Rebecca Savransky

Republican state senators in Connecticut used a procedural trick to block a bill that would let the state regulate the internet. The bill failed in the state's Energy and Technology Committee.  The committee includes two state Senate Democrats and two state Senate Republicans. When House members are included, Democrats have a majority in the committee. State Sen Paul Formica (R), co-chairman of the panel, split the committee so only the senators were allowed to vote. With two senators voting against the measure and two voting for it, the bill failed in the committee.

A White House spokeswoman criticized the media while defending President Trump after he claimed that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower before the election. "The media loves to create this false narrative against the current president but is so quick to dismiss anything under the past administration," said Sarah Huckabee Sanders. "If the president walked across the Potomac, the media would report that he couldn't swim." Huckabee Sanders said the current administration is asking that "the same standard be applied to this president as the past president." "And let's look and let's get the details and let's put those out there for the American people to make a decision," she said.

President Donald Trump reportedly said "sometimes it's the reverse" when asked about the wave of recent anti-Semitic incidents across the country. Trump made the comments to a group of state attorneys general on Feb 28. "He just said, 'Sometimes it's the reverse, to make people — or to make others — look bad,' and he used the word 'reverse,' I would say two to three times in his comments," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. "He did correctly say at the top that it was reprehensible." Shapiro said Trump would be speaking about the issue during his address to Congress on Feb 28. "I really don't know what he means, or why he said that,” Shapiro said, adding that he hopes the president will clarify the remark.

Vice President Mike Pence said both he and President Trump support a "free and independent press. "But you can anticipate that the president and all of us will continue to call out the media when play fast and loose with the facts," Vice President Pence said. "The truth is that we have in President Trump someone who has a unique ability to speak directly to the American people, and when the media gets it wrong, I promise you, President Trump will take his case straight to the American people to set the record straight.”

President Donald Trump vowed to "destroy" the Johnson Amendment, which prevents religious groups and churches from engaging in political activities. "I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution," the president said Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast. "I will do that, remember." The president added that freedom of a religion is a "sacred right," but that it is also "under threat." "And the world is under serious, serious threat, in so many different ways and I've never seen it so much and so openly," he said. "The world is in trouble, we're going to straighten is out." The Johnson Amendment prohibits churches and other tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates. Repealing the amendment would allow religious organizations to engage in partisan political activities without losing their tax exemption status.

President-elect Donald Trump refused to take a question from a CNN reporter during his press conference, berating the network for “fake news.” "Your organization is terrible," Trump told CNN’s Jim Acosta when he tried to ask a question. "You're attacking us, can you give us a question?” Acosta replied. "Don't be rude. No, I'm not going to give you a question. You are fake news," President-elect Trump responded, before calling on a reporter from Breitbart.

President-elect Trump also praised media outlets that refrained from reporting on explosive allegations that Russia possesses compromising information about him. “I want to thank a lot of the news organizations here today,” Trump said. “They came out so strongly against that fake news.” “I have great respect for the news and great respect for freedom of the press and all of that, but I will tell you that there were some news organizations with all that was just said that were so professional, so incredibly professional that I’ve just gone up a notch as to what I think of you.”