PoliticsAxiosJoe Manchin pledges to block Biden's infrastructure bill if Republicans aren't included
The big picture: Manchin said he'll push for tax hikes to pay for Biden's upcoming infrastructure and climate proposal, and will use his Energy Committee chairmanship to force the GOP to confront climate reality. Why it matters: My conversation yielded the most extensive preview yet of how Manchin — a Democrat from a Trump state, in a 50-50 Senate, who relishes standing up to a Democratic White House — will use his singular power. Manchin, 73, said Biden expects, and understands, the pushback: "He's the first president we've had to really, really understand the workings of the Senate since LBJ."
U.S.NBC NewsOhio college student dies after alleged hazing incident
An Ohio college student who was in critical condition after an alleged fraternity hazing incident has died, his family's attorney said Sunday. "At this time we are gathering all of the facts leading to his untimely death and we have no interest in commenting on speculation." Foltz, 20, a sophomore at Bowling Green State University and a new member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, was allegedly hazed Thursday during an initiation event when he was made to drink alcohol, school officials said.
HealthAssociated PressFully vaccinated people can gather without masks, CDC says
Fully vaccinated Americans can gather with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing, according to long-awaited guidance from federal health officials. The recommendations also say that vaccinated people can come together in the same way with people considered at low-risk for severe disease, such as in the case of vaccinated grandparents visiting healthy children and grandchildren. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the guidance Monday.
WorldThe TelegraphRussian colonel asks women to send in their ex-boyfriend's details so they can be 'sorted out'
A Russian colonel has asked women to send in their ex-boyfriends' details so they can be 'sorted out' in a video posted to mark International Women's Day. Yuri Khromov, a colonel of a local military commissariat in north-western Russia, posted a video on the official Instagram account of the Leningrad region, in which he urged Russian women to share social-media usernames of their exes in the comments below the post, so their former men could be sent to the army. Using March 8 as a hook for the recruitment drive, he packaged his statement as 'a gift for women,' implying that their ex-lovers would 'be taken care of'.
U.S.The ConversationEconomists: Biden's $1,400 COVID-19 checks may be great politics, but it's questionable economics
The US$1,400 direct checks to people are the most expensive and perhaps most popular part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package racing its way through Congress right now. The House is set to vote on a final version of the package narrowly passed by the Senate on March 6 before it moves on to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature. Moderate Senate Democrats, who had voiced concerns about how many people would receive direct payments in the original proposal endorsed by the House, managed to make them more targeted at lower-income households, which means an estimated 17 million fewer people will get a check.
HealthAxiosCDC: Fully vaccinated people can gather indoors without masks
People who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can take fewer precautions in certain situations, including socializing indoors without masks when in the company of low-risk or other vaccinated individuals, according to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Monday. Why it matters: The report guidance early evidence that suggests vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infection, and are potentially less likely to transmit the virus to other people. At the time of its publication, the CDC said the guidance would apply to about 10% of Americans.
PoliticsThe WeekSen. Joe Manchin, a key Democratic swing vote, is open to crafting a 'more painful' filibuster
The House is expected to clear President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill on Tuesday, after the Senate narrowly passed it Saturday morning, following a lengthy negotiation with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) over unemployment benefits. The narrow Democratic majority is now discussing how to pass other legislative priorities, and Manchin said Sunday he's open to reforming the filibuster. "The filibuster should be painful, it really should be painful, and we've made it more comfortable over the years," Manchin said on Fox News Sunday.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramSWAT officers hit with bricks while breaking up 800-person party, Colorado cops say
A raucous — and largely maskless — 800-person party in Colorado left SWAT officers injured and several vehicles damaged overnight Saturday, police say. The party had been going for hours in Boulder's University Hill neighborhood near the University of Colorado Boulder when police responded to the scene, the Daily Camera reported. Three SWAT officers were pelted with bricks and rocks and an armored rescue vehicle and fire truck sustained heavy damage, police said, according to KUSA.
