Tempest over Trump-Putin call turns into uproar over leaks
WASHINGTON — The tempest over President Donald Trump’s congratulatory phone call to Vladimir Putin quickly grew on Wednesday into an uproar over White House leaks, sparking an internal investigation and speculation over who might be the next person Trump forces out of the West Wing.
The White House, which has suffered frequent leaks — at times of notable severity — said in a statement it would be a “fireable offense and likely illegal” to leak Trump’s briefing papers to the press, after word emerged that the president had been warned in briefing materials not to congratulate the Russian president on his re-election.
Trump did so anyway, and on Wednesday he defended the call, saying George W. Bush did not have the “smarts” to work with Putin, and that Barack Obama and his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton “didn’t have the energy or chemistry” with the Russian leader.
Aides had included guidance in Trump’s talking points for the call to Putin stating: “DO NOT CONGRATULATE,” a senior administration official said Wednesday, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official had not been authorized to discuss internal matters.
The document had been accessible only to a select group of staffers, two officials said, and had been drafted by aides to National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. They also said there now is an internal probe of the leak but provided no other details. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations. The White House is not formally acknowledging the veracity of the presidential guidance first reported by The Washington Post.
Teen Palestinian protester gets 8 months in prison
OFER MILITARY PRISON, West Bank — Palestinian teenage protest icon Ahed Tamimi on Wednesday was sentenced to eight months in prison for slapping and kicking a pair of Israeli soldiers outside her West Bank home, capping a case that sparked uproar in Israel, turned the 17-year-old girl into a Palestinian hero and attracted international attention.
Tamimi’s Israeli lawyer, Gaby Lasky, said Tamimi agreed to the sentence as part of a plea deal with prosecutors that allowed her to avoid more serious charges that could have imprisoned her for years. Under the deal, she is due to be released in the summer. She is also being fined the equivalent of about $1,400.
Lasky called the legal proceedings a “farce.” She said “they are trying to deter other Palestinian youth from resisting occupation as Ahed did.”
The judge agreed to a similar plea deal for Tamimi’s mother Nariman, who has been charged with incitement.
“This is injustice, this court is designed to oppress the Palestinians,” her father Bassem said. He said they agreed to the deal because they had been threatened with three years in jail. Bassem had visited his daughter and wife for the first time in prison the day before. He said Ahed spends her time doing school work.
Fed raises key rate and foresees 2 more hikes this year
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate Wednesday in a vote of confidence in the U.S. economy’s durability while signaling that it plans to continue a gradual approach to rate hikes for 2018 under its new chairman, Jerome Powell.
The Fed said it expects to raise rates twice more this year. And it increased its estimate for rate hikes in 2019 from two to three, reflecting more optimistic expectations for growth and low unemployment.
In a statement after its latest policy meeting, the Fed said it boosted its key short-term rate by a modest quarter-point to a still-low range of 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent. It also said it will keep shrinking its bond portfolio. The two moves mean that many consumers and businesses will face higher loan rates over time.
Taken together, the Fed’s actions and forecasts suggest a belief that the economy remains sturdy even nearly nine years after the Great Recession ended.
The Fed’s latest rate hike marks its sixth since it began tightening credit in December 2015, after having kept its benchmark rate at a record low near zero for seven years to help nurture the economy’s recovery from the recession. Wednesday’s action was approved 8-0, with the Fed avoiding any dissents at the first meeting Powell has presided over as chairman since succeeding Janet Yellen last month.
Cynthia Nixon’s political debut puts gay rights in spotlight
ALBANY, N.Y. — In her first appearance as a New York gubernatorial candidate, “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon hammered her Democratic opponent Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the crumbling subway, the “cesspool” of corruption in state government and inequality across the state. But she couldn’t escape what she didn’t mention in her speech, her sexual orientation.
Nixon, who if she wins would become the state’s first openly gay governor, was asked by reporters about a comment made by former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a gay Cuomo supporter who called Nixon an “unqualified lesbian.”
“My being a lesbian or her being a lesbian I think has nothing to do with why we’re running for office,” Nixon told the scrum on her way out of an appearance this week in Brooklyn.
“I think it’s time for an outsider,” she said. “I think it is time, not just in New York state but all over this country, to hear from the voices of real people who understand that our government … is in the clutches of millionaires, billionaires and corporations.”
The dustup over Quinn’s remark, for which she later apologized, highlighted what could become a reality of Nixon’s campaign leading to a September primary against the two-term incumbent Cuomo: Whether she likes it or not, Nixon will be forced to confront the issue of her sexuality and stand on gay rights.
Northeast gets clobbered with fourth snowstorm in 3 weeks
NEW YORK — Spring kicked off with a wallop of wintry weather along the East Coast as the fourth nor’easter in three weeks rolled in with the potential for a foot of snow Wednesday.
The first full day of the season included scenes of snow falling on blooming daffodils in suburban Philadelphia, New Yorkers twisting to fix blown-out umbrellas, tractor-trailers stuck on snowy highways and kids making their first snowman of spring.
“I want warm! I’m done with the cold,” said Yana Damoiseau, a pedestrian in New York City.
Airlines canceled more than 4,000 flights, an estimated 15,000 customers lost power from West Virginia northward, and school districts throughout the Northeast called off classes ahead of the storm. At least two traffic deaths were reported in New Jersey and on New York’s Long Island.
Up to 8 inches of snow had fallen in some Philadelphia suburbs by midafternoon, and 13 inches outside Allentown, Pennsylvania. New York had at least 5 inches ahead of the evening commute and braced for a total of 6 to 12. Forecasters said Boston could get 6 inches as the storm moved into New England.
