WASHINGTON — The Transportation Department’s inspector general asked the Justice Department in December to consider a criminal investigation into what it said was Elaine Chao’s misuse of her office as transportation secretary in the Trump administration to help promote her family’s shipping business, which is run by her sister and has extensive business ties with China. In a report made public on Wednesday, the inspector general said the Justice Department’s criminal and public integrity divisions both declined to take up the matter in the closing weeks of the Trump administration, even after the inspector general found repeated examples of Ms. Chao using her staff and her office to help benefit her family and their business operations and revealed that staff members at the agency had raised ethics concerns. “A formal investigation into potential misuses of position was warranted,” Mitch Behm, the department’s deputy inspector general, said on Tuesday in a letter to House lawmakers, accompanying a 44-page report detailing the investigation and the findings of wrongdoing. Ms. Chao, the wife of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, announced her resignation on Jan. 7, the day after the Capitol riot. At the time of her departure, an aide to Ms. Chao said her resignation was unrelated to the forthcoming release of the investigation.

“Neanderthal thinking.”That’s how President Biden criticized the governor of Texas and others who have relaxed Covid-19 restrictions. He insisted that it was a “big mistake” for people to stop wearing masks, and that they should continue with social distancing and hand washing. “It’s critical, critical, critical, critical that they follow the science,” Mr. Biden said. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, echoed Mr. Biden’s remarks, her third such warning in less than a week. Scientists are urging caution until we know more about whether vaccinated people can still spread the virus and about emerging virus variants.

Whatever honeymoon period he may have briefly enjoyed, President Biden is now past it, according to the results of a Monmouth University poll released on Wednesday. Mr. Biden’s approval rating now stands at 51 percent nationwide, with 42 percent of the country disapproving. That’s a much narrower split than his 54 percent approval and 30 percent disapproval in another Monmouth survey that was conducted just after he took office. The poll found widespread support for the Covid-19 relief bill making its way through Congress, with 62 percent saying they want to see it passed. Two-thirds supported the bill’s provision increasing additional unemployment benefits to $400 a week from $300 a week.

Why had “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” been prosecuted in 1960, but not “Lolita” the year before? In England, all copies were seized by customs from 1955 until 1959, when it was finally published to huge consternation and controversy. I wanted to call people up and ask them if they’d ever actually read “Lolita”? It wasn’t just me concerning myself with the question of whether “Lolita” would find a publisher today. From Dorothy Parker (“‘Lolita’ is a fine book, a distinguished book — all right then — a great book”) to Lena Dunham (who says it’s her “favorite book”), “Lolita” has spellbound women as much as men.

I spend a fair amount of time writing recipes, instructions for how best to prepare specific dishes. Indeed, I’ve discovered that cooking without recipes is a kitchen skill, no different from dicing vegetables or flipping an omelet. It can also make the time spent there feel more like fun when it can occasionally seem like a chore. You can do the same in the kitchen, even if you don’t consider yourself a particularly good cook. We’ve roasted and sautéed, braised and fried, prepared salad dressings and simple desserts, assembled sandwiches, made soups, baked muffins.

Last year, Spectrum News 1 in Los Angeles reported on Mr. Davison’s work, bringing it to an even wider audience. Little is known about Mr. Green, who appears to have been laid off in 1890. But Mr. Stewart was covered regularly by local news outlets, even before he became an officer. Mr. Stewart and Mr. Green were appointed to the Police Department in March. A jeering crowd gathered around Mr. Stewart in 1889, shortly after he became an officer, according to a report in The San Francisco Chronicle.

The upcoming pattern shift is a gradual transition to a more springlike weather regime, in which mild temperatures and an uptick in severe weather in parts of the country are likely. New York City was near 50, while Atlanta enjoyed temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. After a mild midweek period, D.C. will spend Friday and the weekend in the 40s — cooler than average for the date. It also matches the city’s average high for the date, highlighting just how mild overnight temperatures may be. Southerly and southwesterly winds ahead of the approaching frontal system would induce the transport of mild, moisture-rich air up the East Coast.

And unlike other federal transportation funding that has to be prioritized in multiyear plans and spent within four years, earmarked money typically doesn’t expire. Last week, before Democrats had confirmed their plans, state officials gathered virtually to discuss the return of earmarks. In some cases, the earmarked money was dwarfed by the size of a project it was attached to. One of the largest is $16 million for a highway project in Bartow County, Ga., known at the time as the U.S. 411 Connector. Earmarked funds for the Massachusetts interchange have been tapped and a preconstruction conference is scheduled for this month, said Kristen Pennucci, a spokeswoman for the state transportation department.

ADADWinslow, 37, was convicted of forcible rape, rape of an unconscious person, assault with intent to commit rape, indecent exposure, and lewd conduct in public. Winslow was convicted of rape in a 2019 case involving a 58-year-old homeless woman in Encinitas, Calif. Winslow, who last played in the NFL in 2013, made an unsuccessful comeback attempt in 2016 and participated in the Spring League for two years. Winslow, you carefully selected your victims, those that were most vulnerable. We had Jane Doe number 1 who was 54, Jane Doe number 2 who was homeless, age 59, Jane Doe number 3 was 57 and Jane Doe number 5 was 77 years old and she was alone in a Jacuzzi in a gym,” Bowman said (via NBC San Diego).

Tanden’s withdrawal marked the first major political setback for the Biden White House as it has raced in its opening weeks to confirm key nominees in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Gavin Newsom and close ties to White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. “And what has become evident in the last few days is [Young] has that same kind of background.”The White House did not respond to a request for comment. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday the administration still hopes to find Tanden a new position elsewhere. Senate Republicans responded by repeatedly praising her candor: Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top GOP lawmaker on the Senate Budget Committee, opened his statement at the Tuesday hearing by pledging to vote for her confirmation.

She said the government would pursue payment for damages through an international oil pollution compensation program and the ship’s insurance. ADBut other Israeli government officials, including some in her own ministry, expressed skepticism about her claim, according to local media reports. The investigation into the oil spill has been underway since mid-February, when massive amounts of sticky black tar appeared along Israel’s 120-mile shoreline. Officials said many of the large, visible patches of tar and oil had been scrubbed from the coast. The spill is believed to have occurred in early February, more than two weeks before the oil was discovered ashore.

“Our policies must reflect a basic truth: in today’s world, economic security is national security,” the White House document said. “We will make sure that the rules of the international economy are not tilted against the United States,” the report said. The last formal National Security Strategy report was released in 2017, under Trump. ADBiden’s priorities share similarities with Trump’s, including identifying China as a strategic competitor in most realms. They haven’t worked.”Still, the Biden administration has not been shy about using military force.

(CNN) Hits are elusive in the entertainment industry, and the fact Disney+ has conjured two with "The Mandalorian" and now "WandaVision" speaks to a certain kind of Disney magic. Yet as the latter prepares to end its run, lessons have emerged about translating "Star Wars" and Marvel into this relatively new medium, as well as the spells they have cast for Disney+. Disney+ has ridden those titles to reaching 95 million subscribers much faster than anyone predicted, by the latest accounting, including the company itself. Weekly scheduling creates more bang for programming bucks. Marvel's Kevin Feige recently likened the week-to-week nature of "WandaVision" to Marvel's blockbuster movies and a "new opening weekend every week," adding that the shows were designed "to be experienced that way."

Greg Abbott’s sudden decision to ditch the mask mandate and lift coronavirus restrictions could result in a new surge of Covid-19 infections and deaths. The more difficult problem is that while many people in Texas experienced the pandemic in waves, there’s been no respite for front-line health care providers. Many health care providers fear this could extend the pandemic.”McDeavitt, the Houston hospital’s senior vice president and dean of clinical affairs, said he shares these fears. “As I said, I think the governor’s decision was premature and I think it will cause another surge,” McDeavitt said. We know the governor’s decision increases the chance for another surge, but we’ve already been preparing for another surge.”

James Harden might've known that before he agitated his way to Brooklyn over the course of several bitter months. After eight years with the franchise, Harden was starting to feel legitimate doubt about staying in Houston, according to a source familiar with his thinking. He acquired the head coach Harden wanted in Mike D'Antoni and the players Harden wanted in Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. The two met to reaffirm their desire to play with one another and started laying the foundation for a trade, sources say. Jimmy Butler had even OK'd the trade, according to a league source.

I too have prayed for Asian American films like “Minari” to receive all manner of major awards. The film shows a Korean American family overcoming hardships in pursuit of the American dream. In a climate of heightened anti-Asian violence, labeling an Asian American film like “Minari” “foreign” feels even more offensive. Advocacy groups like “Stop Asian American Pacific Islander Hate” have received more than 2,800 reported incidents of racism and discrimination targeting Asian Americans across the United States. Hollywood needs to recognize that whatever language Asian Americans choose to speak is American, because we are Americans.

Her selection was driven by White House chief of staff Ron Klain, one of Tanden’s key allies inside Biden World. She had deep policy experience and had been helpful to the campaign by providing policy support. The Alaska Republican was the one Republican who had not stated where she stood on Tanden’s nomination to head OMB. “There was no hint of if you do this, I will do that,” said the aforementioned White House adviser. Murkowski has not said whether she ever made up her mind on Tanden’s nomination.

Razor wire fencing still encloses much of the Capitol Hill area, and members and staffers must enter through checkpoints manned by armed National Guard troops. Nonetheless, congressional leaders say they will heed the security warnings, with members still shaken from the violence that many of them witnessed two months ago. Some of the security presence, particularly the National Guard, appears to have diminished in recent weeks, though tighter new procedures — such as metal detectors into the House chambers — remain in place. Capitol security officials have indicated that they plan to beef up security for lawmakers in transit, recognizing that many have been targeted in recent months when they’re away from the building. We continue to see far-right extremist groups that are fueled by misinformation and conspiracy theories quickly become the most dangerous threat to society.”

Collin’s statement comes after Sen. Joe Manchin, the moderate West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Energy Committee, said he would vote to confirm Haaland. “While we will not always agree on the administration’s policy, I want to be clear and open with you,” Haaland wrote. Haaland replied, in part, “I support affordable energy prices for all Americans and understand that prices fluctuate and can hurt consumers.”The answers did not sway Barrasso, who along with fellow GOP senators Steve Daines (Mont.) Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho asked Haaland about her support for expanding electric transmission grids, a policy issue that Haaland backed during her time in the House. He also asked her whether she supported encouraging mining on public lands, which experts say will be needed to supply the fast growing markets for battery and electrification technology.

Vanessa Bryant shared in this week’s cover story for People magazine some of what the grieving process has been like since her husband, Kobe Bryant, and the couple’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, died in a helicopter crash last year. Bryant graced the cover wearing a Los Angeles Lakers jacket as a homage to her basketball legend husband. “This pain is unimaginable [but] you just have to get up and push forward,” Bryant told People. Harry How/Getty Images Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant watch during day 2 of the Phillips 66 National Swimming Championships at the Woollett Aquatics Center on July 26, 2018 in Irvine, California. Gigi, you still make mommy proud.” Last month, Bryant posted a photo of herself with Kobe for Valentine’s Day.

Getty ImagesAlthough miscarriage is very common, it can feel difficult to talk about. But how exactly should you approach conversations about miscarriage with kids? Take your child’s age, developmental level and temperament into account when you share your pregnancy loss. “The more we talk to kids about tough topics like pregnancy loss, the more we can model what it means to experience the hard parts of life and navigate big feelings together, head-on.”Validate their emotional response. Talking to others who have experienced pregnancy loss can be helpful, although everyone’s story and healing process will be different.

Alec Baldwin alluded to wife Hilaria Baldwin’s recent heritage controversy this week while taking a dig at Gillian Anderson’s ability to switch between accents. The “30 Rock” actor on Wednesday tweeted a CNN report about Anderson’s Golden Globe win for Netflix’s “The Crown,” in which she played former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Anderson, who was born in Chicago but spent much of her childhood in London, was noted as having “accepted the award using her American accent.”The “X-Files” and “Sex Education” star is quoted in the article as saying she “tried hard to cling on to my British accent” when her family relocated from England to Grand Rapids, Michigan, when she was 11. And though she’s once again based in London, she added, “I just slip into one or the other.”Apparently, that didn’t sit well with Baldwin, who tweeted, “Switching accents? That sounds...fascinating.”

| Harry How/Getty Images Newsom confident MLB fans can return to California stadiums in AprilOAKLAND — California fans can likely catch Major League Baseball games in person when the season begins in April, Gov. The fact that Newsom believes ballparks can safely allow some fans to attend — outside — is the latest indicator that Newsom has high confidence in California's progress. California is home to five MLB teams: the Oakland Athletics, the San Francisco Giants, the San Diego Padres, the Anaheim Angels and the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers. In the yellow tier, teams could expand capacity to 25 percent. Allowing MLB teams to bring back fans by then may require looser thresholds than those already established.

