Wednesday 18 April 2018

FLOTUS to Honor Barbara Bush: Melania Trump will attend the former first lady's funeral in Houston Saturday

Wednesday, April 18, 2018
The American flag flies at half-staff Wednesday in Washington in honor of former first lady Barbara Bush, who died Tuesday at age 92. Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

FLOTUS to Honor Barbara Bush: Melania Trump will attend the former first lady's funeral Saturday

"With All Due Respect, I Don't Get Confused": Nicki Haley with a clapback for the ages

7 Photos of Barbara Bush That Will Stir Deep Abiding Love for America: Remembering the former first lady

Kate Bennett

What the White House Is Talking About:
President Donald Trump holds day two of talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Things began this morning with a round of golf. 

What the White House Press Corps Is Talking About:
Mike Pompeo's meeting with Kim Jong Un. 
The old guard press corps recalling great tales of Barbara Bush. 

So, We've Already Met with Kim?:
A bit of a double-take Tuesday night with the news that CIA Director and Secretary of State hopeful Mike Pompeo met in person with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Pompeo apparently traveled to Pyongyang, North Korea, more than two weeks ago to speak face-to-face with Kim, a story that first broke in The Washington Post. Trump is still slated to meet in person with Kim in late May or June. 

Our Daily Melania: 
Melania Trump will attend the funeral Saturday of Barbara Bush in Houston. Spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told me the first lady wishes to pay her respects to the Bush family matriarch in person. There is no answer from the West Wing yet as to whether the President will also attend. 

"With All Due Respect, I Don't Get Confused":

Don't mess with UN ambassador Nikki Haley. Larry Kudlow said Haley might have been confused about the decision over new Russian sanctions -- which felt like a whole lot of mansplain. Haley clapped back Tuesday night, and Kudlow apologized. 
Credit: @DanaBashCNN/Twitter

Washington Has Run Out of Beautiful People:
Or something. The Hill announced today it is retiring its (in)famous "50 Most Beautiful People" list, which ran for almost 15 years. The publication's editor, Bob Cusack, says of the decision, "It's been a great run, but all things must come to an end." I prefer to think my appearance on the list last year shut it down, boom -- but that's not it at all. In this era of #MeToo and divisive judgmental rhetoric, a list based on a person's looks just doesn't feel right.  
Credit: thehill.com

Hero Pilot:
When news of that nightmare Southwest Airlines flight that lost an engine came out Tuesday, I thought immediately about the pilot, and what a heroic badass he or she must be to have landed that jet in such a condition -- loss of altitude, injured passengers, one of whom sadly would die, and a literal hole in the plane. Turns out the pilot, Tammie Jo Shults, is a former Navy fighter pilot, a woman known for her "nerves of steel," and a wife and mother of two. Read more about her here

I Love This Barbara Bush Picture:
When George H.W. Bush was President and would travel without his wife, Barbara Bush was known to sit on the steps of the South Portico of the White House just before his return, anxious to greet him with their dogs as Marine One touched down. I found several photos of this routine, one that so clearly served as an example of the couple's love for one another. But I like this one the best. Mostly because it shows Mrs. Bush as I recall her as first lady: happy, real, approachable, funny, relaxed, grandma-esque in a flower hat and dirty Keds and, most importantly, not consumed with what anyone else thought about her. With the exception, perhaps, of the man who loved her for more than seven decades.
Credit: Jennifer Law/AFP/Getty Images 

Dress Like the First Lady:
To greet Shinzo and Akie Abe on Tuesday and have dinner outside on the patio at Mar-a-Lago, Melania Trump wore this striped, off-the-shoulder Carolina Herrera dress, available here for $2,990
Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images, bergdorfgoodman.com

Hunter Schwarz

What Washington Is Talking About:
Flags across Washington are flying at half-staff in honor of former first lady Barbara Bush.

What America Is Talking About:
The New York Stock Exchange observed a moment of silence this morning for Bush; the crew of the USS George H.W. Bush said in a statement, "Rest in peace, ma'am. We have the watch," and her website called for donations to be made to the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

7 Photos of Barbara Bush That Will Stir an Abiding Love for America:
The former first lady's passing has led to an outpouring of condolences from people across the country and the political spectrum. She is remembered as a woman devoted to her family and country. I dare you to look through these moments and not smile.

1. When she spent Thanksgiving 1990 in Saudi Arabia with the troops.
Credit: Gilles Bassignac/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

2. When she went to a hospice for children with AIDS and held a child in 1989 at a time when there was still much misunderstanding about AIDS and HIV.
Credit: John Zich/The Life Images Collection/Getty Images

3. When she put up with this nonsense from her husband at the rededication of the Gerald R. Ford Library in 1997.
Credit: David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images

4. When she was out there waving a flag at the 1988 Republican National Convention like an American patriot.
Credit: Getty Images

5. When she hugged Hillary Clinton before giving her a tour of the White House in November 1992, just weeks after Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush in the presidential election.
Credit: James A. Parcell/The Washington Post via Getty Images

6. When she went to Australia in 1992 and appeared in a better vacation pic than you will ever take in your entire life while waving to people during a luncheon cruise.
Credit: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum

7. And when she stood out on the White House lawn in 1989 with Millie, the family dog, looking, dare I say iconic, and like the epitome of class, poise and grace that a true first lady is.
Credit: Diana Walker/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

The IRS is Giving You One More Day to File Your Taxes
Technical issues prevented people from filing yesterday, so the IRS said last night you have until tonight at midnight to file.

Trump Hasn't Filed His Taxes:
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday President Trump filed an extension "as do many Americans with complex returns." She said he'll filed them by the October 15 extension deadline.

What We Know About Trump's Business Empire:
Reminder that Trump has broken with decades of political precedent by not releasing his tax returns. But we still know quite a bit about his business empire, broken down here.

Comey Quits the Republican Party:
In an interview with ABC News podcast "Start Here," former FBI Director James Comey said while he's been Republican most his life, the party "has left me and many others." "I just think they've lost their way and I can't be associated with it," he said. "I see the Republican Party, as near as I can tell, reflects now entirely Donald Trump's values. It doesn't reflect values at all. It's transactional, it's ego-driven, it's in service to his ego."

Comey Meets WuTang:
He met Ghostface Killah and Method Man backstage at "Late Show with Stephen Colbert." In a photo posted last night, Gostface wrote "Workin on getting that album back from the feds," ie. the one-off WuTang album Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli purchased in 2015 that was seized when Shkreli was sentenced earlier this year.

There's Now a "Digital Geneva Accord":
More than 30 tech companies including Facebook and Microsoft announced today they have signed a "Cybersecurity Tech Accord" that they will defend all customers from cyber attacks, and not help any government, including the US government, launch cyberattacks "against innocent citizens and enterprises."  

Starbucks Closing 8,000 Stores for an Afternoon Next Month:
The company will close stores the afternoon of May 29 for racial-bias training after police were called last week on two black men waiting at a Philadelphia location for a friend.

The Stormy Daniels' Penthouse Cover is Here:
You can see it here. In it, she's nude, wrapped in an American flag, and the magazine's coverline calls her the "Penthouse Pet of the Century" and the "Most Wanted Woman in America."

P.S.:
Katy Perry wants a print edition Washington Post. The pop star tweeted today that the paper won't deliver to her zip code (its delivery area is largely the DC metro area). The Post tweeted back that she could flip through an e-replica with a digital subscription.
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COVER/LINE is where politics meets pop culture. From CNN's Hunter Schwarz and Kate Bennett, this daily newsletter is the must-read lunch date in Washington and beyond.

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