PoliticsYahoo NewsIn DeSantis vs. Hogan, two competing visions of the GOP for 2024
The week before, he met with President Biden to discuss the forthcoming coronavirus relief package. Meanwhile, down in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis continued to battle his own agriculture secretary because she was refusing to follow his order to lower flags around the state for Rush Limbaugh, the far-right radio provocateur who died last week. DeSantis and Hogan are both Republicans.
HealthYahoo NewsWhy experts like Dr. Fauci think 'there's a really good chance' the worst of the U.S. pandemic is behind us
According to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, two-thirds of Americans are either somewhat or very worried about the “newer, potentially more contagious” COVID-19 variants that have triggered huge overseas outbreaks and are now spreading in the United States. To be clear, worrying less about variants doesn't mean abandoning precautions; nothing will suppress cases and shorten the U.S. pandemic like wearing a mask, avoiding indoor gatherings, staying 6 feet apart and getting vaccinated. Asked if the worst of the pandemic was behind the U.S., Fauci told Yahoo News Tuesday that “it might be.”
PoliticsThe WeekHusband of Hitler-quoting GOP congresswoman parked his militia-stickered truck outside Capitol Jan. 6
Illinois state Rep. Chris Miller (R), the husband of freshman U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), acknowledged Thursday that his pickup truck was parked in a restricted area outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, but he said the "Three Percenter" militia sticker on the back window doesn't mean anything. "Army friend gave me decal," Miller told The Daily Beast in an email late Thursday. The Three Percenters, founded in 2008, are a "radical militia group" implicated in leading the Jan. 6 siege along with the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and other far-right extremist groups, the FBI said in an affidavit filed in the case against alleged rioter Robert Gieswein.
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Oklahoma man released early from prison accused in 3 family deaths
An Oklahoma man who had been released early from prison in January as part of a mass commutation effort is now accused of three killings, including the death of a neighbor whose heart he cut out, authorities said.
PoliticsAxiosSchumer privately says he wants to freeze last-minute stimulus changes in order to pass bill
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is privately saying he can pass President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus package but wants to avoid any last-minute changes jeopardizing its trajectory, three sources familiar with the talks tell Axios. Why it matters: While the president hoped to enlist Republican support for the measure, Schumer has worked to ensure he has a solid 50 votes to muscle it through if necessary. What we're hearing: Schumer met with a group of moderate Democratic senators Thursday morning.
U.S.NextSharkAsian Man in Critical Condition After Being Stabbed in the Back With a Butcher Knife in NY Chinatown
An Asian man is in critical condition after getting stabbed by a butcher knife in New York's Chinatown on Thursday evening. The 36-year-old local resident was attacked around 6:15 p.m. near the federal courthouse, near the corner of Worth Street and Baxter street next to the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse, reports PIX11. Call came in at 6:20 for report of a stabbing at Baxter Street and Worth Street.
LifestyleArchitectural DigestNo Need to Call an Architect—These 9 Room Dividers Elegantly Get the Job Done
From ornate to subtle, these beautiful screens double as functional art Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
WorldThe TelegraphXi Jinping declares China has achieved 'human miracle' of eliminating extreme poverty
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday declared his country had achieved the "human miracle" of eliminating extreme poverty, though questions continue to surround the Communist Party's criteria for making the claim. China last year claimed it had achieved its long-trumpeted goal of lifting all of its people above a poverty line of $2.30 (£1.60) in daily income. The World Bank says China has lifted more than 800 million people out of extreme poverty since turning to market reforms in the 1970s, after decades of state planning and Maoist campaigns that had stifled the economy.
PoliticsThe State$1,400 stimulus checks set for House vote today. Here’s what to know
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan with $1,400 stimulus checks for most Americans on Friday before sending the legislation to the Senate for consideration. Democrats are hoping to pass the stimulus deal into law before Mar. 14, the day that $300 weekly unemployment benefits approved in December's coronavirus package expire. Around 11.4 million workers could lose their unemployment benefits between Mar. 14 and Apr. 11 unless Congress passes the bill before the mid-March deadline, a study by The Century Foundation found.