Lack of diversity within campaigns has been a longstanding issue in both Democratic and Republican politics. People of color represent less than 1 percent of all political consultants. “We want to create networks of support.”The group is launching in the heat of Virginia’s crowded and diverse gubernatorial primary. Their ultimate goal, Kasey said, is for the state’s political landscape to become so diverse that groups like theirs are obsolete. “And a lot of the old Virginia still kind of permit permeates the politics in the commonwealth.”

The U.S. has issued an emergency warning after Microsoft said it caught China hacking into its mail and calendar server program, called Exchange. The perpetrator, Microsoft said in a blog post, is a hacker group that the company has “high confidence” is working for the Chinese government and primarily spies on American targets. CISA, the U.S.’s primary defensive cybersecurity agency, rarely exercises its authority to demand the entire U.S. government take protective steps to protect its cybersecurity. Contacted by email, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington referred to recent comments by spokesperson Wang Wenbin. The campaign not only gave the hackers access to the victims’ emails and calendar invitations but to their entire network, Microsoft said.

Michael Pfleger, a prominent Chicago priest who gained a national profile for his progressive social activism, of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers. The affidavit was released on Wednesday by attorney Eugene Hollander, who is also representing two brothers accusing Pfleger of misconduct. "We smoked marijuana again and I pretended to be asleep. The lawyers also denied Pfleger ever took him to clubs or smoked marijuana with him. Monico and Figliulo have also rejected those claims, saying "these allegations are false.”The archdiocese is investigating Pfleger over the brothers' claims.

Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University Eddie Glaude reacts to GOP lawmakers moving to restrict access to voting and says it is “an all-out assault on the franchise extended to Black folk”

Kaufman’s revenge Presented by Defending Democracy TogetherWith help from Allie BiceWelcome to POLITICO’s 2021 Transition Playbook, your guide to the first 100 days of the Biden administrationTED KAUFMAN does not strike the pose of a #resistance icon. If the Biden administration isn’t explicitly anti-Wall Street, it’s certainly the least Wall Street White House in many decades. Kaufman’s anti-Wall Street streak may be more visceral than Biden’s, but it’s not completely out of step with it. NEC director BRIAN DEESE worked for Wall Street firm BlackRock as the global head of sustainable investing after working all eight years of the Obama administration. As a senator, Kaufman’s two central objectives were reforming presidential transitions and hemming in Wall Street after the Great Recession.

Gregg Abbott announced Tuesday that "state mandates are no longer needed" and that "it is now time to open Texas 100 percent." Texas, like much of the rest of the country, is seeing meaningful progress in vaccinating residents and decreasing daily infection rates. Abbott has purposefully injected a new infection into the state in the form of irresponsible policies that will promote unnecessary infection, hospitalization and death. Intentionally or not, Abbott has left the lives of Texans in their own hands. It should not be left to regular Texans to provide their own basic protection, but Abbott has left us with no other choice.

Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke expresses his outrage over Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to reopen businesses to full capacity and the lack of leadership in the state amid a crush of crises

ET Disney Will Close 30 Percent of Its Stores in North America: Live Updates RIGHT NOW Philanthropic donors gave more than $20 billion in response to the pandemic last year. Disney will close 30 percent of its stores in North America this year. The Walt Disney Company said on Wednesday that it would dramatically downsize its chain of Disney Stores, which have struggled amid the pandemic and a broader consumer shift to online shopping. At least 60 locations in North America — 30 percent of the Disney Store footprint in the region — will close this year. He was among a group of central bank officials who initiated the Fed’s Racism and the Economy conference series.

Successful onside kicks have become increasingly rare in the NFL since the league enacted safety-related rule changes on kickoffs before the 2018 season. The Eagles also submitted the fourth-and-15 proposal last year after it was submitted the previous year by the Denver Broncos. ADADUnder last year’s proposal, a team could have utilized the fourth-and-15 option up to twice in a game, whether trailing or not. Owners tabled the fourth-and-15 proposal last May, when it did not have enough votes for ratification, for reconsideration at another time. Only one Black head coach was hired by an NFL team this offseason, David Culley by the Houston Texans.

The results were “commensurate with the Montgomery County disciplinary process,” Innocenti said. Moris joined the Montgomery County Police Department 10 years ago. In the videos, Moris can be seen grabbing Pesoa’s hair and slamming his right knee down into Pesoa’s neck area. In June 2020, Pesoa sued Moris and Montgomery County over the encounter. The county executive called the video of this ‘horrifying.’ Now a civil jury will decide how to hold Montgomery County accountable for their officer’s behavior.”

The Class AAA season had been scheduled to start on April 6. The newly remodeled Class AAA East is scheduled to begin May 4 and the Class AAA West on May 6. ADThe original schedule created a limited but real logistical conundrum: If the Class AAA season were to begin April 6, those players slated for Class AAA rosters would need to participate in some form of spring training in March. The whole thing amounted to a headache for front-office staff trying to allocate talent to minor league rosters. Now teams will be able to option players back and forth to the alternate sites as they did in 2020.

Acting on a hunch that he had something special on his hands, the unidentified man emailed pictures and information to famed auction house Sotheby’s, requesting an evaluation, according to the AP. The email stood out from the barrage of similar requests, impressing Sotheby’s in-house experts on Chinese ceramics and art, Angela McAteer and Hang Yin. AD“The style of painting, the shape of the bowl, even just the color of the blue is quite characteristic of that early, early 15th century period of porcelain,” she told the news outlet. Sotheby’s told the AP that the Yongle Court was recognized for introducing a new style of porcelain ovens in the city of Jingdezhen. ADThe lotus-bud or chicken-heart shaped dish will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s in New York on March 17.

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“You knew you had a friend who would never break a confidence, and that’s important in Washington,” says Cafritz. To wit: Jordan hosted an annual lunch before the Alfalfa Club dinner, an off-the-record gathering of America’s most powerful political and business leaders. Jordan famously told him he would support his old friend Hillary Clinton, but pledged his wholehearted endorsement should Obama win the primary. The two men shared the stage at Howard University in 2016, when Jordan formally introduced Obama as the commencement speaker. Howard President Wayne Frederick sent Jordan a framed picture of the two, which hung in a cherished place in his home.

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray was emphatic in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee: “We have not, to date, seen any evidence of anarchist violent extremists or people subscribing to antifa in connection with the 6th,” he said. They would have rightly been labeled as deflecting focus and dangerously muddying the waters as we tried to isolate and disarm threats. It is telling — and unsurprising — that Republicans seem so panicked at the prospect of identifying the specific ideology that drove the attackers. It is also not clear whether he will look at the political actors who incited the mob with the Big Lie. ADADWe need answers as to the involvement of political players and the failures of our response.

It draws on existing academic theory and research and says there are four possible reasons for so-called “Zoom fatigue.” The paper, Bailenson writes, should not be perceived as “indicting” Zoom or other video-conferencing platforms. On top of all that, participating in video calls may increase cognitive load, meaning more mental effort is needed. Because she has to focus more intently on people’s faces during video calls to read lips, it increases her cognitive load, she said. Meeting hosts should also give people breaks to look away from their screens during video calls, Song said. While these tips may help alleviate the effects of “Zoom fatigue,” Bailenson urged people to remember video calls aren’t the only effective way to communicate.

All those people may have different definitions of what makes a work too toxic — or at least too touchy — to make money from. But set “Stark Raving Dad” free and we can learn a lot about Jackson’s role in pop culture history without burdening the conscience of the creators. How would you write a law that says “books or television shows or movies or cartoons that fall victim to cancel culture must be made free for everyone to reprint”? Would libertarians and conservatives really want a government panel determining the acceptable reasons for keeping a book in print or out of print? But taking a common-sense approach to copyright and profit would at least allow us to declare a truce on this particular set of battles.

ADThe Capitol Police and the FBI have been criticized for not acting on intelligence supplied by the FBI’s Norfolk field office shortly before the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. We are always on alert for any potential threats.”The D.C. police declined to discuss their response to the potential threat. “In regards to public safety planning, MPD does not discuss operational tactics,” police spokeswoman Alaina Gertz said in an email. ADIn addition to the National Guard and increased police presence, the Capitol grounds have been surrounded by security fencing since the Jan. 6 insurrection. But after that briefing, members of Congress reacted negatively to the idea of maintaining expansive physical barriers to the Capitol.

“I would get rid of the filibuster,” Klobuchar says. “I have favored filibuster reform for a long time and now especially for this critical election bill.”In the past, Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate Rules Committee, has indicated she was open to eliminating the filibuster, but these comments to Mother Jones are her most definitive statement to date. Though her Democratic colleagues Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have said they would not support abolishing the filibuster, Klobuchar notes that the spread of new GOP anti-voting bills boosts the need for Democrats to enact HR 1 — and that increases the pressure to end or alter the Senate filibuster. “We have a raw exercise of political power going on where people are making it harder to vote and you just can’t let that happen in a democracy because of some old rules in the Senate,” she says.

Progressives wanted to do as much as possible, and moderates wanted to find ways to scale back the bill’s ambitions. ADADIt does mean, however, that some people who got stimulus checks from then-President Donald Trump won’t be getting them from Biden. (Republicans wanted the stimulus checks to be reduced even further, so you could argue that the final bill will have moved slightly in their direction, even if they won’t support it.) Cutting back the stimulus checks won’t make it any more so. And no senator would have been the victim of a vicious attack ad skewering them for allowing stimulus checks to phase out slightly more slowly for people in the middle- to upper-middle class.

The full Senate might not vote on Merrick Garland’s nomination to be attorney general until “into next week,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said Wednesday, accusing Senate Republicans of refusing to expedite Garland’s confirmation. The Judiciary Committee voted 15 to 7 on Monday to advance his nomination, with four Republicans joining the panel’s 11 Democrats to approve the move. “Unfortunately, there was an objection to expediting his nomination so he would get to work at the Department of Justice,” Durbin said. It was not immediately clear who was raising an objection to voting on Garland’s nomination, or for what reason. Some said they did so because he would not answer their questions at his confirmation hearing and in written follow-ups.

(CNN Business) Facebook (FB) said it plans to lift a moratorium on US political advertising this Thursday, ending a ban that had been in place since the November elections. The move reopens the door to ads on Facebook by political campaigns as well as issue advertisers. It follows what Facebook said was "a lot of feedback" on its approach to political advertising. Google GOOGL also lifted its similar ban on political advertising last week. And in some cases, the limitations on issue advertising reportedly ended up blocking pro-vaccine ads.

But Wendy's (WEN) says they're still showing up for breakfast. But once stay at home orders set in and many people stopped commuting to work, breakfast sales fell off. Wendy's big breakfast bet is paying off. Wendy's success at breakfast can be partially attributed to the chain's huge breakfast marketing push shortly before the pandemic shut down parts of the United States last year, leaving Wendy's top of mind for customers. And people who ate Wendy's breakfast during the pandemic have been satisfied, Penegor said.

New York (CNN Business) Dollar Tree said Wednesday that it will open 600 new stores this year, continuing dollar store chains' torrid growth across the United States. Dollar Tree DLTR The announcement comes as the pandemic has taken a toll on many retailers and forced thousands of stores to close. The company, which also owns the Family Dollar chain, will open 400 Dollar Tree stores and 200 Family Dollar stores this year. Family Dollar is tailored to lower-income shoppers in rural and urban areas, and stocks more food and household basics than Dollar Tree. All products at Dollar Tree sell for $1, although the chain is testing out a new initiative to sell select products from $1 to $5.

It is not clear how many doses were ordered | Kevin Frayer/Getty ImagesThe Czech Republic today became the second EU country after Hungary to request coronavirus vaccines from China, according to a statement from President Miloš Zeman's office. "The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic [Andrej Babis] has asked the President of the Republic to contact the President of the People's Republic of China [Xi Jinping] to request the delivery of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine," the statement said. "The President of the Republic granted this request and wrote to the President of the People's Republic of China. According to a report by the Czech embassy in Beijing, the Chinese side decided to comply with this request immediately," according to the statement, posted on the website of the Czech presidential office. The move followed Prague's decision to buy Sputnik V vaccines from Russia, as Babis lashed out at the EU's slow provision of vaccines to member states.

Kelly Marie Tran isn’t going anywhere — except maybe on social media. “I’ve had my agents tell me [I’m] forgoing brand partnerships, but I’m not here to sell flat-tummy tea to young girls.”When the world first met Kelly Marie Tran, she was the girl who had won a golden ticket — and wanted to bring everyone along on her tour of the chocolate factory. Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Imagse Kelly Marie Tran attends "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" European Premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square on December 18, 2019 in London, England. “We can talk about the interaction between mental health and social media, but also mental health and this idea of fame and what it does to you,” she told THR. Kelly Marie Tran has deleted all the posts off her Instagram due to months of harassment she has received for her character Rose in #TheLastJedipic.twitter.com/ipxdbDH30C — Star Wars Facts (@SWTweets) June 5, 2018

San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich blasted Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday for rescinding Texas' mask mandate and rolling back other Covid-19 restrictions, calling the decision "mystifying," "ridiculous" and "ignorant." "I'm worried about the people in our state," said Popovich, who has led the Spurs to five world titles. "People that didn't want to wear masks in the first place, how do the businesses get them to wear masks? I urge all Americans, please keep washing your hands, stay socially distanced, wear masks."

