memeorandum: Mueller team asks about Trump's Russian business dealings as he weighed a run for president (CNN)

6:45 PM ET, February 28, 2018

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 …

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

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Trump family v. John Kelly — The Trump family — and the president's oldest son, Don Jr., in particular — was angry about the overwhelmingly negative TV coverage about Jared Kushner last night, and feels White House Chief of Staff Kelly is hanging Jared out to dry, a source familiar with the situation tells Axios.

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

Trump Stuns Lawmakers With Seeming Embrace of Gun Control Measures — WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday repeatedly embraced a series of gun control measures, telling a group of lawmakers at the White House to pursue bills that have been opposed for years by the vast majority …

Discussion: Instapundit

Axios:

Hope Hicks to resign as White House communications director — White House communications director, Hope Hicks, one of Trump's longest serving advisers, is going to resign. The New York Times broke the news Wednesday afternoon. — “There are no words to adequately express my gratitude to President Trump.

Discussion: New York Magazine and Mediaite

Betsy Klein / CNN:

The White House chief calligrapher has a higher clearance than Jared Kushner — Top secret vs. secret: What Kushner can't see — Washington (CNN)One of the White House's most important diplomats happens to be an artist — with a top secret security clearance.

Washington Post:
White House communications director Hope Hicks to resign

Discussion: ABC News, CNBC, Raw Story and Mediaite

Tom Kludt / CNNMoney: Kushner bombshell: Fox buries unflattering story for Trump White House...again

Meghan Keneally / ABC News:
Meet the 29-year-old WH communications director

Discussion: Politico and The Daily Beast

Karen Freifeld / Reuters:
New York Regulator Asks Deutsche Bank, Others About Kushner Loans

Discussion: Washington Post

The Hill:
Hope Hicks resigns from White House

Discussion: Mother Jones and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:
Trump slammed Clinton over handling of classified info. That looks like hypocrisy now

Discussion: Arizona Republic, The Guardian, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, NPR, Salon, Washington Press, Hullabaloo, Raw Story, Jezebel, NBC News, thecut, Media Matters for America, ThinkProgress and Mother Jones

CNN: Kelly, Kushner tension simmers amid West Wing uncertainty

Jonathan Swan / Axios: Why Hope leaving matters

Z. Byron Wolf / CNN:
Little white lies could be a very big problem for Hope Hicks

Discussion: Raw Story, The Daily Caller, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, The Root and AOL

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: Washington Post, Salon, Washington Press, Forward Progressives, The Gateway Pundit, emptywheel, Washington Times, Mediaite, Daily Kos, JONATHAN TURLEY, Talking Points Memo and Balloon Juice

CNN:
Mueller team asks about Trump's Russian business dealings as he weighed a run for president

Discussion: Vox, Talking Points Memo, The Mahablog, Daily Kos, Above the Law, New York Magazine, VICE News, AOL, Shakesville, Washington Post, Washington Press, Washington Times, Raw Story, Mediaite and Political Wire

Julie Creswell / New York Times:

Dick's, Major Gun Retailer, Will Stop Selling Assault-Style Rifles — One of the nation's largest sports retailers, Dick's Sporting Goods, said Wednesday morning it was immediately ending sales of all assault-style rifles in its stores. — The retailer also said that it would no longer …

David Caplan / ABC News:
Dick's Sporting Goods CEO: Company will no longer sell assault-style rifles, nor sell guns to people under 21

Discussion: Racked, Vox, RedState, New York Magazine, Gizmodo, Axios and AOL

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, Political Wire and The Truth About Guns

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Trump in Bipartisan Meeting: ‘Take the Guns First, Go Through Due Process Second’

Discussion: Hit & Run

CNN:
Today in politics: Live updates

Discussion: twitchy.com, Raw Story, Breitbart and New York Magazine

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: NewsBusters, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

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

Stephen Maloney / WGNO:

Armed social studies teacher arrested after shooting at Georgia high school — DALTON, GA. - An armed social studies teacher has been arrested after shots were fired at a high school in a small town in northern Georgia. — Fifty-three-year-old Jesse Randall Davidson …

Discussion: Associated Press, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, NBC News, CBS Philly, Washington Press, Raw Story, FOX31 Denver, Joe.My.God., IJR, Balloon Juice and KTLA

WTVC-TV:
Teacher in custody after barricade incident evacuates Dalton High School in Georgia

Discussion: Shareblue Media, The Daily Beast and Dalton Public Schools GA

People.com:

