#1 chceoi of online sellers. go to: shipstation.com/try and get 2 months free. if she stepped down, it should be only a short time before he does as well. >> a chaotic 48 hours at the white house. hope hicks is stepping down leaving the president without one of his most trusted aides and advisers. and pressure ramping up on jared kushner. a new report says big loans went to his family business after he met with those lenders at the white house. go through due process. >> take the guns first and go through due process second.

president trump leaving the republicans and nra in shock. he appearedmeasures. now several big companies are trying to take the lead on gun violence. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. a whole week of news in one day. >> you got that right. i'm dave briggs. after the horrible day at the white house, it is thursday, march 1st. you have the president who has loyalty above all else and without his loyal hope hicks. she is set to depart in the coming weeks. this comes a day after what hicks told white lies to protect the president. >> there is quote nothing nefarious about hicks leaving. the president calling her outstanding and a great person. an ally close to the president

tel tells cnn the president berated hicks. >> one of hicks confidants says the last few weeks were really, really hard for her. the friend says hicks started thinking about resigning when the rob porter spousal abuse scandal erupted. hicks and porter were involved. >> for you keeping score, this is four communications directors. five now in just over a year. for the latest, we go to jeff zeleny at the white house. jeff. >> reporter: christine and dave, the headlines of the newspapers, hope hicks leaving the white house. stirring more concern in the west wing. of the resignations from staff members to the cabinet members, few have hit home to the president like hope hicks. one of his closest advisers.

she has been with him since before he decided to run for presidents. she decide -- president. she decided to leave the white house. she will leave in the coming weeks. she wants to pursue other opportunities outside of the administration. it raises questions of why. why the timing? she made her decision one day after testifying for some eight hours before the intelligence committee. two months after she testified and took questions from the special counsel robert mueller's probe. there is no sign she is a target of the investigation. no sign she is more than a witness. she has such proximity to president trump. the resignation of hope hicks, one of the bigger bombshells here, in a year of staffing shake ups. what will president trump do without his close individuadvis? she sat outside the oval office.

what will president trump do without his right hand hope hicks? christine and dave. >> one of many questions. thank you, jeff. another damaging report concerning jared kushner. "the new york times" stating his company secured substantial loans after meetings at the white house with the lenders. loans include one for $184 million from apollo global management after the company founder went to the white house to discuss infrastructure. >> another loan from citigroup after a meeting with kushner and citigroup's ceo. kushner stepped down of the kushner companies when he started at the white house. the times reports he has retained a vast majority of interest in the firm. kushner's lawyer abbe lowell says he has taken no part of kushner company business since joining the white house. the battle line was jared

kushner and chief of staff john kelly appear to be more entrenched after the security clearance of kushner was downgraded. kushner remains exasperated by the decision openly asking others in the west wing why kelly is doing this and why are they out to get him. now kushner and ivanka are under scrutiny. >> the editorial page is suggesting they could serve the president better from the outside. mr. trump's second year could determine his fate as the mueller probe rolls on. president trump needs the discipline that mr. kelly has imposed. mr. kushner and ivanka have to decide if they serve the president better by walking way from the white house roles. >> staggering. the white house expected to release the school safety proposals today or tomorrow

following a fascinating meeting with president trump and group of lawmakers. that meeting left democrats optimistic about progress on gun violence and left republicans absolutely shell shocked. >> the president pushing to raise the legal age to purchase a rifle from 18 to 21. and nra leaders oppose that idea. the president rejecting steve scalise's call for a pro conceal carry measure in a broader gun control plan. >> we put conceal carry between states into this bill. we are talking about a new ball game. you know, i'm with you, but let it be a separate bill. you never will get this passed. if you add conceal carry, you will never get it passed. >> the president did not hesitate to call outlaw makers. listen to this exchange.

