MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: Trump’s tax plan -- JUST WONDERING: What is the W.H. gov’t shutdown strategy? -- POLITICO names new CEO -- ANNIE KARNI on Ivanka in Berlin -- LUMBER WARS -- B'DAY: AshLee Strong Presented by





Driving the Day

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Good Tuesday morning.

HILL TO W.H.: 15% CORPORATE TAX RATE? GET REAL -- The White House yesterday sent out the message that they planned to cut the corporate tax rate to 15 percent -- fulfilling a campaign-season promise. Is this an opening negotiating position or what Trump wants to achieve? We don’t know, because we haven’t seen him in a successful legislative negotiation yet.

BUT PRIVATELY, CAPITOL HILL REPUBLICANS ARE SEETHING. Why? Because a 15 percent corporate rate is practically impossible to achieve without blowing a hole in the budget. The president might be willing to balloon the national deficit, but Hill Republicans -- which have made debts and deficits their central issue over the last decade -- are not. To make a cut like that permanent, Republicans would need Democratic votes in the Senate, because it would run afoul of reconciliation rules. Speaker Paul Ryan and House Republicans raise $1 trillion in new cash with the border-adjustment tax, and they can only get the corporate rate down to 20 percent. Trump is signaling he has no interest in the so-called BAT.

-- WSJ’S RICHARD RUBIN: “Five Roadblocks in the Way of the White House’s Proposed Corporate Tax Cut”: “Deficits … Passthroughs … Reconciliation … Tradeoffs … Corporate Splits.” http://on.wsj.com/2p07O8y

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SPOTTED -- THE DINNER OF THE NIGHT -- Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the chief deputy whip and a critical player on practically any bill that comes to the House floor, dining with White House National Economic Adviser Gary Cohn at Le Diplomate on 14th Street. … MEETING TODAY -- Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

… TRUMP SOFTENS TONE ON BORDER WALL: The idea that the Trump administration could get funding for a border wall is fantastical, as Democrats can stop it cold in the Senate. Why did the White House take a firm position on it, only to abandon it last night? (See: Dawsey, Josh http://politi.co/2pdnhRd). When Congress passes the government funding bill in the next few days, the narrative will be that Trump was unable to secure money for the border wall, and in typical Washington fashion, has pushed off the fight to September. Sure, the administration could get a win here, if they let themselves. If they beef up border security or step up surveillance on the border they can sell that as a “down payment" on a stronger border, as Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) has been putting it.

RACHAEL BADE and JOHN BRESNAHAN: “Ryan on the hot seat to deliver for Trump”: “‘He has a really tough job, and I think he’s managing it well,’ an administration official added. ‘We all look back and see things we could have done better, but he’s got a very diverse conference that has a lot of different views.’” http://politi.co/2pgoWYv

-- ABOUT THAT PROGRESS ON HEALTH CARE: Remember when House Republicans wanted to show progress on health care before heading home a few weeks ago? They went to the House Rules Committee and started the process of passing a bill implementing risk-sharing pools. We hear that effort will be dropped and that House Republicans could kill the rule as soon as today.

TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS -- The White House is launching a website to commemorate the milestone. The site has three categories of accomplishments: “Building American Prosperity,” “Keeping Americans Safe & Strengthening Security Abroad,” and “Making Government Accountable to the People.” The president has called the 100-day construct a “ridiculous standard.” http://bit.ly/2p08J9f

-- AP: “Trump’s 100-days promises: Fewer than half carried out,” by Jill Colvin and Calvin Woodward. http://apne.ws/2oGPlv9

ABOUT THOSE 100 DAYS -- THE RESISTANCE: “Trump has enabled the Democratic Party to overlook its serious problems,” by Gabe Debenedetti: “By most traditional measures, the Democratic Party hit rock bottom at the outset of Donald Trump’s presidency. The Democratic National Committee was leaderless and in shambles. Congress and the White House were under Republican control, as were about two-thirds of the statehouses. Perhaps the most popular national figure associated with the party, Sen. Bernie Sanders, refused to even call himself a Democrat.

