1. Comey says that the FBI is probing Trump-Russia links, and says that wiretap claims are bogus
FBI Director James Comey said the FBI is investigating whether Donald Trump's associates coordinated with Russian officials in an effort to sway the 2016 presidential election.
In the five-hour session, the FBI director also knocked down Trump's claim that his predecessor had wiretapped his New York skyscraper, an assertion that has distracted White House officials and frustrated fellow Republicans who acknowledge they've seen no evidence to support it.
The revelation of the investigation of possible collusion with Russians, and the first public confirmation of the wider probe that began last summer, came in a remarkable hearing by one branch of government examining serious allegations against another branch and the new president's election campaign.
2. Ivanka Trump is getting an office in the West Wing
An attorney and ethics adviser for Ivanka Trump said yesterday that the first daughter will not have an official title, but will get a West Wing office, government-issued communications devices and security clearance to access classified information. He also said Ivanka Trump would follow the ethics rules that apply to government employees.
Since President Donald Trump took office, his eldest daughter has been a visible presence in the White House, where her husband, Jared Kushner, already serves as a senior adviser. On Friday, she participated in a meeting on vocational training with the president and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
3. Most electronics have been banned on certain US-bound flights.
The U.S. government is temporarily barring passengers on certain flights originating in eight other countries from bringing laptops, iPads, cameras and most other electronics in carry-on luggage starting Tuesday.
The reason for the ban was not immediately clear. U.S. security officials would not comment. The ban was revealed Monday in statements from Royal Jordanian Airlines and the official news agency of Saudi Arabia.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press the ban will apply to nonstop flights to the U.S. from 10 international airports serving the cities of Cairo in Egypt; Amman in Jordan; Kuwait City in Kuwait; Casablanca in Morocco; Doha in Qatar; Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia; Istanbul in Turkey; and Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The ban was indefinite, said the official.
4. Tomi Lahren has been suspended from The Blaze
Her program, "Tomi," is suspended for at least a week starting on Monday. Last Friday, it was also reported that Lahren may be out at The Blaze, "in September if not sooner" due to what it reported as rising tensions between the 24-year-old political commentator and other Blaze employees and hosts. Beck took to Twitter to question whether Lahren, whom he hired in 2015, is intellectually honest. Lahren has been criticized in some conservative circles after a Friday appearance on ABC’s "The View" for revealing that she supports abortion rights.“You know what? I’m for limited government, so stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body as well,” Lahren said.On Monday, Lahren tweeted that she has “moderate, conservative, and libertarian views.” She also said “I’m human. I will never apologize, to anyone, for being an independent thinker.”
Beck, a former Fox News host, shot back at Lahren: “Wait, libertarian views? Help me out on Trumpcare, stimulus, and executive orders. Trump is anything but libertarian,” wrote Beck, while adding the hashtag #intellectualhonesty.
5. Hennepin County has landed itself on a new immigration list of 'noncooperative jurisdictions'
The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office showed up in the first federal report calling out local law enforcement agencies that do not routinely honor requests to hold detainees for immigration officials.
The weekly reports are a new requirement under President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration enforcement. They list immigrants released after federal immigration officials asked that they be held until Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could take them into custody. The reports specifiy nationalities as well as charges or convictions, but not names.
The president has vowed to crack down on noncompliant local law enforcement agencies by pushing Congress to withhold their federal funding. About 50 city and county jails appear in the initial report.
Hennepin County did not honor two such requests during the week of Jan. 28. They involved natives of Mexico, one convicted of methamphetamine possession and the other facing a weapons charge. The sheriff's office issued a statement Monday that it cooperates with ICE "to the full extent of the law."
The statement also said, "The report is incorrect in some respects and we are working with [the Department of Homeland Security] to help them understand our operations. In every case we notify ICE in advance of an inmate's release if we have been contacted. We do not enforce immigration law, which is the role of the Federal Government."