Image copyright Reuters Image caption Bannon left his White House job amid reports of a power struggle

Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's ex-chief strategist, has stepped down from the right-wing Breitbart News organisation where he built his reputation.

The move comes amid a furore over remarks he reportedly made about President Donald Trump's son.

He described a meeting Donald Trump Jr held in New York with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential election campaign as "treasonous".

He was one of Mr Trump's most trusted - and controversial - aides.

But he left his post last summer after reports of a power struggle among Mr Trump's White House staff.

His subsequent attempt to take on the Republican establishment suffered a severe blow when Roy Moore, the Senate candidate he championed in a special election in Alabama, lost to a Democrat - the first time that party has won in the state in decades.

Bannon surveys the wreckage

By Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington

Steve Bannon's fall from power is now complete. He was first stripped of his top White House job. Now he has been cashiered from his position atop a media empire he helped create.

As he surveys the rubble, he has no-one to blame but himself. In both instances, his decision to speak his mind publicly was his undoing. He criticised administration policies and, in an even greater transgression, took aim at Donald Trump's own family in sharply personal terms. When the White House made it clear last week it was time to pick sides between Mr Trump and Mr Bannon, the choice for most conservatives was clear.

Now Mr Bannon's hopes of funding insurgent candidates against incumbent Republican senators in 2018, and boosting their candidacies through his media megaphone, have been dashed.

What's more, he has to watch as the president he helped elect on an economic nationalist platform negotiates comprehensive immigration reform, touts a sweeping corporate tax cut recently signed into law and plans a visit to the globalist summit at Davos, Switzerland.

This was not the revolution Mr Bannon, just a year ago, may have envisioned.

Mr Trump has recently taken to referring to Mr Bannon as "Sloppy Steve", a derogatory reference to his former aide's famously dishevelled appearance.

And Rebekah Mercer, a wealthy benefactor of Mr Bannon, said at the weekend she had ended her support for his political efforts.

Last Sunday Mr Bannon insisted that his "treason" comments - quoted in an inside account of the Trump White House, Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury - were not directed at Mr Trump's son but at another former aide, Paul Manafort, who was also present at the meeting in Trump Tower.

The Senate, House of Representatives and a special counsel are all investigating alleged Russian interference in the presidential election, allegations denied by both the Kremlin and Mr Trump.

Mr Bannon had served as executive chairman of Breitbart since 2012.

Breitbart published a statement saying it and Mr Bannon would "work together on a smooth and orderly transition".

It quoted Mr Bannon as saying: "I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform."

Breitbart CEO Larry Solov was quoted as saying: "Steve is a valued part of our legacy, and we will always be grateful for his contributions, and what he has helped us to accomplish."</s>Get the top headlines of the day in your morning briefing from NBC 4 New York, Monday through Friday. Sign up for our newsletter here.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's decision to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation. U.S. District Judge William Alsup granted a request by California and other plaintiffs to prevent President Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while their lawsuits play out in court. Alsup said lawyers in favor of DACA clearly demonstrated that the young immigrants "were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm" without court action. The judge also said the lawyers have a strong chance of succeeding at trial. DACA has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. The program includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in September that the program would be phased out, saying former President Obama had exceeded his authority when he implemented it in 2012.

Search for SoCal Storm Victims That Killed at Least 13 Continues

A storm that slammed a California coastal community is over. The search for its victims is not. Authorities in Santa Barbara County were still trying to reach new areas and dig into the destruction to find dead, injured or trapped people after a powerful mud flow swept away dozens of homes. At least 13 people have been confirmed dead, at least 25 were injured and at least 50 had to be rescued by helicopters. Those numbers could increase when the search is deepened and expanded, with a major search-and-rescue team arriving from nearby Los Angeles County and help from the Coast Guard and National Guard along with law enforcement. They'll focus first on finding survivors. A sheriff said it's likely they'll find more people amid that destruction.

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between the coast of Honduras and the Cayman Islands, shaking the mainland and causing officials to briefly post advisories warning of the threat of possible tsunami surges around the region. There were no early reports of serious damage on land. Officials in Honduras said shaking was registered across much of the Central American nation and there were some reports of cracks in homes in Colon and Atlantida provinces along the northern coast and Olancho in eastern Honduras. Tsunami warning centers initially issued advisories stressing that people in Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Jamaica and other Caribbean islands as well as on the coasts of Mexico and Central America should aware of the tsunami danger. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said later that the advisories had been canceled. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a preliminary magnitude of 7.6. The tremor struck in the sea about 125 miles north-northeast of Barra Patuca, Honduras, and 188 miles southwest of George Town, Cayman Islands. The tremor occurred about 6 miles below the surface.

