On ThursdayPresident Trumpshocked the World Economic Forum after he called out Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan - and other banks, for discriminating against conservatives.
Bloomberg referred to this as "an unsubstantiated right-wing conspiracy theory," while the bank itself issued a statement hours later insisting that "we welcome conservatives," and "would never close accounts for political reasons and don't have a political litmus test."
Except, that's complete horseshit.
Not only did 13 states warn the bank about 'de-banking' conservatives, several people, such as Gen. Mike Flynn, responded with first-hand accounts of what happened to them.
"This is total bullshit. My wife and I lost our accounts with the Bank of Un-America," said Flynn. "In nearly 30 years, never missed a mortgage payment, near perfect credit score, always paid my bills…they dropped us without warning. Strongest recommendation, dump them and use a credit union instead."
The Claremont Institute's John Eastman had a similar experience:
Here, Eastman can't get an answer out of the bank as to why his bank account was shut down without warning (via the Daily Caller)
Billionaire investor Marc Andreessen outlined to Joe Rogan in November about the federal government's rogue "Operation Choke Point." He described it as a move by the Department of Justice that initially targeted marijuana businesses and gun manufacturers, adding that under Biden, it was then weaponized to destroy political opponents, tech founders, and the crypto community.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is pushing Elon Musk, chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to look at "reducing wasteful spending on unnecessary federal enforcement actions and detention," including marijuana possession and raids on marijuana dispensaries.
The senator noted that while ~25% of all federal drug possession arrests are for marijuana, sentences are rare. She added that nearly half of the states have legalized cannabis for recreational purposes. Currently, recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states and 39 for medical use.
"These arrests and seizures unnecessarily drain federal resources," Warren wrote in a Jan. 23 letter. "DOGE should recommend that DOJ and DHS conserve resources by deprioritizing costly arrests and other enforcement actions targeting marijuana activity, at least where the activity is legal in the jurisdiction where it occurred."
The US Medicare agency dropped its appeal of a lawsuit brought by UnitedHealth Group Inc. challenging the program’s determination of quality ratings that drive Medicare payments.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services withdrew the appeal in a filing in a Texas federal court Friday. The decision may signal that the agency won’t fight insurers over the policy under the Trump administration, which could benefit other Medicare insurers including Humana Inc.
Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) is down 5.95% to $32.10 as of 11:04 AM ET Friday, following a downgrade from Oppenheimer, which cut its rating to Perform from Outperform due to concerns over drug differentiation. The firm pointed to uncertainty between Exelixis' cancer therapies, zanzalintinib and cabozantinib, after reviewing an abstract from the STELLAR-001 study presented at the ASCO GI medical meeting.
While Oppenheimer noted that the data may help de-risk the Phase 3 STELLAR-303 trial in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), analysts do not yet see clear differentiation for zanzalintinib. With this lack of clarity, Oppenheimer is taking a cautious stance, choosing to stay on the sidelines until more data emerges. As a result, the firm lowered its price target from $41 to $33, reflecting a more neutral outlook on the stock.
Beta Bionics, which makes an automated insulin delivery system for type 1 diabetes, announced terms for its IPO on Wednesday.
The Irvine, CA-based company plans to raise $113 million by offering 7.5 million shares at a price range of $14 to $16. The company plans to raise an additional $17 million in a concurrent private placement to an existing shareholder. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Beta Bionics would command a fully diluted market value of $625 million.
Beta Bionics' iLet Bionic Pancreas (iLet) is the first insulin delivery device cleared by the FDA to utilize adaptive closed-loop algorithms to autonomously determine every insulin dose without requiring a user to count carbohydrate intake. These algorithms allow the iLet to deliver the correct insulin doses every five minutes throughout the day and night, requiring only the user’s body weight for device initialization and the autonomous determination of all insulin doses. The iLet received FDA clearance for patients with type 1 diabetes ages six and older in May 2023. The company plans to pursue expanded use of the iLet to patients with type 2 diabetes, and it is also in the early stages of developing an insulin "patch pump" and a bihormonal configuration of the iLet.
Beta Bionics was founded in 2015 and booked $53 million in sales for the 12 months ended September 30, 2024. It plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol BBNX. BofA Securities, Piper Sandler, Leerink Partners, and Stifel are the joint bookrunners on the deal. It is expected to price during the week of January 27, 2025.
Aardvark Therapeutics, a Phase 3 biotech developing novel small molecule therapies for metabolic diseases, filed on Thursday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering.
Aardvark's wholly-owned lead candidate, ARD-101 (denatonium acetate monohydrate), is an oral gut-restricted small-molecule agonist of certain Bitter Taste Receptors (TAS2Rs) expressed in the gut lumen. The company has initiated a potentially pivotal Phase 3 trial of ARD-101 for hyperphagia associated with Prader-Willi Syndrome, with topline data expected in early 2026. It also intends to evaluate ARD-101 in a Phase 2 trial for hyperphagia associated with acquired hypothalamic obesity resultant from treatment of craniopharyngioma, including surgery or radiation.
The San Diego, CA-based company was founded in 2017 and plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol AARD. Aardvark Therapeutics filed confidentially on October 24, 2024. Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Cantor Fitzgerald, and RBC Capital Markets are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
The military has begun “deportation flights” ordered by President Trump, the White House said Friday, releasing pictures of long lines of shackled migrants boarding planes out of the country.
“Deportation flights have begun,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a post to X.
“President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences.”
At least two C-17 Globemaster III planes flew migrants to Guatemala, defense officials told ABC News, with one noting at least one took off from Biggs Army Field near Fort Bliss in Texas.
The Guatemalan Migration Institute confirmed in a statement that 79 Guatemalans returned to the country, including 31 adult women and 48 adult men, according to NBC.
“The Trump Administration also deported hundreds of illegal immigrant criminals via military aircraft,” Leavitt posted to X. “The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway.”
Tom Homan says ICE deportation operations have begun
Trump 'border czar' Tom Homan outlines the administration’s deportation strategy on ‘America Reports.’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Friday that “deportation flights have begun,” releasing photos of people boarding military aircraft.@PressSec/X
It is not immediately clear who was boarding the planes or where the images were taken.@PressSec/X
“Promises made. Promises kept.”
The same day, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported they had arrested 538 migrants illegally in the country and lodged 373 detainers.
Among those 538 were “a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors,” the press secretary said.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested more than 460 illegal immigrants with criminal histories of sexual assault, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, drug and weapons offenses, resisting arrest, and domestic violence, according to reports.Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post
“President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences,” Leavitt announced on Friday on X.AP
The arrests began at midnight Tuesday and included migrants from more than a dozen nations, including Afghanistan, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Senegal and Venezuela, according to Fox News Digital.
The Trump administration is also deploying 1,500 active-duty troops to the US-Mexico border, with many given orders to fly helicopters to help Border Patrol agents and assist with constructing barriers, Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said Wednesday.
““This is just the beginning,” he said. “In short order, the department will develop and execute additional missions in cooperation with DHS, federal agencies, and state partners to address the full range of threats outlined by the President at our nation’s borders.”
There were already approximately 2,500 personnel at the border supporting Customs and Border Protection’s operations through Thursday, January 23, “a senior defense official said Friday.”
The 1,500 additional troops “are en route and began to arrive overnight,”and more will be sent if needed, including up to 2,000 additional Marines, officials have said.
As of Friday, there were no plans to give the troops any law enforcement tasks — which would represent a major shift in US military policy on domestic soil. Any further decisions on the matter would have to be made by the White House, an official said.