U.S.AxiosActing Capitol Police chief: Phone logs show Jan. 6 National Guard approval was delayed
Acting U.S. Capitol Police chief Yogananda Pittman testified on Thursday that cellphone records show former USCP chief Steven Sund requested National Guard support from the House sergeant-at-arms as early as 12:58pm on Jan. 6, but he did not receive approval until over an hour later. Why it matters: Sund and former House sergeant-at-arms Paul Irving clashed at a Senate hearing on Tuesday over a dispute in the timeline for when Capitol Police requested the National Guard during the Capitol insurrection. Irving insisted that he has no recollection of receiving the request until after 2pm.
U.S.NextSharkAsian Residents Believe They Were Targeted After Man Cuts Brakes of 18 Cars in Washington
Des Moines police in Washington state are searching for a man who was captured by several porch cameras sabotaging at least 18 cars by slashing their brakes. Jackie Tran, one of the victims, only realized what happened to her car when her brakes failed to respond after pulling out of her driveway, leaving her in a state of panic, according to KOMO News. In one of the porch camera footage, a man can be seen kneeling by a car and spending a minute to cut through its brake lines before moving away.
U.S.National ReviewDeSantis Defends COVID Record, Needling Critics: ‘The Lockdown States Got It Wrong’
Florida governor Ron DeSantis defended his state's response to the coronavirus pandemic in a Friday morning speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference. DeSantis was the first elected official to speak to the conference, which is being held in Orlando, Fla. this year.
U.S.NBC NewsFormer U.S. gymnastics coach dies by suicide after sex crime charges filed in Michigan
Police found the body of a former U.S. gymnastics coach who had ties to disgraced doctor Larry Nassar hours after he was criminally charged in Michigan on Thursday. State police troopers found the body of the man, John Geddert, who died by suicide, in a rest area off an interstate at 3:24 p.m. ET in Grand Ledge, Michigan, said Kelly Rossman-McKinney, a spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Geddert, who led the U.S. women's gymnastics team at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, was charged with 20 counts of human trafficking and forced labor resulting in injury, one count of racketeering, two counts of criminal sexual conduct and one count of lying to police, according to a state criminal complaint filed in Eaton County.
PoliticsThe WeekBernie Sanders unveils his Plan B for a $15 minimum wage after Senate parliamentarian setback
Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on Thursday effectively killed a Democratic push to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, ruling that the measure doesn't pass muster under the budget reconciliation rules Democrats are using to pass the package with a simple majority in the Senate. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), have already said they would vote against including the $15 minimum wage provision in the relief package, dealing it a near-fatal blow in the 50-50 Senate. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was among them, but he also had a Plan B.
U.S.Defense NewsU.S. Air Force top general isn’t ready to buy the E-7 Wedgetail just yet
The Air Force's top general wants to take a deliberative approach to replacing its aging E-3 airborne early warning and control planes and isn't ready to commit to the Boeing's E-7 Wedgetail, despite support from the service's top general in the Asia-Pacific. “I want to actually look at what options do we have,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown said during a roundtable with reporters for Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium on Feb. 25. One of those fans is Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of Pacific Air Forces, who told reporters on Feb. 24 that he is in favor of a near-term purchase of the Boeing 737-based Wedgetail to replace the aging E-3 Sentry, which is based on the older Boeing 707 and colloquially called the “AWACS.”
PoliticsUSA TODAYSen. John Cornyn, Gov. Greg Abbott — but not Ted Cruz — to meet with Joe Biden in Texas
Two out of Texas' top three Republican officials will meet with President Joe Biden during his Friday trip to Houston following the state's winter storm and power outages last week. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, plan to join Biden and first lady Jill Biden as they survey storm and power grid damage, visit an emergency operations center and food bank and stop by NRG Stadium, a mass vaccination site. The state's other senator, Ted Cruz, won't be joining them.
PoliticsThe WeekJournalist Tim O'Brien, who's seen Trump's taxes, thinks Trump's accountant will now flip in D.A. inquiry
Bloomberg's Tim O'Brien, one of the few journalists who has seen former President Donald Trump's tax returns, told MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Thursday night he will sleep better now that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance finally has eight years of Trump's financial documents, from 2011 to 2019. O'Brien went on to explain why he thinks it's likely Trump's chief accountant, Allen Weisselberg, will flip on Trump. "The thing to really focus in on here is that it's not just the tax records that Cy Vance has now," O'Brien said.