U.S.Associated PressClaimed value of sleepy NY estate could come to haunt Trump
It's sleepy by Donald Trump's standards, but the former president's century-old estate in New York's Westchester County could end up being one of his bigger legal nightmares. Seven Springs, a 213-acre swath of nature surrounding a Georgian-style mansion, is a subject of two state investigations: a criminal probe by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and a civil inquiry by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both investigations focus on whether Trump manipulated the property's value to reap greater tax benefits from an environmental conservation arrangement he made at the end of 2015, while running for president.
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Texas Democrat on migrant surge at border: Biden owns this now
Rep. Henry Cuellar, who represents a district on the U.S.-Mexico border, says he has a lot of tough questions for the Biden administration on immigration policy.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverHotel kicks out guests, including NHL team, after filing bankruptcy in California
An iconic California hotel closed abruptly Friday after filing bankruptcy, evicting dozens of guests including a visiting National Hockey League team. The 805-room Fairmont Hotel in San Jose relocated fewer than 50 guests to other local hotels and paid for their lodging, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. Relocated guests included the Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey team, in town for a two-game stand against the San Jose Sharks, SFGate reported.
PoliticsAxiosRepublican Sen. Roy Blunt will not seek re-election in 2022
Roy Blunt (R-Mo. widely seen as a member of the Republican establishment in Congress, will not run for re-election in 2022, he announced on Twitter Monday. Why it matters: The 71-year-old senator is the No.
U.S.The StatePeople threaten to call ICE on Texas Mexican restaurant that kept mask rule, it says
A Mexican restaurant in Houston says it's been getting some “horrific” threats after announcing it was keeping its mask requirement as Texas reopens. Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order lifting the statewide mask mandate and allowing businesses and facilities to operate at 100% capacity. After Picos announced it would still require masks for diners, co-owner Monica Richards said she started receiving some disturbing messages and calls from people threatening to report the Picos staff to Immigration and Customs and Enforcement, The Houston Chronicle reported.
PoliticsReutersU.S. could send $1,400 COVID bill payments within days; child tax credit a bigger challenge
With plenty of practice sending coronavirus relief payments to Americans, the federal government should be able to launch the delivery of $1,400 checks almost immediately once Congress finalizes the new aid bill and President Joe Biden signs it, tax experts say. Some Americans might see direct payments as soon as this week if the bill passes the House of Representatives on Tuesday as expected, compared with several weeks' lag in April 2020. The Treasury Department's Internal Revenue Service will have new challenges on its hands, though, thanks to the $1.9 trillion relief bill.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden news - Cuomo faces fresh allegations as Obama praises president on Covid-19 relief bill
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is reportedly facing fresh allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. According to reports from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, two more women have come forward to accuse Mr Cuomo of misconduct. Karen Hinton, a former press aide, has said Mr Cuomo invited her to his hotel room after a work event in Los Angeles in 2000.
CelebrityThe TelegraphDuchess of Sussex reveals she contemplated suicide when pregnant due to 'stress' and 'isolation'
The Duchess of Sussex has revealed she had suicidal thoughts and struggled with her mental health after joining the Royal family. The Duchess, 39, said in an extraordinarily candid interview that the “stress and isolation” drove her to contemplate taking her own life while pregnant with son Archie. She claimed she told a senior Palace official that she wanted to get treatment for her depression, but was denied because it would “look bad”.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderSen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, says he will fight for Republicans to get a say in Biden's infrastructure bill and block it if they don't
Sen. Joe Manchin told Axios that he wanted bipartisan backing for Biden's infrastructure bill. Manchin, a Democrat, said he'd oppose a bill without tax hikes and GOP support being sought. Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat, said in an interview with Axios broadcast Sunday that he'd block President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill if it didn't attract Republican support.
