Patch Morning Briefing: Federal Budget Cuts; UK Intelligence; Trouble With North Korea

Good morning! It's really Friday. The weekend is almost here. Here's what you need to know to get your day started.

Trump's Budget Priorities

The White House will push a remarkably trimmed-down budget blueprint for the federal government, which includes massive cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department and a wide swath of other departments and programs run by the executive branch. But the new 2018 budget proposal is not law, and it's a long way from it. Nevertheless, the document gives us deep insight into the administration's priorities. (Patch)

Not Just Obama, But The British

The White House may be on the verge of sparking a feud with British intelligence agency GCHQ after Press Secretary Sean Spicer approvingly cited allegations that President Obama colluded with the agency to spy on Trump Tower. Yes, seriously. The claims, for which no evidence has been provided, first came from sometimes- conspiracy theory pusher Andrew Napolitano and are vociferously denied by UK officials. (Patch)

Rex Tillerson: Efforts To Make Progress In North Korea Have 'Failed'

The secretary of State says he's looking for new approaches for handling relations with North Korea, the troubled and nuclear-armed insular dictatorship. Tillerson says the last 20 years of efforts to reduce the threat it poses have failed. He is scheduled to be in South Korea Friday and in China on Saturday as part of his first visit to Asia as a government representative. (Reuters)

Quick Hits

Watch: N.J. Cops Have Heartwarming Snowball Fight With Kids (Patch)

Movies Out This Weekend: 'Beauty And The Beast,' 'T2 Trainspotting' And More (Patch)

McDonald's Twitter Account 'Compromised' By Anti-Trump Tweeter (Patch)

News Minute

Meals On Wheels Lands On The Federal Government's Chopping Block

Every day in New Jersey's Ocean County, roughly 1,000 senior citizens are fed a nutritious meal that they might otherwise not have thanks to federal funding that assists the Meals on Wheels program. The White House has proposed completely eliminating federal funding that supports the program and thousands of others like it. (Patch)

Chicago's Top Cop Meets With Jeff Sessions To Talk About City's Crime Problem

The Trump Administration and the city of Chicago are looking for ways to work together on crime after police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions met Thursday morning to talk about what help the White House can give. (Patch)

Cascadia Earthquake: We're Not Ready For What's Coming

It is almost guaranteed that a 9.0 earthquake will strike along the 700-mile Cascadia Subduction Zone that runs through Oregon and Washington at some point in the future. And when it happens, bridges could be knocked down, land would liquefy, tsunamis would strike and people could die. (Patch)

Oldest Pearl Harbor Survivor Turns 105

“The whole harbor was on fire,” Chavez told the Union Tribune. “It was terrible, really terrible.” (San Diego Union-Tribune)

A Few More...

Raccoon Breaks Into NYC Bank, Waits Out Snowstorm (Patch)

WA 'Bathroom Bill' Group Apologizes For Using Seattle Woman's Attack Story (Patch)

Norwood Woman Refuses to Hide Heroin Addiction in Obituary (Patch)

Immigrants Are Most Likely To Hold These Jobs

There are several jobs in the U.S. that are more likely to be held by immigrants than U.S.-born workers, but there are no major industries as a whole in which immigrants outnumber U.S.-born employees, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data. (Patch)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is St. Patrick's Day, a culture celebration of the patron saint of Ireland. But these days, it means a lot of things to different people. However you celebrate, Patch encourages you to make responsible choices.

This Day In History

1969 — Golda Meir was elected the first and only female prime minister of Israel

Famous Birthdays

1919 — Nat King Cole, American jazz singer and television host

1973 — Mia Hamm, an American professional soccer player

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News/Getty Images