Then why has Dr. Seuss Enterprises chosen to yank the books now? The Dr. Seuss Enterprises decision also appears to predate the Loudoun County, Va., school system initiative to deemphasize (not ban) his books. But what’s equally apparent is how much Dr. Seuss Enterprises stands to profit from stopping the presses. Dr. Seuss earned $33 million last year, more than any other dead celebrity besides Michael Jackson by one measure. ******Dr. Seuss was not a doctor, by the way, not even a chiropractor!

Greg Abbott’s sudden decision to ditch the mask mandate and lift coronavirus restrictions could result in a new surge of Covid-19 infections and deaths. The more difficult problem is that while many people in Texas experienced the pandemic in waves, there’s been no respite for front-line health care providers. Many health care providers fear this could extend the pandemic.”McDeavitt, the Houston hospital’s senior vice president and dean of clinical affairs, said he shares these fears. “As I said, I think the governor’s decision was premature and I think it will cause another surge,” McDeavitt said. We know the governor’s decision increases the chance for another surge, but we’ve already been preparing for another surge.”

Now, six weeks into the Biden administration, it’s not the president but his White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, whose online activity is generating the most intrigue in Washington. By comparison, White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted a total of only 43 times in the same 37-day stretch. Most of Klain’s tweets — about 40 percent — are retweets from journalists or news organizations who post about the work of the administration. So certainly what he’s projecting and communicating about is reflective of what we’re focused on internally day to day,” Psaki said. “We decided pretty early on we want people engaging on Twitter,” said Rob Flaherty, the White House digital director.

At 67 years old, he’s now getting access to health insurance for the first time. Illinois is implementing a first-of-its-kind program to offer health care access to low-income immigrant seniors, whether they’re legal permanent residents who previously didn’t have access, or if they’re undocumented. Under federal law, Americans who lack legal status are not eligible for Medicare, Medicaid or "Obamacare" enrollment. “If you’re uninsured, you frequently will defer care,” said Jeff McInnes, the director of Value-Based Care Strategy at the Esperanza Health Centers in Chicago. Juan's family said the program has given them peace of mind when it comes to his health.

To the Editor:Re “As Scandals Sap His Political Strength, Cuomo Resists Calls to Resign” (news article, March 3):Now 79 years old, I experienced my share of minor sexual harassment through the years. When I was young, I had to tolerate it or suffer significant consequences and more “teasing.” But now women do not have to tolerate crude jokes, butt pats, breast grabs, unwelcome kisses, sly sexual remarks. The sexual bullies won. I worked for a number of elected officials, as well as other employers, when I was young. On many occasions I experienced inappropriate gestures and comments that might in today’s world be considered inappropriate.

ET Many Companies Will Continue to Require Masks in Texas: Live Updates RIGHT NOW S&P 500 falls for second day after surge. S&P 500 - % Dow - % Nasdaq - %Companies say they will keep requiring masks in Texas stores, but compliance may get harder. The supermarket chain H-E-B was among the companies that said they would still require customers to wear masks in their Texas stores. Target and Macy’s said they would continue to require customers and employees to wear masks in their Texas outlets. He was among a group of central bank officials who initiated the Fed’s Racism and the Economy conference series.

Section 2 lawsuits have proven pivotal in striking down or modifying restrictions on people’s ability to cast ballots. Among them are a 2015 case overturning Texas’ strict voter ID law and a 2016 decision nullifying a North Carolina voting law, whose constraints ranged from strict ID requirements to limiting voter registration and early voting. He said that absent the higher bar, Section 2 would “improperly inject race into all voting laws, and impede a state’s ability to run their elections.”Without the Voting Rights Act, Democrats have few tools to stop Republican-controlled states from limiting voting access. 1, a bill to standardize federal election rules by overriding many of the restrictive voting laws enacted in the states and to dramatically expand voting access. But the proposal has little chance of proceeding through the Senate unless Democrats there agree to suspend or terminate the filibuster’s 60-vote requirement to pass most legislation.

With 50 million Americans immunized against the coronavirus, and millions more joining the ranks every day, the urgent question on many minds is: When can I throw away my mask? On Tuesday, Texas lifted its mask mandate, along with all restrictions on businesses, and Mississippi quickly followed suit. Governors in both states cited declining infection rates and rising numbers of citizens getting vaccinated. It seems clear that small groups of vaccinated people can get together without much worry about infecting one another. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected shortly to issue new guidelines that will touch on small gatherings of vaccinated Americans.

Community organizations like Chainbreaker Collective are pushing to turn the property into a land trust with much-needed affordable housing. Landlords would dodge torturous legal proceedings, tenants would avoid uncertainty, and communities would benefit from quality, permanently affordable housing. Now is the time for the federal government again to take bold action in the housing sector, and this time with an eye to empowering communities. It is time to make transformative change in a housing system that even before the pandemic was failing too many. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

The debate comes as the Biden administration’s diplomacy on Iran has stalled. Meanwhile, U.S. personnel in Iraq have continued to come under rocket fire by militia groups, some of which have ties to Iran. “I remain clear-eyed about the threat that Iran poses to our interests and those of our allies,” Sherman said. ADSen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) probed Sherman on any contacts she had with Iranian officials during the Trump administration. ADThe decision by Sherman and other Biden officials to pledge to get a better deal, rather than defending the Obama accord on its own merits, has frustrated some on the left.

That means an ad criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for supporting immigration reform or criticizing Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) for opposing the Equality Act could trigger disclosure of donors that gave $10,000 or more. Exposure to threats of harassment or violence for nonprofit donors is not the only First Amendment problem with the bill. What is the purpose of inhibiting such people from participating in political speech to advance policies that directly affect their lives? 1 can easily be fixed to protect against these infringements on political speech.

In her debut interview as a Fox News contributor, McEnany issued a lament about the criticisms that had come her way. ADADFor someone who bristles at being called a liar, perhaps McEnany should have thought twice before promoting the Big Lie. With its McEnany move, Fox News not only is overlooking McEnany’s Big Lie participation; it is also rewarding her with a job. ADADIn her interview with McEnany, Faulkner asked whether she thought Trump was responsible for the Capitol riots. But that’s what you get with McEnany: small dishonesties punctuated by the occasional Big Lie.

The decision by the estate of children’s book author Dr. Seuss to stop publishing six of his books due to the racist images they included. That story, which Fox News framed as Seuss having been “canceled,” was mentioned by the network more than 60 times. Instead, Trump just promised more of what won him the Republican nomination four years before: more broad placement of “America first” and more bashing of the left. Trump voters were consistently more likely to express concern about the diminished status and power of Whites in America. One study showed that concern about Whites losing out was a much better predictor of Trump support than economic insecurity.

The newspaper reported that sources told the Times that Meghan was accused in a 2018 complaint of bullying staff, especially young women, “to the point of tears,” pushed two personal assistants “out of the household” and undermined confidence in a third. Starting in the spring, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will start a new life away from their duties as senior royals. In scandals past, the palace was loath to comment on anything, let alone internal investigations of how royal family members — known informally as “The Firm” — treat their courtiers and servants. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, spoke with Oprah Winfrey about turning away from life as senior royals in an interview airing on March 7. We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet.”

Frank Franklin II/Associated PressThe New York Yankees will be without manager Aaron Boone for at least "the next several days" because of a medical procedure expected to take place Wednesday. "It definitely hits home, but I'm doing well with it," Boone said at the time. The former All-Star appeared in 10 games over the final month of the regular season before retiring at the end of the year. After spending seven years as a radio and television broadcaster, Boone was hired as Yankees manager in December 2017. The Yankees are scheduled to open the 2021 regular season on April 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.

New York (CNN Business) Fossil fuel workers will not be left behind in the Biden administration's push to embrace clean energy. That's the promise from new Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, addressing workers worried their livelihoods will be disrupted. Granholm, the former governor of Michigan , said the Energy Department created a jobs office that will work "hand in glove" with the agency's fossil fuels officials to make sure "we leave no worker behind." Echoing comments made by President Joe Biden, Granholm argued the energy transition will create countless new jobs — and she promised to help fossil fuels workers translate their skills to these new positions. Paris vs. PittsburghThe oil industry and Republicans quickly condemned Biden's decision in January to rescind the permit for the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline.

Sue Ogrocki/Associated PressPortland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard lamented the inability of some fans to consider the concerns that might be weighing on an athlete outside of their given sport. The six-time All-Star added, "I think there's a lot of people who don't take into consideration that we have lives, too." Even though Portland is sixth in the Western Conference (19-14), the 30-year-old guard is inserting himself into the MVP conversation. In 2020, he was the first to discover the dead body of his cousin and personal chef. One was a cousin close enough to Lillard to be at his family’s Thanksgiving dinner in Portland in November.

However, on social media, many people who qualify based on BMI are grappling with "vaccine guilt," feeling like they might be taking doses of the vaccine away from someone who might be more "deserving." Used to indicate a person's weight and whether or not they are considered underweight, overweight or obese, having a high BMI doesn't necessarily mean someone is at additional risk for COVID-19. Page-Wilson said that because many studies were calculated using BMI, people who are eligible for the vaccine due to their BMI should get it when they can. "You may have a high BMI because of increased muscle mass, or you may have a high BMI but not have any comorbidities, but just having that BMI potentially puts you at higher risk for COVID-19-related complications and mortality, and that makes you eligible," Page-Wilson said. "If you're receiving the vaccine (when eligible) ... remember that you're following the rules and guidelines and that someone's frustration towards you is not personal."

The question for both Orbán and the EPP now is whether the rupture benefits or damages them in the long term. Publicly, EPP group leaders played down talk of victory and defeat. “I am very happy that the EPP group is so united,” group leader Manfred Weber told reporters. But its MEPs remained part of the EPP group in the European Parliament, despite moves by some to kick them out. The next chapter in this political family drama will likely come if Fidesz is expelled from the EPP party umbrella.

“The BfV’s actions towards the AfD are purely political,” tweeted Alice Weidel, the leader of the AfD group in the Bundestag. The AfD began as a one-issue party in 2013, opposing German-led bailouts of Greece and other indebted members of the eurozone. The intelligence service cited the organizations’ anti-immigrant and anti-Islam positions as justification for the move. Surveillance of several AfD regional chapters in eastern Germany soon followed, yet the intelligence service stopped short of monitoring the entire party. If the investigation concludes that the AfD is intent on destroying German democracy, what would happen next is unclear.

Mea Cuomo Presented by New Yorkers for Responsible GamingHe’s back. Asked specifically who he was apologizing to, Cuomo referred to former aide Charlotte Bennett, though not by name. Learn moreCovid-19 UpdateNew mass vaccination sites, operated by New York State in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, opened in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Yonkers today. Cuomo detailed the state’s plans to immediately deploy the first tranche of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine in New York. Cuomo to resign because this is about an abuse of power,” Wiley saidShaun Donovan has released his racial equity plan.

Rick Bowmer/AP In this July 22, 2013, file photo, a youth looks over the Rockwell exhibition in Salt Lake City. Facing tens of thousands of sex-abuse claims and a bankruptcy filing, the Boy Scouts of America said it plans to sell its portfolio of Norman Rockwell paintings in order to help finance a victims fund of at least $300 million. The organization announced its intentions in court papers filed Monday in a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February of last year. This followed allegations of rampant sexual abuse by Scout leaders, employees and volunteers dating back to at least 1944. The paintings have been on display at the Medici Museum of Art in Howland, Ohio, since 2020.

THE HAGUE — AstraZeneca subcontractor Halix has not sent any Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine doses to the U.K. after the EU implemented export controls, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said Wednesday. In January, the Commission introduced new export controls requiring companies to get authorization from national authorities to export vaccines outside the bloc. Since then, "everything has stayed in the EU," Breton said, adding that AstraZeneca hasn't requested to send vaccines abroad since the authorization scheme. He said he was "impressed" with the yield from the Dutch producer, which can make between 5 million and 6 million doses a month, with "a significant part" for the EU. The EU has largely blamed AstraZeneca, saying it sent those vaccines to the U.K.

