* “We are probing, so stay tuned. … We have lines of communication to Pyongyang. We’re not in a dark situation, a blackout.”–Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
* “Until the government of Cuba can ensure the safety of our diplomats in Cuba, our embassy will be reduced to emergency personnel in order to minimize the number of diplomats at risk of exposure to harm.”–Rex Tillerson.
* “Because our personnel’s safety is at risk, and we are unable to identify the source of the attacks, we believe U.S. citizens may also be at risk and warn them not to travel to Cuba.”–Official U.S. travel warning.
* “If anybody out there is listening to us, we are dying and you are killing us with the inefficiency and the bureaucracy. … I am done being polite. I am done being politically correct. I am mad as hell.”–San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz.
* “They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. Poor leadership ability.”–President Donald Trump on Mayor Cruz’s response.
* “Mr. President, shut the —- up about the NFL. Do something about our people in need in Puerto Rico. We are American citizens too.”–Singer, actor and Miami resident Marc Anthony.
* “Outside of the fake news or politically motivated ingrates, people are now starting to recognize the amazing work that has been done by FEMA and our great military.”–Donald Trump.
* “To liberals, having (Roy) Moore (of Alabama) in the Senate will be the gift that keeps on giving. … Finally, there is a truly anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-Muslim, anti-everything elected Republican for all the world to see.”–Republican political consultant Ed Rogers.
* “In the next three months, you can take it to the bank that POTUS will start speaking again about ‘the war on Christmas,’ another trumped-up issue that plays well with conservative evangelicals who feel like they are losing their hold over American culture.”–James Hohmann, Washington Post.
* “(Trump) continually goes after racial matters in part because he’s a bigot but also in part because multiculturalism is the theology of the educated class and it’s the leverage point he can most effectively use to isolate the educated class from everyone else.”–David Brooks, New York Times.
* “Trump is the poison candy Republicans will gorge on in primaries and die from in competitive general elections.”–Republican strategist Mac Stipanovich.
* “At what point is the principle of free speech more important than community safety and the values of our city?”–Leigh Raiford, professor of African-American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
* “Our mission is simple but profound–to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. That mission hasn’t changed, and it won’t change–not as long as I have anything to say about it.”–New FBI Director Chris Wray.
* “It’s 2017, we should have a lunar base by now.”–Elon Musk, currently focused on building a colony on Mars.
* “(Hugh Hefner’s) success as a businessman showed the rotten side of capitalism.”–Ross Douthat, New York Times.
* “Our state should not become a country club for this convicted criminal.”–Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s response to O.J. Simpson serving out his parole in Florida.
* “We have long believed in the promise of renewable energy. We believe now is the time to add large utility-scale solar generation.”–Gordon Gillette, CEO of Tampa Electric.
* “If some of this is not addressed in this budget, then next year will be even worse.”–City Councilman Charlie Miranda, after council passed a 0.475-mill increase in property taxes, a little more than half of what Mayor Bob Buckhorn had requested.
* “It was more like an execution than a resignation.”–How USF-St. Petersburg history professor Ray Arsenault characterized the ouster of regional chancellor Sophia Wisniewska.
* “We’re ready. Whenever Hillsborough or Tampa make their (stadium site) pitch, we’re ready. We’ve worked with them a bunch, and we’re waiting to hear the pitch. There’s nothing more for me to do at this point.”–Rays owner Stu Sternberg.