Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A discouraging assessment from the WHO: “As new cases of the coronavirus spiked on two continents, the World Health Organization warned on Monday that the world was not ready for a major outbreak, even as it praised China’s aggressive efforts to wrest the epidemic under control.”
* Fine-tuned machine: “President Trump was infuriated that 14 American citizens who had tested positive for coronavirus were permitted to return this week to the United States, said two senior administration officials. The decision had taken the president, a self-declared ‘germophobe,’ by surprise.”
* A verdict in a case of great national interest: “Harvey Weinstein, the once-powerful Hollywood mogul, was found guilty of rape in the third degree Monday but acquitted on the two most serious criminal charges, capping a landmark trial of the #MeToo era.”
* Speaking of judicial proceedings: “A federal judge denied former Trump adviser Roger Stone’s request that she recuse herself from a potential new trial, saying in an order Sunday that there was no factual or legal basis for Stone’s claims.”
* SCOTUS: “The Supreme Court said Monday it will take up a dispute between the city of Philadelphia and a Catholic charity over the suitability of same-sex parents to provide foster care. The issue is when enforcement of laws against discrimination goes too far, violating religious freedom.”
* Trump’s initial assessment keeps looking worse: “One more U.S. service member has been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury following Iran’s January missile strike in Iraq, the Pentagon announced Friday. The new diagnosis brings the total number of U.S. service members who suffered brain injuries in the attack to 110.”
* I’m old enough to remember when presidential threats against a member of Congress would’ve created a political earthquake, instead of serving as the routine background noise of our public life: “President Trump on Sunday made a veiled threat toward House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff, claiming without evidence that the California Democrat had leaked information from a classified briefing in which a senior U.S. intelligence official told lawmakers that Russia wants to see Trump reelected.”
* Trump vs. the Trump administration: “The president, eyeing the battleground state of Nevada, has made clear he opposes a nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain, reversing a policy that was made in his name.” * The future of Bolton’s book: “President Trump has directly weighed in on the White House review of a forthcoming book by his former national security adviser, telling his staff that he views John Bolton as ‘a traitor,’ that everything he uttered to the departed aide about national security is classified and that he will seek to block the book’s publication, according to two people familiar with the conversations.” * An interesting argument: “The 14th Amendment says states that infringe the vote must lose representation in Congress. It’s time to make this happen.” * At a November meeting on Central American asylum-seekers, Stephen Miller was quoted saying, in reference to blocking migrants, “It’s just that this is all I care about. I don’t have a family. I don’t have anything else. This is my life.” 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."
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