Hope Hicks Resigns

White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, 29, is resigning less than six months after officially taking that job on a permanent basis. 

Hicks is one of President Trump's most loyal and longest-serving aides. She's been by his side since the early days of his campaign and was appointed as communications director in July, after the short-lived, controversial term of Anthony Scaramucci. 

However, in recent weeks, Hicks has been embroiled in several major scandals. In January, it was reported that Hicks allegedly was directly involved with the White House response to a story about how Donald Trump Jr. met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer in the summer of 2016 to allegedly get political dirt on Hillary Clinton. 

Then, in February, questions were raised about the way Hicks handled the White House's initial denial of domestic abuse allegations against former aide Rob Porter, who also happens to be her rumored boyfriend. (Porter ended up resigning from his post.) 

Last Tuesday, Hicks was interviewed for nine hours by the House Intel Committee investigating Russia interference in the 2016 election and contact between Trump's campaign and Russia. Hicks acknowledged to the House intelligence panel Tuesday that she has occasionally told "white lies" for Trump, according to a person familiar with the testimony. But she said she had not lied about anything relevant to the Russia investigation. 

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that Hicks would remain at the White House "for several weeks" and denied that Hicks' decision to leave had anything to do with her lengthy testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. "Don't try to read more into it than exists," Sanders said. "This is something that she's been thinking about for a while."

On CNN’s “Erin Burnett Outfront” last night, the host claimed that “one of the president’s close allies” told her that Trump berated Hicks after Tuesday’s testimony and asked how she could be so stupid. According to CNN’s source, that was the final straw for Hope Hicks. 

On the other hand, The New York Times published a piece saying that Hicks had not “been happy for some time,” according to two people with knowledge of her thinking who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. One person said Hicks had been increasingly feeling the stress of the position, especially in the wake of revelations about her relationship with former staff secretary Rob Porter. Since then, Hicks has been hounded by paparazzi, who have at times staked out her apartment building. 

On Wednesday, Maggie Haberman from the NYT tweeted on Wednesday: “Hope Hicks departure is NOT about yesterday's hearing, per multiple sources. She had planned it before, had been thinking about it for months. She had informed a very small number of people prior to Hill hearing that she planned to leave.”

So, what is the reason behind Hope Hicks’ resignation? Both CNN and the New York Times claim two completely different reasons, and once again we have to say that Hope Hicks is the only person who truly knows the reason behind her resignation. This is what happens when media outlets use anonymous sources.

Gun Control Gains Ground

Background Checks                     

At a bipartisan White House meeting on gun violence Wednesday, President Donald Trump pressed Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and other lawmakers to come together and create “one great piece of legislation” to address background checks on gun sales, in addition to other measures. 

Trump, who met with lawmakers in the cabinet room, told them he favored a bill by Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., that would expand the current background check law to include unlicensed gun show dealers and internet sales. Trump called for adding the language to the Fix NICS bill, sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., that would bolster reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. Forty-six senators have signed on to co-sponsor the bill, including 10 this week.  

Raising the Age to buy a Gun

President Trump again called for raising the minimum legal age to purchase all guns to age 21 during a meeting with lawmakers on guns and school safety Wednesday, while suggesting that those who are staying silent on the topic are "afraid" to come up against the NRA. 

"I'm going to give it a lot of consideration," Trump said. "People aren't bringing it up because they're afraid to bring it up. You can't buy a handgun at 18, 19 or 20. You have to wait until you're 21. You could buy the weapon used in this horrible shooting at 18. You are going to decide - the people in this room pretty much - are going to decide. I would give very serious thought to it." 

While noting the NRA's opposition to proposals to raise the minimum age to purchase firearms, the president made the case that raising the minimum age is common sense.

Security Guards in Schools

Since the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, several schools in multiple states have announced they are considering policies to hire armed security guards to patrol their schools. Examples of States with schools considering armed security: New Jersey, California, Florida, New York, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin

Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research Poll: Majority believes Trump is racist

Do you think Donald Trump is a racist or not a racist?

• Racist: 57% (all adults)
• Not a racist: 40% (all adults)

Do you think race relations in the US are better than they were a year ago, worse than a year ago, or about the same?

