Sep 16, 2017

Trump won't reveal who visits him at Mar-a-Lago

Donald Trump speaks to supporters at his primary election night event at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. Photo: Gerald Herbert / AP

The Trump administration (with the help of the Department of Justice) has decided it won't release the complete Mar-a-Lago visitor logs, per NYT. "The government believes that presidential schedule information is not subject to FOIA," said Chad Readler, acting assistant attorney general.

DOJ turned over a list of just 22 names yesterday, all of them Japanese diplomats who met with Trump on the same day at Mar-a-Lago. The rest, it claims, are relevant to the president's schedule and therefore don't need to be released. The White House is exempt from FOIA requests, per federal law.

One big question: Why does the administration want to withhold visitor logs, especially if they could reveal private meetings with the president that might present possible conflicts of interest?

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Axios

Updated 25 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 19,451,097 — Total deaths: 722,835 — Total recoveries — 11,788,665 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 2. p.m. ET: 4,968,413 — Total deaths: 161,858 — Total recoveries: 1,623,870 — Total tests: 60,415,558 — Map.
Public health: Fauci says chances are "not great" that COVID-19 vaccine will be 98% effective.
Science: Indoor air is the next coronavirus frontline.
Schools: How back-to-school is playing out in the South as coronavirus rages on — Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Howard to hold fall classes online.

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Rashaan Ayesh

1 hour ago - World

What's next for Lebanon after the Beirut explosion

Photo: Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Beirut residents are still clearing rubble from streets that appear war-torn, days after a blast that shocked the country and horrified the world.

Why it matters: The explosion is likely to accelerate a painful cycle Lebanon was already living through — discontent, economic distress, and emigration.

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Mike Allen

2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Wolf Blitzer marks 15 years in "The Situation Room"

Wolf Blitzer on the White House beat in 1993, along with NBC's Brian Williams, CBS' Rita Braver and ABC's Brit Hume. Photo: Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images H

Aug. 8, 2005 — "The Situation Room's" debut on CNN wherein the host first said: "I'm Wolf Blitzer and you're in The Situation Room, where news and information from around the world arrive in one place simultaneously!"

The state of play: When the pandemic took off in the U.S. in March, Blitzer started working 7 days a week for 60+ days, until he took a Sunday off. Then he continued 7 days a week until he took a few days off.