memeorandum: Mitt Romney said he wouldn't accept an endorsement from Trump. Monday night, he did. (Emily Stewart/Vox)

2:15 PM ET, February 20, 2018

Top Items:

Jason Leopold / BuzzFeed:

Manafort Under Scrutiny For $40 Million In “Suspicious” Transactions — As the special counsel investigated President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, authorities obtained details on “suspicious” banking activity that was first unearthed in 2014 and 2015.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, IJR, Raw Story, The Week, Political Wire and Daily Kos

David Brooks / New York Times:

Respect First, Then Gun Control — This has been an emotional week. We greet tragedies like the school shooting in Florida with shock, sadness, mourning and grief that turns into indignation and rage. The anger inevitably gets directed at the N.R.A., those who support gun rights …

Discussion: National Review, Splinter, RT, Mashable, The Mahablog, twitchy.com, Media Matters for America, No More Mister Nice Blog and Mediaite

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:

Don't blame ‘Washington.’ Blame the GOP. — Dysfunctional Washington refuses to work out its differences to solve problems that matter to Americans. — So say pundits and policy activists, perhaps hoping that diffuse criticism, rather than finger-pointing, will yield a government willing to govern.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Shakesville

Washington Post:
Most Americans say Trump, Congress not doing enough to stop mass shootings, Post-ABC poll finds

Discussion: National Review, CNN, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, Shareblue Media, Politico, The Week, ABC News and Political Wire

Media Matters for America:

Pro-Trump media launch attacks on student survivors of Florida school shooting — After any mass shooting, disinformation spreads online like wildfire. It happens immediately, created and disseminated on purpose, often in real time as the event is unfolding.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Shakesville, theGrio, Mediaite, Shareblue Media, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, People.com, Progressives Everywhere, The FADER, RT, AOL and thecut

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Former Congressman joins smear campaign against students who survived Parkland massacre

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Mother Jones, Shareblue Media, Raw Story and Daily Kos

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:
Don Jr. Advises President Trump After School Shooting: Don't Go Wobbly on Guns

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Shareblue Media, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Raw Story, New York Magazine and Washington Post

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
The far-right smear campaign against students who survived the Parkland massacre

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, RedState, CNN, Balloon Juice and Shareblue Media

Karma Allen / ABC News:
Dallas official asks NRA to consider another city for annual convention

Discussion: abc13.com, Talking Points Memo, Dallas Morning News, AOL, TheBlaze, The Week and Associated Press

David Voreacos / Bloomberg:

Mueller Charges Lawyer With Lying in Russia Probe — Van Der Zwaan helped prepare Ukraine report for Manafort — False statements case comes days after Russians charged — An attorney who worked for a prominent law firm was charged with making false statements to federal authorities …

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit and The Right Scoop

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:

Mueller charges lawyer with lying about interaction with Rick Gates — (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller has filed a charge against a lawyer for lying to investigators about his interaction with former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates in September 2016. — Alex Van Der Zwaan is expected to plead guilty Tuesday afternoon.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, KTLA, Shareblue Media, The Week and Balloon Juice

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Mueller charges latest target in Russia probe

Discussion: Axios and Outside the Beltway

Alayna Treene / Axios: Mueller probe's latest indictment: Alex Van Der Zwaan

Sun-Sentinel:

West Point posthumously admits shooting victim Peter Wang to Class of 2025 — U.S. Military Academy West Point is posthumously admitting Florida school shooting victim Peter Wang, who dreamed of attending the prestigious academy. — Wang could have been in the Class of 2025. The 15-year-old's funeral is today.

Discussion: RedState, WSVN-TV and The Daily Caller

James LaPorta / The Daily Beast:
U.S. Army Awards Medal of Heroism to Slain Parkland Students

Discussion: Business Insider, IJR, Task & Purpose, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, Breitbart, KDFW and KTLA

Vera Bergengruen / BuzzFeed:
The Army Awards Its Heroism Medal To Three JROTC Cadets Who Died In Florida School Shooting

Discussion: Axios

James LaPorta / The Daily Beast:
Parkland Hero Wanted to Go to West Point Before He Died. West Point Just Posthumously Accepted Him.

Discussion: Task & Purpose

Philip Elliott / TIME:

Inside Donald Trump's Twitter-Fueled Weekend Meltdown — White House aides prayed for rain. Inclement weather would mean President Donald Trump would have to take the motorcade to the waiting plane to Florida. That would mean he couldn't take the helicopter from the South Lawn to Joint Base Andrews …

Discussion: AOL, Raw Story, Salon, Hullabaloo, Business Insider, The Week, The Daily Caller, Washington Monthly and Washington Post

Nicholas Thompson / Wired:

A Facebook Executive Apologizes To His Company—And To Robert Mueller — ON FRIDAY MORNING, just before 10am on the West Coast, the office of special counsel Robert Mueller published his indictment of 13 Russian operatives for interfering in the US election. The document was 37 pages, and it mentioned Facebook 35 times.

