SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

THE TRUMP EFFECT, CONTINUED – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  One of America’s biggest metropolitan areas has submitted to President Trump’s call for an end “sanctuary cities” — as the Mayor of Miami-Dade County has ordered his jails to comply with requests from federal immigration officials, according to a report.  Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he made the move for fear of Trump’s executive order threatening to cut funds to “sanctuary cities,” according to the Miami Herald.  “In light of the provisions of the Executive Order, I direct you and your staff to honor all immigration detainer requests received from the Department of Homeland Security,” Gimenez wrote to one of his top jail executives, the report said.  Donald Trump is doing more in one week than Barack (Speedy) Obama did in eight years.

THE PRIME MINISTER – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   British Prime Minister Theresa May sidled up to Donald Trump Thursday, saying his “great victory” would make America “stronger” and “more confident” in coming years.  Speaking to reporters on her plane to Philadelphia, May, the daughter of an Anglican vicar, said she’d feel comfortable working with the brazen billionaire.  “Haven’t you ever noticed, sometimes opposites attract?” May said, according to The Guardian.  Later, she delivered a speech before Republican members of Congress in Philadelphia, calling for a renewal of the “special relationship” between the United Kingdom and the United States in the wake of Brexit and Republicans’ electoral victories in November.  She's incredibly impressive.  People are already talking about a renewal of the Reagan-Thatcher connection.

THE OBVIOUS SOLUTION – FROM REUTERS:   (Reuters) - Staff and volunteers at the Virginia Zoo were scouring nearby neighborhoods for a female red panda which may be roaming the area after she went missing from her enclosure, the zoo said.  The search was launched on Tuesday after staff at the zoo in Norfolk noticed Sunny, a 19-month-old red panda, was not in the enclosure that she shares with Thomas, a male red panda.  Sunny was last seen on Monday at 5 p.m. local time. She may have fallen from a slippery branch in her habitat while Thomas was pursuing her that night when it was rainy and windy, the zoo said in a statement on Wednesday.   Psst.  She made it to Washington, D.C., which has been declared a
sanctuary city for red pandas.  It's the least we can do.

January 26, 2017