Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Retaliation: “Russia will expel 60 American diplomats and close the U.S. consulate in Saint Petersburg, the Kremlin announced Thursday — a severe escalation in tensions between the two superpowers that comes in response to the Trump administration’s expulsion of Russians earlier this week.”
* Related news: “For years, anticorruption campaigners have railed against Britain’s openness to ill-gotten riches from overseas and the foreigners who invest them. After a nerve agent attack on British soil, and the resulting diplomatic showdown between Russia and the West, that may be starting to change.”
* Sacramento: “They didn’t know Stephon Clark, but they came anyway Wednesday from all around this capital city, and parts beyond. They came because they said the 22-year-old could have been their brother, or son or grandson and they wanted to try to make sure that the way he died — unarmed and innocent, as far as they could tell — will never happen again.”
* I think we’re moving closer to the Trump-is-his-own-chief-of-staff stage: “White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has lost some of his clout following recent missteps and wasn’t at President Donald Trump’s side for crucial decisions on staffing and policy moves, according to several senior aides.”
* EPA: “The Trump administration is expected to launch an effort in coming days to weaken greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards for automobiles, handing a victory to car manufacturers and giving them ammunition to potentially roll back industry standards worldwide.”
* Here’s hoping McConnell noticed: “The House passed a bill to reform the byzantine process for reporting sexual harassment on the Hill on February 6…. On Wednesday, 22 women senators, both Republicans and Democrats — every single sitting female member of the Senate — wrote a letter to Senate leadership demanding the legislation go up for a vote on the Senate floor.” * I don’t think we’ll forget that easily: “Rick Santorum is trying to walk back comments he made suggesting teenagers protesting gun violence would be better served by taking CPR classes instead of demanding stricter gun laws.” * Conservatives choose strange targets for personal attacks: “Fox News host Laura Ingraham has apologized a day after taunting Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg over his college rejections.” 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." Recommended
