SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET:

ANOTHER DAY IN THE WAR ON TERROR, WHICH, OF COURSE, IS OVER – From Fox:  "Federal authorities said late Sunday that they had arrested six people in Minnesota and California in connection with an investigation into young men who have traveled or tried to travel to Syria to fight alongside ISIS.  A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota said the arrests were made Sunday in Minneapolis and San Diego but there is no threat to public safety. A spokesman for the Minneapolis FBI office confirmed the number of people arrested. No further details were available about the identities of the suspects or the specific charges they faced."  The White House will probably tell us that they were on spring break.

WHAT CONFLICT OF INTEREST? – From Mediaite:  "Anthony Weiner — yes, that Anthony Weiner — talked to Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter Sunday morning about Hillary Clinton’s road trip to Iowa in the now infamous Scooby van, which he said bespoke of the unexpected in comparison GOP’s candidate’s staged events, and said the media was focusing on arcane or frivolous details that mattered only to the insider types, not to voters.  If you’re thinking, 'Wait, Anthony Weiner’s a media critic now?' you’re not alone. You may also be thinking: isn’t Huma Abedin, Weiner’s long-suffering wife, also Hillary Clinton’s long-suffering aide, and wasn’t she actually in said Scooby van during the trip?"  Yeah, she was there.   I guess CNN put Weiner on because he's neutral.  Joke.

INSULTING – But to be expected.  From the Latin American Herald Tribune:  "NEW YORK – Top executives from big U.S. firms such as MasterCard, pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer and JetBlue airline will travel to Cuba on a trade mission headed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.  The Monday visit, which had been announced in January, will be the first of its kind since U.S. and Cuban authorities last December made public their intention to normalize diplomatic relations between the two nations.  The list of participants, announced Sunday by Cuomo, also includes top officials from educational and research institutions and several politicians.  Among the businesspeople who will go on the trade mission are JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes, MasterCard vice president Walt M. Macnee and Pfizer VP Freda Lewis-Hall."  Cuba's thousands of political prisoners could not be reached for comment.

April 19, 2015