Politics

Stock markets are soaring, which President Trump says is "Great!" so why is consumer confidence for Republicans and Americans earning over $100,000 collapsing?

And overall Bloomberg's survey finds "Personal Finances" a one-way street lower since the election, despite soaring stocks...

This is a major 'death-cross' in Trump's plan as it appears 'animal spirits' are evident only in Wall Street's speculative capital and not being felt at all on Main Street.

Not one to mince words, Steve Bannon, Trump's Chief White House strategist, eviscerated the mainstream media during an interview last night.  Commenting on their coverage of the Trump campaign, Bannon lambasted the disconnect of the media from everyday Americans saying, "They don't understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States."  Per Axios:

Update 2: SPICER: NOT READY TO ROLL OUT BORDER TAX AT THIS TIME. In other words, the angry Kochs made a phone call and explained that a border tax would be allowed only over their body.

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Update: and another story whch needs to be appended, because as NBC's Peter Alexander tweets, According to Spicer the 20% tax on Mexican imports is not a policy proposal but merely an example of options how to pay for the wall.

For the first time in 64 years, atomic scientists reset their symbolic "Doomsday Clock" to its closest time to midnight on Thursday, saying the world was closer to catastrophe due to threats such as nuclear weapons, climate change and Donald Trump's election as U.S. president. The timepiece, devised by the Chicago-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and displayed on its website, is widely viewed as an indicator of the world's vulnerability to disaster.

The "clock's" hands were moved to two minutes and 30 seconds to midnight, from three minutes.

Washington has reportedly frozen the transfer of multi millions in aid which was bound for West Bank and Gaza. In its waning hours, the Obama administration defied Republican opposition and quietly released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority (PA). However, a senior Palestinian source told the Times of Israel that the PA leadership was notified by US officials that it should not expect the payout any time soon.