Top Items:
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Hope Hicks to Resign as White House Communications Director — Hope Hicks, the White House communications director and one of President Trump's longest-serving advisers, said Wednesday that she was resigning. — Ms. Hicks, 29, a former model who joined Mr. Trump's 2016 presidential campaign without …
Discussion:
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Bryan Logan / Business Insider:
Trump reportedly berated Hope Hicks over her testimony to the House Intel Committee — President Donald Trump reportedly berated Hope Hicks for testimony she gave to lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee during which she admitted telling white lies for him.
Discussion:
CNN, Outside the Beltway and RedState
Bloomberg:
More Than 30 White House Aides Lose Top Secret Clearance, Sources Say — More than 30 aides to President Donald Trump have been stripped of access to top secret intelligence, two people familiar with the move said. — The officials have been notified that they will be downgraded to a lower-level …
Discussion:
Axios and Political Wire
CNN:
What Hope Hicks meant about white lies — (CNN)White House communications director Hope Hicks, who on Wednesday announced she plans to leave the White House, testified to the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that she has told what amounted to white lies for President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Washington Post:
Trump aide Hope Hicks to resign amid personal tumult and Russia probe
Trump aide Hope Hicks to resign amid personal tumult and Russia probe
Discussion:
Axios, The Guardian, IJR, CNBC, Raw Story, Mediaite, Mother Jones, Salon and Hullabaloo, more at Mediagazer »
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Trump Stuns Lawmakers With Seeming Embrace of Gun Control Measures
Trump Stuns Lawmakers With Seeming Embrace of Gun Control Measures
Discussion:
Mother Jones, No More Mister Nice Blog, Jezebel and Instapundit
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Why Hope leaving matters
Why Hope leaving matters
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Politico and Washington Post
New York Times:
Kushner's Business Got Loans from Companies After White House Meetings — Apollo, the private equity firm, and Citigroup made large loans last year to the family real estate business of Jared Kushner, President Trump's senior adviser. — Early last year, a private equity billionaire started paying regular visits to the White House.
Discussion:
Raw Story, AOL, Politicus USA, The Guardian, CNBC, Washington Press, Axios, CNN and Mediaite
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Marcy Wheeler / New York Times:
Has Jared Kushner Conspired to Defraud America? — Amid the dizzying details of internet trolls, almost a million dollars' worth of antique rugs and fake bank accounts, the indictments brought by Robert Mueller, the special counsel, in his investigation of Russian tampering in the 2016 election have one thing in common.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Breitbart, Infowars, Vox, Media Matters for America and Business Insider
Betsy Klein / CNN:
The White House chief calligrapher has a higher clearance than Jared Kushner
The White House chief calligrapher has a higher clearance than Jared Kushner
Discussion:
WCTX-TV
Washington Post:
Mueller investigation examining Trump's apparent efforts to oust Sessions in July … Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III has been investigating a period of time last summer when President Trump seemed determined to drive Attorney General Jeff Sessions from his job, according to people familiar …
Discussion:
Axios, CNN, Fox News, Lawfare, New York Times, Washington Press, The Gateway Pundit, Vox, Raw Story, AOL, Politicus USA, Politico, National Review, Mediaite, NPR, Mother Jones, Political Wire, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, Joe.My.God., IJR, The Daily Caller, Fox News Insider and Talking Points Memo
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Axios:
Scoop: Besieged Sessions dines with Rosenstein in show of solidarity — If Donald Trump finally follows through on his rage and fires Jeff Sessions, the image with this story will be printed in history books. — Tonight at 7:35pm, the Attorney General strode into a high-end Washington restaurant …
Discussion:
ABC News, New York Magazine, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, CNBC, The Hill, Townhall.com, Fox News Insider, The Last Refuge, National Review, IJR, CBS New York, Mother Jones, NBC News, Washington Press, Politico, Joe.My.God., RedState, Talking Points Memo, New Republic, Washington Times, Washington Post, The Guardian and Shareblue Media
NBC News:
Mueller asking if Trump knew about hacked Democratic emails before release — Special counsel Robert Mueller's team is asking witnesses pointed questions about whether Donald Trump was aware that Democratic emails had been stolen before that was publicly known, and whether he was involved …
Discussion:
RedState, Raw Story, Washington Post, CNBC, Salon, Shareblue Media, twitchy.com, Washington Press, Washington Monthly, Forward Progressives, emptywheel, Politicus USA, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, The Mahablog, Balloon Juice, JONATHAN TURLEY and Talking Points Memo
Kate Brannen / Just Security:
Trump's New Target: The Justice Department's Inspector General
Trump's New Target: The Justice Department's Inspector General
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Hill, Townhall.com, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, CNN, National Review, RedState and Fox News Insider
news.walmart.com:
Walmart Statement on Firearms Policy — In light of recent events, we've taken an opportunity to review our policy on firearm sales. Going forward, we are raising the age restriction for purchase of firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age. We will update our processes as quickly as possible to implement this change.
