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.”
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.
An SUV packed with 25 people pulled in front of an oncoming tractor-trailer on a two-lane highway cutting through farmland near the Mexican border early Tuesday, killing 13 and leaving bodies strewn across the roadway. When police arrived some of the passengers were trying to crawl out of the crumpled 1997 Ford Expedition, the front end of the rig still pushing into its left side and two empty trailers jackknifed behind it. Twelve people were found dead when first responders reached the highway, which winds through fields in the agricultural southeastern corner of California about 125 miles (201 kilometers) east of San Diego.
The United States is expected to impose sanctions to punish Russia for the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny as early as Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter said. President Joe Biden's decision to impose sanctions for Navalny's poisoning reflects a harder stance than taken by his predecessor, Donald Trump, who let the incident last August pass without punitive U.S. action. The sources said on Monday on condition of anonymity that the United States was expected to act under two executive orders: 13661, which was issued after Russia's invasion of Crimea but provides broad authority to target Russian officials, and 13382, issued in 2005 to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
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.
An Oklahoma woman was literally caught red-handed on first-degree burglary complaint charges thanks to Cheetos snack dust. Sharon Carr was arrested on Feb. 26 after police reported an attempted home burglary. While she did not take anything, officers claim she left behind a Cheetos bag.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Tuesday that all businesses in the state can fully reopen. Abbott also ended the statewide mask mandate.
The plane laden with vaccines had just rolled to a stop at Santiago's airport in late January, and Chile's president, Sebastián Piñera, was beaming. The source of that hope: China – a country that Chile and dozens of other nations are depending on to help rescue them from the COVID-19 pandemic. China's vaccine diplomacy campaign has been a surprising success: It has pledged roughly half a billion doses of its vaccine to more than 45 countries, according to a country-by-country tally by The Associated Press.
Senate GOP Whip John Thune (R., S.D.) said Tuesday that Senator Lisa Murkowski's (R., Alaska) critical vote for Neera Tanden's confirmation to become the director of the Office of Management and Budget is “fluid.” “She obviously wants to get their attention on things that are important to her state,” Thune said, according to Politico, referring to Biden administration officials. “It's been fluid,” Thune added.
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.
Utah senator Mitt Romney says he “took a fall” while visiting his grandkids in Boston over the weekend, knocking him unconscious and sending him to the hospital. Sen @MittRomney has a black eye and stitches, says he took a fall while visiting his son in Boston, “I took a fall, knocked me unconscious but I'm doing better.” Joked: “I went to CPAC, that was a problem...”
Zoë's newsletter comes to a web page near you, and the theme of the day is damp Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments by Arizona Republicans in defense of two voting restrictions they are looking to keep intact. At one point, Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked Michael Carvin, a lawyer representing the Arizona GOP, what the party's interest in maintaining the policy of discarding ballots cast at the wrong precinct was. Carvin answered, without hesitation, that removing the rule would prevent Republicans from competing in the state.
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.
This week, President Joe Biden's senior advisor, Cedric Richmond, confirmed that the White House plans “to start acting now” on reparations for African-American citizens. Richmond made the stunning admission to journalist Mike Allen during Sunday evening's broadcast of Axios on HBO. In the interview, the former Louisiana lawmaker explained to Allen that Biden remains consistent in his support of H.R. 40, the House of Representatives bill that received a Congressional hearing last month, that would look into the issue of reparations.
As state electors, Congress, over 60 unsuccessful lawsuits, Trump administration officials like former attorney William Barr, and even many (but certainly not all) state-level Republican officials have confirmed, Joe Biden won the election fair and square. The ex-president also blamed a litany of factors for his loss, from dead voters being counted to new mail-in ballot expansions during the pandemic. The Democrats used the China virus as an excuse to change all of the election rules, without the approval of their state legislators, making it therefore illegal.
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.
The state Supreme Court agreed Monday with unusual speed to hear former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor's appeal of his third-degree murder conviction. Noor's lawyer Thomas Plunkett filed a petition last Thursday, asking the court to hear the case. It is extremely rare for the court to grant review so quickly but the charge Noor appealed has implications in the case against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer set to go on trial in Hennepin County District Court on Monday in the death of George Floyd.
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.
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.
A top US general says that the evacuation of US troops at a military base in Iraq before an Iranian ballistic missile attack last year was carefully planned so that Iran would not know that roughly half the troops on base had moved out, but at least one expert says the story is a bit questionable. On Jan. 8, 2020, just days after then-President Donald Trump ordered the airstrike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian military fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq hosting US and coalition troops, specifically Al Asad and Irbil.
Luke Dufrene said he saw something disturbing as he was driving to work Thursday evening. The 23-year-old Lockport, Louisiana, man said he was on his commute when he saw the driver of a vehicle "dropping a baby off" on the median of a highway. "I looked back and he took off leaving the child there, so I flipped a U-turn in the grass to get to the baby,” Dufrene said.
Lidia Salazar, an Instagrammer and TikToker focused on interior design, told Insider that her home is filled with Ikea baskets. There are baskets in the living room, entryway, kitchen, and throughout her entire house. So it makes sense that nearly every time she visits the store, she adds to her collection.
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.
Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Odyssey of the Seas, is set to debut in May with departures from Israel with all passengers and crew over age 16 vaccinated. "In conjunction with Israel's health and tourism authorities, Royal Caribbean will be the first to offer fully vaccinated sailings, where both crew and guests above the age of 16 will be vaccinated against COVID-19," the cruise line said in a statement posted to its website. Israel has not yet opened vaccination appointments to residents 16 and under, according to the country's Ministry of Health.
“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.”