WorldReutersSingapore's first Chinese COVID-19 vaccines arrive ahead of approval
Singapore received its first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine made by China's Sinovac Biotech on Tuesday, its health ministry said, although the shot is still awaiting approval for use in the city-state. Sinovac has started submitting initial data but the Health Sciences Authority is currently awaiting all the necessary information to carry out a thorough assessment, the ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday. Singapore is the only wealthy country considering the use of Sinovac's vaccine, which has been found to have an efficacy rate ranging from about 50% to 90% in studies.
PoliticsThe GuardianIlhan Omar leads calls to fire Senate official who scuppered $15 wage rise
The progressive Democrat Ilhan Omar has called for the firing of the government official who effectively blocked the party's plans to raise the minimum wage. Democratic plans to include a gradual raise to $15 in Joe Biden's $1.9tn coronavirus stimulus bill were effectively ended on Thursday when the Senate parliamentarian ruled it should not be part of the package. The decision by Elizabeth MacDonough, who has held the non-partisan position since 2012, dashed hopes of including the raise in the bill – the first increase in over a decade.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastCruz Jokes About Cancun Trip, Dabbles in COVID Denial in Bizarre CPAC Rant
Days after Sen. Ted Cruz ditched Texas during a deadly winter storm for the sandy beaches of Mexico, the Republican made light of the scandal in a bizarre speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando. Last week, photos emerged of Cruz boarding a Feb. 17 flight to Mexico as his state literally froze and millions of Texans were left in the dark and without drinkable water. After getting caught, Cruz caught a return flight to the U.S. on Feb. 18 and insisted he was merely trying to “be a good dad” by accompanying his daughters on a trip to Mexico.
HealthThe StatePfizer COVID vaccine dramatically cuts need for ventilators in older adults, CDC says
New preliminary data adds real-world evidence that coronavirus vaccines can reduce severe COVID-19 cases on a national scale, according to a report released Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In about three months, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot lowered the need for mechanical ventilation among people 70 and older by 67%, compared to those younger than 50. The study was conducted in Israel, which has the highest per capita vaccination rate in the world.
PoliticsThe WeekNewly confirmed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is 'obsessed' with creating 'clean-energy jobs'
The Senate on Thursday confirmed former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, 64-35, to lead the Energy Department, with 14 Republicans joining all 50 members of the Democratic caucus to give President Biden his 10th Cabinet-level appointee (plus one deputy secretary). After her confirmation, Granholm tweeted that she's "obsessed with creating good-paying clean energy jobs in all corners of America in service of addressing our climate crisis" and "impatient for results." Granholm repeated her priorities on MSNBC Thursday night.
LifestyleMiami HeraldThis spot in the Florida Keys was just named one of the best coastal cities in America
Everybody loves the Florida Keys. Especially Key West, which international travel website Big 7 Travel placed in one of the top 10 spots on its annual 50 Best Coastal Towns in the United States report. “Many consider Key West to be the best beach area in the States,” Big 7 Travel writes.
PoliticsThe GuardianWhat the Neera Tanden affair reveals about the Washington DC swamp
When sifting through the wreckage to try to make sense of this epoch, future anthropologists should dust off whatever records will be preserved about Neera Tanden's star-crossed nomination to an obscure-but-powerful White House office. As a political operative and head of a corporate-funded thinktank, she does not have especially relevant experience for the appointment – in fact, whether in gubernatorial administrations, mayoral offices or Capitol Hill budget committees, there are far more qualified experts for this gig. Critics allege that Tanden busted a union of journalists.
WorldBusiness InsiderBiden orders airstrikes against infrastructure used by 'Iranian-backed militant groups' in Syria
The US launched airstrikes Thursday night against "Iranian-backed militant groups" in Syria. The Defense Department said the strikes were carried out at the direction of President Joe Biden. The strikes came after rocket attacks targeting US forces in Iraq.
“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.”