Breaking this morning: Donald Trump has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who reportedly called the president a “f*cking moron” a few months ago, and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA -- the first woman to hold the position. The news comes on the heels of complicated diplomatic movement with North Korea and a litany of national security issues. In a highly partisan report, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee concluded their investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, finding no evidence of collusion -- going against all U.S. intelligence agencies. They agreed with intel that Russia had interfered with the 2016 presidential election but differed on the intent -- they don’t believe the Russians were trying to help Trump. Meanwhile, adult film actress Stormy Daniels is offering to return the $130,000 payment she received from Donald Trump's attorney in exchange for dissolving a so-called "Hush Agreement." She made the offer as 60 Minutes producers are working on verifying claims she made in an interview with the news magazine about her alleged affair with Trump -- who won over 80% of the white evangelical vote -- which she says dates back to 2006. As heads are spinning from all the news in the nation’s capital, Donald Trump is off to California, where he will personally examine eight recently constructed prototypes for his proposed border wall, near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego. From there, he will make his rounds in the state, visiting a military base in LA and concluding with a fundraiser in Santa Monica. Back on the East Coast, the special election in Pennsylvania today is the latest test of whether Dems can make inroads in Trump country, as Democrat Connor Lamb squares off with GOP candidate Rick Saccone in a highly contested congressional race. In some sad news, the “mad flava” he kicked in our ear has gone silent. Rapper Craig Mack died Monday of heart failure at a hospital near his Walterboro, SC home. He was 46. And in Beyhive news, Beyoncé and JAY-Z officially announced the OTR II stadium tour -- a follow-up to their massive joint On the Run trek from 2014. “We be all night” writing The Beat DC. We woke up with our laptop wondering how the hell did this happen, oh baby. We’re kicking off the morning with this...
- Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) intros legislation to help boost hospital resources in opioid fight.
- Tri-Caucus members call out Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over school ratings and minority students.
- Some Houston Astros players skip WH visit.
- Melissa Harris-Perry is part of a new initiative to train the next generation of Black journalists.
- Zerlina Maxwell joins MSNBC as a political analyst.
- Congresswoman Michelle Luján Grisham (D-NM) advances closer to being the NM Dems gubernatorial nominee.
- Meet the new COO of America’s Promise Alliance.
- CHC’s fundraising arm, Bold PAC, sees an uptick in fundraising thanks to Donald Trump.
- The Native American Tiwahe Foundation has a new President & CEO.
- National Geographic admits to racist past.
- Trump links Obama policy on school discipline to Parkland school shooting.
- Senate poised to pass a bill that weakens fair lending requirements.
- Join The Beat DC’s Tiffany D. Cross today at 1:20P on Keepin’ It Real with Rev. Al Sharpton.
- Get ready to go back to Wakanda. There’s a Black Panther sequel in the works! Check it out in Blogs.