Dylan Stableford

Senior Editor

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Zuckerberg says Facebook staffers have been interviewed by Mueller’s team

Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that staffers at the social media giant have been interviewed by members of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller’s office investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

When asked by Sen. Patrick Leahy whether anyone at Facebook had been interviewed by Mueller’s team, Zuckerberg said, “Yes,” adding: “I have not.”

“I want to be careful here because our work with the special counsel is confidential,” Zuckerberg said. “And I want to make sure that in an open session I’m not revealing something that is confidential.”

The 33-year-old initially said the company had been served subpoenas by Mueller’s office before clarifying that he was not aware of whether it had been subpoenaed or was voluntarily cooperating with the probe.

“I actually am not aware of a subpoena — I believe that there may be,” Zuckerberg said. “But I know we are working with them.”

Earlier this year, Mueller’s charged 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies with interfering in the U.S. election process in a broad plot that involved the proliferation of so-called fake news and disinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

In January, Wired magazine reported that Mueller’s office interviewed at least one Facebook employee who was assigned to Trump’s presidential campaign to help shape his ad messaging on the platform.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes his seat to testify before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Zuckerberg’s appearance before members of the Senate Judiciary & Commerce Committees comes in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal that left personal information from up to 87 million users exposed. Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm used by Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, was able to access user data on Facebook through a third-party quiz app.

A whistleblower, Christopher Wylie, said the company used the information to build psychological profiles in order to target voters with political ads on Facebook.

In written testimony released Monday, Zuckerberg apologized for the Cambridge Analytica breach and a host of other issues related to election interference.

“It’s clear now that we didn’t do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm as well,” Zuckerberg wrote. “That goes for fake news, foreign interference in elections, and hate speech, as well as developers and data privacy. We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I’m sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here.”

Read more from Yahoo News:

Trump rages after FBI raids his lawyer’s office

‘It would be suicide’ to fire Mueller, GOP senator warns Trump

Mueller probe outgrows its ‘witch hunt’ phase

Trump says ‘DACA is dead’ in post-Easter tweetstorm

Trump resurrects conspiracy theory that millions vote illegally

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'It would be suicide' to fire Mueller, GOP senator warns Trump

Trump, Mueller and Grassley. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images, Joshua Roberts/Reuters, Andrew Kelly/Reuters, J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

President Trump renewed speculation surrounding the fate of the Russia investigation after the FBI raided the office of his personal attorney on Monday, saying, in response to a question about firing Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, “We’ll see.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, told Fox Business Tuesday that if he did, “it would be suicide.”

“I have confidence in Mueller. The president ought to have confidence in Mueller,” Grassley said. “I think the less the president says about this whole thing, the better off he would be.”

Trump sounded off on Mueller before a meeting of military officials at the White House early Monday evening after learning that the FBI raided the office and hotel of his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. The New York Times reported that federal agents were looking for information related to Cohen’s hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 presidential election, as well as possible payments to other women by Cohen or The National Enquirer.

“So, I just heard that they broke into the office of one of my personal attorneys, a good man, and it’s a disgraceful situation,” Trump began. “It’s a total witch hunt. I’ve been saying it for a long time.”

“It’s an attack on our country, in a true sense. It’s an attack on what we all stand for,” Trump continued, saying the raids represent “a whole new level of unfairness.”

On CNN, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., dismissed the idea that the special counsel is on a “witch hunt.”

“I don’t see any reason to fire Mr. Mueller,” Graham said. “I know the president’s frustrated. He’s told me over and over he did nothing to collude with the Russians. He thinks this thing is running, you know, outside the boundaries here. But at the end of the day Mueller needs to continue to do his job without political interference, and I think most members of Congress view it that way.”

But Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., accused Mueller of abusing his authority with the raids on Cohen.

“Going after someone’s personal attorney is a great overstep, I think, in the authority of the prosecutor,” Paul said on Fox News. “The president’s right: It’s a witch hunt.”

Paul was asked if he felt the same when Ken Starr, the former Whitewater independent counsel, investigated President Bill Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky in the mid-1990s. “You know, I may not have been as consistent back then,” Paul replied.

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, a close friend of Trump, said on Monday night that Mueller “is now a man that has to be brought under control.

“I would fire the SOB in three seconds if it were me,” Dobbs said.

At the White House, Trump was asked by reporters why he doesn’t “just fire” Mueller.

“Well, I think it’s a disgrace what’s going on. We’ll see what happens. But I think it’s really a sad situation when you look at what happened. And many people have said, ’You should fire him,’” Trump said. “So we’ll see what happens. I think it’s disgraceful, and so does a lot of other people. This is a pure and simple witch hunt.”

The president could take steps to remove the special counsel, but would need the cooperation of Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general. It’s believed that Rosenstein, who reportedly threatened to quit because of the way the Comey dismissal was handled, would not back such a move.

“The special counsel is not an unguided missile,” Rosenstein told USA Today last month. “I don’t believe there is any justification at this point for terminating the special counsel.”

On CNN Monday night, former Trump adviser Steve Cortes said Trump ought to clean house.

“The president needs to fire Jeff Sessions,” former Trump adviser Steve Cortes said on CNN Monday night. “He needs to fire Rosenstein. He needs to fire Mueller. This is a sham investigation. This is his own Justice Department trying to usurp the power of the presidency.”

Appearing on CNN Tuesday, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., said that if Trump were to move in the direction of removing Mueller, “certainly we’d be looking at some sort of constitutional crisis.”

On Capitol Hill, Republican leaders have resisted calls from Democrats to enact legislation that would protect the special counsel, saying there is no need to do so.

“Our Republican colleagues say [the] President won’t fire Mueller,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., tweeted on Tuesday. “If they aren’t going to pass legislation to protect investigation, then they must tell us what they’re going to do if he does.”

Read more from Yahoo News:

Trump rages after FBI raids his lawyer’s office

Ken Starr: DOJ should evaluate claims by Stormy Daniels

Mueller probe outgrows its ‘witch hunt’ phase

Trump says ‘DACA is dead’ in post-Easter tweetstorm

Trump resurrects conspiracy theory that millions vote illegally

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Trump rages on Twitter after FBI raids his lawyer's office

Michael Cohen and President Trump. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP, Evan Vucci/AP, Seth Wenig/AP)

President Trump continued to fume on Twitter early Tuesday about the FBI raid on the office and hotel of his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, after federal agents reportedly seized information related to Cohen’s hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

The FBI raids were carried out on a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia.