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is stepping down as chairman of Breitbart News Network after a public break with President Donald Trump. Breitbart announced Bannon would step down as executive chairman of the conservative news site, less than a week after Bannon's explosive criticisms of Trump and his family were published in a new book. A report on the Breitbart website quotes Bannon saying, "I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform." Trump lashed out at Bannon for comments made in Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," which questions the president's fitness for office. As Trump aides called him disloyal and disgraceful, the president branded his former chief strategist on Twitter as "Sloppy Steve," an apparent reference to Bannon's often unkempt appearance, and declared that "he lost his mind" when he was pushed out of the White House last August.

There's a good reason not to skip the flu shot this year: a new study has found that older adults who get the shot every flu season were less likely to die or be hospitalized with severe complications, NBC News reported. People over 65 who got the flu shot every year but were taken to the hospital with influenza were twice as likely not to get severe complications of flu or die, according to the study, published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. "We probably only get exposed to influenza, the virus, every three to five years on average," said University of Rochester Medical Center immunologist David Topham, who was not involved in the research. "That's plenty of time for your immunity to wane." The flu season is off to a strong start in the U.S. this year, with some emergency rooms filling up.

The New York Times has canceled a public event with James Franco days after the Golden Globe winner was accused of sexual misconduct. The Times Talk event was intended to feature "The Disaster Artist" director and star and his brother and co-star, Dave Franco, discussing the film with a Times reporter. The Times said in a statement that "given the controversy surrounding recent allegations" it was canceling the event. Actress Violet Paley and filmmaker Sarah Tither-Kaplan have recently accused Franco on Twitter of earlier instances of sexual misconduct. Franco was in attendance at Tuesday's National Board of Review Awards gala in New York City to present his film's adapted screenplay award. He did not comment on the allegations. An email seeking comment from his publicist was not immediately returned.</s>Steve Bannon has stepped down as executive chairman of Breitbart News Network. The move comes days after President Donald Trump lashed out at Bannon for comments made in Michael Wolff’s new book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” (Published Tuesday, Jan 9, 2018)

Steve Bannon has stepped down as executive chairman of Breitbart News Network. The move comes days after President Donald Trump lashed out at Bannon... See More</s>Doing another TV blitz on Monday, 'Fire and Fury' author Michael Wolff said that Trump wasn't fit for the presidency and called him a 'wing nut.'

Wolff appeared both on Morning Joe and CBS This Morning where the programs' hosts asked about his reporting of the book, as the author has taken some heat for sloppiness.

CBS News' Norah O'Donnell asked Wolff if he had interviewed Vice President Mike Pence of any of Trump's cabinet members for the tome, which chronicled the president's first year in office.

'I did not,' Wolff replied to both questions.

Wolff has said in multiple interviews and in pieces he's written to preview the best-seller that he spent about three hours talking to the president overall, chatting with Trump at various times.

He explained on CBS This Morning that Trump may have not realized their conversations were being used as fodder for the book.

'I think he probably had no idea he was speaking to me for this book,' Wolff said. 'When I would meet the president at the White House we would chat as though we were friends.'

On Morning Joe, the author suggested that the president, while tweeting angrily about the tome, may not even be aware of its full contents.

'This book, Donald Trump is not happy with this book, but he doesn't know most of what's in it, he doesn't know because it hasn't been on television yet ... and he doesn't read and nobody has told him because nobody wants to tell him,' Wolff said.

Additionally, Wolff told the Morning Joe hosts that besides Trump himself, Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway gave him access to the White House.

Yesterday, Bannon apologized to the president and Donald Trump Jr. for quotes he gave to Wolff for the book, suggesting they were misinterpreted.

Bannon took the most heat for describing the meeting Donald Trump Jr. hosted with Russians at Trump Tower in June 2016 as 'unpatriotic' and 'treasonous.'

'I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr has diverted attention from the president's historical accomplishments in the first year of his presidency,' the Breitbart head said.

Bannon added that his comments were meant for Paul Manafort, who should have known better.

'My comments were aimed at Paul Manafort, a seasoned campaign professional with experience and knowledge of how the Russians operate,' Bannon explained. 'He should have known they are duplicitous, cunning and not our friends.'

'To reiterate, those comments were not aimed at Don Jr,' Bannon told Axios.

'I don't want to put [Bannon] in more hot water than he is already in, but ... it was not directed at Manafort, it was directed directly at Don Jr,' Wolff said of their conversation. 'I think he believes that Don Jr. had no idea what he was doing,' the author added.

Wolff also believed Donald Trump Jr set up the meeting 'not even so much as to get dirt on Hillary Clinton.'