>> some of you people are p petrified of the nra. what are you doing? >> we are going to change that. >> are you going to leave that? >> we did not address it. >> you know why? you are afraid of the nra. >> the nra said the proposals discussed would not keep our children safe. what a remarkable event. we get more from phil mattingly on capitol hill. >> reporter: christine and dave, surreal. that was the word by john cornyn who sat in the meeting in the white house more than an hour long. frankly, it is the best word to describe what everyone was thinking after they walked out of the meeting. a meeting in which the republican president, president backed by the nra throughout the campaign. saying how much he loves the nra and the republican viewpoints when it comes to guns.

sided with democrats on the policy issues than the republicans around the table. it raised questions as to where he actually stands on the gun deba debate. you talk to democrats and they were pleased where the president ended up during that meeting. they don't also have a lot of confidence. you hear is it tuesday trump or thursday trump? that is referring to immigration. the president had a wide ranging meeting where he was agreeable to everybody on tuesday when it came to immigration. 48 hours later, he retracted just about everything he said. daca still hasn't moved on capitol hill. democrats skeptical this may be the same thing. where are republicans on this issue? furious. i can say that after talking to multiple aides. a number of reasons why they are furious. most notably this. >> take the firearms and then

follow due process. it takes so long. take the guns first. >> reporter: just to put that in perspective. imagine president obama saying take the guns first. that is what republicans are saying at this point. that's why they're frustrated. christine and dave. >> phil, thank you. two the gun sellers are limiting salesn't i sales. walmart will not sell guns to anyone under 21. recent events inspired the change. heritage is serving sports members. this comes an hour after dick's sporting goods raised the sale to 21. dick's will stop selling the assault rifles. since then, students and consumers have pressured gun companies to cut ties with the gun industry. forcing many brands off the

sidelines to take a stance. here is dick's ceo yesterday. >> we concluded if the kids are brave enough to organize, we should be brave enough to take the stand. >> he said they don't want dick's to be part of the story. they don't want to read anymore about a mass shooting where the gun was bought at dick's. corporate activism can be good for business. some say will it hurt sales? it can be good for business. you are tapping into the life long affiliation. i don't thi all of that has some questioning corporate motives. c people may prefer it proves love by which favorite social causes rather than the way of paying workers more money. the cynics are saying maybe

companies are blunts criticism of tax cuts or pay structures or monopolies by getting on to popular social. >> you believe this could help sales? i think it could force them into bankruptcy. >> you do? >> millennials don't shop at brick and mortar stores. people in gun country do. they were all sta stay #boycottdick's. no doubt about it. it is a stand. i'm not sure how this works out for them. based on who customers are for them. >> we will see. walmart and dick's. >> ed stack is a gun owner and proud supporter of the second amendment. >> was he a republican donor? >> big republican donor. the teacher strike in west virginia is not ending today as planned. why all public schools across the state remain closed. next.

our homeland but you could never be broken. you walked together. you built your home again. my dna showed that i'm native american, and connected me to cousins who taught me about our tribe. my name is joseph reece, and this is my ancestrydna story. now with 10 million new family connections made every day. order your kit at ancestrydna.com they have businesses to run they have passions to pursue how do they avoid trips to the post office? stamps.com mail letters ship packages all the amazing services of the post office right on your computer get a 4 week trial plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again

go to stamps.com/tv and never go to but i'm not standing still... and with godaddy, i've made my ideas real. ♪ ♪ i made my own way, now it's time to make yours. ♪ ♪ everything is working, working, just like it should ♪

all right. 4:15 eastern time. according to "the washington post" special counsel robert mueller is investigating a period of time where president trump was trying to drive jeff sessions to quit. mr. prudonald trump attacking sessions as beleaguered and weak and disappointed. questioning the state of mind determining if the president was trying to force sessions out. >> the "post" referring to the attorney generjegeneral behind scenes as mr. magoo. now this time the attorney general is firing back. here is cnn's laura jarrett. >> reporter: after months of public attacks by the president and too many tweets to count, the attorney general hit back. the rare statement from jeff sessions hours after the

president essentially called him a disgrace. the internal watch dog at the department of justice. sessions said as long as i'm the attorney general, i will continue to discharge my duties with honor and this department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner. according to the law and constitution. the back drop to this drama is on tuesday, sessions told reporters that the inspector general will deal with the allegations outlined in the house intelligence committee republican memo. the so-called nunes memo outlining surveillance abuses by the fbi surveilling carter page. he said he would make sure that the inspector general would make sure the process was carried out appropriatel appropriately. that was clearly not good enough for the president who took direct aim at the inspector general. the real question now is what