“Attorney-client privilege is dead!” Trump declared in one tweet, echoing Cohen’s own pushback against the records seizure.

George Conway — a lawyer and husband to Trump aide Kellyanne Conway — pointed out that the law allows for search warrants to be issued when an attorney is a subject of an investigation. According to the Washington Post, Cohen is under federal investigation for “possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations.”

Trump also returned to his oft-used phrase to describe Mueller’s probe.

A TOTAL WITCH HUNT!!!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 10, 2018

Cohen recently admitted to facilitating a $130,000 payment to Daniels on the eve of the 2016 presidential election. At the time, Daniels accepted the money in exchange for not going public with her claim of having sex with Trump in 2006. Cohen insists that the payment was legal and that he was reimbursed neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign, though some legal experts say it may have violated campaign finance law.

But Trump appears staunchly in the corner of Cohen, one of his closest allies. Before a meeting of military officials at the White House early Monday evening, Trump addressed the raids without being prompted by reporters — launching into a 5-minute monologue condemning them.

“So, I just heard that they broke into the office of one of my personal attorneys, a good man, and it’s a disgraceful situation,” Trump began. “It’s a total witch hunt. I’ve been saying it for a long time.”

“Here we are talking about Syria and we’re talking about a lot of serious things,” the president continued. “We’re the greatest fighting force ever. And I have this witch hunt constantly going on for over 12 months now — and actually, much more than that. You could say it was right after I won the nomination, it started. And it’s a disgrace. It’s frankly a real disgrace. It’s an attack on our country, in a true sense. It’s an attack on what we all stand for.

Trump added: “When I saw this and when I heard it — I heard it like you did — I said, that is really now on a whole new level of unfairness.”

President Trump pauses while addressing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and the FBI raid on Michael Cohen’s office before a meeting with military leaders. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Mueller was appointed special counsel 11 months ago after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who had been overseeing the investigation. At the time, Trump declared it the “single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!”

At the White House on Monday, Trump was asked by reporters why he doesn’t “just fire” Mueller.

“Well, I think it’s a disgrace what’s going on. We’ll see what happens. But I think it’s really a sad situation when you look at what happened. And many people have said, ‘You should fire him,'” Trump said. “So we’ll see what happens. I think it’s disgraceful, and so does a lot of other people. This is a pure and simple witch hunt.”

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Police defend decision not to detain YouTube shooter hours before shooting

Law enforcement officers are seen outside of YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, Calif., on Tuesday. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Police in northern California defended on Wednesday their decision not to detain the woman who later opened fire at YouTube’s offices after they found her sleeping in her car hours before the shooting, saying she gave them no cause for concern.

The shooter, Nasim Najafi Aghdam, wounded three people at YouTube’s in San Bruno, Calif., headquarters on Tuesday before killing herself. Investigators said they believe Aghdam, an active YouTube user, was upset with the video-sharing site’s monetization policies and practices. The 39-year-old Iranian-born woman of Persian descent, who lived in southern California, was reported missing by her family on March 31 in San Diego County.

According to a lengthy statement issued by the Mountain View Police Department, authorities said they discovered Aghdam sleeping in her car in a parking lot around 1:40 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Officers ran her license plate and discovered she had been reported missing and was considered “at risk” because she had never gone missing or left home before.

Aghdam “positively identified herself” and told police she had “decided to leave her family’s home a few days prior due to family issues.”

“She stated she had come to the area to stay with family and while she was currently living out of her vehicle, she was in the process of looking for a job,” the statement read. “During our contact with her, she was asked a series of questions including, but not limited to, if she was a danger to herself or others. At no point during our roughly 20 minute interaction with her did she mention anything about YouTube, if she was upset with them, or that she had planned to harm herself or others. Throughout our entire interaction with her, she was calm and cooperative. At the conclusion of our interaction with her, she in no way met any reason for us to speak with her further or possibly detain her.”

Police then called her family to report that she had been found.

“The father confirmed to us that the family had been having issues at home, but did not act in any way concerned about why his daughter had left,” the statement said. “At no point during that conversation did either Aghdam’s father or brother make any statements regarding the woman’s potential threat to, or a possible attack on, the YouTube campus. Also, there was no indication from either Aghdam or her family that she may have been in possession of any weapons.”

But following Tuesday’s shooting, Aghdam’s brother told KGTV that the family was concerned that she was in the Bay area.

“I googled ‘Mountain View’ and it was close to YouTube headquarters. And she had a problem with YouTube,” he told the ABC affiliate . “So I called that cop again and told him there’s a reason she went all the way from San Diego to there, so she might do something. So they didn’t do anything, and she got killed.”

Mountain View police dismissed the suggestion they did nothing, and refuted the brother’s description of the call.

“Her father called us back to let us know that she made a series of vegan videos for her channel on YouTube and that the company had recently done something to her videos that had caused her to become upset,” their statement said. “Aghdam’s father stated that she may have been in the area because of this. He did not seemed concerned that she was in the area, and wanted to simply let us know that may have been a reason for her move up here.”

Police added: “At no point did her father or brother mention anything about potential acts of violence or a possibility of Aghdam lashing out as a result of her issues with her videos. They remained calm throughout this second phone call.”

The San Bruno Police Department said on Wednesday a semi-automatic handgun registered to Aghdam was recovered at the scene.

San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini told reporters that Aghdam went to a local gun range on Tuesday morning morning prior to the shooting at YouTube.

Read more from Yahoo News:

Shooter attacked YouTube for filtering her videos, police say

Family of alleged YouTube shooter say they warned police

Shooting at YouTube’s California headquarters

Trump says ‘DACA is dead’ in post-Easter tweetstorm

More advertisers drop Ingraham’s Fox News show over David Hogg tweet

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Trump lashes out at 'little' CNN executive — and the network fires back

Jeff Zucker, Donald Trump. (Photos: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump lashed out television news networks on Tuesday for having a supposedly “a sick and biased” agenda while defending the Sinclair Broadcast Group.

The president’s latest caustic attack against the media came amid revelations that Sinclair, which owns local TV stations across the country, required local news anchors to warn viewers of “the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country.” Trump then zeroed in on the cable channel that has become his favorite foil: CNN.

