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Thursday's Mini-Report, 3.16.17

Today's edition of quick hits.
Today's edition of quick hits:* It wasn't just the judge in Hawaii that ruled against Donald Trump's Muslim ban: "A second federal judge in Maryland ruled against Mr. Trump overnight, with a separate order forbidding the core provision of the travel ban from going into effect."* Michael Flynn: "The state-sponsored Russian television network RT paid former Defense Intelligence Agency head Mike Flynn more than $45,000, plus perks, to speak at its 10th anniversary gala in December 2015, according to documents released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee Thursday."* It was close: "The Republican health care bill passed another step of the process Thursday morning as the House Budget Committee advanced the measure out of its committee despite growing opposition from Republicans. Three Republicans, all members of the conservative Freedom Caucus, voted with all Democrats against the measure:"* Asia-Pacific: "Diplomacy has failed and it's time to 'take a different approach' to North Korea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said here Thursday, as the North Korean Embassy in China warned that American military threats were bringing the region to the brink of nuclear war."* Europe: "The sighs of relief among the European leadership were almost palpable on Thursday after Dutch voters turned out in record numbers to deny the populist leader Geert Wilders victory in an election seen as a barometer of far-right nationalism's appeal on the Continent."* DOJ: "Less than two years after the Drug Enforcement Administration officially admitted that 'heroin is clearly more dangerous than marijuana,' new Attorney General Jeff Sessions revisited that comparison in remarks [yesterday] before law enforcement officials in Richmond."* What an awful story: "An Oklahoma lawmaker was hit with a child prostitution charge Thursday after he was caught in a motel room with a teenage boy. State Sen. Ralph Shortey was charged a day after the Oklahoma Senate -- by a vote of 43 to 0 -- passed a resolution that suspended nearly all his privileges."* I have no idea why people don't always use Oxford commas, just as a matter of course: "Writers frequently debate whether or not the Oxford comma is a necessary piece of punctuation. In an unlikely turn of events, a group of Maine dairy drivers have yielded the answer: Yes, it is."Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.