Bloomberg News reports: Savings for the top six U.S. banks from President Donald Trump’s signature tax overhaul accelerated last year, now topping $32 billion as the lenders curbed new borrowing, pared jobs and ramped up payouts to shareholders. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley posted …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump made a stark appeal to black Americans during the 2016 election when he asked, “What have you got to lose?” Three years later, black Americans have rendered their verdict on his presidency with a deeply pessimistic assessment of their place in the United States under a leader seen by an overwhelming majority as racist. …

Politico reports: A coalition that includes attorneys general in 14 states, the District of Columbia and New York City are suing the Agriculture Department over a plan to impose stricter work requirements on millions of food stamp recipients. The lawsuit, filed Thursday by mostly Democratic-led states, argues that USDA unlawfully limited states’ discretion to exempt certain adults from work requirements …

Another excerpt from the coming A Very Stable Genius: The night of January 23 [2017], the first Monday of his presidency, Trump came face‑to‑face with House and Senate leaders from both parties at a White House reception. At a long table in the State Dining Room, Steve Bannon could not stop looking at Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi assumed Trump would open …

Mediaite reports: Former Air Force combat pilot and appointed Senator Martha McSally chose the GOP-friendly confines of Fox News to dismissively mock the outrage over her insult of CNN reporter Manu Raju—but then repeatedly ducked and dodged when Laura Ingraham pushed her to answer his “easy question” about whether or not there should be witnesses in the Senate trial of …

The Week reports: Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow in an interview that aired Thursday night that former Energy Secretary Rick Perry was directed by Rudy Giuliani to tell Ukraine its U.S. aid was contingent on the country announcing investigations of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Parnas alleges that after …

CNN reports: Several US service members were injured during last week’s Iranian missile attack on Al-Asad airbase in Iraq Pentagon. “While no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed,” the US-led military coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq …

The BBC reports: Twitter has apologised for allowing adverts to be micro-targeted at certain users such as neo-Nazis, homophobes and other hate groups. The BBC discovered the issue and that prompted the tech firm to act. Our investigation found it possible to target users who had shown an interest in keywords including “transphobic”, “white supremacists” and “anti-gay”. Twitter allows ads …

Newsweek reports: A Florida man tried to evade arrest by hiding from police underwater in a pond — but was captured when he came up for air. Daniel Christopher Booth, 36, was working at the solar plant on Hogan Road near Wellborn, Florida, on Wednesday, the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Facebook. Booth had warrants …

Via press release from the White House: Since I took office, my Administration has been committed to protecting religious liberty. In May 2017, I signed an Executive Order to advance religious freedom for individuals and institutions, and I stopped the Johnson Amendment from interfering with pastors’ right to speak their minds. Over the last 3 years, the Department of Justice …

The New York Times reports: Federal prosecutors in Washington are investigating a years-old leak of classified information about a Russian intelligence document, and they appear to be focusing on whether the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey illegally provided details to reporters, according to people familiar with the inquiry. The case is the second time the Justice Department has investigated …

Via press release from GOP Sen. Susan Collins: There has been a lot of mischaracterization and misunderstanding about my position on the process the Senate should follow for the impeachment trial. Rather than have my position relayed through the interpretation of others, I wanted to state it directly: From the outset, I have said that we should follow the model …

“It’s like a made-for-television soap opera with the Democrats all vying for a headline and relishing in their moment in the spotlight. Souvenir pens? It’s a disgrace for our nation. “All while President Donald J. Trump is getting a trade deal with China wrapped up. What if the Democrats put all of their impeachment energy into joining the President in …

Via press release from the ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigrant Justice Center, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, and Human Rights First filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s policies regarding so-called “safe third country” agreements with Guatemala and other nations that force people fleeing for their lives to seek asylum in the same dangerous …

USA Today reports: President Donald Trump and aides sought Thursday to distance him from a Soviet-born businessman who said Trump knew all about efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating U.S. political rival Joe Biden – a pivotal point in the Senate impeachment trial of the president. “I don’t believe I’ve ever spoken to him,” Trump told reporters about Lev Parnas, …

Earlier this week it was announced that Kanye West will rally with viciously anti-LGBT evangelicals Lou Engle and Cindy Jacobs. And speaking of Engle: The next Freedom March will be held in Boston, Mass on a Saturday April 18th, 2020. Freedom March is a collection of individuals that once lived the LGBTQ lifestyle but decided to leave that identity according …

The Hill reports: An anti-Trump Republican group is launching new ads urging senators to call witnesses as part of the impeachment trial that’s kicking off in the Senate. Republicans for the Rule of Law is spending $1 million to air two ads on “Fox and Friends” and “Lou Dobbs Tonight” every day next week, the group announced Thursday. The ads …

The Associated Press reports: Gun-rights groups asked a judge Thursday to block Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam from banning guns on Capitol grounds during a massive pro-gun rally scheduled for next week. Northam on Wednesday announced a state of emergency and banned all weapons from the rally, citing threats that armed militia groups were planning to attend. The Virginia Citizens Defense …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a series of new rules and guidance memos designed to push federal funds to religious organizations and advance prayer in public schools. The guidance comes amid a formal White House declaration recognizing Jan.16 as Religious Freedom Day. In a reversal of Obama-era requirements that tightly restricted religious organizations receiving taxpayer money, …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Thursday postponed the sentencing of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn, two days after Flynn moved to withdraw his guilty plea. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan did not immediately rule on Flynn’s request. Instead, in a brief written order, the judge asked for additional court filings on the matter over …