does this statement from the attorney general mean for his future at the department and whether it has any affect on how the president treats him? >> thank you, laura. all public schools remain closed in west virginia today. the governor announced a deal to end the strike which was subject to approval. thousands of employees and supporters returned to the capit capitol. today marks the sixth day of the walkout. dalton school in georgia closed today after a teacher fired a gun out the window. randall davidson charged with assault and terrorist threats. the 53-year-old social studies teacher refused to let students in the classroom. davidson fired a handgun sending the school into lockdown. the teacher surrendered. no one was injured except a

female student running away. >> bizarre story. >> with the context, arming teachers continues to be a proposal. and ahead, attempts to stop the bloodshed in syria not working. now world diplomats at odds over how to proceed. we are live in the middle east next. - my family and i did a fundraiser walk

in honor of my dad, who was alzheimer's. i decided to make shirts for the walk with custom ink, and they just came out perfect. - [announcer] check out our huge selection of custom apparel for every occasion. you'll even get free shipping. get started today at customink.com.

you'll even get free shipping. small business, internet providers promise you a lot. let's see who delivers more. comcast business offers fast gig-speeds across our network. at&t doesn't. we offer more complete reliability with up to 8 hours of 4g wireless network backup. at&t, no way. we offer 35 voice features and solutions that grow with your business. at&t, not so much. get internet on our gig-speed network and add voice and tv for $34.90 more per month. call 1-800-501-6000. a grim update on the carnage in eastern ghouta. after a 30-day cease-fire implement implemented. the humanitarian chief responding no. the western diplomats rejecting the russian call for the

five-hour pause. cnn's sam kiley has the latest from istanbul. >> reporter: the humanitarian pause once again in place this morning in east ghouta and reportedly according to sources on the ground, five dead also since the midnight time last night. the result of air strikes and artillery from the syrian regime. clearly no impact whatsoever in terms of the united nations head of humanitarian coordinating efforts. no impact at all of the so-called cease-fire demanded of the united nations particularly of the russians and syrians when it comes to east ghouta. the russian effort to come up with the so-called humanitarian pause of five hours is dismissed

by others like the committee of the red cross as effectively a waste of time. they are saying you need a whole day to get any kind of humanitarian relief under way. remember this is an area of 400,000 people besieged for several years with nobody really getting in or out at the best of times. and east ghouta visited with the worst of times. >> sam kiley in istanbul. a tragedy for five years. each episode more heartbreaking than the last. thank you. in australia, 57,000 firearms turned in during the three month amnesty. among the weapons brought in, a rocket launcher and automatic weapon. australia's gun legislation is pointed to as an example the u.s. could follow. in australia, anyone caught with

a firearm could face a fine of over $200,000 and up to 14 years in prison. for the sixth time since the election, the president and his team looking for a new communications director. more on the chaotic 48 hours at the white house.

if she stepped down, it should be only a short time before he does as well. >> a chaotic 48 hours at the white house. punctuated by this. hope hicks is stepping down leaving the president without one of his most trusted aides. and pressure ramping up on jared kushner. a new report says big loans went to his family business after he met with those lenders at the white house. take the guns first. go through due process second.

>> wow. due process second. president trump leaving the republicans and nra in shock. he appeared to back democratic gun measures. now several big companies are trying to take the lead on gun violence. seated there to the president's left. dianne feinstein. who thought he would come out to the left of her on guns? >> that was something. does he mean it? is that tuesday trump and then he changes by thursday? >> immigration. tuesday versus thursday. welcome back. i'm thursday dave briggs. >> i'm christine romans. it is 31 minutes past the hour. the president values loyalty above all. he is without one of his loyal aides. hope hicks is set to depart in the coming weeks. she has been at the core for three years now in the amazing election and first year of the presidency. her decision comes a day after

hicks admits she told what she called white lies to protect the president. >> there is quote nothing nefarious about hicks leaving. the president calling her outstanding and a great person. an ally close to the president tells cnn the president berated hicks. after her testimony on tuesday. the white house communications team was told she said now is the right time to go. >> one of hicks confidants says the last few weeks were really, really hard for her. the friend says hicks started thinking about resigning when the rob porter spousal abuse scandal erupted. hicks and porter were involved. >> for you keeping score, this is four communications directors. and one who took the job and never served in over a year. for the latest, we go to jeff zeleny at the white house. jeff. >> reporter: christine and dave, the headlines of the newspapers, white house communications director hope hicks leaving the white house.

stirring more concern in the west wing. of the resignations from staff members to the cabinet members, and others, few have hit home like this to the president like hope hicks. one of his closest advisers. she has been with him since before he decided to run for president. she decided to leave the white house. she will leave in the coming weeks. she wants to pursue other opportunities outside of the administration. it raises questions of why. why the timing? she made her decision one day after testifying for some eight hours before the intelligence committee. two months after she testified and took questions from the special counsel robert mueller's probe. there is no sign she is a target of the investigation. no sign she is more than a witness. she has such proximity to president trump. the resignation of hope hicks, one of the bigger bombshells

here, in a year of staffing shake ups. the bigger question going forward? what will the president do without his close adviser? she sat outside the oval office. what will president trump do without his right hand hope hicks? christine and dave. >> you can't overstate how important she is to the president's daily life. another damaging report concerning jared kushner. "the new york times" stating his company secured substantial loans after meetings at the white house with the lenders. loans include one for $184 million from apollo global management after the company founder went to the white house to discuss infrastructure. >> another loan for $325 million from citigroup with a meeting with kushner and the citigroup

ceo. kushner stepped down of the kushner companies when he started at the white house. the times reports he has retained a vast majority of interest in the firm. kushner's lawyer abbe lowell says he has taken no part of kushner company business since joining the white house. this is why white house visitor logs should be public. the battle lines with jared kushner and chief of staff john kelly appear to be more entrenched after the security clearance of kushner was downgraded. kushner remains exasperated by the decision openly asking others in the west wing why kelly is doing this and why are they out to get him. now kushner and ivanka are under scrutiny. and if they should have white house positions at all. >> the editorial page is suggesting they could serve the president better from the outside. mr. trump's second year could determine his fate as the mueller probe rolls on. the mid terms could lead to the

democrats taking the house and possibly impeach him. president trump needs the discipline that mr. kelly has imposed. mr. kushner and ivanka have to decide if they serve the president better by walking way from the white house roles. >> a face nature -- fascinating meeting with the president and lawmakers. pushing the legal age from 18 to 21 to purchase a gun. some directly appealed for him not to raise the age. >> the president rejecting an idea from the republican congress member steve scalise who was shot and badly wounded last year. scalise called for a pro conceal carry measure in the been control plan. >> you are going to put conceal carry into the states in the bill. we are talking about a new ball game. you know, i'm with you, but let it be a separate bill.

you will never get it passed. if you add conceal carry, you will never get it passed. >> the president did not hesitate to call out lawmakers. listen to this exchange. >> some of you people are petrified of the nra. what are you doing about the 18 to 21? >> we're going to change that. >> are you going to leave that? >> we did not address it. >> you know why? you are afraid of the nra. >> the nra said the proposals made for great tv. we will talk about the companies later. the proposals discussed would not keep our children safe. the white house is expected to release more statements today. more now from phil mattingly on capitol hill. >> reporter: christine and dave, surreal. that was the word by john cornyn who sat in the meeting in the

white house more than an hour long. frankly, it is the best word to describe what everyone was thinking after they walked out of the meeting. a meeting in which the republican president, president backed by the nra throughout the campaign. saying how much he loves the nra and the republican viewpoints when it comes to guns. sided with democrats on the policy issues than the republicans around the table. it raised questions as to where he actually stands on the gun debate. you talk to democrats and they were pleased where the president ended up during that meeting. they don't also have a lot of confidence he will stay there. you hear is it tuesday trump or thursday trump? that is referring to immigration. the president had a wide ranging meeting where he was agreeable to everybody on tuesday when it came to immigration. 48 hours later, he retracted just about everything he said. immigration issue, daca, still hasn't moved anywhere on capitol

hill. democrats skeptical this may be the same thing. where are republicans on this issue? furious. i can say that after talking to multiple aides. aides involved in the process and several lawmakers as well. a number of reasons why they are furious. most notably this. >> take the firearms and then go to court. in the system, by the time you go to court, it takes so long to go to court for due process procedures. take the guns first. >> reporter: just to put that in perspective. imagine president obama saying due process did not matter. take the guns first. that is what republicans are saying at this point. that's why they're frustrated. christine and dave. >> can you imagine, phil, if the previous administration had said such a thing? omg! a technical term. two the gun sellers are limiting sales. right in the middle of the gun

debate. walmart will not sell guns to anyone under 21. recent events inspired the change. the company said its heritage is serving sports members. this comes an hour after dick's sporting goods raised the sale to 21. dick's will stop selling the assault rifles. it had been phasing them out in the dick's stores since sandy hook. the parkland shooting had a same style, but wasn't bought at dick's. since then, students and consumers have pressured gun companies to cut ties with the gun industry. forcing many brands off the sidelines to take a stance. here is dick's ceo yesterday. >> we concluded if the kids are brave enough to organize, we should be brave enough to take the stand. >> more than a dozen businesses have cut ties with nra.

no more nra branded credit card, airlines. corporate activism can be good for business. it has some questioning motives. consumers love companies that take a stand. as the "new york times" op-ed says, people may prefer that their brands prove this love by identifying with favored social causes rather than the old fashion way of paying their workers a little bit more money. they want to be on the right side of life long brand affiliation. >> ed stack has to sit down with the board and run it by them. how long are the decisions made? >> they run the numbers. they look at the short-term loss and short-term publicity. some people hate it. others will love it. longer term and where they want to be on the side of history.

delta airlines, it has been in the debate. fed ex in the debate. walmart. you can assume walmart is the biggest seller of guns in america. raising the age to 21. that is a big deal. kids and companies are the leaders on this debate. congress, the president, i don't know what they will contribute, to be honest. >> extraordinary. ahead, the teachers strike in west virginia is not ending today as planned. why all public schools across the state remain closed. next.

4:46 eastern time. another big story from "the washington post." special counsel robert mueller investigating a period of time last summer when trump tried to drive jeff sessions to quit.

mr. trump attacking sessions in 2016 as beleaguered and weak and disappointing. mueller questioning the president's state of mind to determine if he was trying to force sessions out to undermine the russia investigation. >> "the post" also stating that mr. trump referring to mr. sessions behind the scenes as mr. magoo. this time, sessions is responding, forcefully. here is cnn's laura jarrett. >> reporter: after months of public attacks by the president and too many tweets to count, the attorney general hit back. the rare statement from jeff sessions hours after the president essentially called him a disgrace and took a shot at the inspector general. the internal watch dog at the department of justice. sessions said as long as i'm the attorney general, i will continue to discharge my duties with honor and this department

will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner. according to the law and constitution. the back drop to this drama is on tuesday, sessions told reporters that the inspector general will deal with the allegations outlined in the house intelligence committee republican memo. the so-called nunes memo outlining surveillance abuses by the fbi surveilling carter page. the former trump associate. he said he would make sure that the inspector general would make sure the process was carried out appropriately. that was clearly not good enough for the president who took direct aim at the inspector general. calling him a so-called obama guy. the real question now is what does this statement from the attorney general mean for his future at the department and whether it has any affect on how the president treats him? dave, christine. >> thank you, laura. >> the president and attorney

general may be in the same room later today if the president attends the opioid summit. sessions and trump and the new hhs secretary azar is set to attend along with melania trump. this task force will target illegal manufacturers and distributors of opioids who sessions says is driving the epidemic. >> you cannot imagine the profits they have made while america has evolved into the crisis. all documents relating to redecorating over the hud office and department's handling of a whistleblower. trey gowdy released a deadline to receive the documents. $31,000 for a dining room set. a top hud employee was pressured to find the funds beyond the legal $5,000 limit.

