News

NBC News reports: Congressional Democrats blasted President Donald Trump on Friday night for circumventing Congress in authorizing U.S. strikes against Syria, calling it “unconstitutional” and questioning the strategy. Many Republicans, on the other hand, applauded the president’s move. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who has pushed Congress to pass a new authorization for the use of military force, deemed the president’s …

The Associated Press reports: The United States, France and Britain launched military strikes in Syria to punish President Bashar Assad for an apparent chemical attack against civilians and to deter him from doing it again, but also stirred up angry responses from Syria’s allies and ignited a debate over whether the attacks were justified. Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the …

Deadspin reports: American boxer Rod Salka lost a six-round bout to Mexican fighter Francisco Vargas last night. Salka, who is known for having been brutally knocked out by Danny Garcia in 2014, entered the ring wearing trunks with an anti-immigrant message. The top of Salka’s trunks had “AMERICA 1ST” written on them, and they were patterned like a brick wall. …

Vice News reports: Two Facebook pages associated with white nationalist Richard Spencer have been kicked off the platform. The outspoken white nationalist who coined the term “alt-right” and runs the National Policy Institute, had been operating in the open on Facebook. The National Policy Institute, which advocates for a white “ethnostate,” had a page with 4,000 followers. Spencer’s online magazine …

Talking Points Memo reports: House Speaker Paul Ryan has endorsed his top lieutenant, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, to be his successor, giving a significant boost to the Californian’s candidacy in hopes of averting a divisive contest that could make an already difficult election year even tougher for divided Republicans. “We all think that Kevin is the right person,” Ryan, R-Wis., said …

The Hill reports: Elliott Broidy, the venture capitalist who admitted Friday to paying a Playboy “playmate” who said she was pregnant with his child, has stepped down from his post on the Republican National Committee’s finance team. Sources familiar with the discussions confirmed to The Hill that RNC chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel accepted Broidy’s resignation Friday from his post as …

Yahoo Finance reports: Goldman Sachs analysts attempted to address a touchy subject for biotech companies, especially those involved in the pioneering “gene therapy” treatment: cures could be bad for business in the long run. “Is curing patients a sustainable business model?” analysts ask in an April 10 report entitled “The Genome Revolution.” “The potential to deliver ‘one shot cures’ is …

Two months ago after then-RNC finance chair Steve Wynn resigned his post amid multiple sexual harassment accusations, RNC chair Ronna McDaniel said they’d only consider returning his huge donations “after the investigations play out.” Which brings us to today: Wynn gave $500,000 to America First Action Super PAC on Jan. 23, just days before the first reports of his alleged …

USA Today reports: The Russian military says that an alleged chemical attack in Syria was staged and directed by Britain. Volunteer first responders and activists claimed a chemical attack by the Syrian government killed over 40 people in the town of Douma, which drew international outrage and prompted Washington and its allies to consider a military response. Moscow warned against …

“At one point he says while he thinks the president’s behavior may have been unethical, it may not have been illegal. The other thing that surprises me frankly is how bitchy the book is. Comey goes out of his way to say the president isn’t as tall as he thought he was. He checked out the size of his hands …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Jim Jordan, a prominent and polarizing conservative leader, is strongly considering a run for House speaker in a bid that could upend the race to succeed Paul D. Ryan. Two Republican lawmakers said they had spoken with Jordan (R-Ohio) since Ryan announced his retirement Wednesday, and both said that they got the impression that Jordan …

The New York Daily News reports: He wanted to stop the leak. President Trump told James Comey he would not have hired Russian prostitutes to pee on each other because he’s a “germaphobe,” according to a tell-all book by the axed FBI director. The Steele dossier, which was made public weeks after the Trump Tower meet, claims that Trump had …

Mediaite reports: GMA previewed George Stephanopoulos‘ interview with James Comey on Friday, and the two talked about the salacious allegations against Donald Trump from the controversial Christopher Steele Dossier. As Comey recalled his briefings with Trump on the “golden shower” rumor, he described the weirdness of the situation as “almost an out-of-body experience for me.” As Comey remarked on how …

“Today I awoke to learn that a confidential agreement I had with AMI [The National Enquirer] with regard to a story about President Trump had been leaked to the press. I can confirm that while working at Trump World Tower, I was instructed not to criticize President Trump’s former housekeeper due to a prior relationship she had with President Trump …

The Associated Press reports: Expressing pride in his own record of peace, former President Jimmy Carter warned that President Donald Trump should steer clear of any military action involving Syria or other world hot spots and avoid a nuclear attack at all costs. “I pray that he would keep our country at peace and not exaggerate or exacerbate the challenges …

CNN reports: Mike Pompeo, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, will face an uphill climb to win Senate confirmation. He will testify today during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Trump selected the former CIA director to run the State Department after he fired former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The announcement to replace the top …

The Associated Press reports: Eight months before the company that owns the National Enquirer paid $150,000 to a former Playboy Playmate who claimed she’d had an affair with Donald Trump, the tabloid’s parent made a $30,000 payment to a less famous individual: a former doorman at one of the real estate mogul’s New York City buildings. As it did with …

The Washington Post reports: Stephen K. Bannon, who was ousted as White House chief strategist last summer but has remained in touch with some members of President Trump’s circle, is pitching a plan to West Wing aides and congressional allies to cripple the federal probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to four people familiar with the discussions. …

The Hill reports: Barack and Michelle Obama are the most admired people in the U.S., according to a YouGov survey of admired figures across the globe. The former president and first lady also landed second place for the most admired people in the world. President Trump was the second-most admired man in the U.S., but only gained an admiration score …

Law & Crime reports: Cambridge Analytica is threatening legal action against journalists who report unfavorable information regarding the controversial big data-mining firm. Perhaps the embattled firm is frightened by the swelling amount of attention due to Mark Zuckerberg‘s two days worth of congressional testimony. In any event, Cambridge Analytica has shifted its denial strategy to issuing vague threats of litigation …