President Trump's efforts to assuage Americans' recession fears don't seem to be going very well.
At least, that's according to a new poll from The Washington Post/ABC News, in which 60 percent of those polled said a recession within the next year is either very or somewhat likely. This is compared to 35 percent who said a recession in the next year is very or somewhat unlikely.
Trump in recent weeks has blamed the media for reporting on fears of a potential looming recession based on possible warning signs like August's inverted yield curve, and the Post reports the president has told his aides "that he thinks he can convince Americans that the economy is vibrant and unrattled through a public messaging campaign."
But in this poll, not only are most Americans seemingly not buying into that messaging campaign, but 43 percent said Trump has increased the chance of a recession in the next year with his economic and trade policies. For comparison, 34 percent said he hasn't made a difference, and 16 percent said he's decreased the chances of a recession. Fifty-six percent also disapproved of Trump's handling of trade negotiations with China, one major source of recession fears, while 35 percent approved.
Trump's overall approval rating declined six points from 44 percent in June to 38 percent now, with 47 percent disapproving of his handling of the economy and 56 percent disapproving of his overall job performance.
The Washington Post and ABC News conducted this poll by speaking to a random national sample of 1,003 adults over the phone from Sept. 2 through Sept. 5. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points. Read more results of the poll likely to instill plenty of anxiety in Trump's re-election campaign at ABC News. Brendan Morrow
Edward Snowden's book, Permanent Record, was only released Tuesday, but it's already causing trouble for the author.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit the same day against Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked classified information from the NSA in 2013. The lawsuit is centered on Snowden publishing the memoir without approval, which the Justice Department is alleging violates non-disclosure agreements Snowden signed with the government.
The point of the lawsuit, however, is not to prevent the the publication or the distribution of the book; the Justice Department just wants to make sure Snowden doesn't get paid for it. Therefore, the department is seeking the proceeds Snowden earns from the book's sales. "Intelligence information should protect our nation, not provide personal profit," G. Zachary Terwilliger, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement. "This lawsuit will ensure that Edward Snowden receives no monetary benefits from breaching the trust placed in him."
Permanent Record reportedly reveals new details about Snowden's decision to steal files from the NSA's collection of phone and internet metadata and release them to journalists. Read more at The Washington Post and NBC News. Tim O'Donnell
The U.S. might soon have a new old friend, Bloomberg reports.
U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Tuesday, and now the U.S. reportedly plans to return an ambassador to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, for the first time in 11 years, and vice versa; Hale called it a "historic" first step in restoring bilateral ties. The freeze in diplomatic relations between the countries began in 2008 because the U.S. made allegations of human-rights abuses by the Belarusian government, which has been led by Lukashenko, who has been called the "last dictator in Europe," for the last 25 years.
Hale said Lukashenko has taken "concrete steps" toward improving the relationship between Washington and Minsk, though it's unclear what those were. While there's no indication the disagreement over human-rights issues was resolved, Washington is reportedly keen on keeping Russia at bay in Eastern Europe. As it stands, Moscow is Lukashenko's "main ally and patron," Bloomberg reports, but Minsk has reportedly been reluctant to get much closer with Russia, which has its eyes on the formation of a "union state" with Belarus. So, perhaps, the renewed relationship is meant to serve as a buffer for Russian influence not just on Belarus, but the region as a whole.
Lukashenko also reportedly told Hale that as long as it doesn't undermine Belarus' security, he would not allow the deployment of short- or medium-range missiles in the country, which Moscow has hinted at in the past. Read more at Bloomberg. Tim O'Donnell