January 1, Attorney General Barr: ‘Surprised and Angry’ Over Ukraine Call

This Day in History | 2008 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points—at the time, the largest single-day point loss in its history. 

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Good Morning Middle Americans ! 

According to the Associated Press, when Attorney General William Barr learned of president Trump’s phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, he was “surprised and angry” that Trump lumped him in with Giuliani, a person familiar with the attorney general’s thinking.  It’s going to be an interesting week for Barr. 

Also today we have a report about a federal judge denying the White House’s fast track plan to deport illegal migrants. Presidential Candidate Beto O’Rourke says President Trump should resign. And billionaire Elon Musk has unveiled his new Starship, and he’s looking towards Mars. 

Read all about it!

– Fraser Dixon 

Trump Blurs Lines Between Personal Lawyer, Attorney General

(AP) – Attorney General William Barr finds himself mired in a political firestorm, facing questions about his role in President Donald Trump’s outreach to Ukraine and administration attempts to keep a whistleblower complaint from Congress.

Read more from the Associated Press here

Federal Judge Rules Against Trump Administration on Fast-Track Deportation Policy

(Fox News) – A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s move to vastly extend authority of immigration officers to deport people without allowing them to appear before judges.  Meanwhile, Trump is raising a large chunk of the money for his border wall with Mexico by deferring several large military construction projects slated for the strategically important Pacific outpost of Guam.

Find out more from Fox News here

Beto O’Rourke: Best Thing for Trump to Do Is Step Down

(CNN) – Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke says President Donald Trump should resign as Congress begins an impeachment investigation.  O’Rourke made the comments while attending the Texas Tribune Festival, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke said that though the country is divided, impeaching President Donald Trump could “unify us.”

Read more from CNN here

Elon Musk Says Starship Should Reach Orbit Within Six Months

(Tech Crunch) – Elon Musk has unveiled a SpaceX spacecraft designed to carry a crew and cargo to the moon, Mars or anywhere else in the solar system and land back on Earth perpendicularly. 

Find out more from TechCrunch here