FBI deputy director leaving post ahead of planned retirement

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, is stepping down from his post. He served a brief stint as acting director of the bureau after Trump fired ex-FBI chief James Comey. He will stay on leave and the FBI payroll until he is eligible to retire with full benefits in March, according to NBC. 

McCabe has been at the center of ongoing tensions between the White House and the FBI and has reportedly been under pressure to quit from President Donald Trump, whose campaign is being investigated for possible collusion with Russia. Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that after Trump had fired FBI Director James Comey, he met with McCabe in the Oval Office and asked him whom he voted for in the 2016 election.

The Best and the Worst of the Grammys

On Sunday, January 29, at Madison Square Garden in NYC, the Grammys took place. James Corden who is an actor and comedian hosted the show. 

Hillary Clinton made a surprise appearance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards causing at least a couple of viewers to switch channels, namely the president's U.N. ambassador, and Trump's oldest son. But the producer of the Grammys said the telecast stands by the controversial cameo. 

Grammys host James Corden set up a pre-taped bit about who might take home next year's spoken word award.

“We know that our current president does love winning awards and the good news is he may just be the subject of next year's winner [for Best Spoken Word Album],” Corden announced. “The question I've got is, who'll be the narrator?” 

Outspoken anti-Trump stars John Legend and Cher then auditioned to be the narrator for Michael Wolff's book “Fire and Fury” about Trump's White House. 

Snoop Dogg, DJ Khaled and Cardi B also read excerpts from the book during the fake auditions. Finally, Clinton read from the book and Corden declared, “That's it! We've got it!” Clinton said, “You think so? The Grammy's in the bag?” Corden replied, “In the bag!” The segment resulted in applause from the star-studded crowd. But not all were pleased. United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley slammed the bit. However, the harshest words came from Donald Trump Jr.

State of the Union Preview

The theme of this year’s State of the Union Address will be, "building a safe, strong, proud America." President Trump will speak in front of 535 members of Congress on Tuesday night.The White House says the president will lay out accomplishments that include the $1.5-trillion tax bill and rolling back regulations on businesses, and claim credit for gains in the stock market and drops in unemployment.Trump's advisors are hoping the State of the Union address gives the president an opportunity to sweep turmoil aside for an hour on national television during which he can beam a litany of his accomplishments — in his own words — directly to living rooms across the country.

Trump v. Jay-Z

On Saturday night Jay-Z sat down with Van Jones on CNN to bash Trump after his “sh*thole” countries remarks.

Asked by Van Jones whether it's OK for Trump "to say terrible things but put money in our pockets" amid Trump's claims that unemployment for African-Americans has dropped, Jay-Z said no, "because it's not about money at the end of the day. Money doesn't equate to happiness. It doesn't. That's missing the whole point. You treat people like human beings. That's the main point," he said. "It goes back to the whole thing -- 'treat me really bad and pay me well.' It's not going to lead to happiness, it's going to lead to, again, the same thing. Everyone's going to be sick."

Jay-Z also attacked the President’s alleged ‘sh*thole countries’ comment. “Everyone feels anger, but after the anger it’s really hurtful because he’s looking down on a whole population of people and he’s so misinformed because these places have beautiful people,” JAY-Z said. “You don’t take the trash out. You keep spraying whatever over it to make it acceptable and then, you know, as those things grow, then you create a superbug. And then now we have Donald Trump, the superbug.” 

“Donald Trump is a human being, too. Somewhere along his lineage something happened to him ... and he’s in pain and he’s expressing it in this sort of way,” he continued. 

Trump answered back on twitter with facts of Black Unemployment rate being the lowest ever recorded. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January, that unemployment for black workers was at a 6.8%, the lowest rate in 45 years. The rate is 3.7% percent for white people. Both the African-American rate and the overall rate have declined steadily since 2010. There has been improvement over the years. In 1990, only 11.3% of African Americans had four-year college degrees, compared to 22% for whites, according to Census data. In 2017, those numbers had risen to 24% and 34.5%.

CNN/FOX Brawl

CNN and Fox are sniping at each other at an extent that’s never seen before. In the beginning, CNN wasn't bad. CNN was just a regular news network and we used to watch them because their reportage was pretty good, particularly overseas. And there wasn't a lot of cheap shot or anything... CNN was pretty much here's the news and we cover the news. Then it changed about 10 years ago into a liberal network. 

A very left-wing guy named Jeff Zucker took it over. And he wanted to compete with O’Reilly and others in primetime, so he threw the people on and told them to give their left wing opinions. However, once Trump got elected, CNN got really left, far left, not as far left as MSNBC, but MSNBC is another story. 

So anyway, FOX now is like using CNN as a whipping horse and then CNN does it back and it's boring to watch. FOX is way out front, CNN is never going to catch them. CNN's rated third and MSNBC is really, really far left but it's not as dull as CNN. So, if CNN wants to do better, liven it up. And you know, making fun of FOX or whatever... it's kind of cliché ridden.

Mail Time!

• "Hey, Bill, with Electiongate looming, I'm more thankful than ever for your fair and balanced reports. With all the leaks in the Mueller probe, it seems they are only looking at Trump obstruction or collusion. Shouldn't Mueller also be looking at the fake dossier and alleged FISA warrant abuse?"

• "My father watched you every night for many years, Bill. He was an FBI agent in the early 50s, passed away two years ago at the age of 89. In some regards I'm glad he's not here today to see the pervasive corruption in the FBI. Had another Republican candidate won the election, would the left be as hateful toward him in your opinion?" 

• "I believe that a large segment of our population has completely lost faith in our government and its institutions. Now we see a corrupt, politicized FBI and DOJ. We can see how a special prosecutor can twist and manipulate things to make anyone look guilty of something. Now you are guilty until proven innocent and end up bankrupt and ruined to boot if you go into court. God help us all."

Word of the Day: Snollygoster