Today’s edition of quick hits.
* It’s still worth knowing why this didn’t happen earlier in the week: “The two Department of Homeland Security officers involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti were placed on immediate paid administrative leave for three days, an official with direct knowledge of the situation told MS NOW.”
* I wish this were more reassuring: “The FBI has taken the lead in the criminal investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar being sprayed with a liquid as she spoke on Jan. 27 at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis, a police spokesman said.”
* Putin still doesn’t want peace: “A Russian drone strike on a passenger train in northeastern Ukraine killed five people, prosecutors said, an attack denounced as terrorism by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Prosecutors said fragments of five bodies had been found at the scene of the strike on the train by a village in northeastern Ukraine‘s Kharkiv region.”
* The worst measles outbreak in the United States in the 21st century: “Measles in South Carolina has spread to at least 789 people, surpassing the 2025 West Texas outbreak that sickened 762 people and killed two young girls.”
* More discouraging economic data: “U.S. consumer confidence slumped to the lowest level in more than 11½ years in January amid mounting anxiety over a sluggish labor market and high prices, which could see households becoming more cautious about spending.”
* A case worth watching: “The state of California is suing the Trump administration over its plans to restart an oil pipeline project that has been on hold for environmental and public health reasons since a massive oil spill in 2015.”
* I didn’t think we could do this: “A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent tried to get into Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis on Tuesday but was prevented from entering the premises by consulate staffers, the country’s Foreign Ministry said.”
* Fresh clarity from Ottawa: “Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he spoke to President Trump and told him he stands by his remarks last week issuing a call-to-arms among smaller powers against economic coercion. … The Canadian leader’s remarks to reporters Tuesday were meant to rebut comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent told Fox News Monday night that he was in the Oval Office when Trump and Carney spoke by phone, and Carney ‘was very aggressively walking back some of the unfortunate remarks he made at Davos.’” * I wish we had a president who knew something about monetary policy: “The U.S. dollar notched its biggest one-day decline since April’s tariff turmoil after President Trump said he wasn’t concerned about the recent slide in the U.S. currency.” * There are long-term consequences to a 0.5% growth rate: “President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration contributed to a year-to-year drop in the nation’s growth rate as the U.S. population reached nearly 342 million people in 2025, according to population estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.” * TikTok is under new management, and it’s off to a rough start: “TikTok said on Tuesday that its app was facing technical problems after users accused the service of suppressing posts related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.” 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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