Tuesday's Mini-Report, 3.14.17

Today's edition of quick hits:* Following up on last night's show: "A New York real estate company owned by the family of President Donald J. Trump's son-in-law is negotiating to sell a $400 million stake in its Fifth Avenue flagship skyscraper to a Chinese insurance company with ties to leading families of the Communist Party."* Quite a scandal: "The Justice Department unsealed a fresh indictment Tuesday charging eight current and former Navy officials -- including an admiral -- with corruption and other crimes in the 'Fat Leonard' bribery case, escalating an epic scandal that has dogged the Navy for the past four years."* The Trump administration has a personnel problem: "Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has withdrawn retired senior diplomat Anne W. Patterson as his choice for undersecretary for policy after the White House indicated unwillingness to fight what it said would be a battle for Senate confirmation."* And speaking of personnel: "A massage therapist and former Donald Trump campaign operative with a history of making disparaging remarks about Muslims on Twitter is no longer employed with the Department of Energy, following a BuzzFeed News inquiry, and a story from Greentech Media, about his tweets and status."* Those Trump guys and their email controversies: "U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp, used an alias email address while at the oil company to send and receive information related to climate change and other matters, according to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman."* McCrory: "Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) is struggling to find a new job due to widespread public disapproval of HB 2, a state law he signed last March that targets transgender people."* The new head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: "The Senate on Monday confirmed Seema Verma, a health policy expert from Indiana, to lead efforts by the Trump administration to transform Medicaid and upend the Affordable Care Act."* Oh, Florida: "Gov. Rick Scott and other top Florida Republicans frequently complain about government spending, but they have quietly spent more than $237 million on private lawyers to advance and defend their agendas, an Associated Press investigation has found."* Yep, we're apparently still talking about this: "Contradicting the musings of White House aide Kellyanne Conway, President Donald Trump's press secretary, Sean Spicer, said Tuesday that 'there is pretty sound evidence that the microwave is not a sound way of surveilling someone.'"* Once again: "President Trump will return to Mar-a-Lago this weekend, the White House confirmed on Monday, making it the fifth weekend he has spent in Florida as president."Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.