memeorandum: AG's office confirms Pruitt used private email for state business (Phil Cross/KOKH)

3:25 PM ET, February 25, 2017

Top Items:

‘Keep fighting, I will be with you every step of the way’: Hillary surfaces in extraordinary three-minute address to Democrats - which begs the question: Is she running AGAIN? — Hillary Clinton released a three-minute pep talk addressed to Democrats, in conjunction with their meeting in Atlanta, Georgia

Discussion: RedState, Western Journalism and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

DNC chair vote: live coverage — Live updates on the Democratic National Committee chair vote in Atlanta. — After the first balloting, Perez falls a single vote short of winning. The race will proceed to a second ballot. — Perez received 213.5 votes, one ballot short of the 214.5 threshold to win.

Discussion: Politico, Townhall.com, Geller Report, Western Journalism, CBS New York, IJR and The Week

Ryan Struyk / ABC News:
Top Democrats poised to choose next party chair

Discussion: Associated Press and twitchy.com

David Weigel / Washington Post:
Democrats brace for backlash as they vote on new party chairman

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Balloon Juice

Jen Psaki / CNN: Democrats, why not give Mayor Pete a chance for DNC chairman?

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Grass-roots fury masks intense Democratic anxiety

Discussion: TheBlaze, Mediaite, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Hot Air, The Hill and Fox News Insider

Shane Harris / Wall Street Journal:

Donald Trump Rejects Intelligence Report on Travel Ban — Tension with intelligence officials rises as Homeland Security contradicts White House on terror — An intelligence report by the Department of Homeland Security contradicts the White House's assertion that immigrants …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Mediaite

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

White House rejects DHS research on travel ban: report — The White House is dismissing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intelligence report rebuffing President Trump's claims that citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries pose an increased terror threat, the Wall Street Journal reported late Friday.

Ricky Young / sandiegouniontribune.com:

Issa calls for special prosecutor on Russian interference in election — (Screen grab) … Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, said on Friday that a special prosecutor needs to lead an investigation into the alleged ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russian leader Vladimir Putin's regime.

Discussion: RedState

Carrie Dann / NBC News:

Majority of Americans Say Congress Should Probe Contact Between Trump, Russia: Poll — About half of Americans believe that Congress should investigate whether Donald Trump's presidential campaign had contact with the Russian government in 2016, while only a quarter say that lawmakers …

Discussion: RedState, Real Clear Politics, NBC News, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo and Balloon Juice

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Issa: Trump-Russia probe requires a special prosecutor

Discussion: TheBlaze and New York Magazine

Danielle Lerner / Courier-Journal:

Muhammad Ali Jr. detained by immigration at Fla. airport — The son of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali was detained for hours by immigration officials at a Florida airport, a family friend told the Courier-Journal. — Muhammad Ali Jr., 44, and his mother Khalilah Camacho-Ali …

Discussion: TMZ.com, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, The Guardian, NESN.com, IJR, AOL, The Week and The Root

Miami New Times:
Muhammad Ali's Son Illegally Detained at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Attorney Says

Discussion: NBC News, BizPac Review, Occupy Democrats and Mediaite

Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:

O'Rourke on Cruz challenge in 2018: “I really want to do this” — U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, is sailing toward a 2018 Senate campaign, an uphill battle that would pit the little-known congressman against one of the state's most prominent Republicans in the unpredictable era of President Donald Trump.

New York Times:

Immigration Agents Discover New Freedom to Deport Under Trump — In Virginia, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents waited outside a church shelter where undocumented immigrants had gone to stay warm. In Texas and in Colorado, agents went into courthouses, looking for foreigners who had arrived for hearings on other matters.

Discussion: The Atlantic and BizPac Review

Phil Cross / KOKH:

AG's office confirms Pruitt used private email for state business — The Oklahoma Attorney General's office confirms former Attorney General Scott Pruitt used a private email for state business. The information comes week after FOX 25 first revealed the emails that appeared to be sent from Pruitt's private email account.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Daily Kos

New York Times:

Trump vs. the Press: A Small-Town Boy (Well, Sort of) in Washington — WASHINGTON — The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, has taken to slapping journalists who write unflattering stories with an epithet he sees as the epitome of low-road, New York Post-style gossip: “Page Six reporter.”

David Gasten / American Thinker:

Joy Villa, the woman who wore the pro-Trump dress at the 2017 Grammy Awards, has just had her self-released album I Make the Static go to Number 12 on the Billboard 200. This is a victory both for conservatives who bought the album to support her and for American culture in general …

Discussion: Digital Music News

Peter Holley / Washington Post:

Thousands of furious Trump fans can't stop visiting a website that pretends Clinton won — It's just over a month into Hillary Clinton's historic presidency, and Milo Yiannopoulos works as a Starbucks barista, the Koch brothers have fled the country and the first woman to occupy the Oval Office is the sober …

Discussion: The Hill

Adam Taylor / Washington Post:

Who is Nils Bildt? Swedish ‘national security advisor’ interviewed by Fox News is a mystery to Swedes — In a segment on Fox News's “The O'Reilly Factor” that aired Thursday, host Bill O'Reilly spoke with two Swedish nationals about allegations that Sweden had become a more dangerous place in recent years because of immigration.

Discussion: Raw Story, Politicus USA and The Guardian

Greg Miller / Washington Post:

Trump administration sought to enlist intelligence officials, key lawmakers to counter Russia stories — The Trump administration has enlisted senior members of the intelligence community and Congress in efforts to counter news stories about Trump associates' ties to Russia …

Discussion: CNN, ThinkProgress, The Guardian, emptywheel, Politico, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, Occupy Democrats, sandiegouniontribune.com, Axios, Political Wire, NPR and Vox, more at Mediagazer »

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

Scenes from the Breitbart CPAC Luau (Featuring Dog the Bounty Hunter, Among Other Luminaries) — Nigel Farage, Dog the Bounty Hunter and James O'Keefe walk onto a boat. — But not just any boat. Specifically, the Spirit of Mount Vernon, a three-story monstrosity of casino-style carpeting …

Christine Burroni / Page Six:

Leslie Jones makes fun of white women supporting Black Lives Matter — More On: — Nothing is off-limits for Leslie Jones' stand-up routine. — “If I see another 45-year-old white woman from Williamsburg saying ‘black lives matter,’ I'm going to punch you in the mouth,” the …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, BizPac Review and New York Times

New York Times:

H.R. McMaster Breaks With Administration on Views of Islam — WASHINGTON — President Trump's newly appointed national security adviser has told his staff that Muslims who commit terrorist acts are perverting their religion, rejecting a key ideological view of other senior Trump advisers …

Discussion: Fox News, Geller Report, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway and Business Insider

Jeff Caplan / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Trinity's transgender wrestler wins with pin, advances to championship — CYPRESS — Mack Beggs' first pin of the Class 6A state girls wrestling championship came in Saturday morning's semifinal match, launching the transgender grappler from Euless Trinity High School into the championship match in the 110-pound weight class.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion