Friday's Headlines: In wake of Fla. massacre, questions arise about FBI’s near-brush with suspect

Cruz had a history of explosive anger, depression and killing animals; Obama ran out of words on mass shootings. Trump has struggled to find them.; There haven't been 18 school...

Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   In wake of Fla. massacre, questions arise about FBI's near-brush with suspect A tipster told the FBI in September that YouTube user "nikolas cruz" posted "Im going to be a professional school shooter" in the comments of an online video. Agents checked databases but could not identify the person who left the comment, the bureau said. By Matt Zapotosky, Devlin Barrett and Emma Brown  •  Read more » Cruz had a history of explosive anger, depression and killing animals But no one — not those who feared him nor those who sympathized — glimpsed the full malevolence brewing inside Nikolas Cruz's heart until police say he walked into a suburban South Florida high school and carried out one of the nation's deadliest school shootings. By Kevin Sullivan, William Wan and Julie Tate  •   Read more »   Obama ran out of words on mass shootings. Trump has struggled to find them. Gun massacres have highlighted the differences between the two presidents and underscored their weaknesses. By Greg Jaffe and Jenna Johnson  •   Read more »   Analysis There haven't been 18 school shootings this year. That number is flat wrong. The widely disseminated figure promoted by Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun violence group is inflated and misleading. By John Woodrow Cox and Steven Rich  •   Read more »   Visual Story Timeline: How Valentine's Day turned deadly at a Florida school This mass shooting, among the country's 10 deadliest, unfolded in real time through graphic social media videos and frantic text messages. By Katie Mettler, Clare Ramirez, Nick Kirkpatrick, Joanne Lee, Zhiyan Zhong and Leslie Shapiro  •   Read more »   'Code Red': Despite preparations, no one was ready for what happened at Douglas High Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had an armed police officer on campus and students had practiced how to deal with an active shooter. But a gunman walked purposefully into the school Wednesday, and nothing stopped him, police said. By Kevin Sullivan, Samantha Schmidt and David A. Fahrenthold  •   Read more »   After latest school shooting, kids want to know why adults hadn't done more Online and on air, students called for political leaders to do more to prevent future attacks. By Elise Viebeck  •   Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT Opinions   The Second Amendment is being turned into a suicide pact By Max Boot  •   Read more »   Why is it so hard for Trump to say that evil things are evil? By Catherine Rampell  •   Read more »   There's a lot to be optimistic about these days. And then there's the Middle East. By Fareed Zakaria  •   Read more »   How to tackle the biggest obstacle to finishing the war with the Islamic State By David Ignatius  •   Read more »   The issue is not mental health. The issue is the guns. By Eugene Robinson  •   Read more »   Ban these weapons of war By Editorial Board  •   Read more » ADVERTISEMENT More News   VA chief fights for his political future amid internal strife and allegations of subterfuge David Shulkin, under fire for his expensive European work trip, is embroiled in a nasty power struggle with other Trump appointees advocating for his ouster. By Lisa Rein, Emily Wax-Thibodeaux and Josh Dawsey  •  Read more »     Public confrontations prompted Pruitt to switch to first-class travel, EPA says An incident in May involved "threatening" and "vulgar" language, the agency said in justifying Administrator Scott Pruitt's costly travel. By Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis  •   Read more »   Mikaela Shiffrin fails to medal in the slalom, her signature event Shiffrin finished Friday's slalom in a disappointing fourth place, endangering her hopes of leaving the Olympics with multiple medals. She was 0.40 seconds behind gold medalist Frida Hansdotter of Sweden. By Rick Maese  •   Read more »   Skater Nathan Chen bobbles his short program, falling far out of medal contention Chen's17th-place finish, worst among the three first-time U.S. Olympians in the field, leaves him hopelessly out of medal contention when the competition concludes Saturday. By Liz Clarke  •   Read more »   Two immigration bills fail in Senate, casting doubt on whether Congress can resolve fate of 'dreamers' The Republican-led Senate was unable to muster enough votes to move ahead on a plan backed by President Trump or a bipartisan plan. Both would have granted legal status to 1.8 million young undocumented immigrants. By Ed O'Keefe, David Nakamura and Mike DeBonis  •   Read more »   Trump inaugural committee directed $26 million for event production to firm tied to first lady's friend The revelation that Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a volunteer adviser in the East Wing, controlled such large sums for the event raised eyebrows among some White House officials, who described her East Wing status as unusual. By Michael Kranish and Ashley Parker  •   Read more »   Twin brothers arrested in New York for stockpiling bomb-making materials, authorities say The brothers, including a former teacher who paid students to dismantle fireworks and collect the gunpowder, have been arrested. By Devlin Barrett and Keith McMillan  •   Read more »   White House's portrayal of security office conflicts with its role in past administrations Current and former officials say painting the office as a sole arbiter of security-clearance decisions, such as those involving former staff secretary Rob Porter, is misleading. By Anne Gearan and John Wagner  •   Read more »   Critic's Notebook 'Black Panther' is a revelation — and a reminder of what we've been missing The film's lush Afro-centric iconography underlines just how constricted such images have been throughout most of American cinematic history, at enormous cost to African American spectators and white ones deprived of untold visual and narrative riches. By Ann Hornaday  •   Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:    Twitter     Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Today's Headlines or because it is included in your subscription. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2018 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071