PARIS – Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy took to national television on Wednesday evening to plead his innocence and claim he was subjected to judicial harassment, two days after being convicted of corruption. He has appealed the decision and says he will appeal until the European Court of Human Rights if he needs to. Ten years during which considerable means have been put to use” he said, “in order to absolutely find something to reproach from me. Sarkozy, whose jail sentence has crushed his supporters’ hopes of a return for 2022, stated again that he had “turned the page” on politics. Later this month, Sarkozy returns to court for a separate trial, in which he is accused of illegal campaign financing.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Department of Defense inspector general released a scathing report Wednesday on the conduct of Ronny Jackson, now a congressman from Texas, when he worked as a top White House physician. The report also said the investigation into Jackson “was limited in scope and unproductive” as Trump’s White House counsel insisted on being present at all interviews, which had a “potential chilling effect” on the probe. And witnesses said Jackson took sleep medication on long overseas travel, which left subordinates worried that it could have left him incapacitated and unable to work. After allegations emerged that Jackson had created a hostile work environment and improperly distributed prescription drugs, the White House withdrew the nomination. Jackson was well liked by most members of the Obama and Trump staffs and grew close to both presidents.

In addition to briefing Austin and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, Davidson met with other top officials and the new China task force, the person said. Lawmakers, who have been calling for a beefed up military presence in the region to deter China, like what they see so far. "I don't accept the premise that we have to spend more money on the military to adequately deter China." Like his predecessors, Austin will be challenged to turn the doctrinal shift into a boost for resources in the region. “I doubt we will see any major cuts in acquisition programs in this first budget request, but you never know.

On Tuesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify about the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Let’s start with four key takeaways from Wray’s testimony. In reality, many people who commit acts of domestic terrorism are fueled by hate, not politics. Whatever the reason, here’s what Wray didn’t say: The act of domestic terrorism at the Capitol wasn’t a mysterious occurrence of spontaneous combustion. But until we name, shame and bring lawful accountability to Trump and his congressional co-conspirators, our domestic terrorism problem will remain, fester and possibly become even worse.

Facebook will lift its temporary ban on political advertising in the United States on Thursday, the company said in a blog post here on Wednesday. The social media giant has had a months-long freeze on political, electoral and social ads, which it introduced as part of an effort to crack down on misinformation and abuses around the Nov. 3 elections. Facebook had temporarily lifted its ad pause in Georgia for the state’s January runoff elections but put it back in place. Google lifted the ban last week. Facebook, which noted in its blog post that its systems do not distinguish between political and electoral ads and “social issue” ads, said it would look in the coming months at what other changes to its ads might be needed.

President Joe Biden said states like Texas and Mississippi are making “a big mistake” in ending their mask mandates. Biden encouraged social distancing, said it is “critical” that states “follow the science.”

The actor Storm Reid is busier than ever, even during a pandemic. Storm Reid, left, and Aoki Lee Simmons do yoga during an episode of Reid's cooking show "Chop It Up" on Facebook Watch. Niles Fitch holds up a cookie during an episode of Storm Reid's cooking show "Chop It Up" on Facebook Watch. Storm Reid, left, and Choyce Brown talk during an episode of Reid's show "Chop It Up" on Facebook Watch. New episodes of "Chop It up" stream weekly on Facebook Watch.

But someone at the hospital had sent the wrong letter, Johnson’s lawyers allege, giving Johnson the all-clear instead of directing her to return for a follow-up exam. The letter Johnson says she received from Fleming County Hospital stated that her mammogram "revealed no evidence of cancer." Do you have a story to share about medical records? The hospital hired a separate digital forensics expert to review Johnson’s medical record, as Garrett did, but the hospital didn’t submit findings in court, according to court records. Johnson’s lawyers said they don’t believe the hospital’s explanations.

It goes vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. I’m old enough to get it, and I’m smart enough to get it.” She also broke into song (naturally), replacing the word “Jolene” in one of her best-known choruses with “vaccine.” “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” she sang, embellishing the last one with her trademark Tennessee lilt. “I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate.” “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” she added, “because once you’re dead, then that’s a bit too late.” Just before the doctor arrived to inoculate her — or “pop me in my arm,” as she put it — she doubled down on her message. He thanked Merck and Johnson & Johnson for “stepping up and being good corporate citizens during this crisis.” Noah Weiland contributed reporting. “We’ll reserve as much as we can for that," Mr. de Blasio said of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

To combat the “border blues,” Australia’s national carrier said Wednesday that it is launching three mystery flights to unspecified domestic destinations. Mystery-flight travelers will find themselves roughly two hours away from the departure airports in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. [Travelers miss flying so much that they’re taking ‘flights’ to nowhere]Qantas’s flights are a throwback to an earlier era: The airline last offered mystery flights in the 1990s, and other airlines in Australia and Germany have run similar excursions in years past. “The vaccine rollout is bringing a lot more certainty and domestic border restrictions should soon be a thing of the past. Qantas said it will offset carbon emissions for all three flights.

It was hardly a surprise Wednesday when the Mainichi newspaper reported that the Japanese government has “begun preparations” to host the Games without overseas spectators. She dropped a strong hint, however, that banning overseas spectators was the only way to ensure a “safe and secure Games” and calm concerns among the general public. AD“When we think of the current situation, whether it is Japan or overseas, we are in a very difficult situation. The IOC issued its first “Playbook” for the Tokyo Games last month, indicating that participants will be tested before departure and on arrival, and be expected to avoid social interaction when possible and steer clear of public transport. Spectators will be allowed to clap but asked not to cheer or shout to avoid spreading virus particles.

I told her I thought I was having a heart attack. For the longest time, I wished I had forgotten it all, forgotten the trauma of suffering a heart attack at 41. My father had a heart attack in his late 50s and, later, bypass surgery. In the weeks after my heart attack, I was scared a little too straight. My heart attack forced me to bring balance and moderation to my diet.

ADADSecond, Dr. Seuss fulmination sure beats talking about policy issues for which Republicans have no answer or unpopular proposals (e.g., continue to freeze the minimum wage, reject $1,400 stimulus checks). They are performers for right-wing media, not legislators or problem-solvers. Their outrage-of-the-day focus fits that mind-set and indeed gets them play time on right-wing outlets. There is a bargain of sorts: Right-wing media won’t cover bad news for Republicans; Republicans come on their shows to keep the outrage and the ratings high. And maybe even into 2023.”) When we return to the election cycle, Democrats likely will be all too happy to run on their records while Republicans are still screeching about Dr. Seuss.

ADADDemocrats have also included expensive measures that are barely related to pandemic relief. Neither measure is tied to need as a result of the pandemic, nor are they necessary in light of the massive amounts of aid previously provided. This was before the December stimulus checks were sent, so we should expect that cash cushions have increased even more since then. The U.S. economy is already awash in cash from prior relief measures. Many of the covid-19 relief bill provisions do that.

While similar rocket attacks have routinely been claimed by or blamed on Iran-backed militia groups, Washington is trying to blunt the tensions that soared between Washington and Tehran during President Donald Trump’s years in office. But we’re identifying who’s responsible, and we’ll make judgments from that point.”Western officials point to Biden’s response to rocket attacks on U.S. service personnel in Iraq last week as a case in point. ADADRecent attacks on U.S.-linked bases have been claimed by splinter groups that have announced themselves since the deaths of Soleimani and Muhandis. Although U.S. officials say that those groups are backed by Iran, the extent of Tehran’s control over individual attacks remains unclear. As night fell Wednesday, there was no claim of responsibility for the latest rocket attacks.

President Biden condemned on March 3 a move by Mississippi and Texas governors to end to their states’ mask mandates, saying, “These masks make a difference.” (The Washington Post)Biden on Wednesday sharply criticized the decisions by Texas Gov. … The last thing, the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking — that, 'In the meantime, everything’s fine. “I wish the heck some of our elected officials would.”On Tuesday, Abbott ended his state’s mask mandate and boasted in all-caps on Twitter that “Texas is OPEN 100%. Ahead of Biden’s remarks to reporters, White House press secretary Jen Psaki urged Americans to continue wearing masks and practicing social distancing, even as the governors of Texas and Mississippi have lifted the restrictions in their states. “We need to remain vigilant,” Psaki said at a daily press briefing.

Rapidly superseding “traditional” initial public offerings as the funding mechanism for would-be electric vehicle makers and other “unicorn” start-ups, SPACs work like this. Next, they sell shares in that company through an IPO, promising investors to use the proceeds to buy another company, usually within the next two years. ADSo far, sponsors’ upside has far outweighed the downside. Typically, they get 20 percent of the SPAC’s equity in return for an investment equal to 3 or 4 percent of the SPAC’s IPO proceeds. ADThe average net return for SPAC sponsors between Jan. 1, 2019, and Jan. 22, 2021, was an eye-popping 648 percent, according to a study by Michael Cembalest of JP Morgan Asset Management.

Biden on Wednesday sharply criticized the decisions by Abbott and Mississippi Gov. … The last thing, the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking — that, 'In the meantime, everything’s fine. Forget it.’ It still matters.”Biden added that it is “critical, critical, critical” that state leaders “follow the science” and that Americans continue to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines. “I wish the heck some of our elected officials would.”On Tuesday, Abbott ended his state’s mask mandate and boasted in all-caps on Twitter that “Texas is OPEN 100%. “We need to remain vigilant,” Psaki said at a daily news briefing.

CREMONA, Italy — In one of the hardest-hit parts of the West’s most aged nation, the coronavirus blitzed through a generation in a matter of weeks. (Chiara Goia for The Washington Post)During the pandemic, nursing home residents have only been able to see relatives through a window. (Chiara Goia for The Washington Post)All the while, the very measures designed to keep the elderly safe have erected a wall around them. (Chiara Goia for The Washington Post)Gioconda Brunelli, 87, cycles to the hospital for her first coronavirus shot. (Photos by Chiara Goia for The Washington Post)LEFT: Gilberto Anelli lost his wife of 57 years to covid-19 in March 2020.

It did, however, elicit two contributions to the public’s understanding of more than Pallone’s and Doyle’s status as virtuosos of situational ethics. “This,” Turley said, “is the essence of a state media model. The downside of this is that bad actors can exploit the capabilities of digital media faster than better actors can correct the torrent of misinformation, or worse. Furthermore, the pandemic has, Bell says, accelerated malign developments by keeping people home and focused on nationally distributed news. The same might be said of the voters of California’s 18th and 9th, and New Jersey’s 6th and Pennsylvania’s 18th, congressional districts.

CNN's Daniel Dale fact-checks claims former Vice President Mike Pence made in an op-ed , where he alleges that there were "voting irregularities" that took place during the 2020 US election.

That insurance reduces the risk for the lender, so they feel more comfortable offering low- or no- down payment loans and lowering credit requirements. You can qualify for an FHA loan with a score of 580 and a down payment of as low as 3.5%. of your down payment, there are limits to how much you can borrow on an FHA loan. Borrowers with an FHA loan and a down payment of less than 10% will pay FHA mortgage insurance throughout the life of the loan. "The advantage of the VA loan is the option to make no down payment," said Nietzel.

Dolly Parton, 75, got her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday and urged others to do the same in a video posted to her social media.

Potato Head doll as part of a “Potato Head” brand, rather than a “Mr. Conservatives may not like which market forces companies respond to, but in a free market, that's not their call. But in a less free market, they believe, maybe it could be. “Republicans, conservatives must … repeal Section 230 liability protections,” Trump told the crowd, to extended cheers. In a free market in which Twitter was making bad business decisions, users would punish it by switching to Parler or Gab.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday China represented America's "biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century," saying the Asian nation was the only country with enough power to jeopardize the current international order. And we will engage China from a position of strength," Blinken said in a speech laying out the Biden administration's foreign policy vision. On trade, the administration will invest in American workers and companies and insist on a "level playing field," because "when we do, we can out-compete anyone," Blinken said. As an official during the Obama administration, Blinken himself supported the NATO military intervention in Libya, as well as policies supporting the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. We will fight for every American job, and for the rights, protections and interests of all American workers," he said.

Voting was interrupted for about three hours Tuesday when a pipe bomb was found outside an Iowa polling location, officials said. Authorities lifted the evacuation order and voting resumed after the device was safely detonated, but no arrests were immediately made in connection with the incident. It wasn't clear how long the device was there, as about a dozen voters had to be directed to other polling stations, Fitzgerald said. "I’m deeply concerned to learn that a pipe bomb was found at a polling place in Ankeny earlier today," she said Tuesday in a tweet. I’m deeply concerned to learn that a pipe bomb was found at a polling place in Ankeny earlier today.

She had interviewed for GM positions at least 10 times over the years, only to be passed over for someone else. “It is unbelievable yet totally deserving that Kim has ascended to a position of power, influence and leadership,” King tells TIME. Brian Cashman, as assistant GM with the Yankees, was impressed with her acumen, so when he was elevated to Yankees GM in 1998, he offered Ng the chance to replace him in his previous role. “Because I’ve given this example, and they all nod their heads, like, absolutely.”Ng toiled for three decades before running her own baseball team, despite being an early adopter of baseball analytics. These new tools to evaluate players granted a small army of Ivy League quant types—all men—-access to top GM jobs.

A "suspected terrorist crime" was being investigated in a southern Sweden town after a man assaulted at least eight people in Wednesday, police said. A man in his 20s attacked people in the small town of Vetlanda, about 118 miles southeast of Goteborg, Sweden's second largest city, police said. The man was shot by police, who said that the condition of those attacked and the perpetrator was not immediately known. Regional police chief Malena Grann told a news conference that a suspect had been arrested after "police opened fire. There are details in the investigation that make us investigate any terrorist motives, but at the moment I cannot go into details."

