Border Patrol officer sneaks Mexican woman into US to be her nanny in Texas, feds say

A Border Patrol officer is accused of sneaking a Mexican woman into the U.S. to be her nanny, authorities say. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer Rhonda Lee Walker, 40, was charged with conspiring to transport an illegal alien and making false statements after undercover agents and surveillance video caught her bringing the woman across a Laredo border crossing, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. In June, an anonymous tipster told the federal agency that Walker employed a live-in caretaker and nanny who didn't have permission to work in the U.S., according to a criminal complaint.

Russia beefs up fines for protest violations after Navalny rallies

Russian President Vladimir Putin approved legislation on Wednesday beefing up fines for offences committed during street protests after thousands were detained at unsanctioned rallies in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The legislation increases fines for insubordination to law enforcement officers to up to 4,000 roubles ($54.30) from 1,000 roubles in addition to a maximum of 15 days in detention. The amended law also introduces fines of up to 20,000 roubles for protest organisers who violate funding regulations.

Biden is already backtracking on his promises to provide student debt relief

Biden absolutely has the legal authority to use executive power to cancel all federal student debt. Congress granted this authority decades ago as part of the Higher Education Act. It's even been put to the test: in response to the Covid pandemic, Donald Trump and his former education secretary, Betsy DeVos, used that authority three times to suspend payments and student loan interest.

State GOP leaders are eagerly carrying out Trump's political revenge tour

President Trump didn't have to punish his critics in Congress — his allies back in the states instantly and eagerly did the dirty work. Why it matters: Virtually every Republican who supported impeachment was censured back home, or threatened with a primary challenge. Republicans picked up 14 House seats, including a dozen they lost two years earlier.

Who is Heidi Cruz? The high-powered Goldman Sachs executive and wife to ‘disgraced’ Texas senator Ted Cruz

Heidi Cruz, the wife of Texas senator Ted Cruz, is reportedly on the hunt for the neighbour who leaked her text messages about their much criticised trip to Cancun during a snow-storm that left thousands without heat or electricity. “Ritz Carlton Cancun $309 plus tax,” she allegedly wrote in messages passed to The New York Times last week, that demonstrated the family was planning to violate government guidelines and the recommendations of her own husband. In 2000, when the pair met whilst working on George W Bush's presidential campaign before marrying the next year and moving into government positions, Heidi Nelson wasn't necessarily destined to be window dressing to someone else's ambitions.

• 
  Former Bush Strategist Responds To Ted Cruz Calling Critics 'A**holes': 'Buy A Mirror'

  HuffPost
• 
  Ted Cruz says wife Heidi is ‘pretty pissed’ about Cancun text message leak

  TheGrio

Man cuts out woman’s heart, cooks it and tries to serve it to uncle, Oklahoma cops say

Disturbing details have emerged following the gruesome deaths of three people in an Oklahoma neighborhood. On Feb. 9, police received a 911 call from the Chickasha home of Leon Pye, 67, the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) said in a news release. Police busted through the door and found Pye and his 4-year-old granddaughter Kaeos Yates dead, the OSBI said.

• 
  Okla. Man Now Accused of Killing Neighbor Along with Uncle, Niece, as Cops Reveal Gruesome Details

  People
• 
  Oklahoma Triple Murder Suspect Confesses to Cooking Victim’s Heart With Potatoes

  Complex

Angry Democrat Gerry Connolly tells Trump ally he ‘will not be lectured’ by someone who tried to overturn election

Virginia Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly blasted Ohio Republican Representative and staunch Trump ally Jim Jordan, telling him during a hearing on the postal service that he "will not be lectured" about partisanship by people who voted to overturn the election. The hearing before the House Oversight Committee included questioning of the president of the American Postal Workers Union Mark Dimondstein and the Postmaster-General, Trump appointee Louis DeJoy. Mr Jordan defended Mr DeJoy who he argued had been unfairly criticised by Democrats during the lead-up to the 2020 election, saying: "They accused you of things, they said you were restricting overtime - False.

