Breaking: Trump fired FBI Director James Comey this afternoon, following the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Comey was investigating the Trump campaign’s possible involvement in Russian attempts to influence the presidential election.
New liberal hero: The excitement among liberals was palpable yesterday after Sally Yates testified in front of the Senate subcommittee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and “fulfilled the twin liberal fantasies of fighting back against injustice and intolerance and making Sen. Ted Cruz look like a blithering fool,” Leon Neyfakh writes. Even the legal world’s most prominent critic found Yates poised and convincing. The Democratic Party has found its new star, Neyfakh concludes.
Poisonous words: Less successful on Monday was Trump’s Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall, who attempted to defend the president’s travel ban in front of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Dahlia Lithwick breaks down Wall’s biggest challenge: trying to convince a panel of judges that Trump’s orders are considered statements of policy.
Not so friendly skies: Airline drama continued, as hundreds of passengers reportedly screamed and scuffled with police at a Florida airport following flight cancellations by Spirit Airlines. After the incident, the airline accused the pilots’ union of arranging a pilot shortage, forcing it to cancel the flights. As Ian Prasad Philbrick reports, the airline and union have been going at it since 2015.
For fun: The latest superhero movie trend involves PowerPoint presentations.