Discussion:
Guns.com, New York Times, CNNMoney, France 24, Breitbart, One America News Network, ABC News, Daily Wire, CBS Chicago, Vox, IJR, Politico, twitchy.com, NBC News, Mother Jones, Jezebel, KTLA, WIS-TV and VICE News
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Christine Wang / CNBC:
Walmart says it will raise age restriction to 21 for gun purchases, remove items resembling …
Walmart says it will raise age restriction to 21 for gun purchases, remove items resembling …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, twitchy.com and Axios
Wall Street Journal:
Mnuchin, Dogged By Protesters, Doesn't Want Video Posted — Treasury secretary says he typically talks to ‘people who wanna listen to me speak’ — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked the University of California, Los Angeles not to post a video of his recent public appearance at which he was heckled by students.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Washington Press
Washington Post:
White House planning major trade announcement Thursday on steel and aluminum imports … The White House is planning to make a major announcement Thursday about whether it will impose new limits on steel and aluminum imports, three people familiar with the event said, following months …
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Jacob M. Schlesinger / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Summons Steel, Aluminum Executives for Meeting on Trade Curbs
Trump Summons Steel, Aluminum Executives for Meeting on Trade Curbs
Discussion:
Politico and New York Magazine
Kanyakrit Vongkiatkajorn / Mother Jones:
Alex Jones Is Accused of Discrimination and Sexual Harassment by Former InfoWars Employees — One staffer says he was dubbed “The Resident Jew,” another claims she was groped. … Two former staffers at InfoWars have accused founder and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of discrimination …
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Associated Press:
AP-NORC Poll: Most Americans say Trump is racist — WASHINGTON (AP) — More than half of Americans, including large majorities of blacks and Hispanics, think President Donald Trump is a racist. More than half think his policies have made things worse for Hispanics and Muslims …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Politicus USA and Axios
Anton Troianovski / Washington Post:
Putin claims Russia has nuclear arsenal capable of avoiding missile defenses … MOSCOW — Russia has developed nuclear weapons that can avoid any missile defense systems and plans to bolster its arsenal with nuclear-powered cruise missiles capable to hitting any point on the globe …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Politico and Political Wire
Associated Press:
Hundreds gather at church for blessing ceremony featuring AR-15s — NEWFOUNDLAND, Pa. — Hundreds of crown-wearing worshipers clutching AR-15 rifles drank holy wine and exchanged or renewed wedding vows in a commitment ceremony at a Pennsylvania church on Wednesday, prompting a nearby school to cancel classes.
Haley Byrd / Weekly Standard:
Republicans Gobsmacked by Trump's Gun Control Comments — The president suggested gun confiscation could come before due process in a televised bipartisan meeting with members of Congress. — During a televised bipartisan meeting to discuss gun control proposals with members of Congress on Wednesday …
Discussion:
Axios
Tara Copp / Military Times:
Wife of 7th Special Forces Group vet faces deportation under tighter immigration rules — A Virginia immigration court on Monday could decide to deport the wife of an Army 7th Special Forces Group veteran, despite provisions in the law that allow her to remain in the United States.
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Trump: ‘Take the guns first, go through due process second’ — on Wednesday voiced support for confiscating guns from certain individuals deemed to be dangerous, even if it violates due process rights. — “I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man's case that just took place in Florida …
Discussion:
RedState, The Truth About Guns and Political Wire
John Hinderaker / Power Line:
“Jailed Instagram model wants to trade secrets for freedom” — For the Associated Press, any excuse to smear President Trump is a good one. Thus this story, which no doubt will appear in hundreds of newspapers tomorrow. I assume this “news” story wasn't intended as a joke, but it definitely contains humorous elements:
Discussion:
Associated Press
Wall Street Journal:
Jared Kushner's Ties to Banks Under Scrutiny — New York agency seeks information from several banks on finances of Trump's son-in-law — The New York State Department of Financial Services asked several banks for information about their relationships with Jared Kushner and his finances …
Donovan Slack / USA Today:
VA Secretary David Shulkin's top PR aide asked Congress to help get him fired — He says he's eager to move forward and focus on fixing the VA. USA TODAY — WASHINGTON — One of the top deputies to VA Secretary David Shulkin has actively lobbied Capitol Hill to demand his boss's resignation …
Discussion:
Raw Story
New York Times:
U.S. Banks on Diplomacy With North Korea, but Moves Ahead on Military Plans — WASHINGTON — A classified military exercise last week examined how American troops would mobilize and strike if ordered into a potential war on the Korean Peninsula, even as diplomatic overtures between the North and the Trump administration continue.
David Bauder / Associated Press:
PBS launching new conservative political talk show — NEW YORK (AP) — Columnist Michael Gerson and commentator Amy Holmes are teaming to start a conservative-oriented talk show on PBS that takes its cue from William F. Buckley's “Firing Line,” which aired from 1966 to 1999.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, NewsBusters, Mediaite and The Daily Caller
Andrew Desiderio / The Daily Beast:
Top-Ranking Armed Services Republican Hits Trump on Russia Sanctions … The chairman of the House armed services committee on Wednesday became the highest-ranking congressional Republican to declare that the Trump administration should have implemented mandatory sanctions against Russia last month …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Shareblue Media and Washington Post
John Bolton / Wall Street Journal:
The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First — Does the necessity of self-defense leave ‘no choice of means, and no moment of deliberation’? — The Winter Olympics' closing ceremonies also concluded North Korea's propaganda effort to divert attention from its nuclear-weapons and ballistic-missile programs.
Discussion:
The American Conservative and Front Page Magazine
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
NEW: Voice of Dalton High football fired at least one shot inside classroom, police say — A North Georgia teacher, known as the longtime radio voice of Dalton High School football and basketball, is in custody after he fired at least one shot inside a classroom, police said.
Discussion:
timesfreepress.com, Associated Press, Raw Story, WGNO, NPR, ABC News, NBC News, Joe.My.God., The Root and Mediaite