Andrew Cuomo is facing growing calls for his resignation after former staffer Lindsey Boylan detailed allegations of sexual harassment against him last Wednesday. | Scott Heins/Getty Images Cuomo: 'I am not going to resign'An emotional Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that he would not step down in the face of multiple accusations of sexual harassment. “I am not going to resign,” Cuomo said in his first public appearance since the accusations surfaced last week. Some top staff members have begun to leave as Cuomo's troubles mount.

The three leaders were huddling on a separate issue Tuesday night when they learned Tanden's nomination had been pulled. They decided to immediately reach out to the White House, trying to get both Biden and a top aide, Steve Ricchetti, on the line. Biden said Tanden will still serve a role in his administration but did not specify the position. Both Democrats and Republicans praised Young on Tuesday during her first confirmation hearing to be deputy director. “You’ll get my support, maybe for both jobs,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Young during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Budget Committee.

Actor Jahmil French, best known for playing Dave Turner on the Canadian "Degrassi" series, has died at age 29, according to his representatives. "It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of a dear friend and client Jahmil French," an agent representing French wrote in an email to NBC News. "Heartbroken over the loss of our friend Jahmil French," wrote cast member Annie Clark. Heartbroken over the loss of our friend Jahmil French. A true talent and a great friend.

Officially entitled “Immigrants admitted from all countries: 1820 to 1840 — 115,773,” the painting known as panel 28 had not been seen in public since 1960 and was known only through a black-and-white reproduction. The 30-piece series remains incomplete, as the whereabouts of three panels remain a mystery, the museum said. The 12-inch-by-16-inch (30.5-centimeter-by-40.5-centimeter) panel was found in a New York City apartment, like another painting in the series, panel 16, that was rediscovered in a different home in October. The owner, who wants to remain anonymous, inherited the panel 28 from family, who — like the figures depicted — were immigrants. Museum officials hope that the discovery of panels 28 and 16 — which depicts Shays’ Rebellion, the 1786–87 tax revolt in western Massachusetts, leads to the discovery of the three panels that remain missing.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden criticized the decisions in Texas and Mississippi to roll back statewide mask mandates and other Covid-19 health guidelines as "Neanderthal thinking." We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because the way in which we are able to get vaccines," Biden told reporters. "The last thing we need is the Neanderthal thinking that, in the meantime, everything is fine, take off our mask, forget it," he added. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that it was "now time to open Texas 100 percent," citing the economic impact of the virus. "It is critical, critical, critical that they follow the science," Biden said of the governors.

The 37-year-old son of San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame receiver Kellen Winslow appeared via videoconference at the hearing in San Diego Superior Court in Vista, a city north of San Diego. San Diego County Superior Court Judge Blaine Bowman said Winslow can only be described with “two words and that is sexual predator." He was convicted of forcible rape, rape of an unconscious person, assault with intent to commit rape, indecent exposure, and lewd conduct in public. The forcible rape involved a woman who was homeless in his home town of Encinitas, a beach community north of San Diego. But both sides agreed to reduce the sexual battery charge to assault with intent to commit rape last month.

Just like how the Arthurian legend, "Game of Thrones" and "Dungeons & Dragons" can be seen as a mishmash of Western history,” “Raya” is using Southeast Asian influences to tell a new kind of fantasy story, Nguyen says. “You could build an epic story based on cultures that are Eastern, not just Western.”For instance, in the film, Raya calls her dad, voiced by Daniel Dae Kim, “Ba,” the Vietnamese word for father. Nguyen was one of the fight consultants on the film and wanted the fight scenes in “Raya” to reflect martial arts that originated in Southeast Asia. Disney+“Anytime you get to see a story that has a Southeast Asian character, it's always about war," screenwriter Qui Nguyen said. Nguyen thinks “Raya” is an opportunity for families to have tough, complex conversations together and shows how in today’s divided world, Raya may be the hero we all need.

Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday publicly addressed the claims of sexual harassment against him, apologizing for remarks he said "made people feel uncomfortable" but rebuffing demands that he resign. "I was elected by the people of the state of New York," Cuomo said, in his first televised remarks since the multiple claims became public. After delivering a lengthy briefing on the state of the pandemic, Cuomo turned his attention to three allegations of harassment he faces. "I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. In a statement to NBC New York, Cuomo spokesperson Caitlin Girouard said, "There is simply no truth to these claims."

× Expand Photo by Kate Alexandrite Garden Terrace Union members march to the home of the man who manages Garden Terrace for its owner. At Durham’s Garden Terrace Apartments in Lakewood, resident Maryeri Sarmiento is tired of being ignored. “We want to get it fixed; we want to get it right and for everybody to be safe and happy.”The Garden Terrace Tenants UnionThe severe maintenance issues at Garden Terrace have shed light on a broader struggle. Fany Sarmiento, the union’s president and Maryeri’s sister, says that roughly three-fourths of Garden Terrace residents have joined the union. “There is no legal entity called the Garden Terrace Tenants Union,” he says.

× Expand Courtesy of the subject Kyle Villemain of The Assembly. It’s a digital, statewide magazine about people, institutions, and ideas in North Carolina that launched last month. We think North Carolinians want that kind of magazine-style writing you can read about national figures—and that kind of reporting should be done here. There is a lot of innovation in North Carolina around journalism, but a lot is city-specific, like the INDY, or Axios Charlotte, or there are industry-specific outlets like Business North Carolina, EdNC, or North Carolina Health News. It gives us a broad perspective, and we found a good response [from] folks who want that kind of reporting.

India’s Muslim Journalists Are Under Attack India’s Muslim Journalists Are Under Attack As the mainstream media has consolidated behind the BJP, independent journalism in India has become a dangerous activity. Already underrepresented in mainstream media, Muslim journalists make for easy, conspicuous targets—as Khan and others like her realized last February. He was also asked to drop his pants for proof he wasn’t Muslim (Muslim men are circumcised), according to a report in the Telegraph. As of December 31, 2020, according to the International Federation of Journalists, India ranks fourth in the list of countries most dangerous for journalists , with eight journalists killed in 2020. For journalists, especially Muslim journalists, in the new India, this training may turn out to be as essential to their reporting.

Civil Liberties Matter Following 9/11, the extensive exploitation of relaxed civil liberties was used as a pretext to engage in egregious human rights abuses. Because of a street-fighting division of the Proud Boys, nuance is required in parsing the case of the organization. Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, getting a kick out of Chapman’s actions, invited Chapman to join the club. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio claims that Chapman left in 2017 to form “his own thing.” He applied to rejoin in October 2020 but was rejected. What is very clear is that even if McInnes and his Proud Boys say they weren’t initially interested in the alt-right or street fighting, the street-fighting alt-right were very much interested in the Proud Boys.

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers have been unable to cover rent due to the pandemic and the economic crisis it has caused. Members of a variety of tenants’ organizations — including Crown Heights Tenant Union, Brooklyn Eviction Defense, Cosecha, DSA Housing Working Group, Met Council on Housing and and the PSL — rallied at Brooklyn Housing Court calling for cancellation of the rents. Although the demonstrators tried to enter both Brooklyn Housing Court and Brooklyn Borough Hall, they were barred from doing so by a phalanx of police officers. It would work very much like the rent relief program that was rolled out over the summer. A note to our readers: Although the housing court has reopened, tenants can file hardship forms through May 1st and likely won’t have to pay rent until then.

Already disproportionately left longer in the dark, communities of color will likely bear the brunt of Texas’s brewing energy debt crisis. The situation in Texas illustrates the dangers of a broken system, and shows why we need to immediately cancel all utility debt and implement a national moratorium on utility shutoffs. Utility debt can reverberate for a person’s financial life, downgrading credit scores that are often key to opening a bank account or renting an apartment. In Massachusetts, State Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven introduced a utility debt cancellation bill to relieve residents who cumulatively hold over $351 million in arrears. We need quick relief in the form of cancelled utility debt and a moratorium on utility shutoffs — but we also need to fight for a vision of utility justice that repairs past harm and fulfills basic human rights.

If the Cass proposal sounds like déjà vu all over again, that’s because it is. Now, here is Cass saying we should roughly double the value of it and make it phase in more aggressively. Many years ago, you could pass yourself off as a new brand of conservative by saying that child benefits should exclude slightly fewer poor kids than they currently do. But with Mitt Romney now saying that child benefits should exclude no poor kids, which is how nearly every other developed country does things, Cass’s insistence that starving some kids is important for society just makes him look like a reactionary clown. Taken together, his views on globalization and child benefits are that (1) globalization has caused many American families to have low or no earnings, and (2) American families with low or no earnings should be excluded from child benefits.

Can Bill Gates save the world from capitalism? Climate change, Gates and many economists argue, is an example of a market failure. If governments could only assign the correct price to these emissions, the market failure would be corrected and the planet would be saved. And the exercise of state power is not neutral: it is influenced by market outcomes. We can’t rely on Bill Gates to solve the climate crisis, but nor can we rely on Joe Biden.

is attempting to push a job guarantee into the political mainstream. ?“It’s time, if we’re really serious about a reckoning, that we enter into a third reconstruction to truly have a robust and just recovery from this pandemic, and a federal job guarantee should be a part of that. One alluring quality of a job guarantee is that it could fit snugly together with almost any other progressive priority. “If you do a job guarantee correctly, and you build in certain requirements, you are setting a standard. The economist Darrick Hamilton estimated in 2015 that a federal job guarantee would have an all-in cost of around $50,000 per job — $750 billon to employ the 15 million unemployed at the peak of the Great Recession, though far less during normal years.

Technology and the rise of social media have made that question even more complex, shifting our understanding of leadership — and the responsibilities of a leader. A platform in King’s day might have been a church congregation, whereas today a platform could be a social media page. Every actor within a social movement has a role to play and contributions to offer that at some point should be recognized. Black Lives Matter started as a hashtag and then grew into a series of social media pages that connected people online. It doesn’t matter how many people follow me on social media if I am not moving them to do something amazing together offline.

Interview by Claudia KorolKarina Nohales and Alondra Carrillo are two of the most prominent members of the Chilean 8M Feminist Coordinating Committee (Coordinadora Feminista 8 de Marzo, or CF8M). The group, formed in the midst of Latin America’s powerful feminist wave, has become a leading presence on the Chilean left, especially after the revolts of October 2019 shook Chile to its core. Even with those misgivings, the results of the October 2020 plebiscite have drawn social movements like the CF8M into the heart of the constitutional process. This unexpected turn of events led the once-skeptical social movements to embrace the constitutional process as a vital arena of social transformation. Karina and Alondra are today candidates for the Constituent Assembly, the body responsible for rewriting the Chilean constitution.

It’s hard to escape the feeling that when Lawrence Ferlinghetti succumbed to interstitial lung disease last month, in San Francisco, something more than a single human being had passed. That telegram showed Ferlinghetti had the instincts of a great publisher. (Ferlinghetti was cotranslator of the latter, and also translated a collection of verse by Jacques Prévert.) Don’t forget that Ferlinghetti’s own second collection of poetry had just as great an impact as Ginsberg’s work. And even late in life, Ferlinghetti continued calling for poetry as an insurgent art—as one of his books was titled.

Most importantly, Macron has signed off on all this: Vidal serves at his discretion and the president evidently has her back. While the witch hunt against campus radicalism in the United States peaked in the 1990s and early 2000s, the French culture warriors have only now picked up the dubious cause. It now heads to the Senate, which is already slated to take up a separate “general security law” later this month. Related Article The Fight Against France’s Global Security Law Is Far From Over Meerabelle JesuthasanHow did this happen? Now that he and his party have directed their efforts to culture and civil society, that willingness to pursue their agenda at all costs is even clearer.

Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! In exchange for establishing this third category, the gig-economy employers are dangling a carrot called sectoral bargaining. Such comparison are either disingenuous or ignorant—either way, accepting third-category status in exchange for sectoral bargaining would be a disaster for US workers. It took worker power to win the standards workers enjoy in every country that currently has sectoral bargaining. If national union leaders acquiesce to the creation of a third category of worker in exchange for sectoral bargaining, we can kiss collective bargaining good-bye and surrender to collective begging.

Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! When Steve Cobble unexpectedly passed away last week at the age of 69, we lost a giant and a dearly beloved brother. After my 1988 campaign, Cobble served as political director of the Rainbow Push Coalition and remained my personal adviser and strategist.

“Are you okay?” asked a friend and military spouse in the voicemail she left for me on the afternoon the mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol so violently. I listened to concerns that the far-right nationalist attack on the Capitol would, sooner or later, inspire violence against their own families. The Isolation of Military ServiceThere are about 2 million Americans who serve in the US military and 2.6 million more who are military spouses and dependents. Military spouses also care for children in mourning, temporarily or in some cases permanently, over the loss of a parent. And the military that’s been fighting those hopeless, bloody wars in distant lands for so long is on edge, too.

