January 1, Investigation of Russia Probe Turns Criminal

This Day in History |1764

Future president John Adams marries Abigail Smith 

Good Morning Middle Americans!

This are getting serious over at Attorney General William Barr’s Department of Justice. Sen. Bernie Sanders released a plan to legalize marijuana at 4:20 on Thursday. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their houses in California while wildfires spread across the state. Finally, Bruce Springsteen is calling out the president for not knowing what it’s like to be an American. 

Read all about it below. 

– Fraser Dixon 

DOJ Review of Russia Probe Now a Criminal Investigation

(Politico) – An inquiry that Attorney General William Barr ordered into the origins of the probe into possible ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia has now become a criminal investigation, a source familiar with the matter told POLITICO on Thursday.

The investigation, being conducted by the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, John Durham, was launched as an effort by Barr to answer unspecified questions he had about why the FBI began the counterintelligence investigation that eventually led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.

Bernie Sanders Promises to Use Executive Order to Legalize Marijuana

(Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, a longtime proponent of legalized marijuana, promised on Thursday that in his first 100 days in the White House he would issue an executive order directing the drug be removed from the list of controlled federal substances.

Thousands Ordered to Leave as Northern California Fire Rages

(LA Times) – Pacific Gas & Electric said Thursday that one of its transmission lines experienced problems Wednesday night around the area where a large Sonoma County fire broke out.

In a mandatory report sent to the California Public Utilities Commission, the company said one of its workers noticed this morning that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection had taped off the area. PG&E said Cal Fire also pointed out a “broken jumper on the same tower.”

Springsteen: Trump Doesn’t Grasp Meaning of American

(CBS News) – Legendary singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen says Americans are living in “a frightening time” because of the country’s leadership. In an interview with “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King, Springsteen responded to President Trump’s comments at a Minneapolis rally earlier this month on how he “didn’t need little Bruce Springsteen” and other celebrities like Beyoncé and Jay Z, who supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.