Politico reports: Republican Reps. Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan said Thursday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should step aside “now,” citing the Justice Department’s handling of the investigation into President Donald Trump’s campaign ties to Russian operatives and intelligence leaks to media as key concerns with his performance. In a joint opinion piece published in the Washington Examiner, Meadows (R-N.C.) …

ABC News reports: Nearly 3,000 U.S. flights have been canceled today as a powerful storm hits the Northeast, packing heavy snow, gusty winds and the coldest air of the season. “A powerful Nor’easter will move north along the east coast through Thursday,” the National Weather Service said in a statement. “Reinforcing arctic air and gusty winds will sweep in behind …

The Hill reports: President Trump is reportedly attempting to stop the publication of “Fire and Fury,” Michael Wolff’s explosive new book about his campaign and presidency. The Washington Post’s Carol Leonnig tweeted early Thursday morning that Trump’s attorneys have sent a cease-and-desist letter to Wolff and book publisher Henry Holt & Company, demanding that they do not publish the book, …

The Associated Press reports: Attorney General Jeff Sessions is going after legalized marijuana. Sessions is rescinding a policy that had let legalized marijuana flourish without federal intervention across the country. That’s according to two people with direct knowledge of the decision. They were not allowed to publicly discuss it before an announcement expected Thursday and spoke on condition of anonymity. …

Michael Wolff, the author of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, published a column in the Hollywood Reporter this morning in which he recounts the early days of the Trump administration. An excerpt: “You can’t make this shit up,” Sean Spicer, soon to be portrayed as the most hapless man in America, muttered to himself after his tortured …

Variety reports: Stephen Colbert took the opportunity on Wednesday night’s episode of “The Late Show” to unveil his bid for Trump’s “Dishonest & Corrupt Media Awards,” which the president announced in a tweet Tuesday. “Or, as we call ’em in the biz, the Fakies,” Colbert quipped. “Because nothing gives you more credibility than Donald Trump calling you a liar, and …

The Washington Post reports: Late Wednesday, lawyers for Trump sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bannon, arguing he violated the employment agreement he signed with the Trump Organization in numerous ways and also likely defamed the president. They ordered that he stop communicating either confidential and or disparaging information, and preserve all records in preparation for “imminent” legal action. “You have …

Buzzfeed News reports: Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel wants to create a new conservative cable news network and his representatives have engaged the powerful Mercer family to help with funding, according to two sources familiar with the situation. Thiel, a Facebook board member who secretly funded lawsuits to bring down Gawker Media, had originally explored a plan to create the …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that he’s responsible for the current thawing of diplomatic relations between North Korea and South Korea. On Wednesday, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un reopened a key cross-border communication channel. The Associated Press reported that South Korea confirmed that officials from both countries a 20-minute conversation discussing the lines of communication. Earlier …

The New York Daily News reports: Corey Johnson was elected City Council speaker in an overwhelming vote Wednesday, capping months of maneuvering that will make him the city’s second-most-powerful elected official. Johnson — a Manhattan Democrat who is gay and HIV positive — was chosen in a 48-1 vote. Councilwoman Inez Barron, who mounted her own last-minute bid for speaker …

Just in from the White House: Despite substantial evidence of voter fraud, many states have refused to proved the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity with basic information relevant to its inquiry. Rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense, today I signed an executive order to dissolve the Commission, and have asked the Department of Homeland Security …

“I hate to differ with the distinguished former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, but I don’t think we’re gonna have a nuclear war. I don’t think that God almighty is gonna allow that to happen to this world. I think there are too many other important things to be done – uh – spiritually and I just don’t think that’s …

“Now the media went into conniption fits and the headlines from MSNBC are Trump’s sexual obsessions may destroy the earth. They’re the ones saying hey we got a bigger nuclear button than you, we got a bigger arsenal, more powerful, and it works. Nothing to do with the media trying to say the president has small genitals. And by the …

The Associated Press reports: A brutal winter storm dumped snow in Tallahassee, Florida, on Wednesday for the first time in nearly three decades before slogging up the Atlantic coast and smacking Southern cities such as Savannah and Charleston, South Carolina, with a rare blast of snow and ice. Forecasters warned that the same system could soon strengthen into a “bomb …

Mediaite reports: Like father, like son. Shortly after President Donald Trump released a scathing statement denouncing his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, as “crazy,” Donald Trump Jr. lit the Breitbart chairman up on Twitter. As part of an excerpt from a soon-to-be-released book authored by USA Today’s Michael Wolff, Bannon ripped Don Jr., among others, over the infamous Trump Tower …

Newsweek reports: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner made a deal for the daughter of President Donald Trump to become the first female head of state, according to Michael Wolff’s new book “Fire and Fury.” The book, written by the Hollywood Reporter contributing editor and former White House strategist, is being labeled as a tell-all of his time inside the White …

CNN reports: Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman indicted on money laundering and other charges, filed a lawsuit challenging the broad authority of special counsel Robert Mueller and alleging the Justice Department violated the law in appointing Mueller. The suit brought Wednesday in US District Court in Washington where Manafort and another former Trump campaign aide are charged, challenges …

CBS News breaks down the potential topics: Bannon backlash: In an upcoming book by Michael Wolff,”Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon reportedly calls Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with Russians “treasonous” and “unpatriotic,” according to the Guardian. President Trump responded to Bannon Wednesday afternoon, saying that when he was fired from the …

DELICIOUS. Just in from the White House: Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind. Steve was a staffer who worked for me after I had already won the nomination by defeating seventeen candidates, often described as the most talented field ever assembled …

The Montgomery Advertiser reports: Longtime Roy Moore aide Rich Hobson on Wednesday announced he would challenge U.S. Rep. Martha Roby in June’s GOP primary for Alabama’s 2nd congressional district. In an announcement on the State Capitol steps, Hobson, 56, outlined a platform very similar to the former Alabama chief justice’s Senate campaign last year, with an emphasis on military spending, …