Florida House votes down motion to take up weapons ban with Douglas students present  —  Final vote was 36-71 on first day of lobbying for students  —  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - On their first full day lobbying Florida lawmakers in Tallahassee to change the state's gun laws …

Kushner Resists Losing Access as Kelly Tackles Security Clearance Issues  —  Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, is resisting giving up his access to highly classified information, prompting an internal struggle with John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff …

NRA to participate in CNN town hall  —  Shooting survivor: I'm not a crisis actor  —  Watch CNN's town hall “Stand Up: The Students of Stoneman Douglas Demand Action” live on Wednesday, February 21 at 9 p.m. ET on CNN TV and CNN.com.  —  Washington (CNN)The National Rifle Association …

Democrat Linda Belcher Takes Deep-Red Kentucky Seat, the 37th Flip Since Trump's Inauguration … Democrat Linda Belcher triumphed in a special election on Tuesday night in a deep-red Kentucky district where President Trump previously won by a whopping 50-point margin.

Trump privately talks up new age limit on guns  —  President Trump has told associates that he doesn't think high school kids should be able to buy guns, and is open to the idea of imposing a minimum purchase age of 21 for guns like those used in the Florida high school massacre, a source close to the president said.

CPAC Says Dinesh D'Souza Not Going to Speak This Year, Condemns ‘Indefensible’ Remarks  —  After Dinesh D'Souza's disgusting tweets going after teenage survivors of a school shooting, people genuinely wondered if D'Souza was lined up to speak at CPAC this week.  The organization says he is and was not.

Senior HHS official placed on leave for promoting unfounded claims and conspiracy theories on social media  —  (CNN)A top official at the Department of Health and Human Services has been placed on administrative leave after a CNN KFile inquiry while the agency investigates social media postings …

Arizona candidate got topless selfie from legislative staffer, messages reveal  —  A legislative staffer sent Steve Montenegro a topless photo via text message, according to a series of messages between Montenegro and the staffer that were reviewed by 12 News.  —  Author: Brahm Resnik

The unwitting: The Trump supporters used by Russia  —  Rosenstein: Russians paid, recruited Americans  —  A Donald Trump supporter who unwittingly helped a Kremlin-linked operation to meddle in American politics says he only learned of his part in the Russian plot when the FBI showed up at his doorstep months later.

Exclusive: Inside the Corrosive Workplace Culture of the Dallas Mavericks  — More than a dozen current and ex-employees characterize the Mavs' hostile work environment—ranging from sexual harassment to domestic violence—as an “open secret.”  Sports Illustrated details the allegations in a special investigation.

Pence was set to meet with North Korean officials during the Olympics before last minute cancellation … PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Vice President Pence departed for a five-day, two country swing through Asia earlier this month having agreed to a secret meeting with North Korean officials …

UPDATED: Attorney who whitewashed Tymoshenko prosecution charged with perjury  —  Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko looks out from behind bars in November 2011.  In 2012, a team from US law firm Skadden came to Ukraine for a report that legitimized Tymoshenko's prosecution.  (UNIAN)

For an innocent man, Trump sure does act guilty  —  It's not true that everyone in prison claims to be innocent.  Most inmates I've known have been approximately as honest as people on the outside.  Take that as you will.  —  What is true, in my experience, is that a guilty person …

Conservative Twitter Users Lose Thousands of Followers, Mass Purge of Bots Suspected  —  Twitter suspended thousands of accounts overnight and conservatives on the platform aren't happy about it.  Twitter has yet to make a public statement about the issue, but right-wing users believe …

Haley to Abbas: US wants a peace deal but will not ‘chase after you’  —  Hitting back at top Palestinian negotiator, Washington's envoy to United Nations tells Saeb Erekat ‘I will not shut up’  —  WASHINGTON — US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Tuesday said Washington would not …

The Mental Health System Can't Stop Mass Shooters  —  SACRAMENTO — A few years ago, the police brought a 21-year-old man into the crisis unit where I work as an emergency psychiatrist.  His parents had called the police after seeing postings on his Facebook page that praised the Columbine shooters …