“Yet Trump’s first 100 days in office appear to have resuscitated the party, if for no reason other than the rank-and-file loathe him so deeply and furiously. Grassroots activism and organizing is surging. Irate Democrats are flooding GOP town halls even in conservative states like Idaho and South Carolina. Small-dollar fundraising is also on fire — six of the 10 Senate Democrats up for re-election in states Trump won collected over $2 million in the first three months of the year. For some of them, that represented more than had ever been raised in their state this early in the election cycle. But while the president has generated a vibrant culture of resistance on the left, it’s obscuring the depth of the hole that the Democratic Party still finds itself in.” http://politi.co/2pvfXn9

FOR YOUR RADAR -- “Seoul: North Korea holds drill to mark military anniversary,” by AP’s Eric Talmadge and Kim Tong-Hyung in Pyongyang, North Korea: “South Korea's military said Tuesday that North Korea held major live-fire drills in an area around its eastern coastal town of Wonsan as it marked the anniversary of the founding of its military. The exercise took place as a U.S. guided-missile submarine arrived in South Korea and envoys from the United States, Japan and South Korea met in Tokyo to discuss the growing threat posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles program. Though experts thought a nuclear test or ballistic missile launch might happen, the morning came and went without either.” http://apne.ws/2q9DqGO

-- “As North Korea Speeds Its Nuclear Program, U.S. Fears Time Will Run Out,” by NYT’s David Sanger and William Broad: http://nyti.ms/2q1pUs5

A message from Google: 50+ new features to help educators. As educators worldwide have reinvented their practices, Google products are also adapting to help them meet their evolving needs and challenges. At “The Anywhere School,” a virtual back-to-school event, Google introduced over 50 new features across Meet, Classroom, G Suite and more. Watch on demand.

ANNIE KARNI in BERLIN -- “Ivanka Trump faces skeptical audience in Berlin”: “‘What does a daughter with no political experience have to do in the White House?’ said Andrea Seibel, an opinion editor at Die Welt, the influential conservative-leaning Berlin daily, where editors huddling in the newsroom Monday afternoon planned to give front-page coverage to the visit. ‘We have family clan experiences in autocracies,’ Seibel said. ‘Ivanka Trump isn’t elected, she is a daughter. She didn’t say anything in the elections when he was saying nasty things about women and migrants. She is his voice, but somehow she has a nicer face.’

“The coverage of Ivanka Trump in the German media in the days leading up to her speech was similar to that at home, where she has been criticized on late night programs like ‘Saturday Night Live’ for being ‘complicit’ in her father’s agenda.” http://politi.co/2q0RoOJ

-- VIDEO of Ivanka arriving in Berlin. http://bit.ly/2pgqBgD

-- IVANKA FT OP-ED with World Bank president JIM YONG KIM, “Investment in women unleashes global gains: Female economic empowerment brings dividends for families, businesses and nations”: “We know what works. We need to increase access to finance, redistribute care work, accelerate progress to financial inclusion, and offer programmes that train female entrepreneurs and help them to access higher value markets. We need to develop new legal and regulatory frameworks to boost women’s growth and productivity. The right skills training enhances women’s capacity to better manage their businesses. And mentorship opportunities and access to networks bring learning opportunities and connections to capital and markets.” http://on.ft.com/2q17nML

LUMBER WARS -- “In New Trade Front, Trump Slaps Tariff on Canadian Lumber,” by NYT’s Peter Baker in D.C. and Ian Austen in Ottawa: “The Commerce Department determined that Canada had been improperly subsidizing the sale of softwood lumber products to the United States, and after failed negotiations, Washington decided to retaliate with tariffs of 3 percent to 24 percent. The penalties will be collected retroactively on imports dating back 90 days …

“The United States and Canada have been at odds over softwood lumber in one form or another since the 19th century, with the current dispute tracing back to 1982. The United States imported $5.7 billion in softwood lumber last year alone, mainly for residential home building. At the conflict’s heart is a fundamental difference in forestry ownership. In the United States, forest lands are largely held by lumber companies. In Canada, they tend to be owned by the government, and American mills contend that Canadian provinces subsidize their industries by charging low royalty rates for cutting trees. A temporary truce under President George W. Bush, which effectively limited Canadian exports to the United States, expired in 2015.” http://nyti.ms/2pgi6lC