“The Fake News Networks, those that knowingly have a sick and biased AGENDA, are worried about the competition and quality of Sinclair Broadcast,” Trump tweeted. “The “Fakers” at CNN, NBC, ABC & CBS have done so much dishonest reporting that they should only be allowed to get awards for fiction!”

Trump directed his Twitter fire at CNN executive Jeff Zucker, who played a key role at NBC in elevating Trump’s reality show, “The Apprentice.” But Trump, who’s had trouble with spelling, didn’t appear to remember how to spell Zucker’s last name.

“Check out the fact that you can’t get a job at ratings challenged @CNN unless you state that you are totally anti-Trump,” the president continued before misspelling the name of CNN’s chief executive. “Little Jeff Zuker [sic], whose job is in jeopardy, is not having much fun lately. They should clean up and strengthen CNN and get back to honest reporting!”

CNN quickly responded in tweets replying to Trump.

“Once again, false,” the network’s public relations department tweeted. “The personal political beliefs of CNN’s employees are of no interest to us. Their pursuit of the truth is our only concern. Also, Jeff’s last name is spelled Z-U-C-K-E-R. Those are the facts. #FactsFirst.”

“As for ‘challenged,’ CNN just finished its second highest rated first quarter in the past nine years,” it continued. “Those are the facts. #FactsFirst”

CNN’s PR department then tweeted a link to a recent poll that found President Trump is “less trusted than the major cable news outlets as an information source.”

Trump’s long-running feud with CNN predates his presidency. During the 2016 campaign, Trump often complained about the network’s coverage of his candidacy — singling out CNN’s cameras at his rallies and suggesting that Zucker would not have been hired by CNN if it were not for him.

The constant attacks continued during the transition. At his formal first press conference as president-elect, Trump berated CNN’s Jim Acosta as he attempted to ask a question, labeling Acosta and the network “fake news.”

And it has spilled over throughout his first 15 months in office. Last summer, Trump infamously shared a superimposed wrestling video of himself slamming CNN to the ground.

Read more from Yahoo News:

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In exile with Bill Kristol, the Republican resister in chief

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Parkland students return from spring break to clear backpacks and TSA-style checkpoints

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students return to school after spring break Monday without backpacks. (Photo: Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Students returning from spring break to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Parkland, Fla., on Monday were greeted with metal barriers and clear backpacks — new safety measures put in place in the wake of last month’s mass shooting at the school.

More than 3,000 transparent backpacks and lanyards for identification cards were distributed to Stoneman Douglas students on Monday morning. Students were told to report to school without backpacks. Those carrying sports equipment or band instruments were asked to leave them with teachers or coaches before the start of classes. Extra police officers have also been stationed at the school since the Feb. 14 massacre.

School officials say the mandatory backpacks and entry checkpoints are temporary, part of pilot safety program that may be enacted throughout the school district.

Thousands of clear backpacks and lanyards were distributed today at douglas. They’re just an illusion of security. pic.twitter.com/Bz7yaL2cdN

— Kyra Parrow (@longlivekcx) April 2, 2018

Many students mocked the backpacks in social media posts, with some attaching orange tags emblazoned with “$1.05” — an amount they say they derived by dividing the number of students enrolled in Florida’s schools by the money Republican Sen. Marco Rubio has received from the National Rifle Association.

Starting off the last quarter of senior year right, with a good ol’ violation of privacy! pic.twitter.com/Glf9C14dsq

— Delaney Tarr (@delaneytarr) April 2, 2018

@marcorubio pic.twitter.com/eBmB9Tz9uB

— Delaney Tarr (@delaneytarr) April 2, 2018

.@marcorubio pic.twitter.com/yxuXCRGCiE

— Sarah Chadwick// #NEVERAGAIN (@Sarahchadwickk) April 2, 2018

This backpack is probably worth more than my life #trends #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/sVAfRbt12R

— Carmen Lo // #NEVERAGAIN (@xo_karmin_ox) April 2, 2018

“My new backpack is almost as transparent as the NRA’s agenda,” Lauren Hogg, a Stoneman Douglas freshman and younger sister of March for Our Lives organizer and senior David Hogg, tweeted. “As much as I appreciate the effort we as a country need to focus on the real issue instead of turning our schools into prisons.”

My new backpack is almost as transparent as the NRA’s agenda.

I feel sooo safe now.

As much as I appreciate the effort we as a country need to focus on the real issue instead of turning our schools into prisons. #clearbackpacks #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/HqBIeGjzF9

— Lauren Hogg (@lauren_hoggs) April 2, 2018

Others compared the pre-school check-in procedure to TSA lines at airports.

MSD ➡️ TSA pic.twitter.com/3k1xMq9UDk

— Jack Macleod (@jackforchange) April 2, 2018

Nothing beats a morning walk through fenced lines with a bag check! Where am I, again? pic.twitter.com/6gDPs8zZ3Q

— Delaney Tarr (@delaneytarr) April 2, 2018

You have to get pre-check next time https://t.co/YO5UWaDWUd

— Ryan DeWerff // #NEVERAGAIN (@ryan_dewerff) April 2, 2018

General consensus is frustration from students and teachers re: clear backpacks. Personally, though, I don’t mind the IDs. Sidenote, where can I register for MSD Pre-Check? pic.twitter.com/kytezEyrCh

— Nikhita Nookala (@nikta04) April 2, 2018

This new “school security” policy is just a late April fools joke, right? Cause none of us are laughing and it’s pretty terrible.

— Aly Sheehy (@Aly_Sheehy) April 2, 2018

“This is literally so dumb,” Natasha, a junior, tweeted. “The clear backpacks and check points create this false sense of security. Anyone can easily hide a weapon in their pants or in a folder/binder.”

This is literally so dumb. The clear backpacks and check points create this false sense of security. Anyone can easily hide a weapon in their pants or in a folder/binder.

— natasha #NeverAgain (@sighnatasha) April 2, 2018

Me and my man Thomas Jefferson feel safe now ! pic.twitter.com/XNIkXjdguB

— Joey // #DouglasStrong (@Joey_mondelli) April 2, 2018

Me and my man Thomas Jefferson feel safe now ! pic.twitter.com/XNIkXjdguB

— Joey // #DouglasStrong (@Joey_mondelli) April 2, 2018

But how satisfying would it be to put glue all over this backpack and peel it off pic.twitter.com/vfFwIKlaAL

— Carly Novell (@car_nove) April 2, 2018

In a letter to Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie, Holden Kasky, a special needs student at Stoneman Douglas, asked that school officials reconsider the see-through backpacks because, among other things, “it’s uncomfortable to girls ’cause girls have more private stuff/bathroom stuff.”

