bases housing U.S. forces.”
* Speaking of the House doing important stuff: “The House on Friday passed legislation to broadly regulate a cancer-linked chemical over objections from the White House that Congress is sidestepping agencies. The bill, which passed 247 to 159, targets a class of chemicals abbreviated as PFAS that have been leaching into the water supply across the country, causing health problems in communities where water has been contaminated.” * Border barriers: “The White House on Thursday celebrated a federal court ruling that will allow $3.6 billion in military construction funds to be used for the construction of the border wall. A separate court on Thursday lifted a restraining order on a private group allied with President Trump that wants to build its own barriers on private land.” * Rep. Doug Collins (R-Colo.) this week told a national television audience that his Democratic colleagues are “in love terrorists.” This morning on Fox News, he defended his own rhetoric, but two hours later, he apologized. See you tomorrow.
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." Recommended