-- TORONTO STAR: “The move was expected: the historic dispute over lumber pricing has led to once-a-decade trade skirmishes over the issue, resulting in American duties, then the inevitable court battles, and ultimately negotiated settlements. What wasn’t expected Monday was the enthusiasm with which the new American administration flung itself into the lumber hostilities, touting its incoming countervailing duties as an example of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tough, America-first trade posture.” http://bit.ly/2pdfNxx

TRUMP INC. -- “Flynn’s Turkish lobbying linked to Russia,” by Isaac Arnsdorf: “The Turkish man who gave Michael Flynn a $600,000 lobbying deal just before President Donald Trump picked him to be national security adviser has business ties to Russia, including a 2009 aviation financing deal negotiated with Vladimir Putin, according to court records. The man, Ekim Alptekin, has in recent years helped to coordinate Turkish lobbying in Washington with Dmitri ‘David’ Zaikin, a Soviet-born former executive in Russian energy and mining companies who also has had dealings with Putin’s government, according to three people with direct knowledge of the activities.

“This unusual arrangement, in which Alptekin and Zaikin have helped steer Turkish lobbying through various groups since at least 2015, raises questions about both the agenda of the two men and the source of the funds used to pay the lobbyists. Although Turkey is a NATO ally, its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has grown increasingly authoritarian and friendly with Putin. And the hiring of Flynn by Alptekin came at a time when Flynn was working for Trump’s campaign and Putin’s government was under investigation for interfering with the U.S. election.” http://politi.co/2oHnb38

POLITICO NAMES A NEW CEO -- Robert Allbritton and John Harris email the POLITICO world staff: “POLITICO’s next CEO is Patrick Steel, who is leaving a successful 16-year career at the investment bank of FBR & Co. to join us on May 8. Patrick is right for POLITICO for these primary reasons ... [H]is experience and expertise for the past 16 years has been in helping recognize companies that are poised for dramatic growth both domestically and overseas, and helping their management teams organize to achieve their potential.” WSJ story on the hire http://on.wsj.com/2orts74

THE JUICE …

-- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: UBS INVESTOR WATCH is out with its quarterly report this time focused on the first 100 days of the Trump administration. The findings: 61 percent of investors are optimistic about the economic outlook, up from 42 percent last summer. Three-in-four business owners are optimistic about their business outlook for the next four months. And while health care continues to be the top concern for investors, 90 percent believe government should spend more time coming up with a better solution. The survey polled more than 2,200 people who have at least $1 million in investable assets from March 28 through April 3. More results http://bit.ly/2oFSzy9

-- JONES DAY, the Trump campaign’s law firm, is running an online ad touting its “Insights on the New Administration,” listing issues it has expertise on like “energy & environment,” “financial regulation,” “government contracts,” and “health care / ACA”. One of the ads, which has a picture of the White House, was a prominent ad on NPR’s home page on Saturday. The ad links to a page (http://bit.ly/2q3yfbo) that has 14 publications analyzing the Trump administration’s policies. The law firm, whose former partner Don McGahn became White House counsel, was paid $3.3 million in legal fees by the campaign through the end of last month. At least three Jones Day lawyers joined McGahn in the White House. The firm, which does not lobby in Washington, did not respond to requests for comment on the ad campaign. See the ad http://bit.ly/2oVs773

-- FROM MORNING MEDIA: “At The New York Times, Rebecca Ruiz is joining the Washington bureau as a Justice Department reporter on the team covering national security and law enforcement. She’s been doing sports investigations since 2015 and was a business reporter prior to that.”

-- RANDOLPH ALLES is expected to be named the new Secret Service director. Ken Vogel and Cristiano Lima report: “Alles has served as the acting deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border protection since Trump's inauguration. He previously served stints as the CBP’s acting executive assistant commissioner of enterprise services and leading the department’s Air and Marine Operations. Prior to serving in federal government, Alles served for 35 years in the Marine Corps, retiring in 2011 with the title of Major General.” http://politi.co/2oZTqgS

-- SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH is scheduled to deliver her first speech on the Senate floor at 2:30 p.m. The Illinois Democrat will “call for a return to the shared values of equality, opportunity, and inclusiveness that have helped make our country the strongest in the world.” http://bit.ly/2pZIfmQ

TRUMP’S TUESDAY -- The president will be on Capitol Hill for a Holocaust remembrance ceremony. He’ll meet with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.



Playbook Reads

PHOTO DU JOUR: Former President Barack Obama speaks at a forum with young leaders to discuss community organizing at the University of Chicago on April 24. | Jim Young/AFP/Getty

SCHEDULE SHIFT -- “Trump dinner with Supreme Court justices postponed,” by Josh Gerstein: “President Donald Trump has postponed plans to host a dinner this week for the justices of the just-back-to-full-strength Supreme Court, White House officials said Monday. A week-ahead schedule distributed to reporters on Sunday said Trump would attend a dinner Thursday evening with the justices, ‘including his successfully confirmed nominee Justice Neil Gorsuch.’ However, a later version of the outlook dropped the Supreme Court event. A Trump aide said Monday that the dinner was put off due to scheduling issues during this busy week where officials are going all-out to mark the president’s accomplishments in his first 100 days in office.” http://politi.co/2q9Ju1J

BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- “A reelection challenge (almost) as big as Texas,” by WaPo’s Karen Tumulty in Tornillo, Texas: “Midterm elections are known to be brutal on the party in power, and if there is an anti-Republican wave in 2018, look for it to touch shore right here. The vast, volatile 23rd Congressional District of Texas is bigger in area than 29 states. It stretches from San Antonio to El Paso and includes about one-third of the entire U.S.-Mexico border. Its overwhelmingly Latino electorate last year went for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the presidential race. But it also reelected a Republican to the U.S. House — one of fewer than two dozen in the country to split that way. Rep. Will Hurd narrowly won a second term in what turned out to be the most expensive House race in Texas history. Democrats have put Hurd’s seat in their top five targets in 2018. He will also be running to beat the fickle tendencies of a district that has ousted four different incumbents since 2006.” http://wapo.st/2pdajD3

WEST COAST WATCH -- “Anticipating a shift to the right in the courts, the NRA begins its attack on gun controls in California,” by L.A. Times Pat McGreevy: “The state affiliate of the National Rifle Assn. on Monday filed the first in a series of planned court challenges opposing sweeping new gun control laws approved in California in the wake of the San Bernardino terror attacks. The flurry of legal action comes as Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s choice for the Supreme Court, takes his seat, returning a conservative majority to the nation’s highest court. And as the Republican administration begins appointing additional judges to the federal court system, gun-rights advocates say they hope that some of the more restrictive laws imposed in recent years will be vulnerable to legal challenge.” http://lat.ms/2q9JFKN

PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION -- “Tony Kornheiser’s D.C. bar finally has its new name,” by WaPo’s Dan Steinberg: “Kornheiser announced on his podcast last week that the former Chad’s (formerly Chadwick’s) has been renamed Chatter, effective immediately. The name is both a reference to the restaurant’s new podcasting studio -- which he said should be open by May 1 -- and to a famous quote about newspapers. ... Some of his partners -- who include Maury Povich, Gary Williams and Alan Bubes -- preferred Chatters, but Kornheiser prevailed upon them to use the singular.” http://wapo.st/2oGS7AM



MEDIAWATCH -- “White House turns conservative media reception into on-the-record briefing,” by Hadas Gold: “Around 50 attendees from the likes of Breitbart, the Washington Free Beacon, Daily Caller, Christian Broadcast Network, Catholic-focused The Eternal Word Television Network, as well as conservative radio hosts like Laura Ingraham, Larry O’Connor and John Fredericks mingled with senior administration officials and the president over light snacks, fruit and candy in the White House’s Roosevelt room. Nearly the entire communications staff were in attendance in addition to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, chief of staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Stephen Bannon, senior adviser Jared Kushner, National Security Council spokesperson Michael Anton and Deputy National Security Adviser K.T. McFarland. After about 30 minutes, the president came in and, standing in the corner of the room, began to take questions from the assembled press, later turning the event on the record.” http://politi.co/2pvdBEL

--Some reporters grumbled that they were unprepared when the evening turned into an impromptu presidential news conference. Reporters had been expecting a casual reception. The invitation had said the event was going to be “on background,” which the White House reiterated at the start of the event, according to an attendee. Because they thought the event was on background, some reporters at the reception weren’t jotting down exact quotes from Trump during his Q&A.

