Summoned: President Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon has been subpoenaed by the Special Counsel to testify in front of a grand jury, according to several news outlets. He’s being called to answer questions about possible links or collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia.

News of the subpoena broke as Bannon was spending all day yesterday before a House investigating committee in what was described as a “contentious” session. Members of the committee later said Bannon refused to answer questions about the transition period and his time in the White House.

Bannon was one of Trump’s closest advisers in the last five months of the campaign and in the White House until August of last year, when he was fired.

Other Trump associates have been called without subpoena to be interviewed by the Special Counsel. The subpoena may be a tactic to compel Bannon to sit for a less formal session, but it also indicates that he is not a target of the investigation. Targets are rarely subpoenaed.

Hard of Hearing: Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen dodged questions in front of a Senate committee yesterday on whether she heard President Trump refer to Haiti and Africa as “shithole” countries during a White House meeting. She said she heard a lot of people in the meeting using “tough” language, but didn’t hear the President use that specific word.

Sen. Dick Durbin, who was in the meeting, asked whether she heard Sen. Lindsey Graham speaking harshly in objection, using the President’s own words. She wouldn’t say who said what. She also balked at admitting that Norway is a predominantly white country.

TweetStorm: Events in Washington had President Trump furiously tweeting yesterday about “The Russian Collusion Hoax,” border security, unemployment among black Americans, and immigration:

– “Do you notice the Fake News Mainstream Media never likes covering the great and record setting economic news, but rather talks about anything negative or that can be turned into the negative. The Russian Collusion Hoax is dead, except as it pertains to the Dems. Public gets it!”

– “Unemployment for Black Americans is the lowest ever recorded. Trump approval ratings with Black Americans has doubled. Thank you, and it will get even (much) better! @FoxNews”

– “The Democrats want to shut down the Government over Amnesty for all and Border Security. The biggest loser will be our rapidly rebuilding Military, at a time we need it more than ever. We need a merit based system of immigration, and we need it now! No more dangerous Lottery.”

– “We must have Security at our VERY DANGEROUS SOUTHERN BORDER, and we must have a great WALL to help protect us, and to help stop the massive inflow of drugs pouring into our country!”

Fact Check: Black unemployment Under Obama: 12.7% to 7.8% (-4.9).  Under Trump: 7.8% to 6.8% (-1.0)

Body and Mind: The White House doctor revealed results of Trump’s medical exam, saying the President needs to lose 10 or 15 pounds but is generally in good health.

Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, a rear admiral in the Navy and the White House physician, said Trump insisted on being tested for cognitive impairment. Jackson said, “There’s no indication whatsoever that he has any cognitive issues. I’ve found no reason whatsoever to think the president has any issues whatsoever with his thought processes.”

Money, Money: Continuing the climb through record territory, the Dow Jones traded briefly above 26,000 yesterday before settling down to close at 25,792.

I Spy: A former CIA officer has been arrested at New York’s JFK airport on suspicion of helping China identify and root out agency informants in the country. Many of the informants are reported to have been killed in a murderous dismantling of the CIA’s spy network in China starting in 2010.

The arrest of the former officer, Jerry Chun Shing Lee, 53, was the result of a hunt for a mole in the agency after informants in China began to disappear.

Being Heard: A week of victim statements began yesterday in the case of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, 54, who has been convicted of sexually abusing young athletes under the guide of medical treatment. Close to 100 young women, some of them still minors, are expected to speak before Nassar is sentenced. One woman said, “You used my body for six years for your own sexual gratification. That is unforgivable.”

Nassar could spend the rest of his life in prison. He’s already serving 60 years on a child pornography conviction.

At Sea: Five Navy officers involved in fatal ship collisions that killed a total of 17 sailors last year will face charges, including negligent homicide, the service announced Tuesday night.

The individuals officers Cmdr. Bryce Benson and Cmdr. Alfredo J. Sanchez, the former captains of the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain. The Fitzgerald collided off Japan with a bigger ship on June 17, killing seven sailors. The McCain struck another ship on Aug. 21 near Singapore, killing 10.

Cheers: North Korea says it plans to send a 230-member cheer squad to the winter Olympics in the South. The groups, described as  “beauty squads” by the South Korean press, often get more attention than their athletes. Kim Jong Un’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, was a member of a 2005 squad. She’s his #1 cheerleader.

-30-