This ad aired on Fox and Friends yesterday morning before Trump started tweeting (vid. tweet)

Canine war heroes mistreated by U.S. Army: Pentagon report

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - They made up a corps of bomb-sniffing dogs that accompanied brigade combat teams on potentially lethal missions, sniffing out roadside bombs in Afghanistan and saving human lives.

In return for their combat service, the U.S. Army mistreated these canine heroes when they were discharged from the military, the Defense Department’s Inspector General’s Office said in a report issued on March 1.

An investigation was started after soldiers who had handled the dogs complained about the fate of their four-legged saviors.

Army personnel who handled them said that once the dogs returned to the United States, some were left in kennels for up to 11 months, mistreated through lack of care and attention, and others may have been put down, according to the report. No screening was done of people who wanted to adopt the dogs.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-defense-dogs/canine-war-heroes-mistreated-by-u-s-army-pentagon-report-idUSKCN1GE30M?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social

Trump picks Dow Chemical lawyer for key role at EPA

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday tapped a chemical industry insider to run the Environmental Protection Agency office that oversees emergency response to hazardous spills and cleanups of the nation’s most toxic sites.

The White House announced that Trump has nominated Peter C. Wright to serve as EPA’s assistant administrator for Land and Emergency Management. Wright has worked as a corporate lawyer at Dow Chemical Co. since 1999.

Despite Trump’s campaign pledges to “drain the swamp” in Washington, Wright’s nomination is the latest example of the president appointing corporate lawyers or lobbyists to supervise federal offices that directly regulate their former employers.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said Wright is “exceptionally qualified” to lead the Office of Land and Emergency Management.

Read more: https://apnews.com/cf2a6a09bfe3455cb40bc5ed858345ae

I Heard it Round and Round the Grapevine (Ratt-Marvin Gaye mashup):

UCLA players' release from China secured before Trump got involved: report

Source: The Hill

President Trump reportedly had less impact than he claimed on the release of three UCLA basketball players detained in China last year, according to a new report Friday.

LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were arrested and detained on shoplifting charges in November while in China for a game.

Trump took credit for intervening and negotiating the players’ release, but a new report from ESPN finds that the charges had been dropped and the players’ passports returned two days before the White House told them it was involved.

A source told ESPN that the players' return flights were already secured by the time White House chief of staff John Kelly called to tell the players that the White House was getting involved.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/376497-ucla-players-release-from-china-was-already-secured-before-trump-got

Coach fired for rejecting baseball prospect due to Colo. marijuana laws: Thank your liberal politic

Source: The Hill

“In the past, players have had trouble passing out drug test,” Jeffcoat wrote. “We have made a decision to not take a chance on student-athletes from your state. You can thank your liberal politicians.”

...

The university said Thursday that Jeffcoat had been fired over the email, according to Fox 4 News.

President Frederick Slabach said there are student athletes on other teams from Colorado and the school would not discriminate based on geographic location or political ideology.

"I want to make sure he knows that the comments contained in that email absolutely do not express the values of this university, and we would love to have Gavin here as a student," Slabach told Fox 4.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/376499-coach-fired-for-rejecting-baseball-prospect-due-to-colorado

NPR/Ipsos poll: Majority of Americans support policies aimed to keep guns out of hands of dangerous

Source: Ipsos

Washington, DC, February 28, 2018 — In light of the recent school shooting in Parkland, Fla., Ipsos has partnered with NPR to study American perspectives on guns, following up on an NPR/Ipsos poll on the same issue conducted October of 2017. Recent events have not changed Americans’ support for the Second Amendment, with 74 percent saying they have no problem with people owning guns (unchanged from October). However, crime or gun violence is now one of the most worrying problems in America, up 10 percentage points from October (from 27% to 37%); it is the single top issue of concern for both Democrats and Independents. However, after mass casualty events, concerns around gun violence and crime often surge, and it will be important to continue measuring the importance of this issue over time.

Three-quarters of Americans now think gun laws should be more strict than they are today, up seven points from last fall. Vast majorities of Americans continue to support banning firearm attachments, or bump stocks, that allow rifles to rapidly fire similar to an automatic weapon (81%), banning high-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds (73%), and banning assault-style weapons (72%). Nearly all Americans (94%) support requiring background checks for all gun buyers, and more than 8 in 10 (82%) favor raising the legal age to purchase a gun to 21. However, most Americans (59%) oppose training teachers to carry guns in schools and see it as the least effective way to reduce gun violence in schools.

Trump tweets: 'Trade wars are good, and easy to win'

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day after announcing steep tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday that“trade wars are good, and easy to win”.

Trump said on Thursday that the United States would apply duties of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum to protect U.S. producers, although White House officials later said some details still needed to be ironed out.

“When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,” Trump’s tweet read.“Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!”

Fears of an escalating trade war triggered selloffs on Wall Street and in Asia and Europe, hitting the share prices of steelmakers and manufacturers supplying U.S. markets particularly hard.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-trump/trump-tweets-trade-wars-are-good-and-easy-to-win-idUSKCN1GE1E9?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5a9935c304d3014498e7867b&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Donald Trump attacks 'Alex' Baldwin on Twitter over impersonation

Source: ABC News

The president woke up with Alec Baldwin on his mind -- and let the world know about it. Well, he let "Alex Baldwin" know about it anyway.

Donald Trump took to Twitter at 5:42 a.m. to fire off a tweet attacking the left-leaning actor for his portrayal of Trump on "Saturday Night Live." Baldwin had said on Thursday in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that it was "agony" to portray the president.

"Every time I do it now, it's like agony. Agony. I can't," Baldwin told The Hollywood Reporter.

Trump was not amused -- and not good at spelling so early in the morning. He tweeted about Baldwin's "dieing" career and misspelled his name as "Alex." It's unclear if the president was being sarcastic on the latter.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-attacks-alex-baldwin-twitter-impersonation/story?id=53459224&cid=social_twitter_abcn

The Latest: L.L. Bean raises age to 21 to buy rifles

Source: ABC News/AP

Outdoor retailer L.L. Bean will no longer sell rifles to anyone under 21.

The company joined retail heavyweights Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods in changing policies in the wake of the Florida school massacre.

L.L. Bean said in a statement late Thursday that it will no longer sell guns or ammunition to anyone under the age of 21.

Company spokeswoman Carolyn Beem says L.L. Bean only sells firearms at its flagship store in Maine and only guns specific to hunting and target shooting.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/latest-rei-halts-future-orders-gun-conglomerate-53453151