U.S.Yahoo NewsTed Cruz tries joke at CPAC: 'Orlando is awesome. It's not as nice as Cancún.'
A week after stirring outrage over taking an ill-fated trip to Mexico during a deadly winter weather disaster in his home state, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on Friday and kicked off his speech with a joke. "Orlando is awesome," Cruz said. Cruz, a possible presidential contender in 2024, had been asked to speak at CPAC prior to the Cancún controversy to address "cancel culture."
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.
PoliticsThe 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.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
- NewsYahoo News Video
Oklahoma man released early from prison accused in 3 family deaths
An Oklahoma man who had been released early from prison in January as part of a mass commutation effort is now accused of three killings, including the death of a neighbor whose heart he cut out, authorities said.
WorldThe TelegraphXi Jinping declares China has achieved 'human miracle' of eliminating extreme poverty
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday declared his country had achieved the "human miracle" of eliminating extreme poverty, though questions continue to surround the Communist Party's criteria for making the claim. China last year claimed it had achieved its long-trumpeted goal of lifting all of its people above a poverty line of $2.30 (£1.60) in daily income. The World Bank says China has lifted more than 800 million people out of extreme poverty since turning to market reforms in the 1970s, after decades of state planning and Maoist campaigns that had stifled the economy.
U.S.Associated PressOwners of company involved in crash that killed 7 charged
The owners of the truck involved in a crash in New Hampshire in June 2019 that killed seven motorcyclists are facing charges of falsifying company records, federal prosecutors announced Friday. Dunyadar Gasanov, also known as Damien Gasanov, 36, was indicted on charges of falsification of records, conspiracy to falsify records and making a false statement to a federal investigator, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office in Boston. Dartanayan Gasanov, 35, was indicted on a charge of falsification of records.
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.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.
PoliticsThe 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.Defense NewsU.S. Air Force top general isn’t ready to buy the E-7 Wedgetail just yet
The Air Force's top general wants to take a deliberative approach to replacing its aging E-3 airborne early warning and control planes and isn't ready to commit to the Boeing's E-7 Wedgetail, despite support from the service's top general in the Asia-Pacific. “I want to actually look at what options do we have,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown said during a roundtable with reporters for Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium on Feb. 25. One of those fans is Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of Pacific Air Forces, who told reporters on Feb. 24 that he is in favor of a near-term purchase of the Boeing 737-based Wedgetail to replace the aging E-3 Sentry, which is based on the older Boeing 707 and colloquially called the “AWACS.”
PoliticsAssociated PressMcConnell says he'd support Trump if he wins 2024 nomination
Less than a month after excoriating Donald Trump in a blistering floor speech, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he would “absolutely” support the former president again if he secured the Republican nomination in 2024. “I've got at least four members that I think are planning on running for president, plus governors and others,” McConnell said. McConnell's remarks underscore an awkward balancing act he sought to maintain since Trump lost the election, reflecting the reality that McConnell's own path back to power in the Senate hinges on enthusiasm from a party base that still ardently supports Trump.
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.
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.
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.
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.
LifestyleMiami HeraldThis spot in the Florida Keys was just named one of the best coastal cities in America
Everybody loves the Florida Keys. Especially Key West, which international travel website Big 7 Travel placed in one of the top 10 spots on its annual 50 Best Coastal Towns in the United States report. “Many consider Key West to be the best beach area in the States,” Big 7 Travel writes.
HealthThe StatePfizer COVID vaccine dramatically cuts need for ventilators in older adults, CDC says
New preliminary data adds real-world evidence that coronavirus vaccines can reduce severe COVID-19 cases on a national scale, according to a report released Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In about three months, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot lowered the need for mechanical ventilation among people 70 and older by 67%, compared to those younger than 50. The study was conducted in Israel, which has the highest per capita vaccination rate in the world.
PoliticsThe GuardianIlhan Omar leads calls to fire Senate official who scuppered $15 wage rise
The progressive Democrat Ilhan Omar has called for the firing of the government official who effectively blocked the party's plans to raise the minimum wage. Democratic plans to include a gradual raise to $15 in Joe Biden's $1.9tn coronavirus stimulus bill were effectively ended on Thursday when the Senate parliamentarian ruled it should not be part of the package. The decision by Elizabeth MacDonough, who has held the non-partisan position since 2012, dashed hopes of including the raise in the bill – the first increase in over a decade.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastCruz Jokes About Cancun Trip, Dabbles in COVID Denial in Bizarre CPAC Rant
Days after Sen. Ted Cruz ditched Texas during a deadly winter storm for the sandy beaches of Mexico, the Republican made light of the scandal in a bizarre speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando. Last week, photos emerged of Cruz boarding a Feb. 17 flight to Mexico as his state literally froze and millions of Texans were left in the dark and without drinkable water. After getting caught, Cruz caught a return flight to the U.S. on Feb. 18 and insisted he was merely trying to “be a good dad” by accompanying his daughters on a trip to Mexico.
PoliticsUSA TODAYMarjorie Taylor Greene faces backlash after attacking congresswoman with transgender daughter
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the freshman congresswoman whose support for QAnon and other extremist conspiracy theories has made her a flashpoint in the House, is facing condemnation again for putting up a sign denying the existence of transgender identities — across the hall from another congresswoman who has a transgender child. Newman talked about the importance of the Equality Act for transgender individuals such as her daughter. Greene then posted a tweet denying her daughter's gender identity.
WorldBusiness InsiderBiden orders airstrikes against infrastructure used by 'Iranian-backed militant groups' in Syria
The US launched airstrikes Thursday night against "Iranian-backed militant groups" in Syria. The Defense Department said the strikes were carried out at the direction of President Joe Biden. The strikes came after rocket attacks targeting US forces in Iraq.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramTwo giant — not to mention rare — ‘ShareLunker’ bass caught in Texas lake on same day
Two anglers in Texas snagged largemouth bass weighing 14-plus pounds from the same lake on Thursday in Ballinger, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced. Brett Cannon of Willis reeled in a largemouth bass weighing 14.4 pounds and Casey Sobczak of Spring caught one weighing 14.2 pounds. ShareLunker's are largemouth bass weighing at least 8 pounds or 24 inches in length.
PoliticsThe IndependentCPAC: What is the convention Trump, Pence and Farage are speaking at and why is it so influential?
A four-day gathering of right-wing activists from across the United States, CPAC's keynote speaker this year will be Donald Trump – his third-consecutive outing – following the president's return from Hanoi, Vietnam, where he is meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong-un to discuss Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal. The conference was founded in 1974 by the American Conservative Union and Young Americans for Freedom and its inaugural address was given by Ronald Reagan, then California governor and a presidential candidate two years later, who used the platform to lay out his vision for the country before delegates.
“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.”