Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Asylum policy: “A federal judge on Monday issued a nationwide order barring a Trump administration policy that denies asylum to migrants crossing the border unless they have already tried and failed to obtain asylum in another country along the way, a rule that effectively bans claims for most Central Americans fleeing persecution and poverty.”
* What an unbelievable mess: “Puerto Rico’s lead federal prosecutor, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez, announced Tuesday that three people have been arrested as part of a federal probe into an alleged fraud scheme involving former FEMA officials and hurricane relief funds.”
* Speaking of messes: “Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. said Tuesday that he’s asked the FBI to investigate a ‘criminal conspiracy’ against him by former board members of the conservative Christian school.”
* North Korea “launched at least two unidentified projectiles toward the sea on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, hours after the North offered to resume nuclear diplomacy with the United States but warned its dealings with Washington may end without new U.S. proposals.”
* Middle East: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that he may annex the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank ‘in coordination’ with the United States in an apparent last-ditch effort to attract right-wing voters before national elections next week.” * This bill might actually become law: “The House passed a bill Tuesday requiring carbon monoxide detectors in public housing, after more than a dozen tenants died from the gas in the last 16 years.” * Depending on how the 2020 elections shake out, plans like these may become quite important: “A draft proposal by Speaker Nancy Pelosi would empower the federal government to negotiate lower prices for hundreds of prescription drugs, not only for Medicare but for the private market as well, injecting new urgency into Washington’s efforts to control the soaring price of pharmaceuticals.” 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