'But it was because, in the context of the campaign, they wanted to get rid of Corey Lewandowski and he had to do something to show his father he had the stuff,' Wolff said, referencing the president's original campaign manager, who was let go in late June of that year.

More broadly, Wolff continued to sound the alarm Monday on Trump's fitness for office.

'Is Donald Trump fit to be president,' Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough asked the author.

'Every time you speak to him you think, this is a wing nut,' Wolff said. 'There is something really alarming in ways that you cannot even begin to describe, it's like you're riveted to your seat.'

Wolff, who like Scarborough and his co-host Mika Brzezinski, had known Trump for years, as they were all part of the New York City social scene.

The author noted that Trump was 'often quite funny.'

'But never did I think, this is peculiar in other-worldly ways,' Wolff said.

Wolff again mentioned 'the repetitions,' accusing Trump of repeating stories again and again. He previously wrote about how the president didn't recognize a group of old friends gathered before the new year at Mar-a-Lago.

'He is not going to succeed. This is worse than everybody thought,' Wolff said Sunday on Meet the Press.

On the same show, the author also said he wasn't out to write a gotcha book on the Trump administration.

'I would have been delighted to have written a contrarian account here: Donald Trump, this unexpected president, is actually going to succeed,' Wolff said. 'OK, that's not the story.'</s>Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to President Trump, has stepped down from Breitbart, the far-right website he returned to over the summer as executive chairman after being ousted from the White House.

The website announced the news Tuesday afternoon in a short article posted to the site.

"I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform," Bannon is quoted as saying in the article.

Neither Bannon nor a spokesperson for Breitbart immediately responded to a request for comment.

Addressing staffers in the company's internal Slack channels, Breitbart CEO Larry Solov wrote, "Steve Bannon has decided to step down from Breitbart News Network. Steve is a valued part of our legacy, and we will always be grateful for his contributions, and what he helped us to accomplish. ... We will continue doing what we do as well as anybody in the world, and that is report the news."

A Breitbart employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, told CNN that "everyone seems stunned."

Bannon took over at Breitbart after founder Andrew Breitbart passed away suddenly in 2012. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Bannon has worked as an investment banker and dabbled in the film industry. But he really rose to public prominence when Trump named him CEO of his campaign in the summer of 2016. From there, he followed Trump to the White House, serving as chief strategist for much of 2017 before being ousted and returning to Breitbart.

But Bannon drew the ire of the White House last week when The Guardian revealed that author Michael Wolff quoted him in his book "Fire and Fury" as saying a Trump Tower meeting involving Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and a Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign was "unpatriotic" and perhaps "treasonous."

Trump responded at the time by slamming him in a fiery statement, saying Bannon had "lost his mind."

Bannon's comments also threw his future at Breitbart into question.

A person familiar with the matter told CNN last week that there was a "hard push" to convince Solov and Susie Breitbart, the widow of the website's founder, to fire Bannon.

The Wall Street Journal separately reported that Breitbart's board members were debating whether or not to oust Bannon, and last Thursday afternoon Rebekah Mercer, the conservative mega-donor who owns a stake in Breitbart, publicly rebuked Bannon in a rare public statement.

"I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected," Mercer said in the statement, which was provided to The Washington Post. "My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements."</s>Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon released a statement Sunday expressing regret for not responding sooner to comments attributed to him that were critical of Donald Trump Jr. in "Fire and Fury," an explosive new book on President Donald Trump's first year in office. CNN obtained the statement from a source close to Bannon.

In the book, author Michael Wolff quotes Bannon as saying the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump campaign officials, including Trump Jr. and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and a Russian lawyer purportedly offering damaging information about Hillary Clinton was "treasonous." The book also attributes statements to him denigrating the President.

CNN has not independently verified all the assertions in Wolff's book.

"Donald Trump, Jr. is both a patriot and a good man. He has been relentless in his advocacy for his father and the agenda that has helped turn our country around.

My support is also unwavering for the president and his agenda — as I have shown daily in my national radio broadcasts, on the pages of Breitbart News and in speeches and appearances from Tokyo and Hong Kong to Arizona and Alabama. President Trump was the only candidate that could have taken on and defeated the Clinton apparatus. I am the only person to date to conduct a global effort to preach the message of Trump and Trumpism; and remain ready to stand in the breech for this president's efforts to make America great again. My comments about the meeting with Russian nationals came from my life experiences as a Naval officer stationed aboard a destroyer whose main mission was to hunt Soviet submarines to my time at the Pentagon during the Reagan years when our focus was the defeat of 'the evil empire' and to making films about Reagan's war against the Soviets and Hillary Clinton's involvement in selling uranium to them. My comments were aimed at Paul Manafort, a seasoned campaign professional with experience and knowledge of how the Russians operate. He should have known they are duplicitous, cunning and not our friends. To reiterate, those comments were not aimed at Don Jr. Everything I have to say about the ridiculous nature of the Russian 'collusion' investigation I said on my 60 Minutes interview. There was no collusion and the investigation is a witch hunt. I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr has diverted attention from the president's historical accomplishments in the first year of his presidency."</s>WASHINGTON (AP) - Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is stepping down as chairman of Breitbart News Network after a public break with President Donald Trump.

