Friday's Mini-Report, 3.24.17

Today's edition of quick hits:* It really wasn't that close: "In the aftermath of his first major legislative defeat on healthcare, President Donald Trump is standing by his team, preaching confidence in House Speaker Paul Ryan and is still convinced of Obamacare's downfall. 'We were very close,' he told reporters Friday afternoon after the health care bill was pulled."* Devin Nunes should probably find a different kind of job: "The chairman of the House intelligence committee has backed down from his dramatic assertion that Donald Trump and his aides were 'monitored,' by U.S. spies -- a claim the Republicans have cited this week in emails to loyalists."* On a related note: "The two leaders of the House Intelligence Committee continued their back-and-forth Friday as tension mounts over the panel's inquiry into whether there were ties between Russia and Trump campaign officials as well as the Kremlin's potential meddling in the 2016 elections."* The day's most jaw-dropping scoop: "Retired Army Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, while serving as an adviser to the Trump campaign, met with top Turkish government ministers and discussed removing a Muslim cleric from the U.S. and taking him to Turkey, according to former Central Intelligence Agency Director James Woolsey, who attended, and others who were briefed on the meeting."* Today wasn't a total loss for the White House: "Calling it a 'historic moment for North America,' President Donald Trump announced the federal government's approval Friday of the Keystone XL oil pipeline -- setting in motion a controversial project opposed by environmental groups, landowners and some Native American tribes."* It's such a shame that it's come to this: "The largest school board in Canada said it won't be booking future trips to the United States, citing 'uncertainty' surrounding President Donald Trump's latest travel restrictions."* ISIS "claimed responsibility for the attack in London this week, likely hoping to project the image of a powerful extremist organization capable of hitting the heart of Western cities. In reality, ISIS is suffering big losses at home and hemorrhaging territory in Iraq and Syria in the face of a U.S.-backed assault."Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.