Politics

President Trump is due to deliver remarks aboard the not yet commissioned super-carrier U.S.S. Gerald Ford, docked at Newport News, Va. The focus of his speech is expected to be promote his vision and plan for the nation's military buildup.

During the campaign he promised a surge in military spending as part of his campaign to make America great again. This week, the White House announced it would be adding $54 billion (£43 billion) to the defence budget – about a 10 percent increase.

Update: AP reports that President Donald Trump said he has “total” confidence in Attorney General Jeff Sessions and that he sees no need for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation of Russian meddling in U.S. politics. Trump voiced his support for Sessions in response to a shouted question before speaking at an event aboard a Navy aircraft carrier in Virginia.

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Can Truth Prevail?

Paul Craig Roberts

According to official US economic data, the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has expanded for 22 quarters, raising real GDP 12.1% above its high prior to the 2008-09 economic contraction. Yet, US manufacturing output and US industrial production have not recovered to their pre-contraction high.

So what is driving the real GDP growth? In my opinion, the rise in real GDP is an illusion produced by the under-measurement of inflation.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joined many of his top Democrat Congressional peers including Nancy Pelosi, Elijah Cummins and Elizabeth Warren, in calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign and be investigated by the DOJ’s inspector general to determine whether he compromised an investigation into Russian influence.

“It would be better for the country if he resigned,” Schumer told reporters. “You have to be above reproach,” he added.

As Politico's John Bresnahan first noted, anyone scoping out the Dept of the Interior today was greeted with an odd sight:Trump's new Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, rode a horse to his first day of work at the department’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, Thursday morning. Zinke wore a cowboy hat, boots and jeans for the Thursday morning ride, which preceded a welcoming event in the lobby of the building.