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A key congressional committee has already gained access to President Donald Trump's dealings with two major financial institutions, two sources familiar with the House probe tell NBC News, as a court ruling Wednesday promised to open the door for even more records to be handed over. Wells Fargo and TD Bank are the two of nine institutions that have so far complied with subpoenas issued by the House Financial Services Committee demanding information about their dealings with the Trump Organization, according to the sources. The disclosures by these two banks haven't been previously reported. Both TD Bank and Wells Fargo declined to comment for this story. Wells Fargo provided the committee with a few thousand documents and TD Bank handed the committee a handful of documents, according to a source who has seen them. The committee, led by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is especially interested in the president's business relationship with Russia and other foreign entities. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that two other banks — Deutsche Bank and Capitol One — can hand over financial documents related to their dealings Trump and his businesses to Congress. The Trump family had sued to prevent those two banks from complying with the congressional subpoena and the ruling paves the way for the committee to now have access to years of financial records from at least four financial institutions.The documents that have been provided so far are a fraction of those requested by Waters, whose committee has also sent subpoenas to Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank and JP Morgan Chase. The Royal Bank of Canada is in the process of complying with the subpoena, according to a source. The other banks have missed the subpoena deadline of May 6. The development comes as House Democrats are internally debating to move forward with launching an impeachment inquiry of the president or not. Deutsche Bank has been the Trump Organization's biggest lender, financing more than $2 billion in loans to the president during his business career, and he still owes the bank at least $130 million, according to Trump's latest financial disclosures. The subpoenas, details of which have not been released to the public, are predicated on the notion that Congress has access to the information under the Bank Secrecy Act, which allows Congress access to financial information to search for money laundering, according to a person who has seen the subpoenas. "The potential use of the U.S. financial system for illicit purposes is a very serious concern," Waters said in April when she issued the subpoenas. "The Financial Services Committee is exploring these matters, including as they may involve the President and his associates, as thoroughly as possible pursuant to its oversight authority, and will follow the facts wherever they may lead us." Spokespeople for both chairman Waters and Ranking Member Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., did not respond to requests for comment. The Waters probe is just one of numerous confrontations between House Democrats and the president over his financial information. The receipt of documents suggests progress for House Democrats who have often been frustrated in their efforts to, in some cases, conduct oversight but they have had progress in recent days. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta this week said that Congress has the legal authority to request information from the president's personal accounting firm Mazars USA. An NBC News analysis finds that at least 14 different Democratic-led House committees are investigating various aspects of Trump and his presidency, with 50 different inquiries that are seeking documents from the executive branch or outside entities. Much of the focus for House Democrats has been on efforts across multiple committees to gain access to an unredacted version of the Mueller report, which the Justice Department recently moved to block after Trump asserted executive privilege. While lawmakers have been stymied in obtaining additional documentation that could be central to an obstruction of justice case against the president or members of his administration, accessing bank records could provide new momentum for an investigation centered around questions of whether foreign individuals or governments hold financial leverage over the president, his family or his businesses. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/wells-fargo-td-bank-have-already-given-trump-related-financial-documents-to-congress/ar-AABKyq1?li=BBnb7Kz

Two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma on Wednesday, spreading alarm downstream as they threatened to hit a dam. The emergency was the latest consequence of storms and torrential rains that have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose. The Arkansas River town of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, was one such town. Town officials ordered a mandatory evacuation Wednesday afternoon because of the river's rising level. But Wednesday evening, a posting on the town's official Facebook page sounded the alarm about the runaway barges for its 600 residents: "Evacuate Webbers Falls immediately. The barges are loose and has the potential to hit the lock and dam 16. If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!!" There was no word by midnight Wednesday where the barges were on the river, but local television stations showing live video of the river and the lock and dam said they had not yet arrived. For the third consecutive day, dangerous storms prompted numerous tornado warnings and reports of twisters touching down, most in Missouri and Oklahoma. The National Weather Service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday evening, although some of those could be duplicate reporting of the same twister. One tornado skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri, on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city. The tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about 4 miles (6.44 kilometers) north of the Joplin airport. A 'violent tornado' touched down in Jefferson