May 12, 2018

WSJ: Mueller asked Ford for records of conversation with Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that special counsel Robert Mueller has requested records from Ford Motor Company about a conversation the company had with Michael Cohen in January 2017 during which Cohen offered his consulting services — which the automaker swiftly rejected.

The details: Cohen reportedly reached out to Ford's D.C. office "touting his proximity to the president," a move the special counsel "later learned about in the course of his investigation." The Journal, citing multiple people familiar with the matter, adds that Mueller's team has interviewed Ziad Ojakli, Ford's head of government affairs who rebuffed Cohen's services.

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Fadel Allassan

Bloomberg offers to release women from 3 nondisclosure agreements

Mike Bloomberg. Photo: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Mike Bloomberg said Friday his company will release three women identified to have signed nondisclosure agreements so they can publicly discuss their allegations against him if they wish.

Why it matters, via Axios' Margaret Talev: Bloomberg’s shift in policy toward NDAs comes as he tries to stanch his loss of female support after the Las Vegas debate. It is an effort to separate the total number of harassment and culture complaints at the large company from those directed at him personally. That could reframe the criticism against him, but also protect the company from legal fallout if all past NDAs were placed in jeopardy.

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Axios

Coronavirus spreads to more countries, and U.S. ups its case count

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The novel coronavirus continues to spread to more nations, and the U.S. reports a doubling of its confirmed cases to 34 — while noting those are mostly due to repatriated citizens, emphasizing there's no "community spread" yet in the United States.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 2,250 people and infected almost 77,000 others, mostly in mainland China. New countries to announce infections recently include Israel, Lebanon and Iran.

Go deeperUpdated 18 mins ago - Health

Eileen Drage O'Reilly

Repatriated American citizens have doubled coronavirus cases in U.S.

Face mask discarded outside the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Photo: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

The official number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. just doubled — to 34 — but public health officials are pointing out that these are mostly people who've been repatriated.

Why it matters: As concerns grow about a global pandemic, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want to make sure the message gets out: "We are not seeing community spread here in the United States," Nancy Messonnier says.

Go deeper2 hours ago - Health