U.S.USA TODAYMan dies when gunfire erupts near 'George Floyd Square' in Minneapolis as Chauvin trial looms
A manhunt was underway Sunday in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting of a man near "George Floyd Square," an intersection that serves as a memorial to the man whose death at the hands of police in May set off Black Lives Matter protests across the nation. Police provided few details of the shooting, which took place less than 48 hours before jury selection is set to begin in the murder trial of the police officer charged in Floyd's death. Police spokesman John Elder said police were alerted to Saturday's shooting at about 5:45 p.m. local time and were told the victim or victims had been brought to the "autonomous zone" at the edge of the intersection.
U.S.Business InsiderThousands of people who visited a COVID-19 vaccination site in California received the wrong dose, report says. Officials say nobody needs a booster shot.
An estimated 4,300 people received less of the Pfizer vaccine than they should have, KTVU reported March 4. Too little of the vaccine was administered due to a problem with syringes on March 1, the media outlet said. Thousands of people who visited a mass-vaccination site in Oakland, California, on March 1 received the wrong dosage of the Pfizer vaccine, KTVU reported.
CelebrityTheGrioCNN’s Chris Cuomo called out after saying he’s ‘Black on the inside’
During the handoff from his show, Cuomo, singing the 'Good Times' theme, made the joke causing cringes. The Cuomo brothers are having a bad week. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been besieged by sexual misconduct accusations from at least two former female staffers plus three others, not to mention a persisting inquiry into his handling of moving elderly people between nursing homes and hospitals at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
WorldBusiness InsiderHow Canadian soldiers set 2 records for longest sniper kill during the first major battle in Afghanistan
Nineteen years ago, a team of Canadian snipers set back-to-back world records for the longest sniper kill during one of the largest battles of the war in Afghanistan. The US response to the September 11 terrorist attacks caught Al Qaeda and its Taliban hosts by surprise. Instead pouring tens of thousands of troops into Afghanistan's harsh terrain, as the Soviets had done, the US military took the unconventional route.
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How some businesses plan to handle face mask mandate lift
Many people are still deciding if they'll continue to wear a mask after the mandate ends next week. Here's how some business owners say they'll operate.
CelebrityThe TelegraphForget hiding behind the sofa, the Royal family needed a bullet-proof vest as Harry and Meghan let rip
From Meghan's revelation that she was almost driven to suicide by being in the Royal family, to the astonishing claim that Harry was questioned about the potential colour of Archie's skin, it's fair to say this two-hour tell-all represented a worst-case scenario for what the couple kept referring to as The Firm. At first, it seemed as if Meghan casually letting slip that she and Harry were secretly “married” by the Archbishop of Canterbury three days before their actual wedding day in Windsor in May 2018 would be the biggest marmalade dropper of the morning. Contrary to reports, which first surfaced in the Daily Telegraph in November 2018, that Meghan had made Kate cry during a bridesmaids' dress fitting, the former actress insisted it was actually the other way round.
HealthBusiness InsiderFauci says the plateau of COVID-19 cases in the US is unacceptable and warns against an 'on and off' reopening strategy
The US recently has averaged about 60,000 to 70,000 new coronavirus cases reported each day. Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS on Sunday that this was "not an acceptable level." The US COVID-19 case count is plateauing at "not an acceptable level," Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, warning against public-health measures being turned "on and off."
CelebrityBusiness InsiderElon Musk posted a rare family photo with Grimes and their baby, X Æ A-Xii, taken in the new city he hopes to create in Texas
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared a rare family photo on Twitter on Monday. Musk is seated with his girlfriend, Grimes, while holding their 10-month-old son, X Æ A-Xii. The photo is captioned "Starbase, Texas," the city Musk hopes to create around SpaceX's facilities.
“Taking humans to Mars would require an investment astronomically out of kilter with the possible benefits.”
“Can a Mars settlement be a freer society than we enjoy on Earth? Maybe.”
“What we learn...may spark the next revolution that will make life in 2071 beyond anything we can imagine right now.”
“Our presence on Mars could jeopardize one of our main reasons for being there — the search for life.”
“The future of geologic investigation of other worlds lies with highly improved versions of our Mars rovers.”