He has promised to force a vote on the $15 minimum wage this week. While $15 an hour still isn’t really enough to live on, it would more than double the current minimum wage. Even so-called deficit hawks, who oppose greater government spending on principle, should be behind a minimum wage hike. For the duration of Barack Obama’s presidency, the value of the minimum wage plummeted, when adjusted for inflation. The point here is not that Republicans care a great deal about helping minimum wage workers — they don’t.

Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Less than a year ago, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was touted as the golden boy of American politics. But in order to make the claim that they are the more ethical party, Democrats have to first clean house, starting with Cuomo.

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Most parents can’t screw up “bedtime story”: pick book, read book, collect “good parent” points, the end. The first time it happened to me, I was reading from a compilation of Dr. Seuss books and was in the middle of If I Ran the Zoo. They’re not on anybody’s top-10 Seuss books or part of anybody’s cherished memories. Rejecting some Seuss books, while contextualizing others, and preserving the good ones is not “cancel culture,” it’s the other thing Republicans don’t like: nuance. I too would like to put my brain on autopilot while I read my kids a bedtime story.

Aruká Juma / Odair Leal/Amazônia RealManaus, Amazonas — The death of the last survivor of the Juma people, the warrior Amoim Aruká, from complications linked to COVID-19, is an incalculable tragedy. He fought for the demarcation of his people’s lands which were only ratified as an Indigenous Territory (TI) belonging to the Juma in 2004. In August 2020 the Bolsonaro government said that it would install the barrier on the Assuã river, in the Tufari Biological Reserve (REBIO), outside the Juma Indigenous Territory. The Sanitary Barrier would be controlled by the Military Police and overseen by the Humaitá Special Indigenous Sanitary District (DSEI). The government assassinated Aruká Juma.

The smoke-filled frame of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. ReporterreOn April 15, 2019, watching television footage of Notre Dame Cathedral burning, I wept like millions of other French people and others around the world. We must invite poets and geographers to investigate the emotional link which draws us to this place we call “Notre Dame de Paris.” Because it is, without doubt, this compound of the collective and the individual, of the cultural and the historic, that makes the presence of Notre Dame much more than a simple religious proposition. The construction of Notre Dame de Paris was undertaken at a time of widespread land clearance and cultivation, which brought untold riches to the territory of France. The wound left in Paris by the fire in Notre Dame is a reflection of the rending of the tissue of existence by our cities and our ways of life.

People hold posters of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, near the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul, marking the two-year anniversary of his death, Oct. 2, 2020. His assassination angered both the local and then-News Guild President Bernie Lunzer, who demanded a formal investigation and sanctions. Biden released the report summary, but his inaction on sanctions against MBS upset the union all over again. Current News Guild President Jon Schleuss endorsed the statement. SPJ President Matthew Hall called the intelligence summary “too little, too late.”“Many Americans have now read—and all should read—the four-page declassified intelligence report on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi,” Hall added.

A worker packs a box of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine into a cooler for shipping from a facility in Shepherdsville, Ky., Monday, March 1, 2021. Biden credited the stepped-up timetable to his ongoing use of the Defense Production Act and the establishment of a partnership between two long-time corporate rivals, Merck and Johnson and Johnson. Biden said the country is in a “war” against the coronavirus, justifying his sweeping measures against it. “When we came into office, the prior administration had contracted for not nearly enough vaccine to cover adults in America. First, the Republican governor of one huge state announces he will ignore the president’s pleas for caution and that he will end mask mandates and immediately open up his state entirely.

Major changesUnder the Equality Act, the meaning of “public accommodations” will be greatly expanded. The Equality Act would outlaw unequal treatment or harassment of all individuals that fall under any protected category where there are currently limitations. The Equality Act specifically names the RFRA and says it cannot be used as a pretext for discrimination against protected groups. Further, the Equality Act makes it so legislation protecting members of the LGBTQ community is permanently enshrined in federal law. The GOP fear narrativeAlthough the Republican Party has been seemingly turning in on itself with post-election internal divisions, its elected officials have remained united against the Equality Act.

Carnations lay on the grave of former German Communist leader Rosa Luxemburg at a cemetery in Berlin. Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, founders of the German Communist movement, were killed Jan. 15, 1919 by right-wing militiamen. The film begins on December 7, 1916, with Rosa Luxemburg in Vronke prison, cutting back to this location again and again. Indeed, throughout the film, Luxemburg occasionally speaks in Polish, especially to Leo Jogiches, her close comrade and lover of many years. Pabst took the decision to have Liebknecht and Luxemburg murdered, considering the executions in the national interest.

Instigator turned investigator Sen. Josh Hawley, left, questions FBI Director Chris Wray at a Senate hearing on Tuesday. President Biden has directed his national intelligence director to work with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to gauge the threat from white supremacists. Wray said the number of domestic terrorism investigations has grown from 1,000 when he became FBI director in 2017 to 2,000 now. The number of arrests of white supremacists has tripled, he said. “Some of those people clearly came to Washington, we now know, with the plans and intentions to engage in the worst kind of violence we would consider domestic terrorism,” Wray said.

Back of the Moon still, courtesy of The Bomb / Videovision EntertainmentDirector/co-writer and Oscar nominee Angus Gibson’s Back of the Moon is another example of why I love PAFF—the Pan African Virtual Film + Arts Festival. If not for this festival film buffs like moi probably would never have heard of, let alone had the opportunity to see, this highly entertaining South African movie. Moon is a gangster film in the way that Jean-Luc Godard’s 1959 New Wave Breathless is. On the one hand, he is indeed a tough hombre who brawls with the boxing champion Strike (South African actor S’Dumo Mtshali). This year’s 29th annual Pan African Virtual Film + Arts Festival is taking place Feb. 28-March 14.

Cuomo was praised for his leadership by citizens and politicians alike. The United States’ shining example of crisis leadership has quickly begun to fall from grace. However, Cuomo’s rapid descent from patriotic hero to just another sleazy politician provides a lesson for the U.S. public: idolizing politicians is dangerous and foolish. Praising politicians for their basic competency shows them that we do not expect any meaningful change, and care more about optics than legislative progress. Fostering a cult of celebrity around politicians puts them above us, the people.

She’d already spent thousands of dollars managing her disease in a city whose air has never met federal health-based standards for another kind of air pollution, ground-level ozone. They had been trying to start a family, but experienced miscarriages, which have been linked to exposure to air pollution. All year, every year, nearly half of Houston’s schools are exposed to too much air pollution. “People are being harmed, seriously harmed” by air pollution, says Kelly Haragan, who teaches law at the University of Texas at Austin’s environmental clinic. “If the Clean Air Act worked the way it was supposed to work, no one would be harmed by air pollution,” Flatt says.

It goes vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. I’m old enough to get it, and I’m smart enough to get it.” She also broke into song (naturally), replacing the word “Jolene” in one of her best-known choruses with “vaccine.” “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” she sang, embellishing the last one with her trademark Tennessee lilt. “I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate.” “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” she added, “because once you’re dead, then that’s a bit too late.” Just before the doctor arrived to inoculate her — or “pop me in my arm,” as she put it — she doubled down on her message. “This pilot plan will maximize the initial doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and get as many shots in arms as possible,” Mr. Cuomo said. “We’ll reserve as much as we can for that," Mr. de Blasio said of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The previous season, at age 21, Pulisic scored nine Premier League goals and a career-best 11 in all competitions. ADSince Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard on Jan. 26, Pulisic has started once, in an FA Cup match against second-tier Barnsley. He has subbed into four Premier League matches, remained on the bench for another and wasn’t in uniform for two more. ADIn the UEFA Champions League, Pulisic played the last three minutes against Atlético Madrid. Rose Lavelle, a U.S. breakout star at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, is another example.

In four seasons at San Diego State, he has a record of 92-30 going into Wednesday night’s regular season finale at UNLV. ADTwo years later, he was hired to take over a downtrodden San Diego State program. In Fisher’s third season, San Diego State went 21-12, won the Mountain West and appeared in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1985. “I’m being introduced tomorrow as the coach at San Diego State,” he said. “I’m not sure I would have lasted as an assistant for that long in the same place in, say, Laramie, Wyoming — God bless Laramie, Wyoming — but San Diego is paradise.

“If everything goes well, he’ll be back, hopefully he can pitch again in about a week,” Martinez said on a video call with reporters Wednesday. The 37-year-old Lester joined the Nationals on a one-year, $5 million contract in January. When asked Tuesday if Lester’s medical history made this thyroid issue more concerning, Martinez did not go into specifics. As recent as this week, the Nationals were banking on him improving those numbers while maintaining that steady workload. … He’s going to give you innings, he’s going to compete, he’s going to throw the ball over the plate.”

Areas outlined in orange experienced a decline in the percentage of average snowpack since the beginning of February. The evidence is clear — February was beneficial for many, but it was not a drought buster, and drought continues to maintain its stranglehold on the West. As of Feb. 28, stations colored orange and red have below average snowpack for this time of year. For the mountain ranges throughout Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado, snowpack is also below average. ADADFor the areas that struggled this winter, the Climate Prediction Center’s outlook is discouraging, with increased chances of below average precipitation and above average temperatures for the March-April-May time period.

Biden on Wednesday sharply criticized the decisions by Texas Gov. … The last thing, the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking — that, 'In the meantime, everything’s fine. Forget it.’ It still matters.”Biden added that it is “critical, critical, critical” that state leaders “follow the science” and that Americans continue to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines. “I wish the heck some of our elected officials would.”On Tuesday, Abbott ended his state’s mask mandate and boasted in all-caps on Twitter that “Texas is OPEN 100%. “We need to remain vigilant,” Psaki said at a daily press briefing.

believes two things: The attack was domestic terrorism, and it showed law enforcement needs broader powers to fight back, like those granted after 9/11. “In today’s world, the FBI tells me they’re having more domestic terrorism cases than international terrorism,” McCaul, a former Homeland Security Committee chairman, said in an interview. “And that what happened January 6th is an act of domestic terrorism, that we are going to begin to charge people.”The Biden administration has made countering domestic extremism a priority. “When you’re talking about al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and elsewhere, they’re not governed by the Constitution; but domestic terrorism is,” McCaul said. ADAs my colleagues Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky report that Wray told the committee domestic terrorism has roughly doubled over the past year.

The monorail would attract about 10,300 new transit trips daily, which would take that many vehicles off I-270 and other roads in the corridor — about a 0.1 percent reduction in traffic, the study found. Monorail advocates say they question some of the findings, particularly the assumptions underlying the ridership calculations. However, the overall conclusion that monorail would be feasible, they say, shows it deserves serious consideration as a way to expand mass transit. ADEisinger said he agreed with much of the state study, except for ridership forecasts and predictions of how much traffic a monorail would take off roads. He said his company, Rockville-based Promark Partners, owns property across the Washington region but not at any potential monorail station sites.

LIVE Washington Post LiveRace in America: Rise in Anti-Asian ViolenceAsian Americans have been increasingly targeted in verbal and physical attacks since the coronavirus pandemic. A spate of recent assaults against seniors, including one that resulted in the death of an 84-year-old Thai man, has renewed national attention around the issue. On Wednesday, March 3 at 2:00pm ET, national reporter Michelle Ye Hee Lee speaks with actor/producer Daniel Dae Kim, about the growing fears in the community, calls for action and his own advocacy.

“I have learned from what has been an incredibly difficult situation for me as well as other people,” he said. “I feel awful about it, and frankly I am embarrassed by it, and that is not easy to say. Some New York legislators and one House member from the state’s Democratic delegation, have called for his resignation. She said she gave a statement about the interaction with a special counsel to the governor and showed the New York Times contemporaneous text messages discussing Cuomo’s behavior. “It is my way of greeting people.” He noted that it was also a habit of his father, former New York Gov.

Barring a major collapse this month, GameStop will be eligible to be added to the fund — provided there continues to be enough bullish chatter about it on social media to make it BUZZ-worthy. After Buzz Indexes invested in Penn, Bartstool founder Dave Portnoy, one of the more active traders on social media, decided to take a stake in the index. The Buzz index is up nearly 80% in the past 12 months and has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past three and five years. And this isn't the first time Buzz Indexes has launched a social media-based stock fund. It is possible though that the initial BUZZ ETF was ahead of its time.

New York (CNN) Consumers typically have flocked to malls because they're a one-stop shop for everything from socks to sofa sets. Now, one of the biggest mall jewelers in the United States is giving some folks the chance to cross another item off their shopping lists. The company operates more than 500 Piercing Pagoda "kiosk"-type stores in malls nationwide that sell gold and silver chains, bracelets, rings, and earrings. The company operates more than 500 Piercing Pagoda "kiosk"-type stores in malls nationwide that sell gold and silver chains, bracelets, rings, and earrings. Mishawn Neva Zengota, a recently hired Piercing Pagoda piercing specialist, said nose, dimples, eyebrows and "bridge" piercings have been particularly popular lately.

Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, the commanding general of the Washington, DC, National Guard testified Wednesday that he did not need authorization from Pentagon leaders before deploying troops in response to protests at the nation's capital in the summer of 2020, but that changed in the days before the January 6th insurrection.

Some believers of the QAnon conspiracy theory think that former President Trump will become president again on March 4th. CNN's Sara Sidner explains the origin of that belief.

Daniel Kucin Jr./Associated PressThe Washington Football Team will replace its cheerleaders with a coed dance squad for the 2021 NFL season as part of its continued organizational restructuring. "At this point, as we re-imagine what this looks like, that's not in the plans," Pope told Epstein. Right now, we're thinking modern, modern franchise. A source told Epstein the changes to the game-day experience at FedEx Field were "unrelated" to the settlement. A new nickname is expected to arrive in 2022, and the Washington Football Team moniker will remain in place for next season.

Put simply, COVID-19 is a big enough economic hole to hide Brexit in, according to economists. At least for now, the impact of Brexit appears to be a series of smaller cuts, compared to the pandemic’s swift and sudden blow. How much of that disruption to trade was COVID, what was Brexit, and how much is short-term or temporary?” said Julian Jessop, an independent economist. Realistically, data can’t offer a guide to how Brexit has impacted trade until the end of the year, he said. Brexit uncertainty is over and “we seem to be doing some things pretty well.”Want more analysis from POLITICO?

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Lawmakers were uncompromising — and seemingly unconvinced — in the oral evidence session, and the threat of a confidence vote still hangs over Sturgeon’s head. No conspiracy“I want to take this opportunity to say sorry,” Sturgeon said this morning, her voice charged with emotion. Sorry to the women let down by a bungled investigation into abuse allegations; sorry to the taxpayer whose money was lost on a mishandled court case. That may seem an inconsequential detail, but political opponents — and Salmond — say Sturgeon misled parliament with the timeframe she provided. Doomed court caseIn late 2018, the Scottish government pushed on with an ill-fated (and expensive) court case against Salmond, though defeat was all-but-certain.

Those looking for Rishi Sunak to take on the hard work of decarbonizing the economy were disappointed | Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty ImagesIf he talks about climate change at all, Rishi Sunak isn’t ready to talk about the pain. Net zero means doing all of it, everywhere. The government’s net zero review, expected in the summer, may provide more answers for sectors like building and transport, which were ignored in this budget. There were also examples of the type of structural elements seen as required for a full-economy shift to net zero. Chris Stark, who leads the CCC advisory body, is rarely short of a word on the government’s climate policy.

Stills from surveillance video at the Capitol show Cua holding the baton while confronting a police officer in a hallway near the Senate chamber. Moss said that while Cua’s actions at the Capitol may have not been among the most egregious that day, his foreknowledge was incriminating. “Perhaps most troubling, sort of with uncanny foresight, he knew what was going to happen,” said the judge. “He was posting about going to the Capitol for the purpose of violence before it happened ... He predicted things were going to happen that I never in a million years would imagine would happen at our Capitol.

“The votes are just not there for a price on carbon.”Clean energy standard: Arguably the most consequential title is a clean energy standard, which would create a credit trading system for utilities to meet clean energy goals. It includes a host of new provisions in areas like environmental justice, energy transition, waste reduction and transportation. The legislation also includes a requirement that 40 percent of funds go toward environmental justice communities that have suffered persistent pollution — a priority for the Biden administration. Environmental justice focus: The new environmental justice provisions would notably establish a grant program to finance lead drinking water service line replacements. It would also require environmental justice training for federal employees at agencies and set up an environmental justice clearinghouse at EPA.

In his first public remarks since President Joe Biden’s inauguration, former Vice President Mike Pence is pushing falsehoods about election security in an op-ed he authored for The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Of particular ire to Pence is Democrats’ first major bill of the 116th Congress, the For The People Act. Trump and his allies filed more than 60 election lawsuits seeking to overturn the election results on that basis. An inquiry by Trump’s Justice Department also concluded there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would have changed the outcome of the election. Pence briefly referred to that day in his op-ed, describing it as “tragic.” He failed to acknowledge that members of the mob were chanting “hang Mike Pence” as they roamed the Capitol Building, apparently looking for him to violently persuade him not to certify the results of the 2020 election.

The politics: Drawing Republican support is likely to be crucial for the bill, and Daines' support could help its chance. “This bipartisan bill will support jobs and increase investment in coal and other energy producing communities in Montana to ensure they continue playing a part in American energy production," Daines said. The White House did not comment on the bill, but Stabenow said Biden backed the plan. "If manufacturing wanted to go to McGowan County or to Clay County or other areas of West Virginia ... those manufacturers would already be there. There can be an incentive, but Joe [Manchin] needs to understand its not just tax incentives.

| Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for Housing Works Meet the woman ready to come out of Cuomo’s shadow New York Lt. Gov. And now, as the number of Democrats calling for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation seems to tick up every few hours, Hochul could soon become the second recent lieutenant governor to assume the state’s top post because of an incumbent's sexual misdeeds. The lieutenant governor has said little about the accusations against the governor, who is accused of sexually harassing two former staff members. But it’s a role she’s fiercely defended.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday called on Americans to continue wearing masks and practice other pandemic mitigation measures even as governors in some states relax or altogether lift Covid restrictions. “This entire country has paid the price for political leaders who ignored the science when it comes to the pandemic,” Psaki said. You go to the grocery store and there’s Clorox wipes available. A year into this, that feels better, but there’s still more that needs to be done. We need to remain vigilant.”“We’re not asking people just to listen to the president," she also said.

"I take my professional responsibility with respect to prescription drug practices seriously; and I flat out reject any allegation that I consumed alcohol while on duty," Jackson added. The IG's most scathing findings relate to allegations of unprofessional behavior, including making sexually inappropriate comments about co-workers, according to the 37-page public report. On the same trip, the report says he also failed his duties as the White House physician and a Navy officer by getting drunk and acting inappropriately. It also found "no evidence to support the allegation that RDML Jackson 'got drunk and wrecked a government vehicle.'" The IG made no specific recommendations, leaving it up to the secretary of the Navy to "take appropriate action."

“The idea of it, the through-line of the whole show, is about how Wanda is processing her loss,” he said. “I think there’s added resonance to the show in general, but specifically to a line like that, as we’re all trying to process grief.”In an interview with HuffPost on Monday, “WandaVision” director Matt Shakman reacted to the line’s virality, saying, “It’s a beautiful line. If Vision works on computers in “WandaVision,” how does he get past the CAPTCHAs that ask you to prove you’re not a robot? Episode 8 reveals that Vision acquired a plot of land in Westview where he and Wanda can grow old together, but why Westview? You know, I don’t think there’s any definitive answer about why Westview, New Jersey.

Andrew Cuomo (D) directly addressed the sexual harassment allegations against him at a Wednesday press conference, saying he now realizes his behavior made people “uncomfortable” but that he never touched anyone inappropriately. “I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable,” he said. I feel awful about it, and frankly, I am embarrassed by it.”He will not heed calls to step down, he told reporters. “I’m not going to resign,” he said. When pressed by reporters to address a photo of him with one of his accusers, Cuomo said he now understands she was uncomfortable but that this wasn’t out-of-the-ordinary behavior.

“‘The United States Capitol Police Department is aware of and prepared for any potential threats towards members of Congress or towards the Capitol complex,’ the agency said in a statement. Emmer, a longtime Trump supporter, wouldn’t go as far as to tell the head of his party to butt out completely, but his intentions were clear. Emmer has officially become the first member of Republican leadership to publicly caution Trump against acting out on his thirst for revenge. …“Senate Democrats need all 50 of their members to kick off consideration of the bill, a vote expected on Wednesday afternoon. 1125 South Ocean Blvd.” With picsWHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Reggie Greer has been appointed director of priority placement at PPO and senior adviser on LGBTQ issues at the White House.

Former first lady Michelle Obama spoke for the first time on Wednesday about the anxiety she had felt while attending the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden only two weeks after insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the Nov. 3 election results. “The mood was wonderful, but it was also mixed,” she told Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America.”“I think everyone was concerned about more riots, but we were assured that things were under control. Witnessing 22-year-old inaugural poet Amanda Gorman move the crowd with her poem “The Hill We Climb” also made Obama “proud and moved almost to tears.”“I know there are many, many Amanda Gormans,” she said. We gotta march, we gotta protest, and we have to vote. Young people are starting to put those pieces together.”Watch the full interview below.

Facebook will now return political ads to its platform, one of the largest and most cost-effective ways for campaigns to reach voters and potential supporters. Digital strategists in both parties were sharply critical of Facebook's decision to cut off access to voters for the last several months, upending off-year campaign strategies. “As a result, we plan to use the coming months to take a closer look at how these ads work on our service to see where further changes may be merited.”Facebook and Google — responsible for billions of dollars in digital political ad spending during the 2020 cycle — both instituted bans around the 2020 election. Their prohibitions scrambled online fundraising efforts in 2021, cutting off a key communication tool between campaigns and voters ahead of state elections in Virginia and New Jersey this year, as well as municipal races around the country. Last week, Google announced that it would be lifting its own ban, after temporarily reimposing it following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo addressed allegations of sexual harassment against him and apologized for the "pain" that he caused. Cuomo said he "never touched anyone inappropriately" and is "embarrassed.”

New data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration shows a historic drop in inspections performed by the agency while the coronavirus spread. OSHA conducted 21,674 inspections between October 2019 and September 2020, down from 33,393 the previous fiscal year. Debbie Berkowitz, a workplace safety expert at the National Employment Law Project, said in an email that the number of inspections carried out in fiscal year 2020 was the lowest on record going back at least two decades. They should have done at least 12,000 more inspections.” The Trump administration took withering criticism for its ?abysmal response to the workplace hazards posed by the virus. Employers tend to fix hazards more quickly when OSHA performs inspections onsite.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday China represented America's "biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century," saying Beijing was the only country with enough power to jeopardize the current international order. And we will engage China from a position of strength," Blinken said in a speech laying out the Biden administration's foreign policy vision. Blinken said democracy was "under threat" and that the United States needed to lead by example and bolster democratic values around the world. Blinken's speech was titled "A Foreign Policy for the American People," and he stressed that the administration's policies would be designed always with American workers in mind. We will fight for every American job, and for the rights, protections and interests of all American workers," he said.

Paul Mones, an attorney representing hundreds of former Scouts, called the plan “woefully and tragically inadequate.”“The problem is that the Boy Scouts are not willing to dig deep enough for the deep pain they caused,” he said. “I think the Boy Scouts have a responsibility here to make sure those men are taken care of,” Mones said. Some 600 of the lawsuits were filed after the Boy Scouts asked the bankruptcy judge for a preliminary injunction halting lawsuits against local councils and sponsoring organizations. The committee has complained about a lack cooperation by local councils in response to its requests for information about their financial assets. Meanwhile, a court-appointed panel of mediators submitted a court filing Monday night indicating that the Boy Scouts have reached settlements with the official committee of unsecured creditors and with JPMorgan Chase, the organization’s senior secured lender.

— Creighton coach Greg McDermott apologized Tuesday for urging his players to “stay on the plantation” in a postgame locker room talk following a loss over the weekend. I can’t have anybody leave the plantation.”The comments came after the 14th-ranked Bluejays’ 77-69 loss to Xavier in Cincinnati. “I have never used that analogy and it is not indicative of who I am as a person or as a coach,” McDermott said in his post. I have apologized to our student-athletes and to our staff.”The coach added that he apologized directly to Creighton’s president, the Rev. Creighton assistant coach Terrence Rencher, who is Black, tweeted that he was “deeply hurt” by McDermott’s words.

(Of course, its landmass is similar to that of Great Britain, which is also an island nation.) (Many tend to ignore that South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam have entirely different cultures and used entirely different methods to contain the virus.) Kiwis, for their part, look out and see the world we’re in, beyond New Zealand’s waters, as apocalyptic and rife with contamination. It is we — the ones outside the bubble of New Zealand — who have changed, in ways that may not fade easily. They might look at me the same way we watch videos of them: with awe and disbelief.

MILAN — Those love locks affixed to the Pont des Arts in Paris, the Ponte Milvio in Rome and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York? While there are other theories as to what first inspired the now-derided practice, his 2006 novel, “Ho Voglia di Te” (“I Want You” in English), is widely credited for starting it. Grand Central Publishing this week is releasing the first book as “One Step to You,” translated by Antony Shugaar, followed in October by “Two Chances With You” and “Three Times You” in 2022. (All three have been given new titles for the English translations.) Little Brown Young Readers, which, like Grand Central, is an imprint of Hachette, is cross-promoting the first two books.

