Jan 25, 2017

Tulsi Gabbard reveals she met with Assad in Syria

Shane Savitsky

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard told CNN this afternoon that, in addition to expressing "love and aloha" to the Syrian people, she also met with Bashar al-Assad during her recent trip to the country.

Something to consider #1: If this seems like a Trumpian move for a Dem, don't forget that Steve Bannon "loves" Gabbard and set up a meeting between her and Trump in November.

Something to consider #2: She's been coy about who actually paid for her trip, leading some to believe it might have been organized by a pro-Assad NGO.

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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 2,251 people and infected almost 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.

Go deeperArrow4 hours ago - Economy & Business