Congress is out until February 26th. And after a week of the immigration debate in the Senate, the battle has stalled, leaving the lives of hundreds of thousands “Dreamers” in limbo. More below. Legislation that did advance? A bipartisan criminal justice reform bill which won approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee. More on that below as well. Steve Bannon answered questions about Russian election interference before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday -- but only ones "scripted" for him in advance by White House officials. Meanwhile, thoughts and prayers fall short of policy and change, as lawmakers continue to respond to Wednesday’s mass shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead. Speaking on the tragedy yesterday, Donald Trump stated, “You have people who care about you, who love you and who will do anything at all to protect you.” Except pass common sense gun legislation. The president pledged to make schools safer while never once uttering the word guns. He’s slated to visit Parkland, FL in the coming days. The president does not need a yes man. That’s reportedly the advice former President Barack Obama gave former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus during a meeting between Priebus and former chiefs. “Every one of these guys at different times told me something that pissed me off,” Obama said, nodding to his former chiefs. “They weren’t always right; sometimes I was. But they were right to do that because they knew they had to tell me what I needed to hear rather than what I wanted to hear.” The exchange is detailed in a forthcoming book, The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency. In campaign news, Mitt Romney announced his Senate run in a video, drawing stark contrast between Utah and Washington as it relates to immigration policy, among other issues. We made it to Friday! Be sure to catch me on Sunday when I’ll return to MSNBC’s AM Joy with Joy-Ann Reid. But first, you can catch me this morning on Fox News’ Happening Now at 11:30A, when I’ll weigh in on the gun control debate. Then after that, I’m off to Wakanda! We’re back on Tuesday. We’re kicking off the weekend with this...
- “Dreamers” in limbo after Senate immigration debate ends in failure.
- Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) intros bill to prevent officials with temporary clearance from seeing top secret info.
- Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) to host HBCUs.
- Congressman Lou Correa (D-CA) crosses party lines for marijuana bill.
- Former President Barack Obama is commemorated in IL and weighs in on FL shooting.
- The third time’s not the charm: another court rules against Trump's travel ban.
- FCC Chairman Ajit Pai investigated for improperly pushing through rules on television ownership.
- #WakandaTheVote! Art meets activism.
- Meet the new co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered.
- Actor Bokeem Woodbine to play former AG Eric Holder.
- Facebook launches initiative to bring more attention to works by minority filmmakers.
- Documentary on the history of HBCUs airs Monday.
- KS congressional candidate could be first Native American woman in Congress.
- Could NYC see its first female Black Mayor?
- Shaun King forms PAC to elect progressive prosecutors.
- Slack names African American woman to its Board of Directors.
- Top aide in WH National Economic Council says bye to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
- NEA’s Tiffany D. Loftin heads over to the NAACP.