Runcie responded, saying administrators “will continue to re-evaluate & make changes” to the safety measures.

@RobertwRuncie Dear Supt. Runcie, I am posting this at the request of my son Holden Kasky (9th gd ESE), who, for the reasons set forth herein, disapproves of the new mandate for clear backpacks. He worked VERY HARD on this letter. Thank you for your consideration. #NeverAgainMSD pic.twitter.com/i2PrkXpSet

— Jeff Kasky (@JeffKasky) March 30, 2018

Dear Holden, Thank you for your well written letter. We will continue to reevaluate & make changes based on experience & feedback from you & other students, school staff, and input from our community. We love our students & teachers. Our #1 priority is the safety of our schools. https://t.co/bdNYC0uC2j

— Supt Runcie (@RobertwRuncie) April 1, 2018

On Sunday night, Sarah Stricker, a freshman at the school, anticipated the reaction from one of her fellow students to the clear backpacks.

I can already hear Peter saying “your bag is trash” tomor- Oh, yeah. That’s right…

— Sarah//surviving warrior (@SarahStricker) April 2, 2018

Peter Wang, 15, was one of the 17 people killed in the shooting at the school.

Read more from Yahoo News:

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D.C. teens speak up on gun violence they see every day

Students across U.S. stage national walkout month after Parkland massacre

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Trump says 'DACA is dead' in post-Easter tweetstorm

President Donald Trump stops to make remarks to members of the media as he arrives for Easter services with first lady Melania Trump at Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Trump declared on Monday that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — an Obama-era immigration policy that protected nearly 800,000 undocumented young immigrants who were brought to United States as children from deportation — is “dead.” And the president blamed Democrats for its demise, even though he himself effectively ended the program eight months ago.

“DACA is dead because the Democrats didn’t care or act, and now everyone wants to get onto the DACA bandwagon,” Trump tweeted. “No longer works. Must build Wall and secure our borders with proper Border legislation. Democrats want No Borders, hence drugs and crime!”

Last September, the Trump administration formally announced the rescinding of the DACA program. Trump urged Congress to come up with an alternative to protect the so-called Dreamers.

Trump appeared to reference a report which first aired on “Fox and Friends” over the weekend that a “caravan of illegal immigrants” is headed to the United States.

“Mexico has the absolute power not to let these large ‘Caravans’ of people enter their country,” the president tweeted. “They must stop them at their Northern Border, which they can do because their border laws work, not allow them to pass through into our country, which has no effective border laws.”

The president continued: “Congress must immediately pass Border Legislation, use Nuclear Option if necessary, to stop the massive inflow of Drugs and People. Border Patrol Agents (and ICE) are GREAT, but the weak Dem laws don’t allow them to do their job. Act now Congress, our country is being stolen!”

He added: “Mexico is making a fortune on NAFTA…They have very strong border laws — ours are pathetic. With all of the money they make from the U.S., hopefully they will stop people from coming through their country and into ours, at least until Congress changes our immigration laws!”

Speaking to reporters on Easter Sunday after a series of similar tweets, Trump said that “a lot of people are coming in because they want to take advantage of DACA.”

It’s unclear what Trump meant, or if he forgot how the program works. To qualify for DACA protection, beneficiaries must have resided in the United States since 2007 — so anyone crossing the border now would not be eligible.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders appeared on “Fox and Friends” Monday, claiming that Trump “made multiple offers on DACA.”

“He wanted to see something get done,” Sanders said. “And Democrats refused to actually put something on the table or work with the president to get anything done. They wanted to use DACA recipients as political pawns.”

She added: “I think it’s because we’re getting close to an election. They don’t want to see the president continue to win like he has for the last year and a half. And they’re going to do everything they can even if it means hurting people across this country if they think it takes a hit at the president.”

Trump did not make multiple offers on DACA. Democrats refused to support a bill that included funding for Trump’s promised border wall along with protection for DACA recipients.

The president’s tone on immigration can shift wildly but usually ends up aligning with those supporting hard line policies.

In January, Trump invited a group of bipartisan lawmakers to the White House to discuss a deal on DACA, saying that any proposed bill to protect so-called dreamers should be a “bill of love.”

But two days later, Trump reportedly grew “frustrated” with lawmakers while discussing a possible bipartisan deal protecting immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries.

“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting, according to the Washington Post.

Trump later denied making those disparaging remarks.

Read more from Yahoo News:

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In exile with Bill Kristol, the Republican resister in chief

[dylan-stableford-blog]

Ken Starr: Justice Department should evaluate Stormy Daniels' claims

Stormy Daniels and Ken Starr. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: AP)

Former Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who famously investigated Bill Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky, said he believes Stormy Daniels’ allegations that she was paid $130,000 in hush money during the 2016 election to keep silent about an alleged affair with President Trump raise “difficult and serious” issues that need to be evaluated by the Justice Department to determine if another special counsel should be appointed.

Starr made his comments — his first on the Stormy Daniels controversy since the porn star went public with her latest claims last Sunday on “60 Minutes” — during an exclusive interview on the Yahoo News’ podcast “Skullduggery.”

“That’s a serious question,”  Starr replied when asked if Daniels’ claims about a payoff should be investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller to determine if the money she received from Trump’s longtime lawyer Michael Cohen constituted an illegal campaign contribution. “What did the president know? Did he authorize it? All those things have to be sorted out.”

But Starr said he believes that the issues at play are sufficiently far afield that from the matters at the core of  Mueller’s investigation that they should be handled by others in the Justice Department.

“This becomes an issue for Rod Rosenstein,” Starr said, referring to the deputy attorney general who is in charge of the Mueller probe and who once served on Starr’s staff during the Whitewater probe. “But Rod may very well say [to Mueller],  ‘You need to stick to the issue. Let’s  get through with this issue of collusion. You  stick to that and lets now appoint [somebody else] as special counsel.’”

Starr emphasized that he was not recommending what the conclusion should be – only that the issues raised by Daniels’ allegations need to be reviewed. “As in law school,  I’m issue spotting and discussing the kind of things that Rod Rosenstein would probably sit down with the attorney general” and raise. “He’d take that elevator from the fourth floor [of the Justice Department] to the fifth floor and say, ‘Gen. Sessions, we need to talk and this is the issue of the day.’’

The allegations of Daniels have “to be considered and assessed,” he added. It would be “the equivalent of a preliminary investigation. That’s the way these things are done.”

Download or subscribe on iTunes: “Skullduggery” by Yahoo News

More broadly, however, Starr spoke of how dismayed he is about the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump. But he emphasized what he clearly viewed as the more serious questions he faced as independent counsel, when he learned about Clinton’s relationship with Lewinsky, a subpoenaed witness in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit.

“I think questions of presidential character are always important,” Starr said when asked about the multiple women who have accused Trump of unsolicited sexual advances and other misconduct. “They are endurably important. To say, this is disappointing behavior — if true — is an understatement. It’s very upsetting.”

“But that doesn’t trigger the law,” Starr said, drawing a distinction between the allegations against Trump and those against Clinton. “The reason we went to the attorney general with respect to  the Monica Lewinsky phase of the investigation is because under  the information we had — I’m just going to go ahead and say it, … the  concern we had was subordination of perjury in a civil case. Now we had four years of background, … I’ll just  say there were questions throughout the [Whitewater] investigation about the credibility of the president and the first lady, [Hillary Clinton,] all along the way. I’m just going to leave it at that.”

So once his office authenticated tapes by Linda Tripp suggesting that Lewinsky was being encouraged to lie,  We then made a beeline across Pennsylvania Ave. to the attorney general of the United States, [Janet Reno.] And she then assessed the information and she made the determination — just read the charge — that these were serious felonies. So we’re talking about the rule of law, possible violations of federal criminal law — and not just about questions of character, presidential character.”

For all his criticism of Trump, Starr did not rule out entertaining a request  to join the president’s depleted legal team in the unlikely event that such an offer was made.

“Hah, I’ve not been asked and I don’t expect to be asked given the various things I have said,” Starr said when asked if would help represent the president in the Mueller investigation. “I think you guys know me. I would listen respectfully and assess the situation. … All you’re going to get from me is that I have great respect for the presidency of the United States and I would certainly listen with respect to a telephone call that will not come.”

But as if to ensure that such a call never does come, Starr made no secret of his disapproval of Trump’s persistent attacks on the Mueller investigation and the Justice Department itself.

“I think it likely is unprecedented,” Starr said of Trump’s lack of respect for the independence of the Justice Department. “I certainly hope so, and I hope it’s never revived. I hope we don’t have the beginning of a new tradition. Because at the end of the day, we have to live by the rule of law. And these kinds of tweets and attacks and so forth are very corrosive of the rule of law. I’ve been very consistent in saying that. And yes, it’s troubling. As I said in the Washington Post, ‘Cut it out, Mr. President.’ But he’s not listening to me.”

More Skullduggery from Yahoo News:

Episode 1: A look back at the Lewinsky scandal

Episode 2: Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg on ‘The Post’

Episode 3: Who did you vote for?

Episode 4: The spy, the reporter and the memo

Episode 5: The FBI under siege

Episode 6: Michael Cohen’s ‘stormy’ screwup

Episode 7: The troll farm hiding in plain sight

Episode 8: The incredible shrinking Jared Kushner

Episode 9: Who poisoned the Russian double agent in England?

Episode 10: The inside story of ‘Russian Roulette’

Episode 11: Do not congratulate

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Former Supreme Court Justice Stevens: Repeal the Second Amendment

Protestors hold signs during a “March For Our Lives” rally in Sacramento, Calif., on Saturday. (Photo: Bob Strong/Reuters)

A retired Supreme Court justice believes the March for Our Lives protesters are aiming too low by advocating for lawmakers to simply reform the nation’s gun laws.

“The demonstrators should seek more effective and more lasting reform,” John Paul Stevens wrote in a New York Times op-ed published on Tuesday. “They should demand a repeal of the Second Amendment.”

Stevens argues that the amendment — which states “a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” — was borne out of concern that a “national standing army might pose a threat to the security” of individual states and is “a relic of the 18th century.”

In 2008, Stevens was among four dissenters of the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in a landmark case, District of Columbia v. Heller, that held the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to bear arms for self-defense.

“That decision — which I remain convinced was wrong and certainly was debatable — has provided the N.R.A. with a propaganda weapon of immense power,” Stevens wrote. “Overturning that decision via a constitutional amendment to get rid of the Second Amendment would be simple and would do more to weaken the N.R.A.’s ability to stymie legislative debate and block constructive gun control legislation than any other available option.”

Hundreds of thousands of people participated in Saturday’s anti-gun-violence marches in Washington, D.C., and numerous locations throughout the country, demanding Congress act to protect students in the wake of last month’s massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Many of the demonstrators chastised the gun lobby on signs and in speeches while expressing support for stricter background checks, an increase of the minimum age to buy certain firearms and a ban on semiautomatic weapons. But most did not call for an outright repeal of the Second Amendment as Stevens is suggesting.

“That simple but dramatic action would move Saturday’s marchers closer to their objective than any other possible reform,” he wrote. “It would eliminate the only legal rule that protects sellers of firearms in the United States — unlike every other market in the world. It would make our schoolchildren safer than they have been since 2008 and honor the memories of the many, indeed far too many, victims of recent gun violence.”

National polls show broad support for measures to reduce gun violence, including universal background checks, age restrictions and a ban on assault weapons. A Fox News poll released on Sunday found 53 percent of American voters believe “protecting citizens from gun violence” is more important than “protecting the right of citizens to own guns,” compared to 40 percent who believe the opposite.

Meanwhile, gun rights activists say the weekend demonstrations were an “attack” on the Second Amendment.

In Washington on Saturday, David Hogg, a Parkland survivor and one of the organizers of the March for Our Lives, criticized television pundits for painting him as anti-gun.

“They’ve made it seem like I’m trying to take away people’s guns — that I’m against the Second Amendment,” Hogg said. “My father is a retired FBI agent. I have guns in my house. I’m not against the Second Amendment.”

Cameron Kasky, another Marjory Stoneman Douglas student, made a similar point on “Fox News Sunday.”

“We are not trying to take everybody’s guns away,” Kasky said. “My father was a reserve police officer. We have guns in our house. They are responsibly managed and hidden from anyone but him. The point is, we are not trying to take away everybody’s guns away and the NRA wants people to think that. They are fear-mongers. They want to sell weapons by exploiting people’s fears. So the second we want to put common sense resolutions on these assault weapons, the NRA will say they are trying to steal every single one of your guns and people believe them. Fortunately, the majority of the American people see past this.”