Breitbart announced Tuesday that Bannon would step down as executive chairman of the conservative news site, less than a week after Bannon's explosive criticisms of Trump and his family were published in a new book.

A report on the Breitbart website quotes Bannon saying, "I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform."

Trump lashed out at Bannon for comments made in Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," which questions the president's fitness for office. As Trump aides called him disloyal and disgraceful, the president branded his former chief strategist on Twitter as "Sloppy Steve," an apparent reference to Bannon's often unkempt appearance, and declared that "he lost his mind" when he was pushed out of the White House last August.

After days of silence amid withering criticism from his former colleagues and his largest benefactor, Bannon tried to make amends. He issued a statement Sunday praising the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., whom he was quoted accusing of treasonous behavior in the book. Bannon did not apologize for his criticism of the president's daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, with whom he had squabbled inside the West Wing.

Bannon's departure from Breitbart came as a shock to some of his allies. One said Bannon was telling people as recently as Monday that he expected to stay on.

Inside the White House, Bannon was viewed as the keeper of Trump's nationalistic flame, charting the progress on the president's promises to his base on dry erase boards in his office. But Bannon was marginalized in the months before his ouster over Trump's concerns that the top aide was being viewed as an Oval Office puppeteer.

The White House did not immediately respond to the news of Bannon's ouster, but press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders last week called on the conservative site — which has been a steadfast backer of the president — to "look at and consider" parting ways with Bannon.

On Monday, deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Bannon's apology did not alter his standing with the president. "I don't believe there's any way back for Mr. Bannon at this point," Gidley said.

AP Washington Bureau Chief Julie Pace and AP writer Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.</s>Bannon leaves Breitbart. Steve Bannon has stepped down from Breitbart News, where he was executive chairman, the company has announced. Bannon was forced out amid the furore over comments he allegedly made about US President Donald Trump’s mental fitness that were published in Fire and Fury, a book by Michael Wolff. The New York Times reports Bannon’s departure was forced by Rebekah Mercer, a one-time financial patron. Bannon had worked with the Trump election campaign, and then as chief strategist in the administration, before he was sacked. In a statement published on Breitbart, the company said it would work with Bannon on a “smooth transition”. More on Fire and Fury’s grand claims here.</s>NEW YORK, United States — US President Donald Trump’s former White House strategist Steve Bannon has stepped down from Breitbart News, the conservative news outlet announced Tuesday, amid controversy over his incendiary comments about the president quoted in a new book.

The reported remarks used in “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” — an explosive behind-the-scenes account that questions the president’s fitness for office — have led to a very public split with Trump.

Bannon has been abandoned by financial patrons, condemned by erstwhile political allies and ridiculed by Trump himself over his comments, which he has not denied making but has since tried to walk back.

“I’m proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform,” Bannon said in a statement carried on Breitbart’s website.

“Steve is a valued part of our legacy, and we will always be grateful for his contributions, and what he has helped us to accomplish,” Breitbart CEO Larry Solov said.

Bannon and Breitbart will work together on a smooth and orderly transition, the news site added.

Bannon had served as Breitbart’s executive chairman since 2012. During his time at the White House, he took a leave of absence from his duties with the news outlet.</s>Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to President Trump, has stepped down from Breitbart, the far-right website he returned to over the summer as executive chairman after being ousted from the White House.

The website announced the news Tuesday afternoon in a short article posted to the site.

“I’m proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform,” Bannon is quoted as saying in the article.

Neither Bannon nor a spokesperson for Breitbart immediately responded to a request for comment.

Bannon drew the ire of the White House last week when The Guardian revealed that author Michael Wolff quoted him in his book “Fire and Fury” as saying a Trump Tower meeting involving Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and a Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign was “unpatriotic” and perhaps “treasonous.”

Trump responded at the time by slamming Bannon in a fiery statement, saying Bannon had “lost his mind.”
Steve Bannon steps down as executive chairman of Breitbart News amid a dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump over comments he made about the Trump family in Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury.