Top Items:
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Hope Hicks Acknowledges She Sometimes Tells White Lies for Trump — WASHINGTON — Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, told House investigators on Tuesday that her work for President Trump, who has a reputation for exaggerations and outright falsehoods, had occasionally required her to tell white lies.
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Shakesville, Joe.My.God., Weekly Standard, AOL, KTLA, Political Wire, Mediaite and CNN, more at Mediagazer »
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Washington Post:
Kushner's overseas contacts raise concerns as foreign officials seek leverage … Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements …
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.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Raw Story, Mediaite, Breitbart, Politico, The Daily Caller and Talking Points Memo
Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Kushner loses access to top-secret intelligence — Presidential son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded — a move that will prevent him from viewing many of the sensitive documents to which he once had unfettered access. — Kushner is not alone.
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CNN, ABC News, Just Security, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, New York Times, Mediaite, Axios, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, The Atlantic, IJR, The Guardian, Vox, CBS Los Angeles, KTLA, New York Magazine, Gizmodo, Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart, Washington Press, emptywheel, Politicus USA, Shareblue Media, RedState, FOX31 Denver, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, VICE News, FOX2now.com, WGN-TV, Associated Press, Washington Times, Daily Kos and Political Wire
Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:
The Deep State Takes Out the White House's Dark Clown Prince … If you've ever filled out a form SF-86 for a U.S. government security clearance, you'll know the hassle of dealing with the sheer volume of information it entails. Listing contacts, personal, financial and travel information in enormous …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Axios, Mediaite and The Daily Beast
Elizabeth Landers / CNN:
NRA directly appealed to Trump against raising age for firearms purchases
NRA directly appealed to Trump against raising age for firearms purchases
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Washington Post:
Four Commerce Department appointees lose their posts after problems in background checks
Four Commerce Department appointees lose their posts after problems in background checks
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Raw Story 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 …
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ThinkProgress, Townhall.com, Vox, Politico, CNBC, Outside the Beltway, IJR, Raw Story, Breitbart, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, AOL, VICE News, Axios and Washington Free Beacon
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David Caplan / ABC News:
Dick's Sporting Goods CEO: Company will no longer sell assault-style rifles, nor sell guns to people under 21 — Dick's Sporting Goods Inc., one of the largest retailers of its kind in the United States, is taking new steps to curtail the sale of firearms in its 700-plus stores …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Gizmodo and AOL
Chris Isidore / CNNMoney:
Dick's Sporting Goods will stop selling assault-style rifles
Dick's Sporting Goods will stop selling assault-style rifles
Discussion:
Shareblue Media and CBS Pittsburgh
Nathan Bomey / USA Today:
Dick's Sporting Goods bans sales of assault weapons after Parkland, Florida school shooting
Dick's Sporting Goods bans sales of assault weapons after Parkland, Florida school shooting
Discussion:
Mother Jones, NPR, Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon, IJR and Bearing Arms
CNN:
Mueller team asks about Trump's Russian business dealings as he weighed a run for president — (CNN)Investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller have recently been asking witnesses about Donald Trump's business activities in Russia prior to the 2016 presidential campaign as he considered …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Above the Law, AOL, VICE News, Washington Press, Raw Story, Washington Times, Mediaite, Political Wire and The Root
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Ben Carson's HUD, Planning Cuts, Spends $31,000 on Dining Set for His Office — WASHINGTON — Department of Housing and Urban Development officials spent $31,000 on a new dining room set for Secretary Ben Carson's office in late 2017 — just as the White House circulated its plans …
NBC News:
U.S. intel: Russia compromised seven states prior to 2016 election — The U.S. intelligence community developed substantial evidence that state websites or voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian-backed covert operatives prior to the 2016 election …
Discussion:
electionlawblog.org, Alaska Public Media, Vox, WFLA-TV, Axios, VICE News and Raw Story
Jeff Horwitz / Associated Press:
Trump campaign chief lends name to penny stock tied to felon — WASHINGTON (AP) — The political strategist and online guru who was named President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign manager Tuesday has a close financial relationship with a penny-stock firm with a questionable history …
Discussion:
Raw Story
New York Times:
With AR-15s, Mass Shooters Attack With the Rifle Firepower Typically Used by Infantry Troops — A Marine shooting a standard rifle used by the military. — The gunman firing a civilian variant during the Parkland shooting. … Since 2007, at least 173 people have been killed in mass shootings …
Jerome R. Corsi / USA Today:
Arm qualified, willing teachers and staff — Allowing teachers and school staff the right to carry weapons provides the possibility of a near instant response: Opposing view — Even in the best of circumstances, police responding to a school shooting need time to deploy, arrive on the scene and engage.
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Judge sets Sept. 17 trial date for Manafort on Mueller charges — A judge in Washington on Wednesday said she was setting a Sept. 17 trial date for former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort on charges from special counsel Robert Mueller including money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent.