When and where will millions of mosquitoes be released? Here are details for Florida Keys

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District announced this week a wide and vague planned range of deployment for the lab-designed mosquitoes — neighborhoods from mile marker 10 to 93. The trial is being conducted by British biotech company Oxitec. It's a method approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the state of Florida, and the mosquito control district's five-member board, to try to eradicate or significantly reduce the local population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Biden nominee Neera Tanden’s tweet about Joe Manchin’s daughter may come back to haunt her

Neera Tanden, Joe Biden's nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, previously criticised Democratic Senator Joe Manchin's daughter, a slight that might factor into whether or not she is confirmed for the position. Ms Tanden tweeted an image of an article about Mr Manchin's daughter, Heather Bresch, taking aim at a significant increase in her pay while she was CEO of Mylan. In the tweet, Ms Tanden pointed out that the company's board was justifying the pay raise by saying Ms Bresch had "contributed significantly to the company's growth in recent years".

• 
  Joe Biden's Nominees Of Color Are Facing Outsize Opposition

  HuffPost
• 
  White House: No 'Plan B' on Neera Tanden nomination

  Associated Press Videos

An ex-girlfriend tipped off the FBI about an alleged US Capitol rioter after he called her a 'moron'

Richard Michetti has been charged with entering restricted grounds at the US Capitol. The Pennsylvania man was turned in by his ex-girlfriend after he called her a 'moron'. A Pennsylvania man was outed by his ex-girlfriend after trying to stop Congress from recognizing President Joe Biden's election victory, according to court documents.

Letters to the Editor: This is what makes peace between the Israelis and Palestinians impossible

To the editor: Columnist Nicholas Goldberg would do well to heed the words of Aaron David Miller, a longtime American negotiatior between the Israelis and the Palestinians, that "we did not see the world the way it was." "The long, slow demise of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and why it's not coming back soon," Opinion, Feb. 21) The biggest impediments to peace are geography and Palestinian politics. There are two physically separated geographical entities that would make up a Palestinian state (the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria, known as the West Bank), with no land bridge between them.

No 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

Primark bets on last year's fashion for April reopening

Fast fashion chain Primark hopes to offload millions of pounds worth of last year's clothing stock when its shops reopen in England on 12 April. The High Street giant does not offer online sales and says it expects to have lost £1.1bn in sales due to the latest lockdown closures. Primark's £1.1bn sales drop contrasts with online only fashion retailers such as Asos and Boohoo, whose sales rose by around 40% in the last four months of 2020.

• 
  Lockdown costs Primark £1.1bn in lost sales

  Yahoo Finance UK
• 
  Primark owner warns of 1.6 billion pound sales hit from lockdowns

  Reuters

Parents of child who died of Covid share the warning signs of the virus in kids

“It presents very differently [in children] than it does in adults, so it's hard to know what to look for,” Priscilla Morse told CNN. Gigi succumbed to the virus on August 4 last year in Tennessee. The Morses say Gigi seemed fine in the hours before she died, except for a few unusual ailments.

Politics latest news: Government risks creating 'wild west of grade inflation,' warns Tory MP - watch Nicola Sturgeon live

The Government's new plans to replace exams with teacher assessment risks creating a "wild west of grading", a senior Tory has warned. Robert Halfon, the chairman of the education select committee, told Gavin Williamson the approach might be "the least worst option that the Government has come up with" but he was concerned that far from "having one's cake and eating it", ministers risked "baking a rock cake of grade inflation into the system". The MP for Harlow called for assurances that "we will not have a wild west of grading, that these grades will be meaningful to employers so as not to damage children's life chances" as well as how and when grade inflation would be reversed.

Christopher Cantwell, known as 'The Crying Nazi,' sentenced to 41 months in prison on extortion charges

Christopher Cantwell, known as "The Crying Nazi," was convicted on a felony charge. The Keene, New Hampshire, man was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Christopher Cantwell, who was dubbed the "The Crying Nazi" following the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally, was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Wednesday after being convicted on charges of extortion and threatening rape.

‘Zero respect’: Ted Cruz pictured scrolling through phone during harrowing opening testimony into Capitol riot

Texas senator Ted Cruz has been filmed scrolling through his phone during the harrowing opening testimony at the Senate hearing into the Capitol riots, less than a week after his controversial trip to Mexico. The US Capitol's three former top security officials have been testifying on Tuesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Rules committees about how Congress was breached during the riots on 6 January. Steven Sund, who was serving as the chief of the Capitol Police at the time of the insurrection, gave a harrowing account of the actions of that day in front of the committees on Tuesday.