Read more from Yahoo News:

The stories behind the signs at the March for Our Lives

MLK’s granddaughter at D.C. march: ‘I have a dream that enough is enough’

D.C. teens speak up on gun violence they see every day

Students across U.S. stage national walkout month after Parkland massacre

Parkland students: ‘We will not be silenced’ on guns

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Trump doesn't believe Stormy Daniels was threatened, White House says

Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump. (Photos: CBS via Getty Images. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

President Trump doesn’t believe any of the claims porn star Stormy Daniels made during her highly-watched interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the White House said on Monday. A spokesman specifically denied her assertion that she was threatened by a man in 2011 after having agreed to sell the story of her alleged sexual encounter with Trump to a magazine.

“The president doesn’t believe any of the claims Ms. Daniels made last night in the interview are accurate,” White House press secretary Raj Shah told reporters at a press briefing.

When asked whether Trump believes Daniels’ claim she was threatened, Shah replied, “No, he does not.”

“He just doesn’t believe, you know, there’s nothing to corroborate her claim,” Shah said.

Shah would not say whether Trump watched the interview.

“I’m not going to get into what he saw,” Shah said. “There were clips of it playing all over in the morning news shows. What I’ll just say is that he’s denied the accusations she made last night and has been consistent in doing so, and she has not.”

During the interview, Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, spoke publicly about for the first time about her alleged 2006 tryst with Trump. Daniels said she met Trump at a July 2006 golf tournament and had consensual sex with him in his hotel suite. (At the time, Trump had been married to Melania Trump for over a year; their son, Barron, was less than 5 months old.)

Years later, Daniels said, she agreed to sell her story to a sister publication of In Touch magazine for $15,000, but the story never ran. Two former employees of the magazine told CBS News that Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, threatened to sue the publication. Daniels said afterwards she was approached by a man in a Las Vegas parking lot.

“A guy walked up on me and said to me, ‘Leave Trump alone. Forget the story,’” Daniels recalled. “And then he leaned around and looked at my daughter and said, ‘That’s a beautiful little girl. It’d be a shame if something happened to her mom.’” Daniels said she did not report the incident to police because she was scared.

In October 2016, Daniels said she was again prepared to go public about her encounter with Trump. Cohen has acknowledged paying her $130,000 to stay silent. Daniels said she agreed, and signed a non-disclosure agreement, out of fear for her family’s safety.

At the White House, Shah directed reporters’ questions about the payment to the Trump campaign and Cohen. Some legal experts believe the payment, which was made 11 days before the 2016 presidential election, may have violated campaign finance laws.

“I can speak for only the White House,” Shah said. “I can say categorically the White House did not engage in any wrongdoing. The campaign or Mr. Cohen can address anything with respect to their actions. With respect to that interview I will say the president strongly, clearly and has consistently denied these underlying claims. The only person that has been inconsistent is the one making the claims.”

Shah did confirm reports that Trump had dinner with Cohen at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night.

Trump has yet to respond directly to Daniels’ “60 Minutes” interview. Earlier Monday, the president tweeted, “So much Fake News. Never been more voluminous or more inaccurate. But through it all, our country is doing great!”

Asked why Trump has not addressed the Daniels saga directly, Shah said, “That’ll be up to the president.”

Read more from Yahoo News:

Stormy Daniels scores ’60 Minutes’ its highest ratings in nearly a decade

Stormy Daniels’ lawyer says she can prove her Trump claims

Stormy Daniels says Trump is ‘terrified of sharks’

Stormy Daniels raises more than $130,000 in crowdfund campaign

Stormy Daniels suing Trump over nondisclosure agreement

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Parkland survivor Emma González holds powerful 6 minutes of silence at March for Our Lives

Emma González, a student and survivor from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., cries as she addresses the crowd at the “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. (Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters)

Six minutes and 20 seconds.

That’s about how long officials say it took the gunman to kill 17 students and wound more than a dozen others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Fla., last month.

At the “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Emma González, a student Stoneman Douglas who has become one of the most vocal and visible leaders of the so-called #NeverAgain movement, stopped during her speech at the rally and remained silent for more than six minutes in honor of the victims of the massacre.

“In a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us,” González said at the beginning of her speech. “Everyone who was there understands. Everyone who has been touched by the cold grip of gun violence understands.”

“For us, long, tearful, chaotic hours in the scorching in the afternoon sun were spent not knowing,” she continued. “No one could understand the extent of what had happened. No one could believe that there were bodies in that building waiting to be identified for over a day.”

“For those who still can’t comprehend because they refuse to, I’ll tell you where it went: right into the ground, six feet deep,” González said before listing the names of her slain friends.

“Six minutes and 20 seconds with an AR-15, and my friend Carmen would never complain to me about piano practice,” she said. “Aaron Feis would never call Kyra ‘Miss Sunshine.’ Alex Schachter would never walk into school with his brother Ryan. Scott Beigel would never joke around with Cameron at camp. Helena Ramsay would never hang out after school with Max. Gina Montalto would never wave to her friend Liam at lunch. Joaquin Oliver would never play basketball with Sam or Dylan. Alaina Petty would never, Cara Loughran would never, Chris Hixon would never, Luke Hoyer would never, Joaquin Duque Oliver would never, Peter Wang would never, Alyssa Alhadeff would never, Jaime Guttenberg would never, Meadow Pollack would never.”

González then remained silent for those six-plus minutes, staring straight into the crowd with tears rolling down her face.

The crowd mostly remained silent, occasionally stopping to cheer González and chant “Never again.”

Read more from Yahoo News:

MLK’s granddaughter at D.C. march: ‘I have a dream that enough is enough’

Obamas pen letter to Parkland students

D.C. teens speak up on gun violence they see every day

Students across U.S. stage national walkout month after Parkland massacre

Parkland students: ‘We will not be silenced’ on guns

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Live: March for Our Lives demonstrations in Washington, D.C., and around the world

Hundreds of thousands of people are taking part in March for Our Lives demonstrations around the world on Saturday to call for an end to gun violence. The protests were sparked by a string of deadly school shootings, including the massacre in Parkland, Fla., last month. Organizers say they expect nearly a million in Washington, D.C., alone. Yahoo News is covering the events live from the nation’s Capitol and several other locations. Watch a livestream in the video player above and follow the blog below for the latest updates.

