Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Impeachment politics: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday he has enough Republican votes to start the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump without the support of Democrats, who have been demanding witness testimony.”
* Flynn case: “The Justice Department, in a reversal of its original position, said Tuesday it no longer supports a lenient sentence for Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser. Flynn should be sentenced for up to six months, in line with federal guidelines, prosecutors said in a new court filing, instead of probation as they had originally proposed.”
* Puerto Rico: “A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico early Tuesday, killing at least one person and causing a power outage across the island, as well as structural damage to roads and bridges especially in the southwestern region.”
* Iran: “Dozens of people died in a stampede Tuesday during the funeral procession for Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian commander killed in an American airstrike last week, emergency service officials told state media.”
* Cell phones: “Soldiers deploying overseas with the 82nd Airborne Division will not be allowed to bring personal cellphones or any electronic devices that could reveal their locations due to what the Army calls ‘operational security,’ according to division spokesperson Lt. Col. Michael Burns.”
* The pre-emption of state regulations appears to be the key: “The Trump administration on Monday took its first step toward tighter pollution controls on trucks, an anomalous move for a government known for weakening environmental policies but one that would pre-empt tougher state rules.” * The latest trouble at Mar-a-Lago: “Palm Beach police say they are conducting an ‘open and active criminal investigation’ at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s South Florida estate, following an unspecified incident Monday night. The Secret Service is leading the investigation and no arrest has yet been made, according to the Palm Beach Police Department.” * When Paul Gosar is making news, chances are pretty good it’s for unfortunate reasons: “Rep. Paul A. Gosar, an Arizona Republican whose history of inflammatory social media posts has made him Internet infamous, tweeted a doctored picture of President Barack Obama shaking hands with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in an apparent effort to criticize the former U.S. leader’s Iran policy.” 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
