| By Derek Caney
Computer system restrictions, checking aides’ cellphones and fears of phone and email monitoring. President Donald Trump is unhappy with the leaks to the media coming from his administration. But efforts to plug those leaks have fueled paranoia among Beltway civil servants to a point where some are afraid to speak their minds during internal discussions. Quote of the day "There is a climate of intimidation, not just about talking to reporters, but also about communicating with colleagues." – anonymous official
Attorney General Jeff Sessions pledged to stay out of any probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. He also said he did nothing wrong by failing to disclose that last year while he was a senator and Trump's campaign ally, he met Russia's ambassador. Intelligence agencies later concluded that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump's favor. Democrats want Sessions to resign. Trump said he has full confidence in the attorney general.
One consequence of the investigations into alleged Russian hacking is that Trump isn't as effusive in his praise for Vladimir Putin. His top foreign policy advisers have started talking tougher about Russia. And his recent appointments reflect a more hawkish view of Russia.
Gone with the Schwinn  Confiscated sharing bicycles of different brands are seen at a parking lot of Huangpu District Vehicle Management Company in Shanghai, China, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
Around the country - Vice President Mike Pence said he used a private email account to conduct public business as governor of Indiana. The private email account was first reported by the Indianapolis Star, which said Pence used it at times to discuss sensitive matters and homeland security. The account was hacked last summer. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Pence criticized Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was U.S. secretary of state, saying it endangered national security.
- The White House is proposing to slash a quarter of the Environmental Protection Agency's budget, targeting climate-change programs and those designed to prevent air and water pollution like lead contamination. In addition to cutting staffing by 20 percent, Reuters learned some other specifics:
- Grants to states for lead cleanup would be cut 30 percent to $9.8 million.
- Grants to help Native American tribes deal with pollution would be cut 30 percent to $45.8 million.
- An EPA climate protection program on cutting emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming would be cut 70 percent to $29 million.
- The brownfields industrial site cleanup program would be cut by 42 percent to $14.7 million.
- Funding for enforcing pollution laws would be cut by 11 percent to $153 million.
Around Wall Street - Snap shares soared 44 percent on their first day of trading, overcoming doubts about the money-losing Snapchat app's slowing user growth. The stock closed at $24.48 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, well above the initial public offering price of $17 per share, giving the company a market value of $28.3 billion, on par with CBS and Target. More Snap coverage here:
- Federal law enforcement officials raided three of Caterpillar's facilities as part of a criminal probe. The company believes the search was part of an Internal Revenue Service investigation related to profits earned by a Swiss parts subsidiary, Caterpillar SARL, or CSARL. The U.S. Attorney General's office confirmed the searches, but didn't say why the facilities were raided.
Around the world - South Korean firms are being squeezed in China, in suspected retaliation for Seoul's deployment of a U.S. missile defense system, highlighting the tools China can deploy to hit back at the corporate interests of trade partners it disagrees with. The chill facing Korea Inc, from cosmetics and supermarket chains to autos and tourism, points to a risk for American companies.
- "This may be the last trip on which I can bring back cigars," Paul Segal, author of the Segal and Cigars blog, said during a recent visit to Havana. "So far, I have only got about 10 boxes but I still have five days left before I head home." Trump has threatened to reverse the United States' detente forged by Barack Obama with its former Cold War foe. Segal and other American visitors to the island are not taking any chances and are stocking up on Cuban cigars.
Today's reason to live Superchunk – Sprung A Leak |
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