memeorandum: Scott Blackmun steps down as U.S. Olympic Committee chief executive (Will Hobson/Washington Post)

5:40 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 …

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.

Washington Post:

White House communications director Hope Hicks to resign — Hope Hicks, the White House communications director and one of President Trump's longest-serving and closest political advisers, said Wednesday that she is leaving the administration sometime in the next few weeks.

Discussion: ABC News

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 …

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.

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 …

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: The Daily Beast

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

Discussion: Arizona Republic, The Guardian, CNN, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, Washington Press, NPR, Salon, Jezebel, Raw Story, NBC News, thecut, ThinkProgress and Breitbart

CNN: Kelly, Kushner tension simmers amid West Wing uncertainty

The Hill:
Hope Hicks resigns from White House

Discussion: Mother Jones

Betsy Klein / CNN:
The White House chief calligrapher has a higher clearance than Jared Kushner

Discussion: Washington Post

Axios: Hope Hicks to resign as White House communications director

Jordan Libowitz / CREW:
CREW Files Hatch Act Complaint Against Jared Kushner

Discussion: Vox, CNN and MarketWatch

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

Discussion: Raw Story, The Root, AOL and Washington Press

Elizabeth Landers / CNN:
NRA directly appealed to Trump against raising age for firearms purchases

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Breitbart

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, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, Forward Progressives, New York Magazine, The Gateway Pundit, emptywheel, Mediaite, Daily Kos, JONATHAN TURLEY and Balloon Juice

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: Above the Law, AOL, VICE News, Talking Points Memo, 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: RedState, Vox, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, Axios and AOL

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: NBC News, IJR, CBS Philly, Washington Press, Raw Story, FOX31 Denver, 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

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
NEW: Voice of Dalton High football fired at least one shot inside classroom, police say

Discussion: Raw Story, ABC News, The Root, Joe.My.God. and Mediaite

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

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

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, AOL, NPR and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: Politico and Mother Jones

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: The Daily Caller, markpantano.com, Friendly Atheist, AOL, Axios and Political Wire

Bloomberg:

Regulator Seeks Kushner Loan Details From Deutsche Bank, Two Others — New York regulator asks about loan-approval processes — Signature, New York Community Bank recently expanded credits — New York's banking regulator has asked Deutsche Bank AG and a pair of local lenders …

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

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: Daily Kos and ThinkProgress

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

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Jeff Sessions Issues Statement After Trump Attack: I Will Do My Job ‘With Integrity and Honor’

Discussion: National Review, New Republic and RedState

Bob Eller / Talking Points Memo:

Father Of FL Shooting Survivor Says He Edited Email Used To Discredit CNN — The father of a Florida shooting survivor acknowledged Tuesday he omitted words in an email he sent media outlets accusing CNN of using scripted remarks at a town hall on guns and school safety.

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Rubio's approval rating hits all-time low in Florida: poll

Discussion: Politico, The Federalist, Washington Post, Orlando Weekly, FOX2now.com, Politicus USA, Daily Kos, Shareblue Media and Washington Press

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

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, Mediaite, Roll Call and ThinkProgress

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 …

Discussion: twitchy.com and The Daily Caller

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

Will Hobson / Washington Post:

Scott Blackmun steps down as U.S. Olympic Committee chief executive … Scott Blackmun is stepping down as chief executive of the United States Olympic Committee, the organization announced Wednesday. — In eight years leading the USOC, Blackmun drew praise for repairing relations …

Discussion: Axios, ThinkProgress and One America News Network

Danny Vinik / Politico:

Press secretary quits FEMA, citing ‘boys club’ — Resignation comes after top public affairs leader left the agency amid pressure over its response to hurricanes. — Two top public-affairs officers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency have resigned over the past month …

Discussion: Axios and thecut