Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Bloomberg: “Mike Bloomberg said Friday his company would release from nondisclosure agreements three women who complained about inappropriate comments they said he made, two days after he was pressed to do so by Elizabeth Warren during the Democratic debate.”
* Wells Fargo, “the nation’s fourth-largest bank, agreed Friday to pay a $3 billion fine to settle a civil lawsuit and resolve a criminal prosecution filed by the Justice Department over its fake account scandal.”
* Afghanistan: “The United States plans to sign a peace deal with the Taliban on Feb. 29 provided that a week-long reduction in violence across the country holds, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The Taliban also released a statement confirming the plan to sign a peace deal that day.”
* Maguire apparently isn’t just transferring to another agency: “Former acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has formally resigned from US government service after President Donald Trump made it clear he would not be nominated for the full time intelligence chief job, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.”
* Seems like the obvious call: “The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Mississippi’s six-week abortion ban on Thursday, indicating the three-judge panel finds the law unconstitutional.”
* Maybe Trump should’ve checked with Collins before talking him up for the job: “Rep. Doug Collins’ (R-GA) fawning loyalty to President Donald Trump seemed to pay off on Thursday when Trump floated appointing the Republican to be his permanent Director of National Intelligence — but Collins isn’t interested in the role.”
* A mass email with false information can do real harm: “A dangerous mix of fear and fake news about the coronavirus has sparked violent protests in Ukraine, despite there being no confirmed cases in the country.” * A Catch-22: “Starting next week, green card applicants can be denied green cards partly on the basis that they are applying for green cards. Yes, you read that correctly.” * The only surprise is that he didn’t start whining about this sooner: “President Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to take issue with the Oscar winner for best picture this year, the South Korean film ‘Parasite,’ at a rally in Colorado.” Enjoy the weekend.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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