• Much/Somewhat Better: 12% (all adults)
• About the same: 37% (all adults)
• Somewhat/Much Worse: 49% (all adults) 

Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way Trump is handling race relations?

• Approve: 31%
• Disapprove: 67% 

Do you think that the things Donald Trump is doing as president have been good, bad or neither good nor bad for each of the following: African Americans

• Very/Somewhat good: 24% (all adults)
• Neither good nor bad: 29% (all adults)
• Somewhat/Very bad: 47% (all adults)

DOJ looking into possible obstruction charge against Oakland mayor who warned of ICE raid

The Mayor of Oakland, California, Libby Schaaf sent out a warning press release Saturday to the residents of Oakland, warning them of an impending ICE raid in various cities. The Department of Justice is now looking into this to determine if this act done by Libby Schaaf was an obstruction of justice.  

The agency’s acting director, Thomas Homan, told “Fox & Friends” Wednesday morning that the DOJ is “reviewing” whether Libby Schaaf broke any laws by telling her constituents ICE would be raiding the area in order to arrest people violating federal immigration laws.  

Mayor Libby Schaaf responded to the allegation of obstruction of justice by releasing a tweet that said, “It is Oakland’s legal right to be a sanctuary city and we have not broken any laws. We believe our community is safer when families stay together.”  

Since Sunday, ICE deportation officers have arrested more than 150 individuals the San Francisco Bay Area who are in violation of federal U.S. immigration laws, working on leads developed by the local field office in conjunction with the National Criminal Analysis and Targeting center (NCATC).  

About half of the individuals arrested also have criminal convictions in addition to their immigration violations, including convictions for assault/battery, crimes against children, weapons charges and DUI.  

There are still 864 illegal immigrants, and public safety threats remain at large in the community. Many officials blamed Schaaf’s warning for the ability for many of these people to dodge arrests.  

ICE acting director, Thomas Homan stated, "There's over 800 significant public safety threat criminals ... that we are unable to locate because of that warning, so that community's a lot less safe than it would've been."  

ICE raids target specific individuals who have committed crimes other than being in the U.S. illegally.  

Study: California Has the Worst Quality of Life

A study conducted by the U.S. News and World Report, determined the states with the best and worst qualities of life. The study only focused on two factors: Natural and Social Environments. 

North Dakota and Minnesota are the most effective at promoting their citizens' well-being by providing both a healthy environment and a sense of social connectedness. Other top states include Wisconsin, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Mississippi. At the bottom of the list for overall quality of life is California which came in dead last. Other states near the end included New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, Texas and West Virginia.  

Happiness, Or Lack Thereof, In America

Harris Poll: Happiness of Americans

• In 2017, 33% of Americans surveyed said they were happy.
• The highest happiness index was 35% in 2008 and 2009.
• Millennials were the most likely to say they were optimistic about their future: 79% said they were.
• 77% of Americans said they worried about finances.
• Slightly over half of Americans said they were frustrated with their career.
• 53% of Americans surveyed said they rarely worry about their health.
• 71% of Americans said their spiritual beliefs were a positive guiding force to them.
• 86% said they have positive relationships with their family members.

Mail Time!

• I became a Premium member because I trust you Bill, and I'm telling friends and family about your program. However, I don't trust CNN at all. If there was no scripting, there was heavy screening. CNN does not show the other side. Maybe scripting was the wrong word but, I don't believe CNN wanted that young man as part of their story. I sincerely believe CNN did not want anyone on who disagreed with their liberal agenda. I am very dismayed by the number of so called reporters and news organizations that have absolutely no honesty or integrity, only an agenda. 
• Bill, I'm new to your website, but loved watching you before you were unfairly taken off the air. I'm a college student and am currently reading your book Old School. Any tips for someone my age who is trying to stay "In the sane lane", when most people my age either don't care about what's going on in the country or are willfully ignorant to the facts and real reporting? It seems to be getting harder once you disagree with the mainstream views on college campuses.
• I just finished Killing England and found it every bit as riveting as Killing the Rising Sun. I only wish all the people clamoring for open borders would read it as well, so they could have an idea of what it took to have this great country we are so privileged to live in. Perhaps then they might be more reluctant to give citizenship to every person good or bad who just wanders across the border.

Word of the Day: Bilge