memeorandum: Georgia punishes Delta for crossing the NRA; airline insists it's ‘not taking sides’ (Associated Press)

6:10 PM ET, March 2, 2018

Top Items:

Trump was angry and ‘unglued’ when he started a trade war, officials say — WASHINGTON — With global markets shaken by President Donald Trump's surprise decision to impose strict tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, the president went into battle mode on Friday: “Trade wars are good, and easy to win,” he wrote on Twitter.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, The Atlantic, ThinkProgress, Politico, New Republic, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, Little Green Footballs, CityLab, Hit & Run, CANNONFIRE, Eschaton, CNNMoney, CNN, CNBC, Raw Story, Daily Kos and NBC News

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Trump confidant dumped millions in steel-related stock last week — Billionaire investor and longtime Trump confidant Carl Icahn dumped $31.3 million of stock in a company heavily dependent on steel last week, just days before Trump announced plans to impose steep tariffs on steel imports.

Discussion: ABC News, Axios, Hullabaloo, Washington Press, CNBC, Splinter, Mediaite, Raw Story, New York Magazine, InsideTrade Daily News, Daily Kos, Joe.My.God., The Guardian and Reuters

CNN:

The great unraveling: Trump's allies are really worried about him — (CNN)Not since Richard Nixon started talking to the portraits on the walls of the West Wing has a president seemed so alone against the world. — One source — who is a presidential ally — is worried, really worried.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo, Booman Tribune and Raw Story

NBC News:

Mueller team asking if Kushner foreign business ties influenced Trump policy — WASHINGTON — Federal investigators are scrutinizing whether any of Jared Kushner's business discussions with foreigners during the presidential transition later shaped White House policies in ways designed …

Discussion: Washington Post, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, NBC News, CNBC, Raw Story, Politicus USA and Mediaite

The Intercept:

Jared Kushner's Real-Estate Firm Sought Money Directly From Qatar Government Weeks Before Blockade — The real estate firm tied to the family of presidential son-in-law and top White House adviser Jared Kushner made a direct pitch to Qatar's minister of finance in April 2017 in an attempt …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Washington Monthly, The Daily Beast, Axios, The Mahablog, Bleeding Cool, Politico, Washington Press, Media Matters for America, Raw Story, New York Times and Breitbart

Associated Press:
SEC dropped inquiry a month after firm aided Kushner company

Discussion: Daily Kos, IJR and Political Wire

New York Times:

E.U. Leader Threatens to Retaliate With Tariffs on Bourbon and Bluejeans — BERLIN — The European Union will hit back at the heart of the United States, slapping tariffs on products like Harley-Davidsons, Kentucky bourbon and bluejeans, if President Trump goes ahead with a plan to place tariffs …

Discussion: Politico, CNNMoney, Outside the Beltway, KXAN-TV, Washington Press, The Atlantic, Associated Press, Raw Story, Mashable and CBS News

Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:

Trump's Tariffs Are Especially Ominous — Previous presidents agreed to limited protectionism in return for support for free-trade deals. That is not the case now. — At first glance, President Donald Trump's new tariffs on steel and aluminum may look like a repetition of one of President George W. Bush's mistakes.

Discussion: National Review

Axios:
Man of steel: Trump's secret fantasies realized

Discussion: Vox, NBC News, One America News Network, Raw Story, New York Magazine, Associated Press, ABC News, CNBC, ThinkProgress and Politico

Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:
Free Market Conservatives Turn on Steely Don

Discussion: New York Times, Hit & Run, Vox, One America News Network and Raw Story

Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Tariff Folly

Discussion: New York Post, Financial Times, RedState, Fox News Insider, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, Washington Post, Betsy's Page, ThinkProgress and Macleans.ca

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“She's in Immense Personal Jeopardy”: Even for Hope Hicks, the West Wing Got Too Hot — “Emotionally overwhelmed” by the headlines over Rob Porter, manipulated by Kelly, and interviewed by Mueller and Congress, the president's surrogate daughter is leaving the Trump bunker at one of his toughest moments.

