Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The West Virginia teachers’ strike “is headed for the history books. Gov. Jim Justice on Tuesday afternoon signed a bill delivering a 5 percent pay raise to public school teachers — and extending to all state employees — that is expected to end a contentious strike that shuttered schools in West Virginia for nine days.”
* On a related note: “The fury among low-paid teachers that triggered a wildcat teachers’ strike in West Virginia … may be spreading.”
* We’ll see: “North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has told South Korean envoys he is willing to negotiate with the United States on abandoning his country’s nuclear weapons, officials from the South said Tuesday. Mr. Kim also said he would suspend all nuclear and missile tests while such talks were underway, they said.”
* A lot of vulnerable people are going to be hurt by this: “Arkansas on Monday became the third state to win the Trump administration’s permission to compel tens of thousands of residents on Medicaid to work or prepare for a job. But the announcement in Little Rock demonstrated the polarizing politics that still swirl around the public insurance program for the poor in some conservative states.”
* DACA: “A federal judge in Maryland on Monday struck down a challenge to President Donald Trump’s decision to end protections for undocumented immigrants, stating that while he does not agree with Trump’s move, it is not his job to set immigration policy.”
* What a wild story: “Weeks of drama surrounding one of Trump’s 12 luxury hotels culminated Monday morning when armed agents evicted the company’s staff from the Trump Hotel in Panama City, Panama, according to the Associated Press.”
* EPA: “The Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed a civil rights lawsuit filed by residents of a predominately African American city in Alabama who say a local landfill filled with four metric tons of coal ash has been making people sick.”
* Good decision: “The Trump Organization says replicas of the presidential seal displayed at one of its golf clubs were given to the company by club members and have since been removed.”
* This is a problem: “Congress requires many unpaid interns to sign nondisclosure agreements.” * Zinke’s latest move: “A week before the Interior Department is set to auction off parcels of land in Montana for oil and gas leases, Secretary Ryan Zinke pulled a cluster of parcels from the auction on Monday evening.” * An appropriate legacy: “Last week, the creator of the charity, Philando Feeds the Children, delivered a $35,000 check to St. Paul Public Schools — enough to finish paying off the debt owed by every student enrolled in the National School Lunch Program at the district’s 56 schools, including Mr. Castile’s former campus.” * I’m glad the photograph of Parker Curry, age 2, looking at Michelle Obama’s portrait went viral. I’m also glad the former First Lady visited with Parker Curry in person. 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