she was demoted when she pushed back. carson pushed back there was no wrongdoi wrongdoing. all the public schools in west virginia remain closed today. the governor and union leaders announced a deal to end the strike. the deal was subject to approval by legislators, but thousands of supporters returned to capitol demanding immediate action on hec health insurance and pay increase. today is the sixth day of the walkout. dalton high school in georgia is closed after a teacher fired gun out a window. randall davidson charged with assault and terrorist threats. the 53-year-old social studies teacher refused to let students in the classroom. davidson fired a handgun sending the school into lockdown. the teacher surrendered. no one was injured except a female student running away. jury selection begins in

orlando for the widow of the pulse nightclub shooter omar t matteen. the attack killed 49 people and injured dozens more. she is charged with terrorism. okay. meet chicago's cannibas can't date. the campaign ad features him smoking a joint in front of an image of the american flag. he said he wants people in favor of legalizing pot to know he hears them. wolf says he is taking a risk. he believes this would reform the criminal justice system and bring in billions in tax reve e

revenue. >> and get national exposurexpo another fitting end for the worst month in two years. february was crazy and rough. we will tell you what's next. - [narrator] introducing a breakthrough

in hearing aid technology. presenting the all new eargo plus. the world's smallest, most comfortable rechargeable hearing aid designed with patented flexi fibers so they're suspended completely inside the ear canal and so small that they're virtually invisible. the kind of invisibility hearing aid wearers have been looking for if you could look for invisibility, that is. which, you can't. or, i guess you can, but you won't find it. well, because it's invisible. you know, any way, the point is most people probably won't even know you're wearing them, and they're so comfortable you might forget you're wearing them yourself. eargo plus is also rechargeable, so there's no need to replace batteries. because there's nothing more frustrating than those tiny hearing aid batteries, or there probably is, but we just can't think of it right now, and our advanced noise reduction technology reduces background noise. don't wait.

call or go online now to get your free sample pair today, and try the hearing aid pcmagazine called, "tiny, comfortable, and nearly invisible." eargo, hear life to the fullest. "tiny, comfortable, and nearly invisible." small business, internet providers promise you a lot. let's see who delivers more.

comcast business offers fast gig-speeds across our network. at&t doesn't. we offer more complete reliability with up to 8 hours of 4g wireless network backup. at&t, no way. we offer 35 voice features and solutions that grow with your business. at&t, not so much. get internet on our gig-speed network and add voice and tv for $34.90 more per month. call 1-800-501-6000. well, the club of former trump communications directors is adding another member. the late night comics took shots. >> hope hicks told the white house intelligence committee she has occasionally had to tell white lies. or melania calls them vows.

>> hope hicks admitted to investigators she told some white lies on behalf of president trump. yeah. yeah. then hicks admitted that was a white lie and she actually makes up [ bleep ] all the time. >> she acknowledged she sometimes tells white lies for trump. well, duh! telling lies to white people is what got trump elected. >> i knew that was coming. i knew that was coming. >> it is interesting. the reporting is the president was furious at that although he has told according to "the washington post" 21 false or misleading statements in over a year. he was angry. >> this is somebody who one of the things about hope hicks is being able to manage through trump's outbursts. she manages him and other people around him. >> it is somebody else's job.

global stocks falling after a down day on wall street. the dow down 1.5%. the s&p down 1.1%. the worst month in two years. february is a wild one on wall street. inflation fears sparked market selloff. including two 1,000 point plunges on the dow in a week. followed by the best week in five years. a snap back. inflation worries. look for any kind of inflation and interest rate guessing to move stocks. spotify is going public, but the ipo is not like others. spot ifify will sell directly t invest investors. it will save spotify hundreds of millions of fees. spotify warns it may have a volatile start. it is the biggest music

streaming company in the world. #time'sup for the gender pay gap. 48% of companies reviewing pay policies. why? to close the gap between male and female employees. it was inspired by the #metoo movement. on average, women earn 80 cents per every dollar a man makes. the gap is wider for women of color. what i have been hearing, they are worried about a worker shortage, good worker shortage and they feel like if they don't have and can prove they have equal pay, they can keep the best talent. >> we're seeing this improving? we hope. you have been saying that for a while. >> i have been saying it for 20 years. we're still at 80 cents on the dollar. "early start" continues right now as we try to recap the

last insane 24 hours at the white house. if she stepped down, it should be only a short time before he does as well. >> i don't know about that. chaotic 48 hours at white house punctuated by this hope hicks stepping down leaving the president without one of his most trusted aides. now pressure ramping up on jared kushner. a new report says big loans went to his family business after he met with those lend heers at th white house. go through due process. >> take the guns first and go through due process second. president trump leaving the republicans and nra in shock. he appeared to back democratic gun measures. now several big companies are trying to take the lead on gun violence. >> the nra supported this candidate in such a big way. now as president -- >> no one is