Oprah Winfrey Reveals the One Thing That Could Make Her Run for President — There's only one thing that could make Oprah Winfrey run for president in 2020. — Amid calls for her to consider a run for the White House — from fans as well as her closest friends — “I went into prayer,” …

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, markpantano.com, Friendly Atheist, AOL, Mediaite, Axios and Political Wire

Washington Post:

Cyber chief says Trump has given him no new authority to strike at Russian interference threat … The head of U.S. Cyber Command warned lawmakers that penalties and other measures have not “changed the calculus or the behavior” of Russia as it seeks to interfere with this year's midterm elections.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, twitchy.com, AOL, Mediaite and NPR, more at Techmeme »

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Why Trump Is Reluctant to Escalate the Cyber War With Russia

Discussion: Politico and Mother Jones

Cristiano Lima / Politico:

Sessions defends himself after Trump bashed him on Twitter — Attorney General Jeff Sessions appeared to rebuff criticism from Donald Trump on Wednesday, vowing to do his job with “integrity and honor” after the president said it was “disgraceful” that Sessions asked an internal watchdog …

Discussion: ABC News, National Review, Townhall.com, CNBC, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Reuters, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Washington Post:
Trump lashes out at Sessions over alleged surveillance abuses

Discussion: Mediaite, Fox News, National Review, New Republic, The Hill, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, Fox News Insider and The Last Refuge

Ben Schreckinger / GQ:

Steve Bannon Is Hatching His Comeback — In a wide-ranging and challenging conversation, Donald Trump's former strategist tells GQ's Ben Schreckinger why the #MeToo movement amazes him, why the Chinese enrage him, and why his secret new venture—a project to “weaponize ideas”—excites him.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Media Matters for America, The Daily Caller, IJR and Mediaite

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Trump is now on pace to have 11 communications directors in his first term … Saying that President Trump's communications directors average 88 days on the job is to misrepresent the tenures of Trump's communications directors. One of the three who've actually held the position formally lasted 85 days, about on the mark.

Alex Daugherty / miamiherald:

Rubio bill would let young adults in D.C. purchase the AR-15 — WASHINGTON — Last week, Marco Rubio stared into the eyes of a father who lost his daughter during the nation's deadliest high school shooting and made an announcement: Young adults should not be able to purchase guns.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Daily Kos

BBC:

Trump Nobel Peace Prize nomination probed amid fakery concerns — A nomination made for US President Donald Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize was potentially fraudulent, according to the awarding committee. — The Norwegian committee has filed a report with police over its concerns.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Times, Raw Story, VICE News, thecut and AOL

Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic:

Why I'm Writing Captain America — Two years ago I began taking up the childhood dream of writing comics. To say it is more difficult than it looks is to commit oneself to criminal understatement. Writers don't write comics so much as they draw them with words.

Discussion: The Guardian, Mashable, Outside the Beltway and The FADER

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:

In Arizona, Joe Arpaio's Senate bid tests the strength of Trumpism — SADDLEBROOKE, Ariz. — Each of the Republicans running for Senate in Arizona this year claims a special bond with President Trump, but only one describes it as a supernatural connection beyond rational explanation.

Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Fired Infowars staffers at war with Alex Jones - one claiming he was teased as the site's ‘resident Jew’ while African American worker says she was ‘mocked’ for her skin tone and Jones ‘grabbed her behind’ — Two former Infowars staffers have filed complaints …

Discussion: Raw Story

Liz Ruskin / Alaska Public Media:

Rep. Young suggests guns could've saved Jews during Holocaust — Speaking at a conference in Juneau last week, Alaska Congressman Don Young argued against gun control by suggesting Jews might not have died in the Holocaust if they had been armed. — Listen now

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, Daily Kos, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Roll Call, Mediaite and ThinkProgress

Matt Vespa / Townhall.com:

Wait-Did Trump Just Give Pro-Gun Control Democrats Everything They Wanted? — Prior to their meeting with President Trump, members of Congress did not know where he stood on gun issues and the Second Amendment. Well, they might have had an idea, though they wanted more “clarity.”

Discussion: Mother Jones, Politico and Washington Post

Nature:

An absorption profile centred at 78 megahertz in the sky-averaged spectrum — Abstract — After stars formed in the early Universe, their ultraviolet light is expected, eventually, to have penetrated the primordial hydrogen gas and altered the excitation state of its 21-centimetre hyperfine line.