Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A war-like mobilization response to Australia’s fires: “With more than a month still to go in the fire season, the government announced on Saturday a large-scale use of military assets, a deployment not seen since World War II, experts say. About 3,000 army reservists, along with aircraft and naval ships, are being made available to help with the evacuation and firefighting efforts.”
* At the border: “Iranians, Iranian Americans and advocates claimed they were held and questioned by immigration authorities amid tensions between the U.S. and Iran following the high-profile killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week.”
* Look for a vote on this as early as Wednesday: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced the House will vote soon on a war powers resolution to limit President Donald Trump’s military actions after he ordered the killing of a top Iranian general last week, escalating tensions with Tehran.”
* Hmm: “The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Trump administration and states challenging Obamacare to respond by Friday to an appeal filed by defenders of the health care law. Such a highly abbreviated timeline — the rules normally allow a month for filing a response — gives the court the option to take up the case during its current term, which would mean a ruling on a contentious issue this spring, just as the presidential campaign heats up.”
* The latest Pentagon departure: “Eric Chewning, chief of staff to the secretary of defense, will leave the Defense Department at the end of the month, the Pentagon announced Monday…. Chewning’s departure comes after a series of senior Pentagon officials announced their resignations in recent weeks.”
* Weinstein: “Harvey Weinstein, the former film mogul whose alleged pattern of sexual abuse fueled the #MeToo movement, was charged in Los Angeles on Monday with sexually assaulting two women, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney. The charges come on the eve of jury selection in a criminal trial against Weinstein in New York, where he has been charged with felony sexual assault.” * Graham’s new idea: “Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday that if the House doesn’t submit articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate this week, he will seek to change the impeachment rules so the Senate can proceed to a trial without them.” See you tomorrow. MORE: Today’s Maddowblog
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."
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