City, Missouri, causing possible fatalities, heavy damage at 11:43 p.m. on Wednesday. The mayor of the capital city had earlier issued a mandatory evacuation for an area involving a handful of homes. The city's airport also has been evacuated. The Arkansas River was approaching historic highs, while the already high Missouri and Mississippi Rivers were again rising after a multi-day stretch of storms that produced dozens of tornadoes. Forecasters predicted parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas could see more severe weather Wednesday night into Thursday. "The biggest concern is more rain," Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said during a news conference following an aerial tour with Tulsa Mayor G.W. Bynum and other officials Wednesday morning. The deluge inundated roadways, closing highways in 22 Oklahoma counties and 17 Kansas counties, along with more than 330 Missouri roads. Amtrak suspended train service Wednesday and Thursday along a route between St. Louis and Kansas City because of congestion and flood-related delays. The Arkansas River, which was just above 37 feet (11 meters), or 9 feet (2.74 meters) above flood stage, at Muskogee, Oklahoma, was expected to eventually reach 43.5 feet (13.26 meters). Officials encouraged residents in several communities along the river to leave their homes. But Bynum, Tulsa's mayor, said his city of more than 400,000 people was safe so far. "The levee system is working the way it's supposed to right now," he said. Near Crescent, about 34 miles (55 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City, erosion left several homes hanging over the swollen Cimarron River. One unoccupied home rolled into the river Tuesday, and authorities say others could collapse.More than 9 inches (23 centimeters) of rain has fallen since Sunday in parts of Oklahoma after an already rainy spring. "Any rainfall we get just continues to saturate the soils that are already saturated. Especially rivers and streams," said Oklahoma State Climatologist Gary McManus. "There is simply nowhere for this water to go" as it flows downstream from Kansas, according to McManus. In Kansas, residents in parts of the city of Iola, along the Neosho River, were being urged to evacuate and officials had set up on emergency shelter at a community college, said Corey Schinstock, assistant city administrator. If the river reaches its predicted crest of 27.8 feet (8.47 meters) Thursday, it would be the second-worst flood ever for the town of about 5,400 residents. Elsewhere, the Mississippi River was at or approaching major flood stage from Iowa through southern Missouri and Illinois. At St. Louis, the Mississippi was expected to crest Monday at nearly 12 feet (3.7 meters) above flood stage. If that holds, the Coast Guard will likely close the river to navigation for the second time this month. Along the Missouri River, about 50 levees in Missouri could be overtopped by Saturday as high water levels move downstream, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. The river was expected to crest Thursday at 36.1 feet (11 meters) near the town of Glasgow, Missouri, overtopping agricultural levees and inundating some homes, highways and parkland. Deaths from this week's storms include a 74-year-old woman found early Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair County. Missouri authorities said heavy rain was a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident Tuesday near Springfield. A fourth weather-related death may have occurred in Oklahoma, where the Highway Patrol said a woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade Tuesday near Perkins, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City. The unidentified woman's body was sent to the state medical examiner's office to confirm the cause of death. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said she isn't yet listed as what would be the state's first storm-related death. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/runaway-barges-threaten-dam-in-another-day-of-midwest-storms/ar-AABJMbN?li=BBnb7Kz

A baby died Wednesday after she was left in a van for almost five hours outside a Florida day care, authorities said, and the director of the day care has been arrested. The infant girl was discovered in a van at Ewing's Love & Hope Preschool and Academy in Jacksonville. The director and co-owner of the day care, Darryl Ewing, was arrested Wednesday night on a child neglect charge, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The day care's license was temporarily suspended Wednesday because it had not notified the state that it was transporting children, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) said in a statement provided to NBC affiliate WTLV in Jacksonville. The state agency said it had opened a joint child death and child care licensing investigation in coordination with law enforcement. "Every day, parents entrust child care providers with their most precious gifts," DCF Secretary Chad Poppell said in the statement. "Tragically, today a family has just been notified of the gut-wrenching loss of their precious baby girl." Authorities said the child, whose identity has not been released, was only a few months old. The Jacksonville County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the preschool at 1:08 p.m. to assist the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. Upon arrival, authorities found the child was not breathing and attempted to resuscitate her. She was taken to the hospital where she was declared dead. "Preliminary information suggests that the kid was there from about 8 a.m. to about a little after 1 p.m.," Asst. Chief Brian Kee told reporters at a news conference Wednesday. "Almost five hours." Kee said the exact cause of death is still being investigated, but it is believed to be heat related. The day care typically transports some children to its facility, he said. Kee said officers are interviewing "those involved" and will coordinate with the state attorney's office to determine the appropriate charges to file. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/director-of-day-care-arrested-after-baby-left-in-van-for-5-hours-dies/ar-AABKN4X?li=BBnb7Kz