CNBC: Mar-a-Lago Membership Fee Doubles to $200,000

By Robert Frank:

Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach resort owned by the Trump Organization, doubled its initiation fee to $200,000 following the election of Donald Trump as president.

People close to the Florida resort said the increase took effect Jan. 1. The resort had been considering an increase for some time, said those people, who declined to provide their names because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the company.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not respond to CNBC's request for comment. But the timing is likely to add to criticism that the Trump Organization is trying to benefit from the president's election.

Indeed, shortly after the fee hike was revealed, Barack Obama's former top ethics lawyer told MSNBC that the increase is a "not very subtle exploitation of the fact that the club's figurehead is now president of the U.S."

The Full Story (January 25, 2017)

CNBC: Trump Declares National Day of Patriotic Devotion...but You Already Missed it

By Christine Wang:

According to a document published by the office of the Federal Register, the 45th president of the United States proclaimed Jan. 20, 2017 — Trump's Inauguration Day — to be a National Day of Patriotic Devotion. Trump made the proclamation "in order to strengthen our bonds to each other and to our country — and to renew the duties of Government to the people."

"A new national pride stirs the American soul and inspires the American heart. We are one people, united by a common destiny and a shared purpose," the proclamation said.

The Full Story (January 23, 2017)