1. The House has passed the $1.1T government spending bill, sends to Senate
Associated Press: The House easily passed a $1.1 trillion governmentwide spending bill on Wednesday, awarding wins to both Democrats and Republicans while putting off until later this year fights over President Donald Trump's promised border wall with Mexico and massive military buildup.
The 309-118 vote sends the bill to the Senate in time for them to act to avert a government shutdown at midnight Friday. The White House has said Trump would sign the measure, which is the first major legislation to pass in Trump's short, turbulent presidency.
House Speaker Paul Ryan praised the measure as bipartisan, and said the biggest gain for conservatives came as Democrats dropped longstanding demands to match Pentagon increases with equal hikes for nondefense programs.
Democrats also backed the measure, which protects popular domestic programs such as education, medical research and grants to state and local governments from cuts sought by Trump — while dropping a host of GOP agenda items found in earlier versions.
2. FBI Director James Comey said Anthony Weiner received classified Clinton emails
Brietbart: He was hitting back yesterday against Democratic criticism of his decision to reopen the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails 11 days before the 2016 election.
He said although it made him “mildly nauseous” to think he could have had some impact on the election, he believes he did the right thing and to this day, would not change his mind.
He told the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing, “it makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election. But honestly, it wouldn’t change the decision.”
In explaining his decision to reopen the investigation, he said investigators found metadata on the seized laptop of Anthony Weiner — top Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s husband — that showed there were “thousands” of Clinton’s emails on the device, including classified information. Investigators believed the emails could include emails missing from her first three months as secretary of state.
Comey said after repeatedly telling members of Congress that the FBI had concluded its investigation into Clinton, the only right thing to do was to let Congress know the case was reopened.
“I could see two doors and they were both actions. One was labeled ‘speak,’ the other was labeled ‘conceal,'” he said.
“Having repeatedly told this Congress, we are done and there’s nothing there, there’s no case there, there’s no case there, to restart in a hugely significant way, potentially finding the e-mails that would reflect on her intent from the beginning and not speak about it would require an active concealment, in my view,” he said.
He said “speak would be really bad,” but “concealing in my view would be catastrophic.”
Comey said the investigation into Weiner’s laptop showed that Abedin had regularly forwarded emails to her husband, likely for him to print out for her. But he said Abedin and Weiner were not charged with any wrongdoing since investigators did not find a general sense of criminal intent.
3. Stephen Colbert Defends Trump Jokes That Sparked #FireColbert Backlash
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: The 'Late Show' host addressed the controversy, but didn't apologize: he said, "I have jokes, he has the launch codes. So, it's a fair fight."
He said to open last night’s show, "welcome to The Late Show. I'm your host, Stephen Colbert. Still? I am still the host? I'm still the host!"
"Now, if you saw my monologue Monday, you know that I was a little upset at Donald Trump for insulting a friend of mine," Colbert continued, referring to Dickerson. "So at the end of that monologue, I had a few choice insults for the president in return. I don't regret that. He, I believe, can take care of himself. I have jokes, he has the launch codes. So, it's a fair fight.
4. 'Google Docs' virus swarm e-mail accounts in Minnesota and far beyond
Star tribune: Accepting an invitation led to e-mail accounts being hijacked. Late Wednesday, Google said the problem had been resolved.
Internet users in Minnesota, across the country and possibly internationally were warned Wednesday about a Google Docs scam that was flourishing thanks to a simple click of a computer mouse or touch pad.
The scam came in the form of an e-mail message with the subject line saying someone — known or unknown — “has shared a document on Google Docs with you.” It invited the user to log onto their Google accounts to join the shared document.
By clicking on the link in the e-mail, users granted a third party — the scammer — access to their account data. Then, with access to the user’s contacts, the scammer invited everyone in their address book to do the same, multiplying the damage exponentially.
By late Wednesday, Google said the issue had been resolved.
5. Lake Bde Maka Ska? Minneapolis park board endorses renaming Lake Calhoun
Pioneer press: Minneapolis officials have taken another step toward removing the name of a controversial historic figure from the city’s largest lake.
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board voted Wednesday to work toward restoring Lake Calhoun’s original Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska (be-DAY’ mah-kah skah).
In 2015 the board voted to put the name, which means White Earth Lake, on park signs, but the board’s attorney concluded it didn’t have authority to actually rename the body of water.
The lake currently is named after John C. Calhoun, a former U.S. vice president from South Carolina and a proponent of slavery. Calhoun helped establish Fort Snelling in Minnesota, but Dakota activists say he also played a role in the removal of Southeastern U.S. tribes.
On Wednesday, the board unanimously approved a committee recommendation that it “support and advocate for the restoration of the Dakota name.” The recommendation was adopted as part of the 25-year Calhoun/Bde Maka Ska-Harriet Master Plan. The board now will begin a community engagement process and efforts to gain support of the Hennepin County Board and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.