Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The latest on the USS McCain: “The remains of ‘some’ American sailors have been found in sealed compartments aboard the USS John S. McCain, Adm. Scott Swift of the U.S. Pacific Command said Tuesday.”
* Missouri: “Gov. Eric Greitens (R) on Tuesday stayed the scheduled execution of Marcellus Williams, just hours before the death-row inmate was set to be put to death for the 1998 killing of a former newspaper reporter.”
* Sanctions: “As part of a broad effort to further isolate North Korea, the Treasury Department on Tuesday placed sanctions on Chinese and Russian individuals and firms it said had conducted business with the country in ways that advanced its missile and nuclear weapons program.”
* A slow-motion backlash: “After a wave of charities pulled fundraising events from President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago club in the wake of his response to the Charlottesville attack, a local New Jersey charity announced Monday that it would no longer hold an event at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.”
* On a related note: “A Florida charity for children announced Tuesday that it was canceling plans to hold a fundraiser luncheon at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club next winter — adding to an exodus of its high-paying charity clients in the days after his comments about violent protests in Charlottesville.”
* A story can be both surprising and disappointing at the same time: “U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt appears in an agribusiness video urging farmers and ranchers to comment on the proposed repeal of the Obama-era Clean Water Rule, promoting the rollback of a regulation that he sued to stop as Oklahoma attorney general.” * A worthwhile idea: “Democrats are ready to go on the health care offensive. And Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) may have a new plan for them to do it. In an interview with Vox, Schatz revealed that he’s preparing a new bill that could grant more Americans the opportunity to enroll in Medicaid by giving states the option to offer a ‘buy-in’ to the government program on Obamacare’s exchanges.” * I guess he’ll say television ratings are fake news? “President Trump’s first prime time address averaged 28 million viewers across the seven biggest network and cable channels that carried it live, according to preliminary Nielsen data. The ratings for the address were underwhelming by both President Trump’s own standards and comparisons to past presidents…. In 2009, Obama delivered his own prime time address about Afghanistan. That speech averaged 40.8 million viewers via TV.” 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