• 
  Ted Cruz Scorned For Fiddling With His Cellphone During Capitol Riot Testimony

  HuffPost
• 
  Top Capitol Police officials did not receive FBI warning about plans for 'war'

  Yahoo News

Trump-appointed federal judge indefinitely blocks the Biden administration's 100-day deportation freeze

A federal judge blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a 100-day deportation freeze. The ruling does not mandate that deportations have to return to their previous rate. Democrats are hoping to pass a large-scale immigration overhaul in Congress this year.

• 
  Judge rules against Biden, bans enforcement of 100-day deportation pause

  Yahoo News Video
• 
  Judge bans enforcement of Biden's 100-day deportation pause

  Associated Press

Three-quarters of all voters, including 60% of Republicans, support Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan: poll

A Politico/Morning Consult poll found that 76% of all voters and 60% of Republicans support the bill. A majority of all voters, including Republicans, support the passage of President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package, a new Politico/Morning Consult poll shows. The Politico/Morning Consult poll found that 76% of all Americans strongly support or somewhat support the legislation, with just 17% saying that they somewhat oppose or strongly oppose the package.

• 
  Biden's COVID Package Is Overwhelmingly Popular. Republicans Hate It Anyway.

  HuffPost
• 
  Will Biden’s Stimulus Get Republican Votes?

  GOBankingRates

A Chinese couple paid $155,000 in fees to have 7 children in violation of the country's 2-child policy

A Chinese couple has paid $155,000 in fees in order to have seven children in violation of the law that limits couples to having two children, Mandy Zuo reported for the South China Morning Post. Zhang Rongrong, a 34-year-old businesswoman, and her 39-year-old husband have five boys and two girls between one and 14 years old, Zhang told the Post. In flouting China's two-child policy, the couple had to pay their local government "social support fees."

Tiger Woods was unaware of his ‘grave injuries’ in aftermath of collision, police say

Tiger Woods was unaware of how severe his injuries were in the immediate aftermath of the serious single-car accident in California which left him with “open fractures” to his legs, police have said. The Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, who was first on the scene following the brutal crash, has said that the golf star was "lucid and calm” upon discovery. "When I arrived on the scene, Mr Woods was seated in the driver's seat,” Mr Carlos Gonzalez said in a press conference.

• 
  Tiger Woods Awake And Recovering From Injuries Sustained In Car Crash [UPDATE]

  HuffPost
• 
  Deputy: 'Very fortunate that [Tiger] Woods was able to come out of this alive'

  Yahoo Sports

Teen Accused of Killing Disabled Sister as Parents Slept

Claire Elaina Miller, 14, has been charged with homicide after calling authorities on Feb. 22 to admit she stabbed her older sister, 19-year-old Helen Miller, while her parents were asleep, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's office. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Daily Beast, the Manheim Township Police Department arrived at the home just after 1 a.m. to find Miller, a ninth-grader at a local private school, standing in front of the house close to “what appeared to be blood on the snow near the driveway.”

Postmaster General Taunts Dems: You’re Stuck With Me for Good

Louis DeJoy had a defiant message on Wednesday for those craving to see him ousted as U.S. Postmaster General: “Get used to me. The comment came after Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) asked the embattled U.S. Postal Service chief how long he would remain as Postmaster General—“long time,” DeJoy spat back—during a Wednesday hearing in the House Oversight Committee. That exchange was indicative of the entire proceeding, which was frequently chippy, combative, and fueled by Democratic lawmakers' outrage over DeJoy's handling of the USPS at a time of worsening mail delays and difficult questions about the service's long-term viability.

• 
  USPS on 'death spiral' without reform -chief

  Reuters Videos
• 
  House Dems, GOP joust over DeJoy, postal reform

  Associated Press Videos

Marjorie Taylor Greene faces a 'bloodbath' of a reelection race in 2022 - if she isn't expelled from Congress first, district organizers say

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the new firebrand Republican in Congress, is likely to face threats from both parties when she runs for reelection next year, political leaders in her district say. Insider spoke with Republican and Democratic leaders in Georgia's 14th Congressional District after a rash of scandals put Greene in the national spotlight and resulted in the House of Representatives voting to remove her from committees earlier this month. Greene was highly scrutinized even before winning her seat in Congress in November, thanks to her connections to the QAnon conspiracy-theory movement and ardent support of false election-fraud claims.