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, East Bay Times, Business Insider, USA Today and The Stranger …, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Allen / Axios:
5 clues to Mueller's roadmap

Discussion: Raw Story and Politico

Jason Dearen / Associated Press:

Man featured on ‘Trump Dating’ site has child sex conviction — GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina man who was one of the faces of a dating service for fans of the president has a felony conviction for indecent liberties with a child. — News outlets reported Monday that visitors …

Discussion: Raw Story, RedState and VICE News

Travis Fain / WRAL-TV:

NC couple pitching dating site for Trump supporters — RALEIGH, N.C. — A married couple from Guilford County have become the faces of a new Donald Trump-themed dating website. — Barrett and Jodi Riddleberger's smiles, beneath Trump campaign baseball caps, are the first thing greeting visitors at Trump.dating.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Guardian, AOL, PinkNews, thecut, Gizmodo, Woke Sloth, Splinter, Joe.My.God., Mediaite and VICE

Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:

How Banks Could Control Gun Sales if Washington Won't — For the past year, chief executives have often talked about the new sense of moral responsibility that corporations have to help their communities and confront social challenges even when Washington won't.

Discussion: Breitbart, JustOneMinute, Washington Free Beacon and Business Insider

Carolyn Van Houten / Washington Post:

Trump accuser keeps telling her story, hoping someone will finally listen — This Trump accuser keeps asking herself that. But she plans to keep talking about that day in 2006. — She believed her best chance to be heard was through sheer repetition, so Rachel Crooks took her seat …

Discussion: RedState, ThinkProgress, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Mother Jones, Business Insider, 105.9 FM and AM 630, IJR, Roll Call, The Root, Joe.My.God., The Week, Althouse, Washington Times, AOL, Mediaite, The Right Scoop and The Daily Caller

Dominic Holden / BuzzFeed:

In Emails, Trump's Top General Said The Transgender Military Ban Was “Unexpected” And He Was “Not Consulted” — Emails newly obtained by BuzzFeed News reveal the surprise for Joint Chiefs of Staff. — Less than 24 hours after President Trump tweeted that “after consultation with my Generals …

Discussion: Political Wire

Remy Smidt / BuzzFeed:

Here's What It's Like At The Headquarters Of The Teens Working To Stop Mass Shootings — Just days after surviving a mass shooting, a team of teens are trying to start a revolution from their parents' living rooms. — Reporting From Parkland, Florida — PARKLAND, Florida …

Discussion: Woke Sloth and Splinter

Emily Stewart / Vox:

Mitt Romney said he wouldn't accept an endorsement from Trump. Monday night, he did. — Romney in 2016 said Trump's comments about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, and people with disabilities would have kept him from accepting his endorsement. — Mitt Romney happily accepted President Donald …

Discussion: New Republic, NPR, CNBC, IJR, Conservative Review, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Daily Kos, AOL, 105.9 FM and AM 630 and Business Insider

Jonathan Swan / Axios: Between the lines on Trump's Romney endorsement

VICE:

The Reversal of Pennsylvania's GOP Gerrymander Is a Big Democratic Win — Let's break down how the races are shaping up in the 18 brand new congressional districts. — Image by Lia Kantrowitz — Welcome back to House Party, our column looking at the 2018 House of Representative races as midterms approach.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Shareblue Media, New York Times, Mother Jones and Real Clear Politics

John Verhovek / ABC News:
New Pennsylvania congressional map could impact balance of power in the US House

Discussion: Associated Press

Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money:

The Smarm of the Contrarian — Conor Friedersdorf has taken some time off from his complaints about how college students are coddled snowflakes to write a column about how horrible it is when people say unkind things about the arguments made by well-compensated newspaper columnists.

Discussion: Eschaton

Serena Williams / CNN:

What my life-threatening experience taught me about giving birth — Serena Williams shares scary birth experience — Serena Williams is a professional tennis player, businesswoman and UNICEF goodwill ambassador. The views expressed in this commentary are her own.

Discussion: Mediaite, theGrio and TMZ.com

Washington Post:

Louisville forced to vacate 2013 men's basketball championship in punishment for sex scandal — The NCAA appeals committee upheld a ruling that the university must forfeit 123 victories, including the 2013 national championship and a 2012 Final Four appearance, as punishment for a scandal …

New York Times:

After Florida School Shooting, Russian ‘Bot’ Army Pounced — SAN FRANCISCO — One hour after news broke about the school shooting in Florida last week, Twitter accounts suspected of having links to Russia released hundreds of posts taking up the gun control debate.

Discussion: National Review, Washington Post, The Week, The Atlantic and Newsweek, more at Mediagazer »

Katie Rogers / New York Times:

Rob Porter's Charisma and Ambition Disguised Flare-ups of Anger — WASHINGTON — People who crossed paths with Rob Porter in Harvard classrooms or the hallways of Capitol Hill describe him in glowing terms: He was articulate enough to be secretary of state. Intelligent enough to be a Supreme Court justice.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Aamer Madhani / USA Today:

Baltimore is the nation's most dangerous city — The collective homicide toll for America's 50 biggest cities dipped slightly in 2017, a USA TODAY analysis of crime data found. — The FBI won't publish its annual comprehensive crime report until later this year, but an early review …

Discussion: Baltimore Sun, theGrio and The Daily Caller