PoliticsFort Worth Star-TelegramWhat’s next for $1,400 checks? Biden weighs lower income threshold, Senate vote looms
After the U.S. House of Representatives approved President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus deal and sent it to the Senate, White House officials indicated Biden is open to lowering the income threshold for direct payments. The legislation passed by the House last week includes $1,400 direct payments for individuals making up to $75,000 a year and married couples earning up to $150,000 a year. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Fox News Sunday that Biden is willing to lower the maximum income for stimulus check eligibility to “ensure they hit the Americans who need that help the most.”
U.S.National ReviewGOP Senators Grill FBI Director over Use of Geolocation Data to Track Capitol Rioters
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.”
U.S.NextSharkNBC Asian America Piece Has Readers Split Over 'Hate Crime' Statement
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.
PoliticsFort Worth Star-TelegramWhy stop at $1,400? These Democratic senators want Biden to back recurring stimulus checks
A group of Democratic senators is urging President Joe Biden to support recurring direct payments to lower-income Americans, arguing that regular, additional cash assistance is necessary until the economy fully recovers from the pandemic-induced downturn. The proposal — which likely would face an uphill climb to become law even if gained wide support within the Democratic Party — would build on the means-tested, one-time $1,400 stimulus check included in Biden's coronavirus relief bill, which passed the House last week and is now under consideration in the Senate. The senators, who also requested Biden support automatic unemployment insurance extensions, said they would like the president to include the ideas in a future economic recovery bill.
PoliticsArchitectural DigestHouse Call: Cue the Waterworks and Welcome to March
Zoë's newsletter comes to a web page near you, and the theme of the day is damp Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
U.S.TheGrioWoman arrested after being linked to crime via Cheetos residue on teeth
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.
PoliticsThe WeekArizona GOP lawyer tells Supreme Court the party needs certain voting restrictions to compete with Democrats
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.
WorldAssociated PressChinese vaccines sweep much of the world, despite concerns
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.
U.S.The IndependentMitt Romney knocked unconscious and needed stitches after weekend fall
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...”
WorldBusiness InsiderBiden refused to sanction MBS over Khashoggi's murder because he doesn't want his relationship with Saudi Arabia to get worse, officials say
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.
TechnologyAssociated PressAI panel urges US to boost tech skills amid China's rise
An artificial intelligence commission led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is urging the U.S. to boost its AI skills to counter China, including by pursuing "AI-enabled" weapons – something that Google itself has shied away from on ethical grounds. Schmidt and current executives from Google, Microsoft, Oracle and Amazon are among the 15 members of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, which released its final report to Congress on Monday. “To win in AI we need more money, more talent, stronger leadership,” Schmidt said Monday.
U.S.The Daily BeastFeds Arrest White Supremacist Livestreamer in Dawn Raid, Rattling Supporters
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.
PoliticsBusiness Insider10 hours in Cancún hurt Ted Cruz's job approval more than when he tried to flip the presidential election
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.
PoliticsThe IndependentBiden calls Mexican president an ‘equal’ partner amid surge in border crossings
And while Mr Biden has kept Mr Trump's policy in place to send new migrants back to Mexico due to concerns about Covid spread, the new president has already begun rolling back other Trump-era policies that hardened the border against refugees and other migrants seeking opportunities or safe haven in the US. The Biden administration has ended Mr Trump's so-called Remain in Mexico programme that forced more than 70,000 asylum-seekers to stay south of the border while their cases wound their way through immigration courts. Thousands of those enrollees have now crossed into the US under the Biden administration's supervision.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘Morally compromised.’ Why one archdiocese urges Catholics to avoid newest COVID vaccine
The Archdiocese of New Orleans has advised Catholics against receiving the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, calling the one-dose shot “morally compromised. In a statement Friday, the religious organization said the new vaccine should be avoided due to its link to an “abortion-derived cell line” used in the vaccine's development and production phases. But the available vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are “morally acceptable,” the archdiocese wrote, because only some lab testing utilized stem cells from aborted fetuses, making their connection to abortion “extremely remote.
PoliticsINSIDERCrossFit condemns Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for 'loathsome and dangerous lies'
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.
U.S.USA TODAY'What any good human would do': Louisiana man helped save infant abandoned along highway
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.
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Kremlin critic Navalny sent to penal colony
Russian Kremlin critic - Alexei Navalny - has been sent to a penal colony outside Moscow to serve his prison sentence. Navalny was arrested last month on his return from Germany, where he had been recovering from a near-fatal poisoning in Siberia. Several European authorities have said that Navalny was targeted with a novichok nerve agent developed in Russia.
PoliticsUSA TODAY OpinionFor Andrew Cuomo, there can be no sexual harassment double standard. He should resign.
There is no place for sexual harassment or abuse of power in any American workplace — be it in business or politics. No one, no matter where they work or what they do, should be subject to harassment or hostility from a co-worker, and especially not from someone in a position of power. No leader in a position of power can maintain their legitimacy under the kind of suspicion and allegations that have been leveled against Gov. Cuomo.
PoliticsThe IndependentMerrick Garland could be confirmed as Biden’s attorney general this week
Merrick Garland could be confirmed as the next US attorney general as early as this week, after the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced his nomination for consideration before the full chamber by a bipartisan 15-7 vote. Mr Garland has breezed through his nomination process with the Senate Democratic majority controlling committee gavels. The longtime DC Circuit Court judge's ascent to the top spot in Justice Department leadership has been welcomed by Democrats and even some Republicans as a welcome change from the tumult of the Donald Trump years.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘RIP Texas’ trends after Gov. Abbott lifts COVID-19 mask mandate, reopens state 100%
The announcement comes at a critical juncture in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to medical officials. Only about 6.5% of Texas residents have received the COVID-19 vaccine. Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley immediately lifted the mask mandate for county businesses and their patrons.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThe Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could further gut the Voting Rights Act and its protections for minority voters
The US Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in key voting rights cases out of Arizona that will test the limits of a provision of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits discrimination against minorities in voting. In the two lawsuits, Brnovich vs. Democratic National Committee and Arizona Republican Party vs. DNC, which were consolidated for Tuesday's arguments, the court will determine whether two Arizona voting restrictions violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
U.S.Tribune PublishingWith unusual speed, State Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal of ex-Minneapolis officer Noor's third degree murder conviction, which has implications on Chauvin trial
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.
PoliticsThe IndependentFact-checking the wildest claims from Trump’s CPAC speech
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.
WorldUSA TODAYRoyal Caribbean will offer 'fully vaccinated' cruise with sailings starting in Israel
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.”