U.S.National ReviewGOP Senators Grill FBI Director over Use of Geolocation Data to Track Capitol Rioters
Senators Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah) on Tuesday pressed FBI Director Christopher Wray on the procedures federal law enforcement officials have used to track down those who participated in the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol. “I'm anxious to see those who committed unlawful, violent acts on January 6 brought to justice,” Lee said during a Senate Judiciary Hearing on Tuesday. The Utah Republican explained that he had “heard a number of accounts” of people who were in Washington, D.C. on January 6 who never went near the Capitol but were “inexplicably” contacted by FBI agents who knew of their presence in the district that day “with no other explanation, perhaps, other than the use of geolocation data.”
U.S.NextSharkNBC Asian America Piece Has Readers Split Over 'Hate Crime' Statement
No hate crimes were reported this year so far. According to Yam, the 2,800 hate incidents collected by watchdog Stop AAPI Hate over five months last year “weren't necessarily hate crimes” as they included “less severe, yet insidious, forms of discrimination. Citing experts, the piece acknowledged the rise in “anti-Asian sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic but warns against labeling incidents without evaluating individually.
WorldReutersU.S. failure to sanction prince for Khashoggi killing 'dangerous': U.N. expert
A U.N. human rights investigator said on Monday that it was "extremely dangerous" for the United States to have named Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler as having approved an operation to capture or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi but not to have taken action against him. Agnes Callamard, special rapporteur on summary executions who led a U.N. investigation into Khashoggi's 2018 murder, reiterated her call for sanctions targeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's assets and his international engagements. He approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi, according to a declassified U.S. intelligence released on Friday as the United States imposed sanctions on some of those involved but spared the crown prince himself in an effort to preserve relations with the kingdom.
U.S.The WeekTexas has one of the worst vaccination rates in the U.S. It's reopening 'all businesses' anyway.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced Tuesday that effective next Wednesday, "all businesses of any type" in the Lone Star state will be allowed to fully reopen. On a related note, Houston, Texas' largest city, is the one city in the United States to have reported finding at least one case of every known variant of the coronavirus, which are believed to be more transmissible and have experts on the alert for another uptick in cases as they become the dominant sources of infection. Texas is also lagging behind in vaccinating its population, which is the second largest in the nation.
PoliticsLA TimesSupreme Court leans toward approving Arizona GOP voting rules challenged by Democrats
The Supreme Court confronted the growing partisan divide over voting rights Tuesday in an Arizona case in which Democrats are challenging two Republican-sponsored rules that appeared likely to win approval from the justices. One rule calls for throwing out ballots cast by voters who arrive at the wrong precinct on election day but want to vote there anyway. Both of Arizona's rules were in effect during last year's election, when Joe Biden narrowly defeated then-President Trump in the previously Republican-leaning state, which also elected another Democrat to the Senate.
BusinessAssociated PressRio Tinto chairman leaving over destruction of sacred sites
Rio Tinto chairman Simon Thompson said Wednesday he was accountable for the mining giant destroying sacred Indigenous sites in Australia to access iron ore and he will not seek reelection as a board director next year. Thompson's announcement came after former chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques announced his resignation last September over the destruction in May of two rock shelters in Juukan George in Western Australia state that had been inhabited for 46,000 years. The company's successes in 2020 were “overshadowed by the destruction of the Juukan Gorge shelters ... and, as chairman, I am ultimately accountable for the failings that led to this tragic event,” Thompson said in a statement.
PoliticsThe IndependentMerrick Garland could be confirmed as Biden’s attorney general this week
Merrick Garland could be confirmed as the next US attorney general as early as this week, after the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced his nomination for consideration before the full chamber by a bipartisan 15-7 vote. Mr Garland has breezed through his nomination process with the Senate Democratic majority controlling committee gavels. The longtime DC Circuit Court judge's ascent to the top spot in Justice Department leadership has been welcomed by Democrats and even some Republicans as a welcome change from the tumult of the Donald Trump years.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘Morally compromised.’ Why one archdiocese urges Catholics to avoid newest COVID vaccine
The Archdiocese of New Orleans has advised Catholics against receiving the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, calling the one-dose shot “morally compromised. In a statement Friday, the religious organization said the new vaccine should be avoided due to its link to an “abortion-derived cell line” used in the vaccine's development and production phases. But the available vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are “morally acceptable,” the archdiocese wrote, because only some lab testing utilized stem cells from aborted fetuses, making their connection to abortion “extremely remote.
