| | | | US drops largest-ever non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan | | A scoop from CNN's Barbara Starr and Ryan Browne: The US military dropped America's most powerful non-nuclear bomb on ISIS targets in Afghanistan, the first time this type of weapon has been used in battle, according to US officials. A GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed the "mother of all bombs" and the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal that's ever been dropped, was dropped at 7:32 p.m. local time, according to four US military officials with direct knowledge of the mission. A MOAB is a 30-foot-long, 21,600-pound, GPS-guided munition.
President Donald Trump called it "another successful job." The bomb was dropped by an MC-130, stationed in Afghanistan and operated by Air Force Special Operations Command, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump told CNN. | | "Tell him he said he was going to give me my pardon -- so I am waiting for my pardon. He said it out of his mouth, so I'm waiting." -- Boxer Mike Tyson, who was convicted of rape in 1992, asking New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to have President Donald Trump carry out a personal promise. Trump called Tyson's conviction a "travesty" in 1992. | | | | Trump flips on China: During his campaign, China was one of Donald Trump's favorite targets -- blaming the nation for siphoning away American jobs and dragging down the economy. But after his summit with Chinese President Xi Jingping, the President appears to have changed his mind. Here's what he tweeted today: | | | And after his first tweet, he flipped on Russia, too: Less than 24 hours ago, Trump said the US relationship with Russia "may be at an all-time low." This echoed the same point that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made to Vladimir Putin while in Moscow. But in a complete reversal, today Trump tweeted everything "will work out fine." | | Democrats plan counter move in Obamacare chess match | | From CNN's Tom LoBianco and Sunlen Serfaty: Democrats plan to tie money promised to health insurers to offset Obamacare costs to the coming showdown over keeping the government running, a Democratic source said, following a threat from President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
What happened yesterday: Trump told The Wall Street Journal he may stop "cost-sharing reduction" payments to health insurers as a tactic to bring Democrats to the negotiating table. The payments are used to reduce health care costs under Obamacare for low-income people. "I don't want people to get hurt," Trump said in the interview. "What I think should happen -- and will happen -- is the Democrats will start calling me and negotiating."
A Democratic source told CNN on Thursday that discussions about tying the funding to the coming showdown were already underway, but the President "threw gas on the fire" with his threat.
A couple other political notes today from CNN's Theodore Schleifer:
-- America First Policies, the beleaguered nonprofit once intended to be the central outside group to boost Trump, is jump-starting a new television campaign now that it has new leadership at the helm.
-- Sheldon and Miriam Adelson gave $20,000 to Sen. Ted Cruz last month. Recall that the Adelsons were angry at Cruz for snubbing Trump at the RNC -- it appears the hatchet is buried now. | | | For all the talk about Steve Bannon's future, Jared Kushner's influence, Gary Cohn's rise and more about who's up and who's down in President Donald Trump's inner circle ... The Atlantic's David A. Graham argues Trump is changing his positions on the fly simply because he's never really thought long and hard about these issues before. | | 4 things you may have missed today | | Connecticut governor won't seek third term: Gov. Dannel Malloy, the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, isn't running for re-election in 2018. He's unpopular at home but is also on the long list of Democratic 2020 prospects. More from Eric.
DHS moving to up detention, deportation capacity, memo says: The Trump administration is taking steps to vastly increase its capacity to detain and deport undocumented immigrants, according to a draft internal memo prepared by the Department of Homeland Security. More from CNN's Tal Kopan.
Trump privately signs anti-Planned Parenthood law: The bill allows states to withhold federal money from organizations that provide abortion services, including Planned Parenthood, a group frequently targeted by Republicans. More from CNN's Dan Merica.
Bush says foreign aid is essential: Former President George W. Bush is defending foreign aid at a time when Trump is proposing significant cuts on US spending abroad. More from CNN's Eugene Scott. | | The chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus called on the Trump administration to launch an investigation into the violent removal of a passenger from a United Airlines flight. ... Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed reports of the chemical attack as "100% fabrication," despite evidence. ... President Donald Trump has said he wants to deport two to three million criminal undocumented immigrants -- and while it's unclear where he got that figure, achieving his goal won't come cheap.
... Oh, and there's this: West Virginia Democratic Gov. Jim Justice apparently thought the budget bill state lawmakers sent him was, well, bullcrap. | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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