U.S.Miami HeraldThey were stopped for speeding in the Keys. Then police smelled something fishy
Two commercial fisherman from the mainland were jailed Thursday after police said they were caught in the Keys with a haul of illegal seafood that started with 100 undersized wrung lobster tails. Their catch also included 17 undersized stone crab claws, four undersized whole lobsters and one undersized mutton snapper, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Osvaldo Hernandez, 65, listed as a seafood business owner in Fort Lauderdale, and Vladimir Medina Martin, 43, of Miami, were each arrested on a felony charge of taking 100 or more undersized lobsters.
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.The 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.
U.S.TODAY9-year-old girl cries to virtual class that she's 'starving,' local food bank steps in
A 9-year-old girl living in the Jersey Shore area broke down in her virtual class and told her class she was “starving,” a local food bank said. Fulfill, a food bank based in New Jersey, told TODAY Food they got a call from the school district social worker who explained the girl had been having trouble concentrating and started to cry “uncontrollably.” "When asked what was wrong, she confessed in front of her entire class that she was starving,” Linda Kellner, the director of external affairs for Fulfill, said.
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.
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 NewsGirl, 11, finds parents dead in Missouri home. Both had Covid-19.
The 11-year-old daughter of a Missouri couple with coronavirus found her parents dead in their home, according to NBC affiliate KSDK. Chuck Duy, who said he spoke to a family member, told KSDK that the incident was a “terrible, tragic thing.” Since the start of the pandemic, Missouri has recorded a total of nearly 520,000 Covid-19 cases and 8,404 deaths, according to an NBC News tally.
BusinessThe 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.
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.
PoliticsReutersBiden USTR nominee Tai vows to end trade 'race to the bottom,' counter China
Katherine Tai, President Joe Biden's top trade nominee, backed tariffs as a "legitimate tool" to counter China's state-driven economic model and vowed to hold Beijing to its prior commitments, while promising a sweeping new approach to U.S. trade. At her Senate confirmation hearing to become U.S. Trade Representative, Tai also called for a revamp of global trade rules to eliminate what she called "gray areas" exploited by China and end a "race to the bottom" that she said had hurt workers and the environment.
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13 years after Madeleine McCann went missing, investigators believe they have a credible suspect
Three-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished from her bed on vacation in 2007. Now, investigators believe they have a credible suspect who may know what happened to McCann. Peter Van Sant joins "CBS This Morning" with the investigation into this suspect on this week's "48 Hours."
U.S.Miami HeraldThis United flight from Florida was just about to take off. Then came the pepper spray
A United Airlines flight out of Southwest Florida International Airport ran into some trouble Monday afternoon, but it had nothing to do with mechanical issues or lack of face masks. A passenger on the plane from Fort Myers to Newark International accidentally discharged a can of pepper spray from his keychain shortly before takeoff, Fox 4 Now first reported. A spokesperson for United Airlines said in a statement that the flight returned to the gate to let off anyone in distress.
PoliticsFort Worth Star-Telegram$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.Architectural DigestMore Inside A New Safari Lodge Treehouse Tucked Away in Botswana’s Okavango Delta
Only reachable by canoe, this Xigera hideaway is centered along lush riverbeds and a rich concentration of wildlife. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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.
U.S.Miami HeraldBeloved Key West regular falls down flight of stairs at bar and dies, police say
A 76-year-old man remembered for his smile and kindness died Saturday, Feb. 20, after police said he fell down a flight of stairs at a Key West bar and guest house. Robert Duwayne Litz was found unconscious and bleeding at the Bourbon Street Pub and New Orleans House, 724 Duval St., on the deck below a flight of outdoor stairs, according to a police incident report. Key West Fire Rescue took Litz to Lower Keys Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
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.
PoliticsTheGrioRep. Al Green scolds GOP over Equality Act: ‘You used God to enslave my foreparents’
Green pushed back against Republican arguments invoking religion as a reason to kill the bill that protects LGBTQ rights. Congressman Al Green, who represents Texas' Ninth District, delivered an impassioned speech on the floor of the House of Representatives Thursday, where he spoke out in support of the Equality Act, which would establish federal LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections.
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.
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Big fire burns commercial yard, buses in LA County
A huge fire is burning in a commercial area of south Los Angeles County. The fire erupted in Compton before dawn Friday, consuming what appears to be stacks of pallets and spreading to rows of charter-style buses parked in a lot next door. Feb.
U.S.Miami HeraldNew exotic invasive snake captured in Everglades National Park. It’s likely a released pet
Park staff and biologists from the United States Geological Survey's Fort Collins Science Center captured the snake, which was identified as a non-native Central American milk snake. It appears to be a solo snake, good news for a park and Everglades ecosystem overrun by exotic invasive reptiles. This individual is thought to be a released pet because of its docile behavior and unusual coloration,” USGS said in a statement, adding this species has never been documented in the Everglades before.
U.S.Architectural Digest11 Modernist Homes for Sale in the U.S.
From Santa Fe, New Mexico, to New Hope, Pennsylvania, these homes display an expressive use of materials to maximize the structures character Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
PoliticsBusiness InsiderWhile Biden visits storm-torn Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz will be giving a speech on 'cancel culture' in Florida
President Joe Biden heads to Texas on Friday to tour some of the areas hit hardest by the winter storm last week. While he's there, he won't be meeting with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Cruz has a speaking engagement that day at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida.
PoliticsThe IndependentMarjorie Taylor Greene calls Liz Cheney ‘a fool’ for criticising Trump
Marjorie Taylor Greene called her fellow House Republican Liz Cheney "a fool" for refusing to support Donald Trump. "Liz Cheney and any other Republican that wants to make statements against President Donald Trump is a fool," she said. Ms Greene's comments come a day after Ms Cheney publicly broke with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy by saying she did not think Mr Trump should speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference nor should have any leadership role in the party or the country's leadership.
HealthRaleigh News and ObserverJohnson & Johnson COVID vaccine recommended for emergency use. How is it different?
Another coronavirus vaccine is one step closer to joining the fight against the pandemic in the U.S. — and this one only requires a single shot. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee of medical experts on Friday recommended the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine for emergency use authorization after reviewing and discussing the latest clinical trial data, deciding that the benefits outweigh the risks. It's the third COVID-19 vaccine to be recommended for emergency use authorization in the United States, and could be the third to be fully authorized for use in people 18 and older if the FDA gives it the green light.
“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.”