Discussion: Vox and New York Times

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
‘Jared has faded’: Inside the 28 days of tumult that left Kushner badly diminished

Discussion: Vox, ABC News, Breitbart, Axios, Politico, New York Magazine, Hullabaloo, Salon, Raw Story, Refinery29, Mediaite and Daily Kos

New York Times:
Trump's Chaos Theory for the Oval Office Is Taking Its Toll

Jerry Oppenheimer / Daily Mail:
Get stylish like Hope Hicks in a Veronica Beard jacket

Discussion: Althouse, AOL and The Hill

David Jackson / USA Today:
John Kelly: 'We didn't cover ourselves in glory' on Rob Porter abuse allegations

Discussion: CNN, ThinkProgress, Raw Story, Shareblue Media and Splinter

The Daily Beast:

Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin ‘Extremely Paranoid’ Ahead of Damning New Investigation, Sources Say … Embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is likely to be the subject of another damaging investigation as early as next week, one that could prove politically fatal.

Discussion: Axios, Political Wire, Raw Story and Military Times

Bart Jansen / USA Today:

The number of Delta Airlines passengers who bought tickets with NRA discount: 13 — How many airline passengers does it take to kill a $40 million tax break for Delta Air Lines? 13. — The Georgia legislature removed a jet-fuel tax break from a larger tax package Thursday.

Discussion: Breitbart, NPR, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, Orlando Weekly, The Atlantic, IJR, New York Magazine and Joe.My.God.

Associated Press:
Georgia punishes Delta for crossing the NRA; airline insists it's ‘not taking sides’

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Danielle Wiener-Bronner / CNNMoney:
Delta CEO: ‘We are supporters of the 2nd Amendment’

Discussion: Instapundit, KFOR-TV and Washington Press

Lauren Hirsch / CNBC:

Wilbur Ross needs another prop, Campbell says tariffs will make soup cans more expensive — Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross used a can of Campbell's Soup as a prop to defend the new steel tariff plan. — President Donald Trump said Thursday the United States will impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum as early as next week.

Discussion: Vox, Raw Story, Mother Jones and Daily Kos

CNBC: Electrolux puts $250 million US investment on hold over Trump's tariff hike

Marisa Kendall / Mercury News:

Sunnyvale home shatters record with enormous price tag — Check out the other stories on Uber Health and the Northern California storm. — SUNNYVALE — The small, unassuming home in the Cherry Chase neighborhood was on the market just two days before it sold for $2 million, a whopping $550,000 over its asking price.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Sam Levin / The Guardian:

Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, report finds — Majority of drivers make less than minimum wage and many end up losing money, according to study published by MIT … Uber and Lyft drivers in the US make a median profit of $3.37 per hour before taxes …

Discussion: NPR, TechCrunch, Daily Mail, CityLab, Gizmodo, Raw Story and Splinter

Trip Gabriel / New York Times:

House Race in Pennsylvania May Turn on Trump Voters' Regrets — BURGETTSTOWN, Pa. — The steel mill where Patti Stroud's husband worked for 26 years shut down a few weeks before Election Day in 2016. Though she is a registered Democrat, Ms. Stroud had long since drifted away from the party over its liberal social policies.

miamiherald:

Deputies were told to set up ‘perimeter’ around Parkland shooting. That's not the training — The Broward Sheriff's Office captain who initially took charge of the chaotic scene at a Parkland high school where 17 people were killed told deputies to form a perimeter around the deadly scene …

Discussion: Hot Air, Hit & Run, IJR, Daily Wire and Fox News

Detroit Free Press:

Police: 2 shot at Central Michigan University, gunman still at large — Sheriff Wayne Ivey of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office gives tips on how to survive an active shooter situation. Video provided by Brevard County Sheriff's Office. Wochit — CONNECT

Discussion: USA Today, WIS-TV, Breitbart, VICE News, fox13now.com, The Week, Joe.My.God., The Root, CBS New York, WTKR-TV and The Daily Caller

Lucia I. Suarez Sang / Fox News:
2 killed at Central Michigan University, gunman ‘armed and dangerous’

Discussion: KFOR-TV, CNN, WCMH-TV, WIS-TV, WINK NEWS, CBS Philly, FOX6Now.com, WFLA-TV, WPIX 11 New York, KTLA, CBS Pittsburgh, CBS Chicago, WGN-TV, Al Jazeera English, WSVN-TV, NPR, twitchy.com, NBC News, IJR and Mediaite