Discussion:
ABC News and Political Wire
David Wasserman / The Cook Political Report:
PA-18 Special Election Moves from Lean Republican to Toss Up — It's not normal for Republicans to be worried about losing a seat President Trump carried by 20 points. But with two weeks to go before the March 13 special election, Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone is locked …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Daily Beast and Washington Free Beacon
Lauren DeBellis Appell / Fox News:
The NRA just got a new member. Here's why this mom of two joined the group — As a mom of kids in elementary school, I became a proud member of the NRA for the first time last week. I did so because the absence of common sense that I've witnessed recently is alarming to me as a parent.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Wire and The Resurgent
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Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Dem wins New Hampshire seat in Trump district — Democrats picked up another special election victory Tuesday, winning a legislative seat in a New Hampshire district where President Trump — by a 13-point margin in 2016. — Voters in Laconia chose Philip Spagnuolo, a substance abuse counselor …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Vox
Taylor Lorenz / The Daily Beast:
The Instagram Stars Hiding Their Famous, Muslim-Hating Mom, Pamela Geller … Claudia, Jackie, Olivia, and Margo Oshry are a group of sisters in New York living the millennial dream, running viral Instagram accounts and ruthlessly curating their online images.
Meagan Flynn / Washington Post:
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf tipped off immigrants about ICE raid and isn't sorry she did … On Tuesday night, just after completing a roundup of more than 150 suspected undocumented immigrants, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it could have arrested more but for the actions of one person …
Discussion:
Althouse
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Hamed Aleaziz / San Francisco Chronicle:
ICE confirms 150-plus arrests in California sweep, slams Schaaf's early warning
ICE confirms 150-plus arrests in California sweep, slams Schaaf's early warning
Discussion:
Politico, Los Angeles Times, Breitbart and Front Page Magazine
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:
Friendly Atheist
Tampa Bay Times:
Shooting survivor's father admits email changes in CNN spat — Colton Haab's father acknowledges omitting some words from the email but says he didn't do it on purpose. — Last week's televised town hall on guns and school safety has led to finger-pointing by the father of a Florida school shooting survivor and CNN.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, RedState, Mediaite, Raw Story, twitchy.com and Washington Press, more at Mediagazer »
Ned Oliver / The Roanoke Times:
GreenTech, the electric car company once led by McAuliffe, files for bankruptcy — The electric car company founded by former Gov. Terry McAuliffe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, blaming in part a wave of negative coverage by a conservative news website for its financial woes.
Discussion:
Daily Wire
Allie Nicodemo / Northeastern:
Schools are safer than they were in the 90s, and school shootings are not more common than they used to be, researchers say — The deadly school shooting this month in Parkland, Florida, has ignited national outrage and calls for action on gun reform. But while certain policies …
Tony Badran / Tablet Magazine:
‘Ambassador Samantha Power Lied to My Face About Syria,’ by Kassem Eid — One day after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Saturday demanding a truce in the besieged Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta to allow for aid access and medical evacuations, Russia, Iran …
Discussion:
Power Line
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.
Natasha Bertrand / The Atlantic:
Roger Stone's Secret Messages with WikiLeaks — On March 17, 2017, WikiLeaks tweeted that it had never communicated with Roger Stone, a longtime confidante and informal adviser to President Donald Trump. In his interview with the House Intelligence Committee last September, Stone …
Discussion:
Washington Press, Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God., Mediaite, Raw Story, Political Wire and The Smoking Gun, more at Mediagazer »
Michael Tesler / Washington Post:
Democrats and Republicans are increasingly divided on the value of teaching black history — Wednesday marks the end of Black History Month. And like prior Februaries, this month has seen its fair share of articles lamenting Americans' lack of knowledge about African American history.
Addy Baird / ThinkProgress:
EXCLUSIVE: FedEx's secret deal with the NRA and the gun industry — More than two dozen companies have cut ties with the National Rifle Association (NRA) in recent days, having come under scrutiny for doing business with the gun lobby following the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 people dead earlier this month.
Discussion:
Washington Press, Breitbart, RedState, Guns.com, Balloon Juice, CBS New York, WRIC-TV and Mashable
Ginger Hervey / Politico:
EU's Irish border position is a ‘fantasy,’ says former UK Brexit minister — The European Union's proposal for the Northern Irish border after Brexit is “wholly unacceptable,” according to the U.K. government's former Brexit minister. — “What the EU has to understand is that we cannot …
Discussion:
Sky News and The Guardian
Bloomberg:
How Defective Guns Became the Only Product That Can't Be Recalled — Taurus sold almost a million handguns that can potentially fire without anyone pulling the trigger. The government won't fix the problem. The NRA is silent. — Thomas “Bud” Brown makes his way out the back door …