Obama backing Secret Service head
WASHINGTON – The White House says President Barack Obama still has full confidence in Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy despite the investigation into two senior Secret Service agents accused of driving a car into a White House security barrier.
Obama learned about the incident earlier in the week, before word broke publicly through the news media.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz says Obama was disappointed to learn about the incident. But he says nobody has higher standards for the Secret Service than Clancy.
The two agents under investigation had allegedly been drinking before the incident. Clancy has asked the Homeland Security Department’s investigator general to conduct an independent investigation.
Spokesman denies Putin health rumors
MOSCOW – Speculation is swirling in Russia about the state of Vladimir Putin’s health, as an unusual spell outside the public eye fuels the rumor mill. On Thursday, the Russian president’s spokesman sought to quash such talk, saying in an interview that Putin’s health is “really perfect.”
Dmitry Peskov told The Associated Press that Putin has a busy agenda in the coming days, including some international meetings. He said that next week the president is set to make a trip to Kazakhstan, which had been planned for this week but abruptly postponed.
The 62-year old Russian leader was last seen in public on March 5, when he hosted Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi before falling out of sight for a week a highly unusual absence.
Associated Press
