10 things you need to know today: February 28, 2019

1. Trump and Kim cut short their summit with no deal

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un abruptly ended their second summit early on Thursday after negotiations collapsed over the lifting of economic sanctions. Kim reportedly was ready to sign an agreement in principle to denuclearize, and Trump said the two sides had an agreement ready to sign, but Kim insisted the U.S. lift all economic sanctions in exchange for the closure of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear enrichment facility while keeping missiles and nuclear warheads. "Basically they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, but we couldn't do that," Trump said at a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam. "Sometimes you have to walk." Trump said no plans were made for a third summit with Kim, but that he still shared a "warmth" with Kim.

The New York Times The Washington Post

2. Cohen tells lawmakers Trump was involved in illegal acts

Michael Cohen, President Trump's former attorney, gave a scathing portrayal of Trump in a public hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday, saying the president lied repeatedly about his business interests in Russia during the 2016 campaign, his knowledge of a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, and other matters. "I am not protecting Mr. Trump anymore," Cohen said. He said he knew of illegal acts involving Trump, but that he couldn't discuss them because New York prosecutors were investigating them. Republicans on the committee attacked Cohen's credibility, noting that he is due to report to prison in May for lying to Congress and committing campaign finance violations as Trump's lawyer.

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The Associated Press The Washington Post

3. Trump calls Cohen congressional testimony 'shameful'

President Trump on Thursday called his former lawyer Michael Cohen's congressional testimony at a Wednesday hearing "shameful." Trump said Cohen, who called him a "liar" and a "racist," "lied a lot." Trump said Cohen was truthful when he said he saw no evidence of collusion by Trump's campaign in Russia's effort to influence the 2016 presidential election. "I was a little impressed by that, frankly," Trump said, repeating criticism of what he called Special Counsel Robert Mueller's "Russian witch hunt." Trump also criticized the Democrat-led House Oversight and Reform Committee's decision to hold what he called a "fake hearing" during his "very important summit" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

USA Today

4. Florida Bar investigating Rep. Matt Gaetz's tweet against Michael Cohen

The Florida Bar on Wednesday launched an investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-Fla.) threatening tweet against Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer, hours before Cohen testified publicly before the House Oversight Committee. Gaetz tweeted: "Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she'll remain faithful when you're in prison. She's about to learn a lot..." Democrats and numerous legal scholars said the message from Gaetz, a lawyer, amounted to attempted witness tampering. Gaetz has since deleted the tweet and apologized. A Gaetz spokeswoman said it appeared that "the Florida Bar, by its rules, is required to investigate even the most frivolous of complaints."

CNN

5. GOP operative arrested in North Carolina

Republican political operative Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr., the central figure in North Carolina's disputed congressional race, was arrested Wednesday on charges of illegal ballot handling, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Four people who worked for Dowless also were charged with conspiracy. The arrests came days after state election officials ordered a new election after determining that the ballot mishandling tainted the razor-thin victory of Republican Mark Harris over Democrat Dan McCready. Harris won't run in the new election; McCready will. Prosecutors haven't decided whether to add charges of ballot tampering. Harris has not been charged, and denies he knew his operatives were doing anything illegal.

The Associated Press

6. House passes bill seeking to expand gun-buyer background checks

The House on Wednesday passed a bill seeking to expand gun-sale background checks to purchases at gun shows and online. The measure was the first attempt at gun control Democrats have made since they regained control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections. The legislation is expected to meet opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate. President Trump tweeted a year ago that he supported "Comprehensive Background Checks with an emphasis on Mental Health." The White House said Monday that Trump's advisers would recommend he veto the legislation if it cleared Congress because it would impose "burdensome requirements" on gun buyers, and therefore would be "incompatible with the Second Amendment's guarantee of an individual right to keep arms."

Reuters

7. India demands pilot's release as Pakistan leader urges talks

India on Wednesday demanded that Pakistan release an Indian pilot captured in the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistan said it shot down two Indian jets that violated its airspace, while India said it had shot down a Pakistani warplane in the "aerial encounter." The clash escalated tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors after a series of tit-for-tat cross-border strikes triggered by a militant bomb attack that killed 40 Indian soldiers. Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, said his country was only trying to show that "if you can come into our country, we can do the same." He called for talks to avoid further escalation, and said Pakistan will release the pilot Friday as a "peace gesture."

The Washington Post

8. U.S. farm debt reaches highest point since 1980s agriculture crisis

U.S. farm debt is the highest it has been since the 1980s when the agriculture community was last in calamity, reports Reuters. The amount of debt has risen to over $400 billion, and loan demand is "historically high." The current crisis is being caused by weakness in commodity prices, weather damage to crops, and a loss of profitable export markets like China. President Trump announced last year that the government would supply $12 million in aid to farmers in order to offset economic losses from tariff hikes, but farmers have made it clear they would rather have trade relations return to normal than receive a bailout from the government.

Reuters

9. Judge blocks Texas from purging voters on list questioning citizenship

A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday ordered the state to end its effort to weed out non-citizen voters, saying there is no evidence of widespread election fraud in Texas and the state's flawed list questioning the eligibility of 98,000 people had "created a mess." The office of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's new elections chief, Secretary of State David Whitley, came up with the list by comparing voter rolls with a database of legal U.S. residents with state IDs. Within days, many on the list were found to be citizens. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of San Antonio said as a result "perfectly legal naturalized Americans" received threatening correspondence that "exemplifies the power of government to strike fear and anxiety and to intimidate the least powerful among us."

The Associated Press

10. Southwest Airlines gets approval for Hawaii flights

Southwest Airlines said Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration had approved it to start flying to Hawaii from the West Coast. The low-cost carrier will announce within days when it plans to start selling tickets on the new routes to the islands from several California cities. The Hawaii routes account for much of Southwest's projected growth this year. Southwest had hoped to start selling tickets before the end of 2018, but its plans were delayed by the partial government shutdown. The company also has been dealing with an increase in the number of its planes that are out of service as it faces a dispute with its mechanics' union.

CNBC