--SPOTTED: Charlie Spiering, Matthew Boyle, Alex Marlow, Kaitlan Collins, Jim Stinson, Star Parker, Adam Kredo, Brent Schur, Vince Coglianese, Katie Pavlich, Trey Yingst

-- “Bill O’Reilly plans to turn podcast into ‘genuine news program’,” by Hadas Gold: “Bill O'Reilly wasted no time stepping back into the media limelight following his stunning fall from grace last week, when he was pushed out of Fox News. On his podcast, which O'Reilly made free for this week, he said he plans to develop his website and the podcast, moving it from a short daily program into what would amount to a replacement for his long-running Fox show. ‘And then as we develop the website, we’ll have guests and things like that, and this will become longer and longer and longer, into a genuine news program. That’s the vision right now,’ O’Reilly said. After this week, those wishing to listen to O'Reilly's podcast will have to pay a fee.” http://politi.co/2p04v1a

--“Tucker Carlson Is Shopping Around A Book,” by BuzzFeed’s Steven Perlberg: “On Monday night, Tucker Carlson assumed the prized 8 p.m. time slot on Fox News, a big step in the cable news host’s steady climb at the network over the past few months. Now Carlson is looking to raise his profile even more. According to three people familiar with the matter, the 47-year-old Fox host is shopping a book or series of books to publishers. ... [T]he ongoing auction will likely fetch Carlson millions of dollars. The book is not autobiographical in nature, but rather reflects on themes Carlson cares about ... Carlson is being represented by literary agency Javelin. The firm’s founding partner, Keith Urbahn, is a former chief of staff to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.” http://bzfd.it/2q0V1nQ

-- “Trump Adviser Gorka Walks Off Stage at a Discussion of Fake News,” by Bloomberg’s Nafeesa Syeed: “Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka, under fire for his alleged association with a Hungarian nationalist group and his views on Islam, walked off the stage during a conference in Washington after facing questions from students and protesters he said distracted from other participants. Gorka, a deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, was on a panel at Georgetown University on Monday titled ‘News, Alternative Facts and Propaganda: The Role of Cyber in Influence Operations.’ ... After intense questioning, Gorka said he was leaving the stage ‘to allow my colleagues to actually get questions about the issues on the table.’” https://bloom.bg/2q9Hg2C



Playbookers

SPOTTED: Kellyanne Conway in first class on the 8 p.m. Acela from New York to Washington ... Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) having dinner last night with House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) at the Monocle.

TRANSITIONS -- Drew Cole, a veteran Republican lobbyist who was formerly with Quinn Gillespie and DCI Group, is joining Roberti Global: Irizarry Klein Roberti as a partner. … Dan Alfaro has joined Mercury as a VP. He previously was communications director for Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio). ... ClearPath has hired Jeremy Harrell as policy director. He previously advised Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) on energy, environmental and other policies. ... Jeff Wieand started on Monday on House Majority Whip Steve Scalise’s policy team as counsel. He was previously Rep. Tom Marino’s LD. ...

… The bipartisan Faith and Politics Institute has named Dan Keniry, VP and head of federal government affairs for United Health Group and former deputy assistant of legislative affairs for President George W. Bush, as its the new board chairman. http://bit.ly/2pZHXwf ... Latino Victory Fund has brought on Jorge Silva as VP for communications. Silva served as spokesperson and national director for Hispanic media for the Clinton campaign. ...

… John Wetzel is retiring from the Association of American Railroads after 34 years this week. Wetzel has served as VP of government affairs since 2005. Starting May 1, Bret Manley, legislative director for Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), joins AAR as AVP of government affairs. … Aaron Fobes has joined Celgene Corp. as associate director of public affairs and policy. He was previously press secretary for the Senate Finance Committee.

