Wednesday's Mini-Report, 1.18.17

Today's edition of quick hits:* This guy refuses to succumb to cynicism: "President Obama used the final press conference of his presidency to deliver a hopeful message Wednesday to a nation nervous about the looming change of power in Washington: 'At my core, I think we're going to be okay.'"* Mali: "A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle penetrated a camp in northern Mali on Wednesday, killing at least 60 people and wounding 115 soldiers and former fighters who are trying to stabilize the region. The attack marked a significant setback for peace efforts."* Note the national scope of this story: "Jewish community centers across the nation are under siege as dozens received bomb threats this month -- including more than 20 reported on Wednesday alone."* Electing a climate denier to the presidency was unwise: "Marking another milestone for a changing planet, scientists reported on Wednesday that the Earth reached its highest temperature on record in 2016 — trouncing a record set only a year earlier, which beat one set in 2014. It is the first time in the modern era of global warming data that temperatures have blown past the previous record three years in a row.... Temperatures are heading toward levels that many experts believe will pose a profound threat to both the natural world and to human civilization."* Western Africa: "After more than two decades in power, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh faced the prospect of a midnight military intervention by regional forces, as the man who once pledged to rule the West African nation for a billion years clung to power late Wednesday."* Discrimination: "JPMorgan Chase said Wednesday that it had agreed to settle a federal lawsuit accusing the bank of working with mortgage brokers who discriminated against minority borrowers for years by charging them $1,000 more than white customers."* This seems to contradict what was promised last week: "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Wednesday, via his lawyer, that President Obama's commutation of Chelsea Manning's sentence does not meet the conditions of his offer to be extradited to the U.S. in return for the Army leaker's release."* Best wishes for speedy recoveries: "While George H.W. Bush remains in the intensive care unit of a Houston hospital after experiencing 'shortness of breath,' the former president's wife, Barbara, has also been admitted for a separate health issue, the couple's spokesman said Wednesday."Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.