| | | | Happy Monday. Doug's on assignment and AJ is off running a half-marathon somewhere. So I'll do my best to get you Up to Speed and Out the Door about #envelopegate and other news. | | | If you fell asleep during last night's Oscar ceremony as it droned on and on, you missed one heckuva twist ending: | | So. Much. News. Here goes: - Today, the White House will release a budget outline that calls for a major hike in military spending and spares cuts to Social Security and Medicare. But some agencies, such as the EPA, won't be so lucky. None of this is a surprise - President Trump had promised as much during his campaign.
- Philip Bilden, who was being considered for Secretary of the Navy, has withdrawn his name. Earlier this month, the man who was being considered for Secretary of the Army also withdrew. Both gave the same reason: They'd have a hard time disengaging themselves from their business ties.
- The battered Democratic Party elected Tom Perez as its new chair and progressives were NOT pleased. They'd pinned their hopes on Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison. Perez appointed Ellison as deputy chair and vowed an all-out battle to deny Trump a second term. Oh, and then he sent out this tweet.
- White House press secretary Sean Spicer called his staffers into his office and checked their cell phones - both government-issued and personal - to make sure they weren't communicating with reporters. It's part of an aggressive effort to stem the recent tide of White House leaks.
- Homeland Security chief John Kelly says immigration enforcement would be limited to criminals and the travel ban won't target Muslims.
| | 3. Anti-semitic incidents | | | Another Jewish cemetery has been vandalized, this time in Philadelphia. A man visiting his dad's grave at Mount Carmel Cemetery found three headstones kicked over. When cops arrived, they found about 100 more. There are three Christian cemeteries nearby; they weren't damaged. Last week, vandals knocked over more than 100 headstones at a cemetery in St. Louis. | | | This real-life whodunit gets more bizarre by the day. This morning, South Korea's spy agency said North Korea's foreign and national security ministries are behind the murder of Kim Jong Un's half-brother. Kim Jong Nam's autopsy showed he likely died within 20 minutes after he was exposed to a nerve agent at the Kuala Lumpur airport. That's not surprising because the nerve agent is believed to be VX. If you're having a hard time keeping up, here's a timeline. | | - In the 1990s, he starred in a string of blockbusters: "Twister," "Titanic" and "Apollo 13." In recent years, he left his mark with acclaimed TV roles, particularly as the patriarch of a polygamist family in "Big Love." Bill Paxton has died from, what a family rep said was, complications of surgery. He was 61.
- Yesterday, we also learned of Judge Joseph Wapner's death. His popular reality show, "The People's Court," inspired decades of similar shows, such as "Judge Judy." Wapner died of natural causes at 97.
| | | People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. | | Award-worthy bad
Razzie voters went political this year, bestowing "Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party" with not just worst picture, but also worst actor, director and actress (for the unnamed person who played Clinton). | | You get a ride, and you get a ride
You can keep your cars, Oprah. Ellen just gave 42 high-schoolers college scholarships. | | Rise and fall
$6 billion: What LivingSocial was valued, at its height
$0: What Groupon paid to acquire it. | | Nothing but a number
At this school, the average age of a student is 75. | | To comfort and calm
The preemies at this UK hospital's NICU unit have an unlikely companion -- colorful, crocheted octopi. | | | | | | |
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