Missouri AG: Keystone 'virtue signaling' will cost thousands of jobs
Eric Schmitt calls on Biden to reverse decision to cancel pipeline project on 'FOX News @ Night'
Lindell equates getting coronavirus vaccine to receiving ‘mark of the beast’ pledging allegiance to the devil
New York's top prosecutor rejected a proposal by Governor Andrew Cuomo for her to pick a lawyer to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against him, after Cuomo's office backtracked on Sunday on a plan to choose its own investigator. State Attorney General Letitia James said it was essential that Cuomo instead formally refer the matter to her office for investigation, which would give her subpoena power and ensure an impartial probe. Cuomo has been accused of sexual harassment by two former aides, which he has denied. On Saturday, his administration said it had selected a former federal judge, Barbara Jones, to lead an investigation into the claims. But that failed to satisfy leading Democratic figures, including U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who tweeted that "There must be an independent investigation - not one led by an individual selected by the Governor." By Sunday, Cuomo’s office had asked the state's AG and Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals to pick the investigator, saying it wanted to avoid "even the perception of a lack of independence or inference of politics." But James responded by saying that the governor needs to make an official referral to her office under the state's executive law. Only a referral could enable "an investigation with real teeth," a spokesman for James said. The latest accusation against the governor came on Saturday when a former aide told the New York Times that Cuomo had asked her questions about her sex life, including whether she had ever had sex with older men. That claim came just days after another former aide alleged the governor made several "inappropriate gestures" toward her. Cuomo, one of the nation's most well-known Democratic politicians whose popularity soared during the early months of the pandemic, has faced a string of controversies in recent weeks, including how his administration handled high numbers of COVID-19 deaths in the state's nursing homes.
A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel voted unanimously on Sunday to recommend Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 shot for widespread use, a final clearance for the vaccine a day after it was authorized by U.S. regulators. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 12-0 to recommend the vaccine from J&J as appropriate for Americans 18 and older. State and local public health authorities will use Food and Drug Administration and CDC guidance as they administer the first 4 million doses.
‘I may even decide to beat them for a third time,’ president says, perpetuating his lie about a ‘stolen election’
The filibuster means that 60 votes are needed to pass most legislation in the Senate.
Drew Angerer/GettyWhen she was running for office, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) constantly antagonized tech giants like Facebook for allegedly censoring and silencing pro-Trump Republicans, and vowed to fight what she called the “Silicon Valley Cartel” after being elected to Congress.During her first two months on Capitol Hill, Greene has loudly ratcheted up the anti-tech rhetoric. But shortly after her swearing-in, she quietly moved to offload significant stock holdings in the very same companies she so vehemently denounced—netting a healthy sum in the process.According to her latest financial disclosure form, released on Feb. 19, Greene and her husband sold anywhere from $49,000 to $210,000 worth of shares in Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon on Jan. 20.It’s unclear exactly how much Greene and her husband, Perry, made from each individual company stock, since congressional forms only list broad value ranges, but it may have been as much as $65,000 each for the four tech stocks. Some shares were owned jointly between the couple and others were owned solely by her husband.Greene’s only other public financial disclosure form, filed in May 2020 when she was a candidate, lists joint or spousal ownership of up to $65,000 in Apple stock, $30,000 in Facebook stock, $30,000 in Amazon stock, and $15,000 in Google stock. The couple sold these holdings in January at a profit—the official form lists capital gains above $200—but the precise figure is unknown.The Sickening History of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s HometownIn light of the growing push from good-government advocates for lawmakers to sell off their holdings of individual stocks to avoid conflicts of interest, Greene’s sell-off could be perhaps welcomed. But her financial disclosure report shows she remains invested in a number of other companies, from Fortune 500 giants like Goldman Sachs and Lockheed Martin to the sports gambling platform DraftKings and activewear brand Lululemon.There’s also the plain irony that Greene was personally invested in, and later profited off, tech companies that she had excoriated for months as totalitarian tools of evil and social control. A spokesperson for Greene did not respond to requests for comment about her stock sale and why she invested in the companies to begin with.Like many hardcore Trump Republicans, Greene has oriented her politics around “cancel culture” and Big Tech’s alleged censorship of those promoting pro-Trump views. On her social media platforms, where she has hundreds of thousands of followers, Greene posts fresh, steaming outrage about them on a near-daily basis.Facebook, shares of which