.By Mary Clare Jalonick and Eric Tucker
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., stepped aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday after the FBI served a search warrant for his phone as part of an ongoing insider-trading investigation tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the move, saying he and Burr had agreed it was in the Senate's best interests.
FBI officials showed up at Burr's home with the warrant on Wednesday, marking a significant escalation into the Justice Department's investigation into whether Burr broke the law with a well-timed sale of stocks before the coronavirus caused markets to plummet,
The Justice Department declined to comment. His attorney did not respond to phone and email messages, but said last month that the law is clear that any senator can participate in stock market trading based on public information "as Sen. Burr did."
Elle.com's Mattie Kahn and Vanessa Cardenas from EMILY's List explain what to expect from the second annual Women's March happening this weekend. They also discuss the progress they've seen over the past year on women's issues.
Jodie Emery, Editor-in-Chief at Cannabis Culture, discusses the "Marijuana Justice Act" that was recently introduced in the House. This legislation is a companion bill to the one introduced by Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) last year.
James Arkin, Congressional Reporter for RealClearPolitics, discusses the impending government shutdown as the House passes a short-term resolution and a fight is brewing in the Senate.
Snap Inc. has a message for its employees: if you leak company information, you could go to jail. Amazon announces it will increase prices on monthly Prime memberships by 20%. Facebook recently announced it will change the News Feed to favor posts from friends and family over posts from publishers. And the clock is ticking for Congress to extend funding and avoid a government shutdown.
Arianna Huffington explains how it helps people combat their smartphone addiction. Amazon narrows the list of cities for HQ2. Facebook announces details of its community outreach program. Whatsapp announces it will allow business accounts. In a Cheddar scoop, Snapchat is laying off dozens of workers. The government shutdown looms. IBM, Atlassian, American Express release earnings.
Mozilla joining the fight to save net neutrality. The open source web browser filed a petition this week, challenging the Federal Communication Commission's vote to roll back Obama-era protections. Mozilla's Senior Policy Manager Heather West explains what the company is hoping to accomplish with this petition.
On VF Hive: We’re joined by the crew from Vanity Fair's Hive to discuss Bannon's Mueller investigation subpoena. On Between Bells: Winter Olympics diplomacy, and Ellen Pompeo's payday. With New York Magazine, Latina Magazine, and FHM.
The Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines to reverse Obama-era internet regulations, potentially changing the way Americans use the internet. Sarah Morris is the Director of Open Internet Policy at New America's Open Technology Institute, a group fighting the FCC ruling.
The Hive co-host Kristen Scholer discusses the five biggest news stories in politics and tech. From Steve Bannon cooperating with Robert Mueller, to Facebook's new algorithm, we have it all covered on The Hive.
The House is scheduled to vote on a short-term budget deal Thursday afternoon, but the latest count shows that House GOP leaders don't have enough votes. Reason Magazine Editor-at-Large Matt Welch explains why a government shutdown "may happen by accident."