PoliticsThe IndependentAn obscure law could help Biden roll back Trump-era policies
The Trump administration's last-minute haste to cement regulatory changes before President Joe Biden took office has left its legacy vulnerable to legal challenge, the watchdog group Public Citizen argues in a new report, released on Monday. “In its rush to roll back as many regulatory protections as possible following the 2020 election, the Trump Administration violated an obscure regulatory law called the Congressional Review Act (CRA), making the last-minute regulatory rollbacks more legally vulnerable to reversal,” the report's authors Amit Narang and Matt Kent write. “While these technical details usually don't have much of a practical impact, during transitions from one Administration to another when every day counts for the outgoing Administration to lock in its final regulations that dramatically changes,” the report adds.
PoliticsArchitectural DigestHouse Call: Cue the Waterworks and Welcome to March
Zoë's newsletter comes to a web page near you, and the theme of the day is damp Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsTheGrioMarcus Flowers to run for Congress against Marjorie Taylor Greene
The military veteran announced his campaign on social media as Georgia Democrats aim to oust the freshman representative. Sgt. Marcus Flowers has announced his official campaign against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for her seat in Georgia's 14th Congressional district. In his newly released campaign video shared on social media, the military veteran laid out his case as a Democratic candidate.
U.S.The Daily BeastFeds Arrest White Supremacist Livestreamer in Dawn Raid, Rattling Supporters
The FBI arrested a notorious white supremacist livestreamer in an early morning raid in Florida on Tuesday. FBI agents, working with Fort Lauderdale police and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, arrested Paul N. Miller, 32, on one charge of being a “convicted felon in possession of a firearm.” The FBI said in a press release that Miller was arrested without incident.
PoliticsBusiness Insider10 hours in Cancún hurt Ted Cruz's job approval more than when he tried to flip the presidential election
GOP Sen. Ted Cruz drew national ire after he attempted to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election, but according to a new poll from Morning Consult, his overall job approval from Texans was hurt far more when he vacationed in Cancún during a winter storm that left much of Texas without power or water for days. According to polling conducted between February 18-28, Cruz's net approval rating dropped from +6 to -5 in the weeks following his Cancún excursion. A net approval rating is calculated by subtracting the share of disapproving Texan voters from the share of voters that approve of Cruz.
WorldThe TelegraphMeghan wore earrings gifted by Prince Salman after Jamal Khashoggi was murdered
The Duchess of Sussex wore earrings during a royal tour which were a gift from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia who is accused of ordering the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Chopard earrings worn by the Duchess at a formal dinner in Fiji in October 2018 during a royal tour of New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga were a wedding gift from the crown prince according to The Times. Kensington Palace was reportedly instructed to brief the media that the chandelier earrings were “borrowed” and this was reported by outlets covering the engagement.
- PoliticsCBS News Videos
Schumer says Senate could soon pass COVID relief bill
The Senate is moving ahead with plans to vote on the COVID-19 relief package as the White House announces an increase in vaccine production. CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, CBS News Radio White House correspondent Steven Portnoy, and Axios political reporter Sarah Muchas join "Red and Blue" to discuss that and other headlines out of Washington.
PoliticsUSA TODAYPoisoning nearly killed Alexei Navalny. Now, Biden is sanctioning Putin allies in Russia
The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russia Tuesday in response to the poisoning and continued detention of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the first of several steps the Biden administration plans to take to confront Russian aggression. The U.S. sanctioned seven senior members of the Russian government and added 14 entities to the Department of Commerce's blacklist, mirroring sanctions imposed earlier by the European Union and the United Kingdom for the attempted murder of Navalny. The sanctions prevent the top figures allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin from accessing financial and property assets in the U.S.
PoliticsThe Independent5,000 National Guard troops remain in DC amid QAnon frenzy that Trump will be inaugurated again this week
Nearly 5,000 National Guard troops are in Washington, DC this week for an inauguration that won't happen. According to Rep. Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, this has led to online chatter about storming the Capitol a second time. “Some of these people have figured out that apparently 75 years ago, the president used to be inaugurated on 4 March,” Smith said during a hearing last month with Department of Defense officials.
