The sheriff in Broward County, Florida, where 17 high schoolers were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has said deputies will be allowed to carry rifles on school grounds, the Associated Press reports.
The backdrop: At a listening session at the White House on Wednesday, President Trump advocated for armed personnel to be in schools as a way to prevent school shootings.
Students and parents who have been affected by gun violence from Columbine, Sandy Hook and the latest school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, among others, came face-to-face with President Trump on Wednesday giving emotional remarks and offering solutions to gun control in the U.S. at a listening session at the White House.
The FCC's repeal of net neutrality rules is set to be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, finally making the roll-back of those rules official after the December party-line vote.
Why it matters: Publication in the Federal Register formally opens up the repeal to a court challenge by net neutrality supporters. It also starts the clock on Democrats' efforts to reverse the FCC's decision through the Congressional Review Act. Congress has a window of 60 legislative days to get the votes needed.
Yes, but: Even if enough lawmakers sign on to a CRA measure, it's doubtful that President Trump would sign it.
A new consensus of analysts assures us that we should not worry as automation dislodges up to hundreds of millions of white and blue collar workers across the planet over the coming years, since virtually all will find new jobs. But Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur and an early candidate for president in 2020, says those new jobs are already late — a dystopian age of automation is already here.
Quick take: Yang is a long shot, but his anti-robot message — coming not from a Luddite but from the tech world itself — resonates, especially when he seems to be tattling on his pals. He tells Axios that while experts and politicians debate the potential impact of robotization, his Silicon Valley friends are already angling to figure out how to make it happen faster so they can cash in.
Melania Trump's parents are legal permanent residents of the U.S. and "likely relied" on the process President Trump has referred to as "chain migration," and proposed ending, the Washington Post reports citing "people familiar with their status" and immigration experts.
Why it matters: Trump has suggested limiting immigration sponsorship to spouses and minor children. Per the Post, the first lady's Slovenia-born parents most likely relied on the broader policies currently in place to obtain their green cards.
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin blasted “subversive events” at his agency after conservative political appointees openly rebelled against him following the release of an inspector general’s report that found he had improperly brought his wife on a trip last year using a falsified email from his former chief of staff, per Politico. Shulkin paid back any outstanding sums, allowing him to maintain the White House’s political backing for now.
Why it matters: As reported by Politico, the White House has given Shulkin their support to "quash an internal rebellion." Top Trump administration officials — from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to former HHS Secretary Tom Price — have faced media scrutiny over their use of travel expenses, but this is the first time that other Trump appointees have used such a controversy to voice their displeasure.
President Trump has told associates that he doesn’t think high school kids should be able to buy guns, and is open to the idea of imposing a minimum purchase age of 21 for guns like those used in the Florida high school massacre, a source close to the president said.
But, but, but: The source cautioned that the conversations with the president have been relatively loose and open-ended so far. Nothing has been decided, or is close to decided, on the age question.
Senate Democrats are generally from states with higher immigrant populations than Senate Republicans, partially explaining why the effort to pass an immigration bill tanked last week. The exception, however, are the handful of Democrats from red states — who are almost all up for re-election this year.
Robert Mueller's indictment against 13 Russians involved with the St. Petersburg–based Internet Research Agency (IRA) reveals that the organization was much more than a social media "troll farm." Rather, it was the hub of a multi-layered, methodical and well-funded intelligence operation against the United States.
Why it matters: The Kremlin, heavily staffed by former KGB and FSB intelligence officers, has adapted its old "chaos strategy" for the digital age. And cyber-fueled political warfare is cheaper, more efficient and far more difficult to contain.