Dec 7, 2018

Trump to nominate Bill Barr for attorney general

Stef W. Kight

Photo: Oliver Contreras/Pool via Getty Images

President Trump said Friday that he will nominate Bill Barr to serve as attorney general.

The big picture: Barr served in the same role during George H.W. Bush's administration from 1991 to 1993. He'll be taking over for acting-Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has sparked controversy over whether his nomination was legal. Democrats have threatened to investigate whether Whitaker can serve as acting attorney general given he wasn't Senate-confirmed, and Trump has faced pressure from some Republicans to quickly nominate someone to lead the Justice Department permanently.

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Coronavirus spreads to more countries, and U.S. ups its case count

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The novel coronavirus continues to spread to more nations, and the U.S. reports a doubling of its confirmed cases to 34 — while noting those are mostly due to repatriated citizens, emphasizing there's no "community spread" yet in the U.S. Meanwhile, Italy reported its first virus-related death on Friday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 2,359 people and infected more than 77,000 others, mostly in mainland China. New countries to announce infections recently include Israel, Lebanon and Iran.

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Orion Rummler

Wells Fargo agrees to pay $3 billion to settle consumer abuse charges

Clients use an ATM at a Wells Fargo Bank in Los Angeles, Calif. Photo: Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Wells Fargo agreed to a pay a combined $3 billion to the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday for opening millions of fake customer accounts between 2002 and 2016, the SEC said in a press release.

The big picture: The fine "is among the largest corporate penalties reached during the Trump administration," the Washington Post reports.

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