川普参观造价130亿美元战舰 承诺增加国防预算
美国总统川普周四来到弗吉尼亚州的一个造船厂，参观有史以来最昂贵的一艘战舰，并承诺要增加国防开支。
川普穿着军用夹克，头戴棒球帽，巡视了福特号航空母舰。这艘价值129亿美元的军舰造价超支，又出现各种延误，但预计将在今年晚些时候投入使用。川普借这次备受关注的活动来展示他本周提出的大幅提高美国军费开支的承诺。
川普周二晚上在国会发表讲话时说：“为了保护美国的安全，我们必须为美军将士提供他们所需的工具来防止战争。”
建造这艘战舰的公司说，战舰从蒸汽动力改为电力，并配备了最好的武器、通信和操作系统。
川普总统最初的要求是增加540亿美元国防开支，使五角大楼的预算增加到每年6000多亿美元。川普说，这是有史以来军费涨幅最大的一次，他甚至想要再增加300亿美元，以加强他所称的“消耗殆尽的军力”。相比之下，国务院每年得到大约500亿美元用于对外援助和发展等项目。
Trump Tours $13 Billion Warship, Touts Boost in Defense Spending
U.S. President Donald Trump promised to boost defense spending when he visited a Virginia shipyard Thursday to tour the most expensive warship ever built.
Wearing a military jacket and ball cap, Trump toured the USS Gerald R. Ford, a $12.9 billion warship that has been plagued by cost overruns and delays but is expected to be commissioned later this year. He used the high-profile event to showcase the budget pledge he made this week to dramatically boost U.S. military spending.
During Tuesday night's address to Congress, he said, "To keep America safe, we must provide the men and women of the United States military with the tools they need to prevent war.
The war vessel shifts from steam to electrical power and will be equipped with the best weaponry, communications and operating systems in the nation, according to the builder.
The president’s initial request for a $54 billion hike boosts the Pentagon budget to more than $600 billion a year. Calling it one of the largest increases in history, Trump said he would even like $30 billion more than that to strengthen what he called a “depleted military”. By contrast, the State Department receives roughly $50 billion a year for programs including foreign aid, assistance and development.
美司法部长塞申斯回避有关俄罗斯插手选举的调查
美国司法部长塞申斯表示，将规避美国执法当局就俄罗斯被控插手2016年美国大选一事的调查。
塞申斯星期四召开了记者会。之前华盛顿邮报报道说，他作为参议员和川普竞选团队成员曾在大选前与俄罗斯驻美大使两次会晤，但是在参议院确认提名的听证会上，他没有提供这些信息。
有关塞申斯是否与俄罗斯大使谈及竞选引发疑问。两党议员都有人要求塞申斯规避有关调查，还有一些民主党人指责他说谎，应该辞职。
川普总统之前曾表示，他认为塞申斯不必规避，如今却表示，他的司法部长是“一个诚实的人”，只是在听证会上本可以做出更准确的回答。
塞申斯星期四对记者说，他从来没有打算误导任何人的，他的答案是按照他当时的理解做出的“诚实和正确”的回答。
不过塞申斯表示，“回想起来，我当时应该放慢速度，应该说-‘我确实两次会晤了一名俄罗斯官员，那就是大使。”
塞申斯星期四说，他与俄罗斯大使的会晤，包括第一次去年7月在共和国全国代表大会期间和第二次9月在他国会山的办公室，都是他作为参议院军事委员会成员工作的一部分。他说，有“很多”其它国家的大使也想会面。
塞申斯说，他和俄罗斯大使谈到了恐怖主义和乌克兰问题，并表示，在谈到俄罗斯涉及乌克兰的问题时出现了“情绪激动”的时刻。
塞申斯星期四说，他在听取了司法部工作人员的建议后，决定规避任何有关俄罗斯插手大选的调查，并表示，他的这个决定并不能说明有任何调查正在进行中。
Attorney General Sessions Recuses Himself in Russian Election Meddling
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from any federal investigation of alleged Russian meddling into the 2016 presidential election.
Sessions met with reporters Thursday after The Washington Post reported that as a U.S. Senator and member of the Trump campaign, Sessions held two pre-election meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, but withheld that information during his confirmation hearing.
Questions have hovered whether Sessions talked about the campaign with the ambassador. Some lawmakers from both parties demanded Sessions recuse himself, while some Democrats said he should resign, accusing him of lying under oath.
President Donald Trump, who earlier said he does not think Sessions should recuse himself, called his attorney general "an honest man" who could have stated his response at the hearing more accurately.
Sessions told the reporters Thursday he never had any intention to mislead anyone and that his answers were "honest and correct" as he understood the question at that time.
But he said "in retrospect, I should have slowed down and said, 'But I did meet one Russian official a couple of times. That would be the ambassador.'"
Sessions said Thursday his meetings with Ambassador Kislyak -- first at the Republican National Convention in July and in his Capitol Hill office in September -- were part of his job as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and that "so many" other ambassadors also wanted a meeting.
Sessions said he and Kislyak talked about terrorism and Ukraine, describing the meeting as "testy" at one point when the matter of Russian involvement in Ukraine came up.
Sessions said Thursday that he decided to recuse himself in any investigation into alleged Russian interference in the election upon the recommendation of his staff at the Justice Department. He said no one should see his decision as confirmation that any probe is currently underway.
