memeorandum: DeVos criticized teachers at D.C. school she visited — and they are not having it (Emma Brown/Washington Post)

2:50 PM ET, February 18, 2017

Top Items:

Annie Karni / Politico:

Leaked Trump tape: ‘You are the special people’ — President Donald Trump, living alone inside the White House, often hungers for friendly interaction as he adjusts to the difficult work of governance. At his clubs, he finds what's missing. — That showed last November at a cocktail …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

New York Times:

Sun, Sand and Influence: For Mar-a-Lago Members, Proximity Is Power — On any given weekend, you might catch President Trump's son-in-law and top Mideast dealmaker, Jared Kushner, by the beachside soft-serve ice cream machine, or his reclusive chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, on the dining patio.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Week

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

Leaked tape reveals Trump invited club guests to ‘come along’ during cabinet interviews — Newly leaked audio from a November party at President Trump's Bedminster, N.J., golf club reveals then president-elect Trump touting to guests his scheduled interviews on premises with potential cabinet members and White House staff.

Discussion: alan.com and Joe.My.God.

Paul Blumenthal / The Huffington Post: Who Is Vetting The People At Mar-A-Lago? Democrats Want To Know.

Wall Street Journal:

Trump and Candidates for National Security Adviser Spar Over Staffing — Retired Vice Adm. Bob Harward and retired Gen. David Petraeus have dropped out of consideration — President Donald Trump won't guarantee that his next national security adviser will have full control over staffing and process …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Axios, Business Insider, Political Wire, Politico, Hot Air, FOX News Radio, The Daily Caller, Sputnik International and NBC News

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

Reports: Petraeus off the list, Trump down to three candidates to replace Flynn — Retired general and former CIA Director David Petraeus has reportedly pulled his name from consideration to replace Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser. — According to a report by the Wall Street Journal Friday …

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze and RedState

New York Times:

President Trump, White House Apprentice — It's with a whiff of desperation that President Trump insists these days that he's the chief executive Washington needs, the decisive dealmaker who, as he said during the campaign, “alone can fix it.” What America has seen so far is an inept White House led by a celebrity apprentice.

Julian E. Barnes / Wall Street Journal:

Petraeus Says National Security Adviser Should Hire Own Staff — Official says Petraeus isn't in running for NSA job after Robert Harward turns down role — MUNICH—Former CIA director David Petraeus said anyone considering the national security adviser job in the Trump administration …

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Will Pence's loyalty to Trump be returned in full by the president?

Discussion: Politico and The Week

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Flynn replacement pick dropped out over Trump's press conference: report

Discussion: IJR and Fox News

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:

Milo Yiannopoulos Tapped as Keynote Speaker at Conservative Political Action Conference (Exclusive) — The controversial figure, known as a harsh critic of Hollywood liberalism, will get more stage time at the conservative event than any other speaker, inlcuding VP Mike Pence and Sen. Ted Cruz.

Discussion: Politico and Joe.My.God.

James Hibberd / EW.com:
Milo Yiannopoulos spars with Bill Maher, attacks female comics

Discussion: Washington Times, Daily Wire and American Thinker

Dave Itzkoff / New York Times:
Bill Maher and Milo Yiannopoulos Find Common Ground

Discussion: Townhall.com, Breitbart, Lawyers, Guns & Money and IJR

Nicholas Schmidle / New Yorker:

Michael Flynn, General Chaos … Two days before the Inauguration of Donald Trump as the forty-fifth President of the United States, Michael Flynn, a retired lieutenant general and former intelligence officer, sat down in a Washington restaurant. On the tablecloth, he placed a leather-bound folder …

Emma Brown / Washington Post:

DeVos criticized teachers at D.C. school she visited — and they are not having it — Newly minted Education Secretary Betsy DeVos had a hard time getting inside the District's Jefferson Middle School Academy last week when protesters briefly blocked her from entering.

Discussion: Townhall.com, NPR and garnetnews.com

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel / Washington Post:
Betsy DeVos being guarded by U.S. Marshals Service

Discussion: Hot Air, AOL and Politico

Emily Langer / Washington Post:

Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, dies at 69 — Norma McCorvey, who was 22, unwed, mired in addiction and poverty, and desperate for a way out of an unwanted pregnancy when she became Jane Roe, the pseudonymous plaintiff of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision …

Discussion: New York Post, Axios, AOL, New York Magazine and The Resurgent

WNYW-TV:

Ivanka Trump brand tops Amazon Best Sellers list — NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - First Daughter Ivanka Trump could be getting the last laugh at brick and mortar stores that have dropped her brand of clothing, shoes, perfumes and more. — On Friday morning, Ivanka Trump Eau de Parfum Spray For Women …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Popular Domestic Programs Face Ax Under First Trump Budget — WASHINGTON — The White House budget office has drafted a hit list of programs that President Trump could eliminate to trim domestic spending, including longstanding conservative targets like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Common Dreams, The Root and Political Wire

Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. / Breitbart:

Pope Francis: ‘Muslim Terrorism Does Not Exist’ — In an impassioned address Friday, Pope Francis denied the existence of Islamic terrorism, while simultaneously asserting that “the ecological crisis is real.” — “Christian terrorism does not exist, Jewish terrorism does not exist, and Muslim terrorism does not exist.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Geller Report

John Hayward / Breitbart:

Marine Veteran Arrested After Pipe Bombs Allegedly Found in Hotel Safe — 37-year-old Adam Nauveed Hayat of Denver, Colorado, is under arrest and facing federal charges after police allegedly discovered pipe bombs in the safe of his hotel room. — The details surrounding Hayat's arrest …

Discussion: TheDenverChannel.com, Geller Report, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Denver Post and CBS Los Angeles

New York Times:

Republicans Charge Into Resistance at Tumultuous Town Halls — MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — The Republican lawmakers stood with fixed smiles, shifting in place, facing down turmoil but no trial inside a municipal courtroom overstuffed with constituents. — Across the room, the first questioner foretold …

Discussion: The Buffalo News, Common Dreams and Balloon Juice

Christinne Muschi / Reuters:

Eight people flee U.S. border patrol to seek asylum in Canada — ((This version of the Feb. 17 story corrects the headline and first paragraph to eight people from nine)) — Eight asylum-seekers, including four children, barely made it across the Canadian border on Friday …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Gateway Pundit, PRI, NCPR Daily News, CBC News and Hullabaloo

ESPN:

Mark Cuban takes apparent jab at Donald Trump with No. 46 jersey — NEW ORLEANS — Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wore a No. 46 jersey in Friday night's NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, an apparent response to President Donald Trump's recent tweet that Cuban is “not smart enough to run for president.”

Discussion: AOL, The Hill, TheBlaze and Raw Story

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

John McCain the Republican vs. John McCain the Patriot — John McCain (ambivalently, agonizingly) takes on the president. — John McCain was hustling down the hallway in the Russell Senate Office Building with the purpose of an Aaron Sorkin character. It was not yet two weeks …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Marc Champion / Bloomberg:

Four NATO Nations Would Pick Russia to Defend Them If Threatened: Poll — Gallup poll of 66 nations shows shifting global alliances — China and Russia prefer each other's support, survey shows — Who you gonna call? For the citizens of four NATO countries asked which military power …

Discussion: Sputnik International

Washington Post:

Coal is North Korea's largest export, and China just announced it won't buy any for the rest of 2017 — China's Ministry of Commerce announced the ban without giving a reason, but China is thought to be deeply frustrated with North Korea over its recent missile test and the assassination of Kim Jong Un's half brother in Malaysia.