| | | | | President Trump returns to the White House Thursday night. Credit: The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump is back from Vietnam and there are no public events on his schedule.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
Most are either flying back to Washington from Vietnam, or readjusting to the time change.
Otto Warmbier's Parents Hit Back at Trump:
Not surprisingly, the parents of deceased former North Korean hostage Otto Warmbier have hit back at the President after he basically absolved North Korean leader Kim Jong Un of any responsibility in the tragic and brutal death of their son. "We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that. Thank you," Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement provided to CNN. At a press conference this week at the close of his second summit with Kim -- which resulted in no signing of any sort of agreement or deal -- Trump said he took Kim "at his word" that he had no knowledge of Warmbier's killing. Which is shameful.
Cohen Comes Back:
Congress can't get enough of Michael Cohen, apparently, because he will be back for another visit to Capitol Hill next week. On March 6th, Cohen will be back in front of the House Intelligence Committee, where yesterday he spent more than seven hours testifying behind closed doors. Apparently, he said enough interesting things to warrant a return appearance. Congress is getting every drop of information they can from Cohen -- he heads to prison to serve his three-year sentence on May 8th. | | NYT Says Trump *Did* Demand Security Clearance for Jared Kushner:
In an explosive story, the New York Times debunks the commonly heard Trump refrain -- from both the President and Ivanka Trump -- that Trump had nothing to do with ensuring that Jared Kushner got his top-secret security clearance. Kushner got the clearance because Trump demanded it, says the Times, and also despite several intelligence officials having concerns about Kushner, a relative diplomatic novice, having such an important level of clearance. The story says Trump instructed then-chief of staff John Kelly to ensure Kushner received his clearance. The White House says it doesn't comment on security clearances, but favoritism to Trump family members has dogged this administration from the very beginning. Meanwhile, let's not forget what Kushner has been up to this week on a trip to the Middle East ...
Our Daily Melania:
On Monday, Melania Trump will make her first solo domestic overnight trip as first lady. She's going first to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to discuss with elementary school children their emotional well-being. Then, it's to Seattle, where she will visit a tech company to see technology that helps kids. And finally, to Las Vegas, where she will participate in a town hall about the opioid crisis with Eric Bolling. Back to Washington on Tuesday. Her spokeswoman says the first lady is making the trip to outline the three pillars of her "Be Best" initiative: well-being, online behavior and the opioid crisis. I'll be on the trip with Melania, and therefore not writing in this space on Monday and Tuesday due to travel -- but look for my reporting about it on CNN and CNN.com, and my Twitter!
Dress Like the Former First Lady:
Michelle Obama was in Austin, Texas, yesterday, promoting her memoir, "Becoming." She was wearing a bold, orange silk ensemble by Fe Noel, a Brooklyn-based designer who champions working women. The "Liz Tail Blouse" is available here for $398. | | | Credit: Rick Kern/Wireimage/Getty Images, fenoel.com | | What Washington is Talking About:
Following the New York Times report that President Trump overruled US intelligence and called on his then-chief of staff John Kelly to give Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance, House Oversight chair Rep. Elijah Cummings threatened a subpoena unless the White House turns over documents related to Kushner's clearance; the House passed its second piece of gun legislation in as many days, the "Charleston loophole bill"; and the Nationals' Bryce Harper is leaving us. Harper, 26, signed a 13-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies for $330 million, the most expensive contract in North American sports history. Bye, Bryce, we'll miss you and good luck.
What America is Talking About:
Utility company PG&E said it's "probable" its equipment started the Camp Fire, the deadliest fire in state history that killed at least 86 people and destroyed the town of Paradise; YouTube disabled comments on tens of millions of videos of kids to fight "predatory behavior"; and streaming accounted for 75% of music industry revenue in 2018, per the RIAA's year-end music industry revenue report.
Reminder:
Rent is due.
February 2019, a Retrospective:
Here are some of the political and cultural stories that defined February, from my Notes App: | | Credit: Hunter Schwarz
Senate Dems Back GND Resolution:
Sen. Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat, introduced a joint resolution Thursday calling for Congress to take action on climate change. The 35-word resolution doesn't come with specifics -- it just says, "Climate change is real, human activity during the last century is the dominant cause of the climate crisis; and the United States and Congress should take immediate action to address the challenge of climate change." -- but per the Hill, it's meant to show a unified Democratic front even as some members of the party disagree over the specifics of the GND legislation introduced earlier this month by Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
WaPo is Publishing a Book of the Mueller Report:
The Washington Post announced Thursday it's partnering with Simon & Schuster's Scribner imprint to publish a book of special counsel Robert Mueller's report. The book will be published instantly as an e-book, and be put out in paperback days after the report drops.
In addition to the public report, "The Mueller Report" book will include an intro by Post reporters Rosalind S. Helderman and Matt Zapotosky, selected Mueller filings, the cast of characters, and a timeline of events. It's not the first collab between the paper and Scribner, which partnered in 2016 to publish "Trump Revealed."
Public reports have proven to be bestsellers before. In 1998, "The Starr Report," which detailed then-President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, topped the New York Times' independent paperback nonfiction and chain paperback nonfiction lists despite being free online and read by 22 million people in the first two days. At least three publishing companies put out copies of the 445-page report, per news reports at the time.
What a Logo for an Environmental Presidential Candidate Looks Like:
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced he's running for president today in an announcement video unlike any we've seen this cycle, focused on a single issue: climate change. His logo sets his last name in what appears to be Astoria, a font designed in 2015 by Alan Meeks, in front of a green and blue semicircle and underlined in red (on his website, the line changes to green when you hover over it). | | Credit: Inslee campaign
The colors are doing double duty here. They of course represent his environmental platform, but they're also reminiscent of colors used by pro sports teams in Inslee's home state. The Seattle Seahawks, Mariners, and Sounders each use their own variations of blue and green.
Street Art Sighting:
Shepard Fairey contributed a peace sign poster to the #EndGunViolence campaign organized by the shoe brand Toms. The campaign benefits gun reform groups including March For Our Lives and Everytown. Posters went on sale for $60 Thursday, and it's no longer available on Fairey's site. | | Credit: @obeygiant/Instagram
In other Shepard Fairey news, his "We The People" series of posters created in time for the Women's March in 2017 are popping up in an image going viral on progressive social media, comparing them to a photo of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib during Michael Cohen's testimony.
Fairey reposted the image and wrote, "I was proud to see this circulating today. Sometimes art imitates life, and other times art helps us to envision a future we can then work hard to manifest. Let's keep working!"
Tag or DM me your political street art sightings @hunterschwarz on Twitter or Instagram, or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com. | | | | | | |
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