Hope Hicks' “white lies” testimony becomes a flashpoint for House Intel Committee  —  In a rare, on-the-record accounting of some of the House Intelligence committee's secret, closed-door proceedings, two members of the House Intelligence Committee explained to CBS News what led White House …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Questions linger about how Melania Trump, a Slovenian model, scored ‘the Einstein visa’  —  In 2000, Melania Knauss, a Slovenian model dating Donald Trump, began petitioning the government for the right to permanently reside in the United States under a program reserved for people with “extraordinary ability.”

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 …

Trump, The Day After: “Respect 2nd Amendment!”  —  Pontificate in haste, repent at leisure.  Or perhaps Donald Trump didn't have as much leisure as he might have surmised.  After a disastrous performance in a “listening session” yesterday in which Trump ridiculed Republicans for being controlled …

Trump is ramping up for a 2020 run (but Democrats STILL don't get it)  —  It's official: President Trump is running for re-election.  He announced Tuesday that he has appointed Brad Parscale as his campaign manager and that planning for the 2020 race is underway.

In any other presidency, our ‘insufficiently accurate’ secretary of Veterans Affairs would be gone  —  Deceiving an ethics official is a serious offense for a government employee.  Can we agree on that?  —  Now imagine you're a Cabinet official leading an agency of a few hundred thousand employees.

See HUD's $31,000 mahogany dining set  —  Washington (CNN)A $31,000 dining set the Department of Housing and Urban Development purchased, which raised eyebrows when first reported Tuesday, includes a table, sideboard, breakfront — all in mahogany — and 10 mahogany chairs with a blue velvet finish …

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.

They Don't Hate The NRA.  They Hate You.  —  The progressives are cranking things up to 11 on the Stupid/Psycho Scale, which is good for us in the short term - some of us Normals were growing complacent and the midterms are coming.  But we also need to open our eyes and accept the bitter reality we face.

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.

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll - February 2018: Health Care and the 2018 Midterms, Attitudes Towards Proposed Changes to Medicaid  —  KEY FINDINGS:  — Medicaid continues to be seen favorably by a majority of the public (74 percent) and about half (52 percent) believe the Medicaid program …

EU Warns Tech Giants to Remove Terror Content in 1 Hour—or Else  —  EU lays out rules for firms to fight online illegal material  —  Facebook, Google among tech firms under pressure to react  —  The European Union issued internet giants an ultimatum to remove illegal online terrorist content within …

Fights Worth Having  —  For my money, the best op-ed published in The Times this week was Mona Charen's Feb. 25 barn-burner, “I'm Glad I Got Booed at CPAC.”  Charen is a movement conservative who worked for Nancy and Ronald Reagan and is a longtime contributor to National Review.

Is Jared Kushner using the White House as his own personal boardroom?  —  President Trump's decision to put his assets into a not-so-blind trust led to myriad concerns about possible conflicts of interests.  The biggest early flashpoints in the debate over using the White House for personal gain …

US weekly jobless claims drop to lowest level since 1969  — Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 for the week ended Feb. 24, the lowest level since December 1969.  — It was the 156th straight week that claims remained below …

The Unmet Promise of Equality  —  The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders in session in Washington in 1967.  Known as The Kerner Commission, after the chair, Otto Kerner, seated at the head of the table, the group was convened by President Lyndon Johnson in the wake of the 1967 race riots.

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.