Steve Schmidt...

$1 billion opioid bill would limit prescriptions to 3 days

Sens. Rob Portman and Sheldon Whitehouse — the cosponsors of the opioid bill passed last Congress — introduced an opioid bill today that includes $1 billion in yearly funding to evidence-based programs. It also limits opioid prescriptions to three days to cut down on overprescribing, with exceptions for chronic pain treatment.

Why this matters: The authors' goal is to use this bill as a roadmap for appropriators to determine how to spend the $6 billion over two years in opioid and mental health funding. But it also includes important policy reforms that experts generally say could make a dent in the crisis. Portman said in an interview he hopes his bill gets attached to the upcoming spending bill.

“Overprescribing continues to be a problem. Still, most people who die of heroin overdoses, fentanyl overdoses, started with prescription drugs. Sometimes legally prescribed, sometimes not."

https://www.axios.com/1-billion-opioid-bill-would-limit-prescriptions-to-3-days-2a9326e8-c1e7-4963-bf9e-ab5c7a95dd3e.html

Nearly half of all states have raised their gas taxes in the last five years.

The gun debate is a mess and Trump isn't helping

No one knows what, if anything, Congress is going to be able to do on guns. If there was tepid optimism going into the week that the Senate would be able to quickly pass a bipartisan, NRA-backed bill that strengthens the existing background check system, it was quickly replaced by the chaos that now erupts every time Congress tries to address something difficult.

Between the lines: The confusion and lack of a clear direction on the Hill mirrors the White House. President Trump has been all over the place since the Parkland shooting, and congressional Republicans are either not taking him seriously or unwilling to embrace many of the gun control policies he's floated.

https://www.axios.com/the-gun-debate-is-a-mess-and-trump-1519691662-0febde4c-038d-47d5-8589-455ca723427f.html

Powells testimony in 2 minutes...

Roger Stone: I Hooked Up Nigel Farage With Donald Trump

Last week, the Guardian published a report revealing a new and odd twist in the Trump-Russia scandal: Nigel Farage, the British politician who led the Brexit movement in Great Britain, is a “person of interest” in the FBI investigation of interactions between Trump associates and the Russian government. The newspaper reported that Farage was under FBI scrutiny because he had relationships with both the Trump camp and WikiLeaks, which disseminated Democratic emails swiped by Russian hackers in an effort to help Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Farage dismissed the story as “hysteria” and said he had not been contacted by the FBI. But Farage did meet with Trump during the campaign. And a source close to the Trump camp tells Mother Jones that a Trump-Farage meeting was set up by Roger Stone, the veteran political dirty-trickster and long-time Trump adviser who has come under investigation in the Trump-Russia inquiry.

That source is Stone himself.

In the months since the election, Stone has drawn the attention of investigators and reporters because he made statements during the campaign that implied he possessed inside information about WikiLeaks’ plans to release material stolen in the hack-and-leak covert operation mounted by Putin’s regime to subvert the 2016 campaign and assist Trump. In early August—after WikiLeaks had disseminated Democratic Party emails hacked by Russian intelligence—Stone said at a Republican event in Florida, “I actually have communicated with [WikiLeaks founder Julian] Assange. I believe the next tranche of his documents pertain to the Clinton Foundation, but there’s no telling what the October surprise may be.” On October 2, he tweeted, “Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. #Wikileaks.” (This was five days before WikiLeaks released the emails of Clinton campaign CEO John Podesta, which were stolen by Russian hackers.) That month, Stone claimed he had “a back-channel communication” with Assange through “a good mutual friend.” During the campaign, Stone also communicated with Guccifer 2.0, the online persona that posted hacked Democratic emails, and Stone publicly insisted Guccifer 2.0 was not connected to the Russians.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/roger-stone-nigel-farage-donald-trump-russia-fbi/

Scientists believe we've reached a tipping point in the Arctic

NSA chief: Trump hasn't given command to stop Russian cyber threat

The director of the NSA, Mike Rogers, who also heads up the Pentagon’s Cyber Command, told lawmakers during a hearing Tuesday that President Trump hasn’t directed him to stop Russian hacking attempts.

Why it matters, according to Rogers: "They have not paid a price that is sufficient to change their behavior.” Intel leaders told lawmakers earlier this month that Russia’s hacking behavior has not changed since 2016 and that the country is expected to meddle in the 2018 midterms.

https://www.axios.com/has-trump-tried-to-stop-russian-election-hacking-3d72d181-d614-4d80-8dcc-b2e0a81b5b17.html

Insanity hannity......

Trumps Longtime Lawyer, Michael Cohen, Knows Way Too Much. So Why is He Still in Exile?

He’s the president’s ‘Ray Donovan.’ But he never had a home at the White House. Now, he’s plotting his next act.

BRANDY ZADROZNY
ASAWIN SUEBSAENG
02.25.18 8:48 PM ET

Before his remarks at a $35,000-per-plate fundraiser last June in Miami, Florida, President Donald Trump took the podium to acknowledge his biggest boosters in the crowd. Eventually, he got to Michael Cohen, the longtime private employee of the Trump Organization who is currently serving as “personal attorney” to the president. Trump praised Cohen’s lawyering, his loyalty, and his love for appearing on television.

“I haven’t seen Michael in a month,” he added, wistfully. “It’s good to see you, Michael. I miss you, man.”

The feeling was mutual.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-longtime-lawyer-michael-cohen-knows-way-too-much-so-why-is-he-still-in-exile

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When will Cohen be called to testify?????