Patch Morning Briefing: Trump's Taxes; Blizzard Aftermath; Republicans Split On Health Bill

Good morning! It's already halfway through the week. Here's what you need to know to get your day started.

Rachel Maddow Shares What She Says Are President Trump's Tax Returns

Political junkies across the country are still trying to figure out what to make of what "The Rachel Maddow Show" said is a small portion of President Trump's 2005 tax returns. The host shared the documents live on air after a huge social media wind-up announcing the publication. As the White House confirmed before the broadcast, the documents show that the president made $150 million in that year and paid $38 million in taxes. But what does it all mean? (Patch)

Digging Out Of A Blizzard

Many Americans in the Northeast are still digging themselves out after a massive blizzard swept across the region Tuesday. While many areas got off easier than they expected, such as New York City and Long Island, other areas, including parts of New Jersey and Massachusetts, were blanketed with heavy snow. Predictions of persistent hazardous conditions led many schools and programs to preemptively cancel services Wednesday. (Patch)

CBO Score On Health Care Bill Divides Republicans

Republicans are divided over how to proceed with the health care bill being pushed by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and the White House after the Congressional Budget Office predicted it could result in many millions of Americans going without coverage. The report, which was released Monday evening and estimated that 24 million more people would be uninsured by 2026 if the law was passed, caused some reticent GOP lawmakers to back away from the bill. (Patch)

Quick Hits

Staten Island Ponies Detained By NYPD For Prancing Around In Snowstorm (Patch)

Researchers Find 1.6 Billion-Year-Old Plant-Like Fossils (Patch)

LA Sheriff's Department Spends $300,000 to Change Belt Buckles (Patch)

These Snow Shoveling Tips Might Save Your Life (Patch)

CNN: FBI Director Comey Will Release Information About Reported Investigations Into The Trump Camaign

CNN reported that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, said Comey told lawmakers he would make the announcement today.

Trump Takes Tennessee

President Trump is making a visit to Nashville, Tennessee, for a campaign-style rally today. Mayor Megan Barry will visit The Hermitage with the president but will not greet him when he lands at the airport and will not attend the rally at Municipal Auditorium. (Patch)

No One Has Gotten Lucky In Space

"As far as we know, fish, rats and a few frisky bugs are the only creatures to get it on in zero-G." (FiveThirtyEight)

Trump Administration Ups Drone Strikes, Tolerates More Civilian Deaths: U.S. Officials

"The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to make it easier for the CIA and the military to target terrorists with drone strikes, even if it means tolerating more civilian casualties, U.S. officials told NBC News." (NBC News)

Fourth Dog Associated With Iditarod Dies

"Race marshal Mark Nordman says in a release that a 4-year-old male named Flash collapsed and died while it was running with Kotzebue musher Katherine Keith's team about 10 miles outside the checkpoint in Koyuk." (Associated Press)

Sen. Richard Burr Received 'Sufficient' Responses On President Trump's 'Wiretap' Charge

Sen. Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican and chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said that he has received "sufficient" responses from the "appropriate people" regarding President Trump's accusations that President Obama "wiretapped" Trump Tower, according to a CNN report Tuesday. (Patch)

Some Of Us Enjoy The Snow More Than Others

This Day In History

44 BC — Julius Caesar, the ruler of the ancient Roman Republic, was killed by his Senate. In Shakespeare's telling of the story, Caesar was warned to "Beware Ides of March" — the 15th of the month — which was the date of multiple religious observances in the Roman Calendar.

Famous Birthdays

1948 — Kate Bornstein, an American author and gender theorist

1975 — will.i.am, an American rapper and actor

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images News/Getty Images