| CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN AT&T TRIAL COMING MONDAY: The landmark trial over the proposed AT&T-Time Warner merger is winding down, and both sides are set to give their closing arguments before District Judge Richard Leon on Monday. Witness testimony closed on Thursday, a little over a month after the trial began. Many are speculating that the odds are in the companies' favor. But the Justice Department's top antitrust official,. Makan Delrahim, tried to put a positive spin on things this week. "We'll see what happens," Delrahim told reporters at the courthouse on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. "I would never bring a case I don't think I can win." Adding to the anticipation: Vanity Fair reported this week that Delrahim turned down a last-minute settlement offer from AT&T. DEM BILL TARGETS ROBOCALLS: Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) introduced a bill Friday that would crack down on robocalls from debt collectors seeking to collect on federal loans. Her Help Americans Never Get Unwanted Phone calls (HANGUP) Act would close a loophole exempting debt collectors from a 1991 law restricting telemarketing calls and robocalls. A provision in the 2015 Budget Act granted the exception to debt collectors. "No one should be subjected to harassing or unwanted robocalls, whether they come from a government contractor or anywhere else," Eshoo said in a statement. "Congress took action to crack down on these unwanted calls through the 1991 [Telephone Consumer Protection Act], but the provision in the Budget Act of 2015 rolled back important consumer protections in the 27 year old law," Eshoo continued. "The HANGUP Act restores these critical protections for consumers by establishing a statutory roadblock to unwanted robocalls and texts from government contractors." US GROWTH SLOWS: U.S. economic growth slowed to 2.3 percent in the first quarter, but still beat analysts expectations, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Analysts had estimated the figure would be somewhere between 1.8 and 2 percent. Prices for goods and services purchased by U.S. residents rose 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2018, following a 2.5 percent increase in the fourth quarter. Excluding food and energy, prices increased 2.7 percent in the first quarter, versus an increase of 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017. More here from our colleague Sylvan Lane. HOUSE RUSSIA REPORT: The House Intelligence Committee on Friday released its final report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and addressed the Internet Research Agency, the Russian troll group special counsel Robert Mueller has indicted for using social media platforms to manipulate U.S. elections. "Russian malign influence activities on Facebook were significant but they were not well-funded or large-scale operations relative to the overall scope of election-related activity on these platforms," the Republican report states. Mueller's indictment, though, characterized the group as well funded and well organized. GOOGLE'S PHILANTHROPY PUSH: Google announced new philanthropic initiatives this week. The company said that it will be participating in national Take Back Drug Prescription day. The company built a tool with the help of the Drug Enforcement Agency to help people find the nearest place they can safely dispose of drugs, along with some other initiatives aimed at helping mitigate the opioid crisis. Google's other initiative is a partnership with Walmart focused on technical skills training for the workforce. Big picture: The push comes as Ivanka Trump discussed ways to pass skills training legislation with IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and senators. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The New York Times: How a Genealogy Site Led to the Front Door of the Golden State Killer Suspect Los Angeles Times: Amazon Prime's price is jumping to $119 a year -- but there are ways around paying that much The Wall Street Journal: Race for 5G Speeds Up, Lifting West's Top Suppliers Reuters: Amazon ad sale boom could challenge Google-Facebook dominance | 
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