Hope Hicks, Gun Control, Spotify: Your Thursday Briefing
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Good morning.
Here’s what you need to know:
February marches out like a lion
• Wednesday was an extraordinarily busy day, particularly in Washington.
Tensions between President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions flared publicly when the president criticized Mr. Sessions for not opening his own investigation into Republican charges of misconduct in the Russia investigation. Mr. Sessions had suggested that the Justice Department’s inspector general, an Obama administration appointee, would look into them instead.
In a tweet, the president called Mr. Sessions “DISGRACEFUL.” Mr. Sessions responded with a rare statement defending his “integrity and honor.”
• Separately, Hope Hicks, the White House communications director and one of Mr. Trump’s longest-serving advisers, plans to leave in the next few weeks. White House aides said her resignation wasn’t related to her testimony the day before that she had occasionally told white lies in the job.
A shock to the N.R.A.’s system
• At the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting last year, President Trump declared, “I can proudly say I will never, ever let you down.”
That wasn’t evident at a meeting with lawmakers on Wednesday, as Mr. Trump called for comprehensive gun control legislation.
He also suggested that guns could be seized from mentally ill people or others who presented a danger. “Take the guns first, go through due process second,” he said. We fact-checked some of his comments.
• It was unclear what effect Mr. Trump’s statements might yield. In January, he said he favored a bipartisan immigration bill, but he reversed that position soon after.
Back to school, with some empty desks
• Classes resumed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Wednesday, two weeks after a gunman killed 17 people at the Florida school.
Our reporter spent the day with Brooke Harrison, 14, who lost three classmates in her Honors English class. “I feel like I’m on an episode of ‘C.S.I.,’ ” she said.
• Two of the leading gun sellers in the U.S., Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods, announced steps to limit their sales of firearms, including requiring gun buyers to be at least 21, regardless of local laws.
New ethics concerns involving Kushner
• The real estate business of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, received large loans last year from two companies whose executives had met with Mr. Kushner at the White House.
Citigroup lent $325 million to Kushner Companies in the spring, and Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, lent $184 million in November.
• Mr. Kushner, who remains heavily invested in his family’s business, has long been dogged by questions about conflicts of interest.
China says no to Pooh (and the letter N)
• After China proposed changing the Constitution so that President Xi Jinping could remain in power indefinitely, Communist Party censors have scoured the internet to suppress criticism.
“My emperor,” “lifelong” and “shameless” were obvious targets of censors. But images of Winnie the Pooh — to whom Mr. Xi is sometimes likened — have also been erased.
• The letter N was also briefly censored, according to one University of Pennsylvania professor, apparently to pre-empt expressing dissent mathematically: N > 2, with “N” being the number of Mr. Xi’s terms in office.
Listen to ‘The Daily’: Trump vs. the N.R.A.
The president stunned lawmakers with calls for gun control. Also, Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, is to step down.Business
• Virtual coins, real resources: One explanation for America’s productivity problem may be the energy, time and money spent to make digital products like Bitcoin.
• How low can unemployment go? Economists aren’t sure, our chief economics correspondent writes.
• Spotify has filed to go public. The music streaming service is valued as high as $23 billion (you read that right).
Smarter Living
Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.
• If your marriage is in a rut, try these “love hacks.”
• “Smart” items may have more features, but sometimes dumb is better.
• Recipe of the day: Pair your morning tea with maple scones.
Noteworthy
• U.S. Olympic chief resigns
Scott Blackmun, who called for the resignation of the entire board of U.S.A. Gymnastics after a sexual abuse scandal, is the latest official to go.
Separately, the International Olympic Committee lifted its ban on Russiaafter the remaining drug tests from the Pyeongchang Games were negative.
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• The myth that built the modern world
Why do we identify with millions of strangers based solely on borders? In this video from The Interpreter, we explain how new the idea of national identity is.
• Today’s number: 8.3 billion
In a study published last year, scientists estimated that 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic had been produced since the 1950s.
A Dutch supermarket introduced on Wednesday what it billed as the world’s first plastic-free aisle.
• Best of late-night TV
Trevor Noah was surprised that President Trump called out Republicans for their ties to the N.R.A. “I’ve got to tell you, he didn’t say what you’d expect.”
• Quotation of the day
“We’re not ditching any constitutional protections simply because the last person the president talked to today doesn’t like them.”
— Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska, on the President Trump’s surprise reversal on gun control.
• The Times, in other words
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• A frozen upper lip
Your Morning Briefing is produced from London, where we’re accustomed to rain. But not so much to snow, which has arrived in relative abundance this week. Please enjoy our video.
Back Story
It has been called “the toughest job you’ll ever love.”
The Peace Corps got its start on this day in 1961, established under an executive order by President John F. Kennedy.
The idea to send American volunteers around the world to assist with development projects and to promote the image of the U.S. existed in various forms after the end of World War II.
But it was during a campaign stop at the University of Michigan a few weeks before he was elected president that Kennedy asked a crowd of students, “How many of you who are going to be doctors are willing to spend your days in Ghana?”
Kennedy would repeat that call to service a few months later during his inaugural address, when he urged Americans to “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”
The Peace Corps has not been without criticism: Richard Nixon said it was a haven for draft dodgers, and, more recently, the organization has faced questions about the health and safety of its volunteers, particularly women.
But after initially operating in only a handful of countries, the Peace Corps has sent more than 230,000 volunteers to 141 nations.
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