Today In History: Trump Feuds With Sen. Warren On Twitter; Obama Signs Bill To Curb Trade Secret Thefts

May 11, 2017, is the 131st day of the year, with 234 days remaining. The moon is in a full moon phase, with illumination at 100 percent.

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Goofy: Trump goes on Twitter tirade against Elizabeth Warren

On the morning of May 11, 2016, a little more than an hour after sunrise, then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump engaged in a Twitter argument with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, referring to her in his tweets with the epithet “goofy Elizabeth Warren.”

The exchange came to a head on that Wednesday, but tension between Trump and Warren had been building over the course of a few days. The feud extended into the afternoon, with responses from Warren including commentary on Trump’s policies as “dangerous” and his words as “reckless.”

Obama signs new bill to prevent theft of trade secrets

On the same day in 2016, former President Barack Obama signed into law a new legislation that gave employers a new tool in preventing the theft of trade secrets, allowing companies the right to sue in federal court in order to recover damages. The legislation also gave employers the opportunity to seek an order that directs law enforcement officials to seize stolen material — “on a bipartisan basis,” as Obama put it.

“As many of you know, one of the biggest advantages that we've got in this global economy is that we innovate,” Obama said. “We come up with new services, new goods, new products, new technologies.”

“Unfortunately, all too often, some of our competitors — instead of competing with us fairly — are trying to steal these trade secrets from American companies, and that means a loss of American jobs, a loss of American markets, a loss of American leadership.”

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Photo credit: Ben Wikler via Flickr