WEEKEND WEDDING -- Former Fox News VP of PR Dana Klinghoffer said “I DO” on Saturday to Daniel Kuney, co-founder of Jumpstart Entertainment, a Broadway general management company. The happy couple was married at Pomme in Radnor, Pennsylvania, among friends and family. Their first date was a walk through Prospect Park, where they later got engaged. Now they’re off to South Africa for their honeymoon. Pic http://bit.ly/2q9WvII

OUT AND ABOUT -- Jamie Weinstein and Michelle Fields hosted Trump confidante Roger Stone at their D.C. condo Monday night as part of their off-the-record Churchill Tommy Gun Society dinners. Pic http://bit.ly/2p01NZw SPOTTED: IJ Review’s Maegan Vazquez, BuzzFeed’s Adrian Carrasquillo, The Washington Examiner’s Alex Pappas, The Washington Free Beacon’s Matt Continetti and The Daily Caller’s Alex Pfeiffer.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: AshLee Strong, national press secretary for Speaker Paul Ryan and a proud Montanan. How she’s celebrating: “My friend surprised me with a ropes, rappelling, and belaying lesson so I had an early birthday celebration rock climbing on the rims in Billings, Montana, followed by dinner with my family. I have a low-key dinner with a friend on my birthday.” Read her Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2oHxUL0

BIRTHDAYS: Teddy Goff, co-founder and partner at Precision Strategies, where he leads their digital practice (h/t Tom Zigo) ... John Anzalone, spending his day training for the great bike ride across Iowa this summer ... former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) is 74 … Danielle Vogel, celebrating tonight at the annual Tenement Museum gala at Cipriani, honoring Jose Andres and former Sen. George Mitchell (hubby tip: Ken) ... Steve Murphy, managing partner at MVAR Media, is 66 ... Kathy Baird Westfall, managing director of content and social, North America at Ogilvy & Mather ... Mark McCullough, Florida comms. director at AFSCME ... David Fenton, chairman of Fenton ... Ron Tipton, executive director/CEO at Appalachian Trail Conservancy (h/ts Jon Haber) ... Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.) is 55 ... Susan Orr ... clean energy guru David Gardiner ... Erica Suares, a policy advisor in Leader McConnell’s office, and the pride of Plant City, Fla., who recently celebrated over Recess with a trip to Morocco in pursuit of the perfect tile art ... David Gardiner (h/t Dan) ... Mike Gwin, N.C. Democratic Party comms director and former HFA spox (h/t Andrew Bates) ... Garrett M. Quinn, Jr. ... Zev Siegl, co-founder of Starbucks and entrepreneurial advisor, is 62 ... Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA since 2014, is 55 ... Michael Scott Doran, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, focused on the international politics of the Middle East, is 55 ... Andrew H. Schapiro, former U.S. Amb. to the Czech Republic, is 54 (h/ts Jewish Insider) ... Emily C. Singer, senior writer at Mic ... Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) is 37 ... Julie Roginsky, Fox News contributor extraordinaire ... Arch Campbell ... NPR congressional reporter Geoff Bennett …

... Jaclyn Rothenberg, deputy press secretary for Mayor De Blasio and a Hillary, SKDK and Teneo alum ... Jennifer Anderson, director of principal engagement at the One Campaign … Drew “Dandy” Anderson, director of news and rapid response at GLAAD … Mike Tuffin, SVP for external affairs - public affairs at UnitedHealth Group and an APCO and AHIP alum ... Melissa Musiker, global head of APCO Worldwide’s food, consumer and retail practice (h/t Anthony DeAngelo) ... Kristen Ricciardelli, president of Big Ideas Group ... Emily Hesslbrock … Smythe Anderson … Derek LaVallee … George Hunter ... Jim Mustian, staff writer at The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.) ... Alex Brown of shipping brokerage firm Howe Robinson Partners in Houston ... Josie Hearn Wilson ... Wendy R. Anderson, an adjunct senior fellow at CNAS and an Ash Carter and DoD alum … Kenny “Go For The” Gold, strategy director for social at McCann and a GPG alum ... Gretchen Lowe, the pride of Madison, Wisconsin ... Lilly Susman ... Michelle McGrorty, the pride of Madison, Wisconsin #2 ... Tom Springer (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Scott Lieber ... actor Al Pacino is 77 (h/t AP)

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Follow us on Twitter Anna Palmer @apalmerdc



Jake Sherman @JakeSherman