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Ahead of March for Our Lives, D.C. teens speak out about the gun violence they see every day

Nearly one million people are expected in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to participate in the “March for Our Lives” rally to demand an end to gun violence — part of a nationwide protest organized by Parkland, Fla., students in the wake of last month’s massacre Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

But just a few miles away, in southeast Washington, students at Thurgood Marshall Academy have been living with the reality of gun violence all of their young lives.

“Students face a lot of challenges getting to and from school,” Zion Kelly, a 17-year-old senior at the school told Yahoo News. “Especially if you’re using public transportation, like the bus, or the train or even just walking. Because, just like, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Last September, Kelly’s twin brother, Zaire, was shot and killed in a robbery attempt while walking home from school.

“I guess I don’t try to go out much because I see what could happen,” said Armando Martinez, a senior at Capital City Public Charter School. “I lost six friends in the past five years.”

“I would say seven or eight kids I knew from 8th grade are dead,” estimated Myles Nelson, a sophomore at the Edmund Burke School.

According to the Washington Post, there were 116 homicides in the District in 2017, down from 135 the year before. But the year was marked by a “disturbing number of teenagers killed,” the Post noted, including seven youths ages 16 and 17 that were slain.

“The reality of gun violence in D.C. is that we lose too many of our young people to gun violence every year, That’s sort of the simplest way I can state it. One would be too many, and we lose way too many.”

For Okera Adams-Walker, another sophomore at Edmund Burke, a gun escalates what in another era might’ve been dismissed as schoolyard scuffles.

“If I’m in a fight with you, we’re fighting with our hand, OK,” he said. “But then when I pull out a gun, I’m basically saying I’m about to kill you. And it’s like, pull the trigger, you’re dead. So, it just, it shouldn’t be like that.”

In these D.C. communities, young people say they haven’t been silent about gun violence — it’s just taken the spark of Parkland to get some people to notice.

“I’m sure it was heard, but I don’t think it was really acknowledged,” said Rukiyah Mack, an 18-year-old senior at Thurgood Marshall. “Like, I’m sure people hear us protesting, they see the hashtags on social media, they see the signs, the shirts, the pins, the badges but until today it didn’t really get the acknowledgement that it deserved.”

“Young people in urban areas know the pain of gun violence,” Robyn Lingo, executive director of Mikva Challenge DC, a D.C.-based youth empowerment organization. “I think the big difference is, we haven’t paid attention in the same way.”

On Thursday, students at Thurgood Marshall met with four survivors of the Parkland massacre ahead of Saturday’s march. And about 130 of them are planning to join the protests across the river.

“The new leaders of the world will be us,” Nelson said. “Right now it’s just a spark, but someday we’ll be the real deal.”

“Marching’s good,” Adams-Walker added. “But we need change.”

Read more from Yahoo News:

Students across U.S. stage national walkout month after Parkland massacre

Obamas pen letter to Parkland students

Trump says he would have tried to stop Parkland shooter with his bare hands

Trump predicts NRA will back raising age limit on gun purchases

Parkland students: ‘We will not be silenced’ on guns

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GOP lawmaker knocks Trump over Putin call but refuses to distance himself from president

Chris Stewart, Donald Trump. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images,Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

A top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee chastised President Trump for congratulating Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection — but then refused to distance himself from Trump.

“You can’t have your head explode every time somebody does something you disagree with,” Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said during an interview on the latest episode of the Yahoo News podcast Skullduggery. Stewart’s comments came just as the GOP majority on the intelligence committee was preparing to release its report saying it had found no evidence of collusion between Trump and the Kremlin.

Stewart said Trump was “just wrong” to call Putin and congratulate him on his reelection over the objections of his own national security aides, who wrote talking points for him with the words “DO NOT CONGRATULATE.”

“I don’t think there is any chance in the world this was a free and fair election,” Stewart said about the voting in Russia. “They were stuffing ballots in every location. Vladimir Putin intends to be there for a long long time.”

But Stewart, a former Air Force pilot and novelist before being elected to Congress, was extremely reluctant to openly criticize the president over his phone call or his dealings with Russia. Stewart noted that Trump has taken other steps that could deter Putin, such as increasing the Pentagon budget and pushing NATO countries to live up to their commitment to spend two percent of their gross national product on defense.

And Stewart vigorously defended the majority committee report — approved for release by the panel on Thursday upon a declassification review — that said the committee had found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

“I’m surprised you want to talk about this,” Stewart said during the interview. “I don’t know anyone else who is thinking about collusion. And if your audience is, they are going to be terribly disappointed. If you have people who are lying awake at night, going, ‘I can’t wait until Donald Trump is impeached for collusion,’ those dudes are going to be waiting a long, long time.

He added: “We can ride this horse as long as you want. But the evidence is pretty clear that it’s not going to take people to the impeachment of Donald Trump nor other people around him.”

Download or subscribe on iTunes: “Skullduggery” by Yahoo News

Stewart dismissed suggestions from Democrats on the panel and others that the investigation by the committee’s Republican majority was incomplete. The panel never interviewed key witnesses such as former foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos or former White House national security advisor Michael Flynn.

The Utah Republican said that because such witnesses have pled guilty to lying to the FBI about their contacts with Russians and are now cooperating in Mueller probe, the intelligence committee has not had access to them.

“We can’t talk to these people,” he said.

Similarly, Stewart said he saw no need to subpoena documents from other witnesses, such as longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who has denied allegations made by former British spy Christopher Steele that he had met with Russians in Prague during the 2016 election.

Of Cohen, Stewart said, “I have no reason to doubt his credibility.”

More Skullduggery from Yahoo News:

Episode 1: A look back at the Lewinsky scandal

Episode 2: Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg on ‘The Post’

Episode 3: Who did you vote for?

Episode 4: The spy, the reporter and the memo

Episode 5: The FBI under siege

Episode 6: Michael Cohen’s ‘stormy’ screwup

Episode 7: The troll farm hiding in plain sight

Episode 8: The incredible shrinking Jared Kushner

Episode 9: Who poisoned the Russian double agent in England?

