Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A big loss for the White House: “Over dissent from Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, the Supreme Court declined to let the Trump administration immediately deploy the National Guard in Chicago, in the latest high court test of Donald Trump’s sweeping claims of authority in his second term.”
* The latest revelations: “Donald Trump flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet at least eight times in the mid-1990s, according to an email the Justice Department released late Monday as part of its rolling disclosure of documents in its Epstein investigation. The email from Jan. 7, 2020, appears to refer to the related investigation into Epstein’s longtime companion Ghislaine Maxwell, now in prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse girls.”
* The latest in a series of escalations: “The U.S. moved a large number of special-operations aircraft and multiple cargo planes filled with troops and equipment into the Caribbean area this week, giving the U.S. additional options for possible military action in the region, according to U.S. officials and open source flight-tracking data.”
* I wonder if more people sought out the segment online than would’ve watched it on CBS in the first place: “While the furor over CBS News’ decision to delay a ‘60 Minutes’ report about deportees sent by the Trump administration to a notorious Salvadoran prison persisted Monday, the finished segment was already circulating online after streaming in Canada. The report, titled ‘Inside CECOT,’ appeared on a streaming app owned by Canada’s Global Television Network.”
* The inevitable investigation: “The Department of Education said Monday that it would investigate whether Brown University violated the law by failing to provide proper campus safety before and immediately after a fatal shooting killed two students earlier this month.”
* A lawsuit worth watching: “Twenty-one state and district attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought on Monday, opposing his moves to shutter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”
* The last one out at Heritage should remember to turn off the lights: “More than a dozen staffers at The Heritage Foundation are leaving the conservative think tank to join a nonprofit led by former Vice President Mike Pence as the embattled organization continues to reel from ongoing turmoil.” * A story we’ve kept an eye on: “A federal judge’s decision has moved Donald Trump and his family a step closer to constructing his presidential library on a valuable plot of land in Miami that was controversially transferred to him by Florida Republicans.” * My best wishes to the former senator and his family: “Former Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., announced Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with ‘metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer,’ writing in an X post that the diagnosis is ‘a death sentence.’” I’ll be away from the blog for the next few days, but I’ll see you again on Monday morning, Dec. 29. Happy Holidays to you and yours.
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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