Axios

The Phnom Penh Post was sold to an investor with ties to the Cambodian government, the paper reports, in a further signal that the free press is disappearing in the country.

• The backdrop: The Post's sale comes nearly seven months after the Cambodia Daily, its biggest rival, was forced to shut down due to alleged tax violations. The Post itself owed $3.9 million in taxes prior to the sale.
• After the Post's staff reported on the sale, the investor who bought the paper asked for the story to be taken down but the staff refused, resulting in multiple firings. One of his complaints: "The name of the new owner is wrong. It is reported as Sivakumar Ganapathy. In fact, it is Sivakumar S. Ganapathy."

If you were gobsmacked watching Rudy Giuliani’s media tour this week — which he launched on Fox News' Hannity by announcing that Trump reimbursed lawyer Michael Cohen for a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels — you weren't alone.

What we're hearing: A White House official told me there were "a couple of Mooch references" in the West Wing last week, as Giuliani’s performance recalled Anthony Scaramucci's frenzied 11-day stint last summer as White House communications director.

Amid the tightest labor market in a generation, long-strapped Americans are seeing only small wage hikes, and economists say companies seem determined to hold onto wide profit margins for as long as they can before forking over more to workers.

Why it matters: Stubbornly flat wages and living standards are one reason for broad political disgruntlement in the U.S.