Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Maduro in court: “Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty Monday during their first appearance in a Manhattan federal court, two days after being seized in Caracas during a U.S. military operation.”
* At the U.N.: “The United States was condemned at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday for what even its staunch allies called a violation of international law in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and the military incursion into a sovereign state. The deputy French ambassador denounced the assault and Mr. Maduro’s apprehension, saying it ‘chips away at the very foundation of international order.’”
* The road ahead won’t be easy: “In a thundering speech on Sunday, Venezuela’s defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, rejected any notion that the United States would run Venezuela, as President Trump had asserted a day earlier.”
* Trump’s saber-rattling does not go unnoticed abroad: “Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned on Monday that the long-standing NATO alliance would end if President Trump ordered an attack on Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
* More discouraging economic data for the White House to ignore: “U.S. manufacturing activity slumped to a 14-month low in December, with new orders contracting further and input costs grinding higher as the sector continued to bear the imprint of President Donald Trump’s import tariffs.” * In Wisconsin: “Hannah C. Dugan, the Wisconsin state judge who was convicted last month of obstructing federal agents attempting to arrest an undocumented immigrant, has resigned her position in a letter sent to Gov. Tony Evers on Saturday. Her resignation is expected to take effect immediately.” * The list is getting quite long: “Following the news that the Kennedy Center’s board of directors voted to add President Donald Trump’s name to the venue, a growing group of musicians and artistic groups have canceled upcoming events at the arts institution.” 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."
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