PoliticsINSIDERCrossFit condemns Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for 'loathsome and dangerous lies'
Fitness brand CrossFit, a staple of Marjorie Taylor Greene's political brand, is distancing from the Republican. A spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that the company is against Greene's conspiracy theories. CrossFit's statement comes after the House voted to strip Greene of her committee assignments.
U.S.Business InsiderA California city just voted to ban new gas stations as the state eyes an all-electric future
Petaluma, California, finalized an amendment to ban the construction of new gas stations on Monday. The Petaluma City Council also moved to streamline the process for building EV charging stations. Petaluma, California, on Monday became the first US city to ban the construction of new gas pumps and stations, as a global push toward electric vehicles accelerates.
WorldBusiness InsiderBiden refused to sanction MBS over Khashoggi's murder because he doesn't want his relationship with Saudi Arabia to get worse, officials say
A newly declassified US intel report said the Saudi crown prince approved Jamal Khashoggi's killing. Joe Biden announced new sanctions over the murder but has declined to punish the crown prince. A US official told The Washington Post it's because Biden wanted to heal the US-Saudi relationship.
PoliticsUSA TODAYAt CPAC, Donald Trump targets the Republican Party of Liz Cheney and Mitch McConnell
The Anti-Trump 10: House members who voted for impeachment Trump spent a lot of time attacking Biden during the CPAC speech, but reserved special venom for the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach and are up for re-election next year. "The RINOs that we're surrounded with will destroy the Republican Party," Trump said, employing the acronym that stands for "Republicans In Name Only." As CPAC delegates booed, Trump called out the names of the 10 House Republicans: Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, David Valadao of California, John Katko of New York, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Fred Upton of Michigan, Peter Meijer of Michigan, Tom R...
U.S.The Daily Beast‘Murdering’ Mom: Boyfriend Wanted Me to Ditch the Kids
In a press conference on Monday, Middletown Police Chief David Birk said Brittany Gosney, 29, confessed to killing young James, but he said the motive was still unclear. According to the report, which was provided to The Daily Beast by the Preble County Sheriff's Office, Gosney told cops she drove Hamilton's 2005 Dodge Caravan to a local park on Feb. 27, where she tried to ditch James and her other kids, ages 7 and 9. “Brittany stated she had planned to get the kids out of the vehicle and to leave them behind as Hamilton had been pressuring her to get rid of the kids,” it says.
PoliticsTimeNo Repeal of the $170 Billion Tax Break for Billionaires and No Change in Minimum Wage: Why Democrats Can't Keep Their Promises in the Relief Bill
House Democrats passed a massive COVID-19 relief bill on Feb. 26. The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation within the next week. The Democratic party's unified control of Washington has put them within striking distance of fulfilling a key campaign promise: a coronavirus relief package that will send $1,400 checks to lower and middle-income Americans, extend federal unemployment insurance through the fall, and allot nearly $130 billion to re-open K-12 schools.
PoliticsBusiness Insider10 Senate Democrats tell Biden to implement recurring stimulus checks after $1.9 trillion bill is passed
Ten US senators are calling for President Joe Biden to support regular direct payments. A group of senior Democrats are calling for President Joe Biden to support regular direct payments to low-income Americans while the US economy recovers from the pandemic. Insider obtained a copy of the letter that's being sent to the White House, led by Democrats chairing key economic committees in the Senate.
U.S.Chicago TribuneHeidi Stevens: Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment allegations got a whole lot ickier when he threw the word ‘mentor’ in the mix
In a New York Times story published online Saturday and on the newspaper's front page Sunday, Charlotte Bennett, 25, said the three-term, 63-year-old governor asked her questions about her sex life, whether she was monogamous in her relationships and if she had ever had sex with older men. Bennett was an executive assistant and health policy adviser in Cuomo's administration until November. He asked me if I believed if age made a difference in relationships, and he also asked me in the same conversation if I had ever been with an older man,” Bennett told the Times.
“How about we skip ‘he won’t win’ cycle and not do 2016 all over again. Trump can absolutely win another presidential election.”
“With independents deserting him, there is simply no path for Trump to get back into the White House — except as a tourist.”
“They might as well cancel the 2024 primaries...because there is no way he can lose.”
“The next Republican presidential primary will be heavily shaped by Trump — whether or not he decides to run again.”
“Donald Trump will not be running for president again. He will, however, continue to tease the possibility of a 2024 run.”