Episode 10: The inside story of ‘Russian Roulette’

Episode 11: Do not congratulate

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Trump: If I fought Biden, he would go down 'crying'

Donald Trump, Joe Biden. (Yahoo News photo illustration; photos: Tony Dejak/AP, Patrick Semansky/AP, Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images)

President Trump said on Thursday that if he were to fight Joe Biden, the former vice president “would go down fast and hard.”

At an anti-sexual assault rally at the University of Miami earlier this week, Biden said that if he were in high school and heard Trump make lewd comments about women — like those captured on the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape — he would “take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.”

Trump responded on Twitter, escalating the war of words between the two septuagenarians.

“Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy,” he wrote. “Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesn’t know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don’t threaten people Joe!”

In October 2016, following the publication of Trump’s hot-mic comments, Biden first expressed a desire to fight Trump at a rally for Hillary Clinton.

“The press always ask me, ‘Don’t I wish I were debating him?’ No, I wish we were in high school — I could take him behind the gym,” Biden said. “That’s what I wish.”

Trump responded that he would “love that.”

“Did you see where Biden wants to take me to the the back of the barn? Me. I’d love that,” the then-Republican nominee said at a rally in Tallahassee, Fla. “Mr. Tough Guy. You know, he’s Mr. Tough Guy. You know when he’s Mr. Tough Guy? When he’s standing behind a microphone by himself.”

Trump added: “Some things in life you could really love doing.”

Despite Trump admonishing Biden to not threaten people, the president himself has a history of threatening people while standing behind the microphone.

At a February 2016 rally in Las Vegas, Trump said he wanted to punch a protester in the face.

“There’s a guy, totally disruptive, throwing punches — we’re not allowed to punch back anymore,” Trump said. “I love the old days. You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out on a stretcher.”

And in July of that year, Trump said he wanted to “hit a number” of speakers at the Democratic National Convention “so hard, their heads would spin” and “they’d never recover.”

“I was going to hit one guy in particular, a very little guy,” Trump said at a rally in Iowa, apparently referring to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “I was going to hit this guy so hard his head would spin, he wouldn’t know what the hell happened.”

Read more from Yahoo News:

Trump: I would love to fight ‘Mr. Tough Guy,’ Joe Biden

Biden on Trump: ‘He’s a joke’

Biden regrets not being president, but stands behind decision not to run

Obamas pen letter to Parkland students

Trump says he would have tried to stop Parkland shooter with his bare hands

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Obamas pen letter to Parkland students: 'You've helped awaken the conscience of the nation'

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama greet guests during the first day of the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago, Oct. 31, 2017. (Kamil Krzaczynski/Reuters)

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama sent a handwritten letter earlier this month to the survivors of the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., saying they have been “inspired by the resilience, resolve and solidarity” shown by the students in the wake of the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

“Not only have you supported and comforted each other, but you’ve helped awaken the conscience of the nation,” the Obamas wrote in the letter, dated March 10 and published Wednesday by Mic.com.

The former first family applauded the student activists, who have been vocal in their opposition to the National Rifle Association and lawmakers supported by the powerful gun lobby — part of what has been dubbed the #NeverAgain movement.

“Throughout our history, young people like you have led the way in making America better,” the Obamas wrote. “There may be setbacks; you may sometimes feel like progress is too slow in coming. But we have no doubt you are going to make an enormous difference in the days and years to come, and we will be there for you.”

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s the letter @BarackObama and @MichelleObama wrote to the #ParklandShooting survivors. In it, the former president and first lady tell the teens that they’ve “inspired” them, and commend them on “awakening the conscience of our nation.” https://t.co/FOQYVguNFw pic.twitter.com/xEPHE6iUL2

— Mic (@mic) March 21, 2018

Police say the Parkland gunman, Nikolas Cruz, a former student at the school, opened fire at Stoneman Douglas shortly before dismissal, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others.

There were numerous mass shootings during Obama’s presidency — including the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 20 children and six adults were killed.

The publication of the letter comes three days before hundreds of thousands of people are expected to participate in student-led “March for Our Lives” demonstrations around the country to demand action on gun control. More than 500,000 people are expected in Washington, D.C., alone. It’s unclear whether the Obamas will be among them.

Here’s the full text of their letter (via Mic.com):

To the students of Parkland —

We wanted to let you know how inspired we have been by the resilience, resolve and solidarity that you have all shown in the wake of unspeakable tragedy.

Not only have you supported and comforted each other, but you’ve helped awaken the conscience of the nation, and challenged decision-makers to make the safety of our children the country’s top priority.

Throughout our history, young people like you have led the way in making America better. There may be setbacks; you may sometimes feel like progress is too slow in coming. But we have no doubt you are going to make an enormous difference in the days and years to come, and we will be there for you.

Barack Obama Michelle Obama

Read more from Yahoo News:

Students across U.S. stage national walkout month after Parkland massacre

Trump says he would have tried to stop Parkland shooter with his bare hands

President Trump keeps lawmakers guessing at gun meeting

Trump predicts NRA will back raising age limit on gun purchases

Parkland students: ‘We will not be silenced’ on guns

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From 'covfefe' to 'council,' Trump's trouble with spelling is 'unpresidented'

President Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The commander-in-tweet could use a proofreader.

President Trump, who frequently boasts about his intelligence, has just as frequently stumbled in  spelling errors in his tweets — even about sensitive topics, such as special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of interference in the 2016 election.

On Wednesday, for example, Trump used Twitter to relay a statement from Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz about Mueller. The president’s tweet had four errors and a typo.

“‘Special Council [sic] is told to find crimes, wether [sic] crimes exist or not. I was opposed the the [sic] selection of Mueller to be Special Council [sic], I still am opposed to it. I think President Trump was right when he said there never should have been a Special Council [sic] appointed,” Trump tweeted.

The president deleted the tweet and reposted it — correcting the misspelled “whether” and double “the,” but leaving the multiple misspellings of “Council” intact.

“Special Council is told to find crimes, whether a crime exists or not. I was opposed to the selection of Mueller to be Special Council. I am still opposed to it. I think President Trump was right when he said there never should have been a Special Council appointed because…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 21, 2018

…there was no probable cause for believing that there was any crime, collusion or otherwise, or obstruction of justice!” So stated by Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 21, 2018

It’s not the first time Trump has made that mistake. Last May, after Trump tweeted about the “White House Council,” editors at the Merriam-Webster dictionary mocked the president on Twitter.

counsel: ⚖ a lawyer appointed to advise and represent in legal matters council: ]]>🙋