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Wednesday's Mini-Report, 5.2.18

Today's edition of quick hits.

Today's edition of quick hits:

* A rapid collapse: "Cambridge Analytica and its parent company SCL are shutting down, citing a 'siege of media coverage' that drove away its customers, NBC News has confirmed."

* A few weeks after Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks for no reason, the men have reached a settlement with the city for $1 each. Just as importantly, as part of their settlement, the city will create "a $200,000 fund that, through the help of a nonprofit organization, will assist young entrepreneurs in Philadelphia."

* I hope you saw last night's coverage of this: "In a tense meeting in early March with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, President Trump's lawyers insisted he had no obligation to talk with federal investigators probing Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. But Mueller responded that he had another option if Trump declined: He could issue a subpoena for the president to appear before a grand jury, according to four people familiar with the encounter."

* I guess the rhetoric about broad Republican support for DACA isn't entirely true: "Opening another front in the battle over immigration policy, Texas and six other states sued the federal government on Tuesday in an attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program."

* Afghanistan: "Just one day after a double suicide bombing in Kabul killed at least 31 people and wounded scores more, a U.S. military watchdog released a report with a set of dismal statistics on the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. The report conflicts with the optimism projected by senior military officials, including U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis."

* BIA: "When the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs abruptly resigned last week after less than six months in his post, the agency gave no explanation. But an e-mail from a BIA employee obtained by TPM claims the director, Bryan Rice, exhibited aggressive and intimidating behavior toward her in an incident she believes was captured by a surveillance camera."

* Hmm: "The founder of one of the most influential pro-Brexit think tanks was suspected of working for the Kremlin, a member of Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party said."

* Fred Kaplan considers a good question: "Does Trump deserve some credit for putting Korean peace on the table after seven decades of warlike tensions?"

* Remember, it's 2018: "The Republican-controlled legislature in Oklahoma passed a bill on Thursday that LGBTQ advocates say would allow religious-based adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples, single people and non-Christians. The bill is now headed toward the governor's desk."

* And true to form, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote a piece today saying all kinds of nice things about the regressive Republican tax plan, just days after endorsing some key Democratic criticisms of the new law.

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.