Lacey Rose / Hollywood Reporter:

Alec Baldwin on His ABC Talk Show, Woody Allen Fallout and ‘SNL’ Future — “Every time I do it now, it's like agony,” Baldwin says of his Trump parody. — Beginning this weekend, ABC will start spending its Sundays With Alec Baldwin. — Earlier this week, the network ordered a nine-episode …

Nicole Chavez / CNN:

Sen. Orrin Hatch calls Obamacare supporters ‘stupidest, dumbass people’ — (CNN)Sen. Orrin Hatch says supporters of the Affordable Care Act are the “stupidest, dumbass” people he's ever seen. — Speaking about the massive GOP tax overhaul at the American Enterprise Institute on Thursday …

Discussion: Breitbart, IJR, Daily Kos, Roll Call, Washington Free Beacon, YouTube and Shareblue Media

David Dayen / The Intercept:

Instead of Taking on Gun Control, Democrats are Teaming with Republicans for a Stealth Attack on Wall Street Reform — In mid-January, Citigroup executives held a conference call with reporters about the bank's fourth quarter 2017 earnings. The discussion turned to an obscure congressional bill …

Discussion: CNBC

Bloomberg:

Trump Swaps His Beloved Burgers for Salads and Soups in New Diet — Two weeks since he's been seen eating burger, one person says — But bacon was still on the menu at breakfast this week — Donald Trump has traded cheeseburgers for salads in the presidential diet — at least some of the time.

Discussion: Political Wire

Libby Watson / Splinter:

Everyone in Washington Is Having a Lovely Time — Isn't living in Washington, D.C. nice? It's got lovely architecture, beautiful parks, several Trader Joe's, and so many terribly interesting people, who contribute so much to society. If you work very hard, and get a little lucky …

Margery A. Beck / Associated Press:

APNewsBreak: Questions surround Trump's 1st wall contract — OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A tiny Nebraska startup awarded the first border wall construction project under President Donald Trump is the offshoot of a construction firm that was sued repeatedly for failing to pay subcontractors and accused …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Randall D. Eliason / Washington Post:

Mueller's net is tightening around Trump's inner circle — and maybe Trump himself — Randall D. Eliason teaches white-collar criminal law at George Washington University Law School. — Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is significantly turning up the heat on President Trump.

Discussion: Fox News, Yellowhammer News, CNN and Power Line

John Harwood / CNBC:

Trump's embrace of Russia: The evidence on public display already paints a jarring picture — Trump's in-plain-sight embrace of Russia gets obscured by the Trump news avalanche. It's worth reviewing what's been established so far. — As Robert Mueller accumulates guilty pleas …

David Weigel / Washington Post:

Democratic group faces backlash after intervening in crowded House primaries … A black Democratic candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania is accusing the Democratic Congressional Committee of undermining his campaign and nudging him out of the race in favor of white candidates.

Discussion: Philly.com and The Nation

New York Times:

Oil Was Central in Decision to Shrink Bears Ears Monument, Emails Show — Want the latest climate news in your inbox? You can sign up here to receive Climate Fwd:, our new email newsletter. — WASHINGTON — Even before President Trump officially opened his high-profile review last spring …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Verge and Deadspin

New York Times:

How to Buy a Gun in 15 Countries — Many Americans can buy a gun in less than an hour. In some countries, the process takes months. Here are the basic steps for how most people buy a gun in 15 of them. Many countries have exceptions for specialized professions, and local laws vary.

Discussion: Axios

The Guardian:

EU citizenship for sale as Russian oligarch buys Cypriot passport — Exclusive: Oleg Deripaska joins hundreds of rich people who have bought Cypriot nationality — Sara Farolfi, Luke Harding and Stelios Ophanides in Nicosia … The Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska has bought …

Donna St. George / Washington Post:

In a prestigious high school math and science program, alumni say #MeToo … Years after they left one of the nation's premier high school programs in math and science, hundreds of alumni have come forward to support allegations that a celebrated Maryland teacher sexually harassed and demeaned female students.

Discussion: Unfogged