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

TRUMP FIRES ACTING AG; WORLD ENDS – FROM THE HILL:   President Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates on Monday just hours after she defied him by refusing to have the Justice Department defend his controversial executive order blocking people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.  The White House acted swiftly, issuing a statement declaring that Yates, who was appointed by former President Obama, had “betrayed” the U.S. government.  Trump selected Dana Boente, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to replace Yates until his attorney general nominee, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), is confirmed by the Senate. That vote could occur this week.  The immediate practical effect is that Sally Yates has now secured her future in Democratic Party politics and can charge more as a lawyer.

TRUMP WINNING ON IMMIGRATION MOVE – FROM THE HILL:   More than half of likely voters polled by the right-leaning firm Rasmussen Reports support President Trump banning refugees from seven Muslim-majority nations entering the U.S., according to a new poll.  Trump signed a controversial executive order on Friday imposing a 90-day freeze on all entries from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It also suspended general refugee admissions into the U.S. for 120 days and imposes an indefinite suspension of admission of Syrian refugees.  Fifty-seven percent said they favor a temporary halt on refugees from the seven listed countries in the new poll issued Monday. Thirty-three percent opposed such actions, while another 10 percent remain undecided.  Monday’s results also showed that more half of the respondents support a short-term pause on issuing visas to residents of the seven countries.  I love the way they say "right-leaning."  Rasmussen had one of the most accurate records in predicting the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

BYE-BYE – FROM PAGE SIX:   “Before I thank you for joining me, I would like to share a big life-change with you,” Carol Costello said today at the close of her CNN morning show, becoming the latest CNN host to announce her move to HLN.  “This is hard. Friday will be my last day at CNN. I’m not leaving the family though; I will be heading to Los Angeles to anchor a new show on HLN,” Costello said. “This is a personal decision and was extraordinarily difficult; it was like cutting off my left arm.”  “I have lived apart from my husband for many years, but he was close by because he also lived on the East Coast. Last year my husband snagged a fantastic job in Los Angeles at LMU. And I kind of miss him.”  We wish her well, but I must say she was the single most biased host at CNN.  It was liberalism all the way, with conservative guests constantly confronted by her looks of frustration and disapproval.  I hope CNN confronts the problem, but I doubt it will.

January 30, 2017