Jan 8, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Top Democrats demand Mnuchin explain sanctions relief for Russian oligarch

Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov via Getty Images

The heads of seven House committees sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin Tuesday asking him to explain why the Trump administration has moved to end sanctions on entities linked to Russian aluminum oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

Between the lines: Deripaska previously employed Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and is under sanctions for extortion and illegal business practices. Manafort, who was reportedly in debt to the Russian oligarch, offered to provide Deripaska "private briefings" during the 2016 campaign, according to the Washington Post.

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Ina Fried, author of Login
28 mins ago - Technology

Amazon wants to flood America with Alexa cameras and microphones

Photo: Amazon

In a Thursday event unveiling a slew of new home devices ahead of the holidays, Amazon made clearer than ever its determination to flood America with cameras, microphones and the voice of Alexa, its AI assistant.

The big picture: Updating popular products and expanding its range to car alarms and in-home drones, Amazon extended its lead in smart home devices and moved into new areas including cloud gaming and car security. The new offerings will also fuel criticism that the tech giant is helping equip a society built around surveillance.

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Ben Geman, author of Generate
1 hour ago - Energy & Environment

Oil's turbulent long-term future

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The oil sector is facing risks from all sides.

Why it matters: Risk in the industry is nothing new. But these are especially turbulent and uncertain times. The industry's market clout has waned, the future of demand is kind of a mystery, and future U.S. policy is too, just to name three.

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Ursula Perano
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Meadows on Wray's voter fraud dismissal: "He has a hard time finding emails in his own FBI"

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows dismissed FBI Director Chris Wray's testimony that the U.S. has never historically seen evidence of widespread voter fraud, including by mail, during an appearance on "CBS This Morning" on Friday.

Why it matters: Meadows' statement highlights the Trump administration's strategy to sow doubt in November's election results by challenging the legitimacy of mail-in ballots, which are expected to skew heavily in Democrats' favor.

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