Greene and her husband sold for up to $65,000 net gain on Jan. 20, have been a constant target for her as a candidate and as a member of Congress. Last September, the platform removed a post from Greene in which she posed with a gun next to images of the progressive “Squad,” on the grounds it incited violence. The GOP candidate claimed she was being canceled and now wears a face mask in Congress with the message “CENSORED.”At various points in 2020, Greene called Facebook racist for promoting a message to support Black-owned businesses during the holiday season and slammed it as anti-semitic for censoring the far-right Islamophobic provocateur Laura Loomer. She also accused Facebook of allowing “ANTIFA” to carry out terrorist attacks and charged that the social media platform had “canceled our kids.”In October, when a Facebook spokesperson tweeted they would not link to a New York Post story on Hunter Biden, the Georgia Republican tweeted in outrage that “the Silicon Valley Cartel has taken the First Amendment and ripped it to shreds.”“When I get to Congress,” declared Greene, “Big Tech will be held accountable!”Ironically, in June 2020, the Facebook investor publicly called on her many thousands of followers to use a competitor instead. “For those of yall tired of being censored by Facebook,” she wrote, “I encourage you to open a Parler account today!”Greene has been less critical of the other tech companies she once owned, but her broadsides against the “Silicon Valley Cartel” leave little room for nuance, especially given Google, Amazon, and Apple’s dominance of the sector.Marjorie Taylor Greene Hangs Anti-Trans Sign Outside Office of Congresswoman With Trans DaughterGreene’s tech stock sell-offs could be interpreted as a sign she wished to sever any financial links to companies she had so stridently opposed. A Greene spokesperson did not respond to questions about why she and her husband sold the shares when they did.Barely two weeks after her stock sale, though, Greene was calling on like-minded conservatives to harness the free market system to develop alternatives to the tech companies she’d previously been financing.“Conservatives must join together to invest, develop, and compete in Big Tech in order to protect our conservative values and speech from the never ending cries of the thought police. This would give people the ability to choose the online “community” they invest themselves in,” tweeted Greene on Feb. 7.“The Silicon Valley cartel controlling social media, free speech, and even targeting to take down rising competition, like Parler, must be stopped. The way to stop it is in the free market, while we still can…”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. 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The Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans is asking Catholics to avoid the recently-approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, which it says is “morally compromised” by its “extensive use of abortion-derived cell lines.” In a statement on Friday, the archdiocese noted that while deciding whether to receive the vaccine is an individual choice, that “the latest vaccine from Janssen/Johnson & Johnson is morally compromised as it uses the abortion-derived cell line in development and production of the vaccine as well as the testing.” While a number of COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers have used cells originally derived from an aborted fetus in the 1970s, the archdiocese argues that Johnson & Johnson “extensive use” is worse than that of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, which used the cells lines only to test their vaccines, according to Religion News Service. This makes the “connection to abortion … extremely remote,” in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the statement argues, recommending that Catholics choose one of those instead, if provided a choice. While the archdiocese claims the decision is in line with guidance from the Vatican, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Catholic Bioethics Center, none of the three have issued statements denouncing the new vaccine. In December, the Vatican issued general guidelines regarding vaccines in which the Holy See said it was “morally acceptable” for Catholics to receive shots that used the HEK293 cells for research. While the HEK293 cells are reportedly originated from an aborted fetus from the 1970s, ethicists have said that the cells and similar cell lines are clones and not the original fetal tissue. The Vatican has made the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine available for all Vatican City residents. Pope Francis reportedly received the shot in January. The Archdiocese of New Orleans’ statement comes after leaders of the USCCB and leaders from other religious organizations sent a letter to the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last spring regarding ethical concerns over the COVID-19 vaccines. “We are aware that, among the dozens of vaccines currently in development, some are being produced using old cell lines that were created from the cells of aborted babies,” the letter read. “For example, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a substantial contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is working on a vaccine that is being produced using one of these ethically problematic cell lines.” However, a USCCB memo written by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, who chairs the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, who chairs the organization’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, argued that the vaccines are moral.
Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization released new guidelines on Monday that advise against vaccinating people who are 65 years and older with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, citing lack of information about efficacy in that age group. The vaccine was authorized for people who are 18 and older by drug regulator Health Canada on Friday. Health Canada's decision noted that available clinical trial data was too limited to reliably estimate how well the vaccine worked in people 65 and older.
Alex Smith is reportedly set to hit the free agent market this offseason and keep his career going over two years after suffering an injury that some thought was career-ending.
Some people might prefer Johnson & Johnson's shot because it was tested on variants, has milder side effects, and is easier to get.
Biden's White House has essentially leaned on the importance of the diplomatic relationship with Saudi Arabia in defense of its actions.
The baby was born nearly sixth months after Hilaria Baldwin gave birth to her son Eduardo "Edu" Pao Lucas.
Royal Caribbean's new ship, Odyssey of the Seas is set to debut with departures from Israel with all passengers and crew over 16 vaccinated.
The police officer, Martinus Mitchum, was fatally shot while trying to break up an altercation between a man and a school employee over face masks.
CNNChris Cuomo opened his primetime CNN show Monday night by acknowledging the growing sexual harassment scandal surrounding his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and telling viewers why he “obviously” would not be covering it. “Before we start tonight, let me say something that I’m sure is very obvious to you who watch my show,” the host began. “And thank you for that. You’re straight with me, I’ll be straight with you.”“Obviously, I’m aware of what’s going on with my brother,” Cuomo continued. “And obviously I cannot cover it, because he is my brother. Now, of course CNN has to cover it. They have covered it extensively and they will continue to do so.”>> @ChrisCuomo at the top of @CuomoPrimeTime tonight: "Obviously I am aware of what is going on with my brother. And obviously I cannot cover it because he is my brother. Now, of course CNN has to cover it. They have covered it extensively and they will continue to do so." pic.twitter.com/G49mZYTG4D— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 2, 2021 “I have always cared very deeply about these issues and profoundly so,” Cuomo added, declining to elaborate or name which “issues” he was talking about. “There’s a lot of news going on that matters also, so let’s get after that.”The host was speaking at the end of a day in which a third woman accused the New York governor of inappropriate sexual behavior. But as New York Times reporter Annie Karni posted on Twitter in response, while it may make sense for Cuomo to recuse himself from covering his brother, “What never made sense to me was Chris Cuomo covering him when things were going well for Andrew Cuomo.”Especially during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Cuomo was a frequent guest on his brother’s show, where they would joke around together about calling their mom and memorably performed a playful comedy sketch with a giant test swab at the same time the governor’s office was underreporting nursing home deaths. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
In a survey done last fall, pregnant women and mothers in the US and Russia were more hesitant to get vaccinated compared to those in other countries.
Miami Beach, Florida has implemented stricter safety protocols for the spring break season. This means no more alcohol consumption on the beach.
The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 federal relief package would mean $16 billion in aid to Florida. $10 billion to the state and $6 billion to cities and counties. The governor says it’s unfair.
"It appears Texas was just a layover stop for him between Cancun and Orlando to drop a pack of water into someone's trunk," Ocasio-Cortez said.
Democratic efforts to salvage the wage increase with a new tax plan collapsed over the weekend as Senate Democrats gear up to pass the stimulus bill.