Journalist Don Lemon, former CNN anchor, arrested
In what appears to be another attack on the free press, Donald Trump’s federal agents have arrested Don Lemon, former CNN news anchor, who had earlier been reporting on the ICE operations in Minneapolis. Lemon had been covering protests against ICE at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Trump administration claims he did not have the right to be there, according to Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell. Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles last night where he was covering the Grammy Awards. Lowell said, “Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done. The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
Trump sues government for $10 billion
Donald Trump and his sons Donald Jr. and Eric have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government. They’re trying to collect $10 billion dollars from the government, which would be paid by U.S. taxpayers. The lawsuit alleges that the IRS failed to protect Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns, which eventually wound up being disclosed to various news organizations including The New York Times. Trump on numerous occasions had campaigned with a promise to eventually release all of his tax returns, which he said could not be released for the time being because the IRS was auditing them. Trump never voluntarily released any tax returns. The House Ways and Means Committee released six years of Trump tax returns that it had. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Florida.
Government shutdown still was possible as of Friday morning
The Senate has reached a deal to avert a government shutdown, but its fate remained uncertain Friday morning as lawmakers had not yet to held a vote. President Donald Trump supports the compromise bill and is eager to avoid what would be the second government shutdown of his second term. The agreement would separate Department of Homeland Security funding from the overall spending package, sources told CNN, as Democrats push for reforms to rein in Trump’s immigration agents. Homeland Security would be funded only for two weeks in the separate bill, to allow time for negotiations over future funding for the agency to continue.
Trump nominates replacement for Powell
Donald Trump said today he is nominating Kevin Warsh to be the 17th chair of the Federal Reserve. Trump has been trying to push out current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term does not expire until May. Powell has resisted Trump’s pressure to cut interest rates and has resisted Trump’s efforts to control the Federal Reserve, which was established to be independent of politics. Warsh served as a Fed governor for five years under former President George W. Bush. He was appointed to the Fed in 2006 at the age of 35, making him the youngest person ever to serve on the Fed’s powerful board. Warsh, now 55, favors lower interest rates, according to numerous recent public statements.
White House walks back Trump’s threat against Canadian aircraft
President Trump said Thursday that he is decertifying Canadian-made aircraft and threatened a 50% tariff. In order to operate in U.S. airspace, airplanes must be certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. If Trump actually did have the FAA revoke certifications, airliners such as those made by in Canada by Bombardier would be grounded in the U.S., causing havoc for air travelers. The White House this morning tried to walk back what Trump said about decertifying aircraft. Trump’s new 50% tariff threat is yet another of Trump’s tariff threats against Canada. There were reports that Trump administration officials met Province of Alberta Canadian separatists who want to split from Canada and are seeking help from Washington. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he expects Trump to “respect Canadian sovereignty.”
Frigid cold
A brutal surge of cold air affecting millions across the U.S. is set to intensify this weekend. More than 200 daily low temperature records could be broken from today through Monday across the eastern half of the country as another wave of bitter air moves in. It comes as several states are still recovering from last weekend’s historic winter storm, which has been blamed for at least 85 deaths in the U.S. In much of the South and East, temperatures in the coming days could plunge more than 30 degrees below normal. At the same time, a powerful bomb cyclone is expected to bring heavy snow, hurricane-force winds and coastal flooding to the Southeast.
