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.
PoliticsAxiosBiden says $1,400 stimulus payments can start going out this month
President Biden said Saturday that the Senate passage of his $1.9 trillion COVID relief package means the $1,400 direct payments for most Americans can begin going out later this month. Driving the news: The Senate voted 50-49 Saturday to approve the sweeping legislation. The House is expected to pass the Senate's version of the bill next week before it heads to Biden's desk for his signature.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
CelebrityThe TelegraphThe Queen emerges unscathed as Meghan and Harry lavish praise on his grandmother
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex unloaded on Prince Charles, The Duchess of Cambridge, and the tabloid press in their extraordinary tell-all with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan described how "everyone" welcomed her to the royal set-up initially, but singled out the Queen as making her particularly comfortable. Meghan said the Queen has "always been wonderful" to her and that she reminded the Duchess of her own grandmother.
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."
PoliticsBusiness InsiderA GOP senator who opposed impeachment defends Cheney, Murkowski after Trump amps up attacks
A GOP senator who opposed both of Trump's impeachments defended Liz Cheney and Lisa Murkowski. Both GOP lawmakers voted to impeach Trump this year, drawing backlash from their own party. Trump last week said the GOP needed to "get rid" of lawmakers who voted to convict him.
U.S.Business InsiderCalls for Cuomo to resign ramp up after the NY governor says stepping down over harassment allegations would be 'anti-democratic'
Five women have now accused the New York governor of inappropriate behavior. Cuomo said resigning over the allegations would be "anti-Democratic." New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday said during a phone call with reporters he would not resign in light of the rising number of allegations against him, saying that doing so would be "anti-Democratic."
SportsLA TimesColumn: Newsom hits home run as the effort to recall him gets closer to making the ballot
It doesn't get much better for a politician during a pandemic than to announce that fans can probably return to ballparks when the Major League Baseball season opens. Helping to unlock baseball stadiums as season openers approach is guaranteed to be popular and bipartisan. This gives baseball fans and their families in every demographic group — whether they live in East or West L.A. — something normal to look forward to.
CelebrityThe TelegraphRevealed: How plans to slim down monarchy have spiralled into a race row
For a monarch determined to slim down and modernise the Royal family for the 21st century, the Queen's decision not to give her great-grandson Archie the title of prince made perfect sense. Following controversy over the roles and publicly funded privilege of minor members of The Firm, the Queen and the Prince of Wales had already decided to shift the focus to Her Majesty and just six others. What they could not have predicted was that two years later, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would try to weave that perceived snub into a new narrative – one of racism at the heart of the House of Windsor.
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.”