Axios

OMB Director Mick Mulvaney told Fox News' Chris Wallace Sunday that President Trump and chief of staff John Kelly gave former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter the “benefit of the doubt” regarding allegations of his domestic abuse — until photos came out out showing Porter's ex-wife Colbie Holderness with a black eye. Mulvaney said that is "a very normal and human reaction."

Why it matters: This directly contradicts Kelly’s version of events. A member of Congress who has discussed the matter directly with Kelly and Trump told Axios' Jonathan Swan and Mike Allen that when the Daily Mail story detailing the allegations came out, Kelly said he immediately took action: he confronted Porter and told him he had to resign.

Once a month, Axios checks in with the world's most interesting and consequential people on their passions, quirks and life hacks. This week our breakfast conversation features NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, who's currently in Pyeongchang covering the Winter Olympic Games.

Sinclair Broadcasting Group, the largest owner of local television stations in the United States, has asked its executive staff to contribute to the broadcasting giant's political action committee in order to support the conglomerate's push for deregulation in local media markets, per The Washington Post. Sinclair's executive staff includes the company's news directors at local stations — who hold important editorial roles.

Why it matters: As The Post writes, "[E]ncouraging the news directors of its many stations to contribute to its political effort, in the view of some experts, breaches a long-standing ethical obligation among journalists."

"For 15 months [after] the 2016 election of President Donald Trump, ... the stock market was a smooth, one-way trade: up 34%, with nary a significant pullback ... That beautiful ride is now over," Barron's writes in its cover story.

Why it matters: "A fast and vertiginous drop in February points to a material change in investor psychology, to cautious from enthusiastic."

If you own stocks, anywhere in the world, there’s a good chance that the markets’ wild ride this week upset your stomach. But, worried as you were, you probably felt some confidence that the U.S. and European economies are relatively stable, that governments in those places know what they're doing and are relatively transparent about it, and that markets would recover.

The big picture: Now consider a day in the (not-so-distant) future when a market meltdown begins not on Wall Street but in China. Imagine further that when that day comes, China is the largest economy on earth (by some measures, it already is). Will you be as confident in China’s leadership and markets are you are in the U.S. and Europe’s?