Billionaire Tom Steyer has quit the Democrat race for president after spending $200+ million in South Carolina, more than $250 million overall, and coming in a distant third place without a single delegate.

(Via NBC) – Tom Steyer, the California activist billionaire who has largely been a nonfactor in the Democratic primary campaign, dropped out of the race on Saturday night.
Steyer’s departure came after a disappointing finish in the South Carolina Democratic primary. With 56 percent of the vote in, Steyer had just 11.7 percent of the vote — despite spending millions of dollars on campaigning there. (read more)

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On January 31st President Trump initiated an entry ban against non-U.S. persons traveling from China. Today President Trump is expanding the restrictions to include Iran.

WHITE HOUSE – On January 31, 2020, I issued Proclamation 9984 (Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus and Other Appropriate Measures To Address This Risk). I found that the potential for widespread transmission of a novel (new) coronavirus (which has since been renamed “SARS-CoV-2” and causes the disease COVID-19) (“SARS-CoV-2” or “the virus”) by infected individuals seeking to enter the United States threatens the security of our transportation system and infrastructure and the national security.
Because the outbreak of the virus was (and is) centered in the People’s Republic of China, I suspended and limited the entry of all aliens who were physically present within the People’s Republic of China, excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States, subject to certain exceptions.
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The United States and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Taliban) have signed a peace agreement to end the nineteen-year war in Afghanistan.  [Details Here]  During the signing ceremony Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered the following remarks.
[Video and Transcript]

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[Transcript] – SECRETARY POMPEO: Good afternoon. I want to start by thanking His Highness Sheikh Tamim for Qatar’s invaluable role as host of these historic talks. His unstinting support, and yours foreign minister, have supported both sides and allowed them to reach this momentous day.
The United States and the Taliban have endured decades of hostility and mistrust. Previous talks have faltered. This effort only became real for the United States when the Taliban signaled interest in pursuing peace and ending their relationship with al-Qaida and other foreign terrorist groups. They also recognized that military victory was impossible. I then asked Ambassador Khalilzad to serve as our lead negotiator to gauge the Taliban’s sincerity.
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President Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks to the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC 2020) this afternoon.  The speech was initially scheduled at 3:00pm ET; however, there is a delay due to earlier press briefing.
UPDATE: Video Added

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House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes appears on Fox News to discuss his outlook on the nomination of John Ratcliffe as Director of National Intelligence.
Additionally, Nunes discusses how the Democrats are attempting to weaponize the Coronavirus scare and information about a new Ukrainian investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden and their corrupt influence scheme surrounding Burisma.

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Quite a bit to unpack here, and most of it is very good news.  First, this re-nomination was almost predictable when you look at the totality of the landscape:

President Trump needed to generate an official DNI nomination in order to retain the current acting DNI authorities for Richard “Ric” Grenell; so that’s one aspect.
However, beyond the procedural move there’s the larger background of the FISA reauthorization; and, in my opinion, that larger dynamic is the majority consideration.
The FISA reauthorization and the need for President Trump to support any type of reauthorization that eventually gets through the complex political dynamics within congress; and considering Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell traveled to the White House to discuss this issue yesterday; the outcome is considerable leverage for Trump.
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Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  Departing the White House for a rally in South Carolina, the president stopped to answer questions from the press pool.  [Video and Transcript below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. I’m going to South Carolina, a big rally. A lot of people — thousands of people outside and it’s going to be very exciting. We have a big day tomorrow, in terms of the Democrats watching. See what happens. And then, on Tuesday, you have a very big day, so it will be interesting to see.

We’re at the same number. A lot of people are getting better. Very much better. The 15 number. Plus we took in, as you know — from Japan, we took in some great American people and citizens and they’re getting better very rapidly. They’re doing very well. All of them are doing well.

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In the background of the impeachment effort the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) led by Chairman Jerry Nadler was seeking: (1) Mueller grand jury material; (2) a deposition by former White House counsel Don McGahn; and less importantly (3) Trump financial and tax records.  Each of these cases were then argued in federal court, appellate courts (6e and McGahn) and the supreme court (financials/taxes).
In November 2019 activist Federal District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ruled Don McGahn must appear before Congress; however, she also ruled McGahn retained the ability to “invoke executive privilege where appropriate” during his appearance.
The White House appealed the ruling to the DC appellate court on constitutional grounds.  Today a three judge panel from the DC circuit agreed with the White House position.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump scored a major legal victory on Friday when a federal appeals court panel ruled Democrats have no right to hear testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s ruling overturned a lower court decision requiring McGahn’s testimony and told the judge presiding over the case to dismiss it outright. The ruling is a blow to House Democrats’ attempts to break the Trump administration’s intransigent stance that it can block Congress from talking to witnesses. (link)

This ruling also undermines the ridiculous “obstruction” article of impeachment because it shows the White House had a justifiable and constitutional argument to make against the House in the judicial branch.  The issue at stake was  whether the legislative branch can penetrate the constitutional firewall which exists within the separation of powers.
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Economic Nationalism -vs- Economic Globalism

Despite the intense doomsayer predictions surrounding the ‘Coronavirus as an economic contagion’ narrative, the U.S. economy remains strong. When evaluating economic impacts for the USA it is important to remember 80 percent of all activity within the U.S. is internal.  We create and consume eighty percent of our own production.

The U.S. economy is unique in the amount of balance within it as compared to other industrial economies.  We are not dependent on exports to sustain our economy; and we are not dependent on any imports at the macro level.  Unlike China, Asia and Europe, and despite decades of efforts by globalists and multinationals, the U.S. generates and sustains a tremendous amount of our own economic prosperity.  First the January data:
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reveals data today showing January wage growth .5%, personal income increases .6%, consumer spending at .2%; overall U.S. savings at $1.33 trillion, and low inflation at 1.7 percent year-over-year.  Solid and stable.
Both consumer spending (+.2 Jan) and inflation (1.6% Jan) were impacted by lower energy prices (-.7%) & mild weather in January.  Reuters spins the lower rate of spending growth to imply a contracting U.S. consumer; there is no data to support that narrative.
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The media is initiating panic about the Coronavirus in 2020 the same way the media attempted to manufacture panic about an upcoming U.S. recession in 2019.
Everything about Coronavirus is hyped with purpose. The CDC official who lit the fuse to create the panic was Dr. Nancy Messonnier who read a script handed to her by resistance operatives inside government.  Dr. Messonnier is Rod Rosenstein’s sister.
National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow appears in the Brady briefing room of the White House to answer media questions about the economic impact of Coronavirus and a declining stock market.  WATCH:

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