The conservatism that was seemingly agreed upon by the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute and National Review was not the conservatism that Mr. Trump sold to the American people. Mr. Trump campaigned on a self-serving redefinition of what it even means to be conservative and won. While populist nationalism exists, its existence does not depend on any one individual. What Mr. Trump was for was Donald Trump, and what Trumpism is, is Donald Trump. Put another way: Had Mr. Trump run for the presidency as a “severely conservative” nominee, he probably would have won the nomination just the same.

I then subscribed to three of the most popular YouTube channels that have free content for exercising at home: Yoga With Adriene, Fitness Blender and Holly Dolke. One immediate downside was almost too much content — often hundreds of videos per YouTuber — making it difficult to pick a workout. In the Yoga With Adriene channel, for instance, I selected the video “Yoga for When You Feel Dead Inside,” which felt appropriate for the time we are living in. As I lifted weights while following a 10-minute fat-burning workout from Fitness Blender, YouTube interrupted the video to play an ad for Dawn soap. What You Get When You PayTo compare the free YouTube exercise videos with the paid experience, I subscribed to Peloton and Apple Fitness Plus on my Apple TV set-top box.

Teachers are listening to their peers, districts, parents and students, all while navigating an ever-changing landscape of hybrid, in-person and virtual learning. ADThe first list you make is what you know, right now, about school. For instance, you say that parents are emailing you about anxiety and that students have missing assignments. You, on your own, cannot be responsible for your students’ anxiety, homework completion and test readiness. ADLet everyone in your life — students, parents, your own family — know that you are proud of how well everyone has done.

The public campaign-financing system Sarbanes envisions will go up for a vote as part of a sweeping campaign-finance and voting-access package he’s worked on for the better part of 15 years. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Sarbanes the “godfather” of the legislation in a speech on the House floor Tuesday, crediting his “long-term dedication” to advancing democracy. A similar version of the bill was approved by the Democratic-majority House in 2019, but died in the Republican-controlled Senate. 1 through that chamber without a single Republican vote — a scenario that would require ditching the filibuster. 1, candidates would be able to opt into a six-to-one matching system for small-dollar donations.

In December, another female journalist at the station, Malalai Maiwand, 26, was similarly gunned down, along with her driver, in an attack also claimed by the Islamic State. The slayings underscore the deep security challenges facing Afghanistan ahead of a May 1 deadline for President Biden to decide whether to withdraw U.S. troops. Maj. Gen. Juma Gul Hemat, the police chief of Nangahar, also said Tuesday that they had arrested a Taliban-linked suspect. Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid, however, denied the group was involved in a statement Tuesday on Twitter. Instead, the Islamic State claimed responsibility late Tuesday, saying the women were targeted because they worked for media outlets “loyal” to the “apostate Afghan government,” CBS News reported.

The newly-revised climate normals aren’t a forecast of upcoming activity, nor are they necessarily illustrative of any one particular climate or meteorological trend. The National Weather Service calculates new climate normals each decade for all major U.S. cities with sufficient historical data. He found that an average of more than three major hurricanes have spun up each year since 1990, with roughly 14 named storms per year. Some scientists say this theorized cycle influences ocean water temperatures and atmospheric features, and have linked it to Atlantic hurricane activity. “The attribution of rising hurricane activity to the ‘AMO’ (a term I coined back in 2000), i.e.

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Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which controls Theodor Geisel’s copyrights, decided not to print more copies of six works that contain racist imagery. No one proposes treating Dr. Seuss like Woody Allen, a figure whose transgressions render his work untouchable. Everyone seems comfortable with the other 90 percent of Dr. Seuss’s books. First, some Dr. Seuss books for children contain depictions of people of color that, like his cartoons of Japanese people during World War II, are repulsive. Second, insisting that Dr. Seuss books are the alpha and omega of children’s literature shows a tiresome lack of imagination.

They murdered him, tearing my family apart, ripping a hole in my soul and petrifying journalists across Sri Lanka. Last week, U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet presented a report that offered a devastating verdict on human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. She recommended that the international community move to hold Sri Lanka accountable for its consistent failure to bring justice for the victims. In the next weeks, the U.N. Human Rights Council will be deliberating over a possible response. Together, they oversaw some of the worst atrocity crimes in Sri Lanka and systematically targeted any journalist brave enough to speak out against them.

Red states will be hit hardestThe Brookings analysis also found that red states have disproportionately large numbers of people who will be left behind by this failure. While a number of red states have raised their minimum wage, none (except Florida) are on track to $15. That means a lot of people in red states that have raised their minimum wages will still get left behind by Congress’s failure. “More coastal and Democratic states have begun to move their wage standards towards $15,” Muro said. Meanwhile, virtually all Democratic senators favor the $15 minimum wage, while just about all Republican senators oppose it.

Maezawa also said that he's decided to expand his definition of an "artist," which he initially defined as singers, dancers, painters and other traditional creative fields. Now, he's open to including people from all walks of life as long as they view themselves as artists, Maezawa said in a video announcement Tuesday. Maezawa's invitation to the public to join his Starship mission comes as another billionaire, Shift4 payment platform CEO Jared Isaacman, is searching for a member of the public to join him on a trip to orbit aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. That mission is slated for later this year and is aimed at raising money for St. Jude Children's HospitalThe website for "Dear Moon," Maezawa's name for his space mission, now includes a link where applicants can pre-register through March 14. Initial screenings of the candidates will begin March 21.

There are exceptions, however, and some business advocates are concerned that the end of these states' mask mandates will create new challenges for companies and their workers. Tate Reeves both announced Tuesday that their states will lift mask requirements that have been in place for months to protect against Covid-19. The announcements come as Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to drop across the country and more Americans get vaccinated. The company has 13,500 employees in Texas. "This will ensure we adequately protect our employees and continue to meet OSHA workplace protection standards."

Bello, who played Dr. Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane on "NCIS" for three seasons, said goodbye to the CBS series following her final episode that aired Tuesday night. "And that's a wrap for Jack Sloane @ncis_cbs !!! I've learned many things on this journey for the last three and a half years. I've learned that the woman I am enjoys process over product. Thank you to all of my pals at NCIS and to all of our fans.

The fracturing MAGA base is big trouble for the former president — and an opportunity for Trump proteges like Florida Gov. And while CPAC attendees may represent an extreme fringe of the GOP, that fringe tracks with the broader party mood. And Trump’s declining popularity indicates that what Republican voters find unpalatable is Trump himself. With the votes to pass any legislation they want, DeSantis and Florida Republicans can credibly claim to be a more effective, less distracting version of Trump. Trump will remain a vengeful voice within the GOP even if he forgos a third campaign for the White House.

But you’ll have to act fast if you want to watch it on Netflix, as the film leaves the service along with over three dozen other movies throughout March. You’ll have to watch them in the next couple of weeks if you want to prove me wrong. And if you want to stay informed on everything joining Netflix on a weekly basis, subscribe to the Streamline newsletter. He gets a new job that might be impossible with the technology ? implanting an idea in the subconscious. Notable cast: Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd and Emma WatsonDeparture date: March 31Runtime: 1 hour, 43 minutes

Nothing like your childhood besties absolutely roasting you to keep you grounded when the rest of the world knows you as Captain America. Chris Evans might have laid down his vibranium shield for good, but he has pulled a video from the vault to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at his early days as the first Avenger. On Wednesday, the actor posted a clip of footage on the set of 2011’s “Captain America,” where he was joined by his high school friends Zach and Jon, who he explained worked as his “assistants” on the film at the time. Apparently the job description included openly mocking Evans, as he performed a variety of stunts, with one of his friends shaking his head in disapproval after every take. “Zach got a lot of great footage,” Evans wrote alongside the video.

Deputy Superintendent & Special Counsel at NYS Department of Financial Services Gareth Rhodes speaks during the daily media briefing in New York City. | Jeenah Moon/Getty Images Some key aides jump ship as Cuomo scandals spiralALBANY, N.Y. — At least two top aides to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are leaving his office as the governor faces allegations of sexual harassment from former aides and a federal probe into his administration’s handling of nursing home deaths. Rhodes has been in the Cuomo administration in various capacities since 2011. Prior to joining Cuomo’s Covid-19 task force last year, he was special counsel to the superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services in New York and Albany.

“Last week’s airstrikes in Syria show that the executive branch, regardless of party, will continue to stretch its war powers,” Kaine said. The Kaine-Young bill, though, only deals with the 1991 and 2002 measures, which are entirely focused on Iraq. | Leigh Vogel-Pool/Getty ImagesSenior Biden administration officials have begun briefing Congress this week about the Syria strikes, but they have yet to brief lawmakers directly. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told POLITICO on Tuesday that he sat in on a staff-level briefing because the Biden administration had yet to schedule sessions for senators. The Biden administration published a long-secret intelligence report last week that blamed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for approving the operation that killed Khashoggi, but the administration declined to impose direct penalties on the crown prince.

The bulletin, titled "National Capital Region Remains Attractive Target for Domestic Violent Extremists," warned that "Domestic Violent Extremists" or "Militia Violent Extremists" were emboldened by the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and therefore pose a higher overall threat. The bulletin said the militia violent extremists may "exploit public gatherings either formally organized or spontaneous to engage in violence," according to the description of the document. It also states that domestic violent extremists have a continued "perception of election fraud and other conspiracy theories associated with the presidential transition, which may contribute to (Domestic Violent Extremists) mobilizing to violence with little or no warning." The law enforcement official said the bulletin makes clear that "the threat did not begin or end on January 6." NBC News reported Tuesday that law enforcement agencies around Washington, D.C., were adding extra security out of concern of potential unrest.

Pentagon officials did not answer a request to deploy troops during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 for more than three hours, the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard testified Wednesday. Maj. Gen. William Walker said the head of the Capitol Police asked for help during the insurrection, and that senior Pentagon officials did not approve deploying the National Guard until three hours and 19 minutes later. “Chief Sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency on Capitol Hill and requested the immediate assistance of as many Guardsmen as I could muster.”Walker said he then went to Army leadership to ask for help. “Immediately after the 1:49 p.m. call with Chief Sund, I alerted the Army Senior Leadership of the request,” Walker said. “The approval for Chief Sund’s request would eventually come from the Acting Secretary of Defense and be relayed to me by Army Senior Leaders at 5:08 p.m. — three hours and 19 minutes later.”

Meghan Markle said through a spokesperson that she is “saddened” by a Times of London article claiming that she had “humiliated” and “bullied” staff. The report is based on a charge initially levied in October 2018 by Jason Knauf, who worked as a communications secretary for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the time. Knauf’s complaint, lodged with royal household officials on behalf of unnamed employees, alleges that Meghan “drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member,” according to the Times. The crown prince was responsible for the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in early October 2018, according to an intelligence assessment released by the U.S. government last week. Here’s how.

In state after state, GOP governors and legislators are on a rampage to rig the system so you can't vote. By "you" I mean African Americans, Latinx voters, Asian Americans, indigenous peoples and practically all other nonwhite citizens. And seniors, union members, poor people, students, immigrant families and others with a tendency to vote for Democrats. Cruz is, after all, the two-legged, maniacal, self-aggrandizing ego who arrogantly tried to discard the ballots of millions of voters in the presidential election. It prohibits states from altering election rules to give minority voters less opportunity than Anglos to participate in the political process.

Last week, the U.S. military bombed a site near al-Hurri, along the Iraqi border inside Syria, where Iranian-backed Iraqi militias were allegedly stationed. The U.S. military first intervened in Syria in 2014 following the Islamic State’s takeover of the country’s Eastern territories, along with the Northern and Western areas of Iraq. The same can be said of the recent rocket attacks that provoked the Biden administration’s deadly response in Syria. Iraqi militias pose no danger to the people of Baltimore, Maryland or Little Rock, Arkansas, and Baghdad does not demand an American military presence. Anything less is a formula for forever war, ever more.

And much of the wealth of Wall Street is in the hands of private equity and hedge fund executives. Warren Buffett and Michael Bloomberg, two Wall Street billionaires, have publicly endorsed a wealth tax plan in the past. The Ultra-Millionaire Wealth Tax would ensure that the super-rich pay taxes on all their assets, not just their New York mansions or Florida getaways, but their stocks, bonds, jewelry, sports cars, and art collections. Imagine how Schwarzman, with his $22.5 billion fortune, will react when the Warren-Jayapal wealth tax demands a payment to the U.S. Treasury seven times that size. In 2019, Leon Cooperman, founder and CEO of hedge fund Omega Advisors, pushed back on Warren’s proposed wealth tax plan to the point where he broke down in tears on national television.

Becerra has a strong track record of holding pharmaceutical companies accountable and some of the loudest opposition so far has come from senators who have taken millions from Big Pharma. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA):Has accepted over $3.7 million from the health sector throughout his career, including nearly $1 million from Big Pharma. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX):Has accepted over $1.7 million from the health sector throughout his career, including over $1 million from Big Pharma. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC):Has accepted over $4.8 million from the health sector throughout his career, including $1.5 million from Big PharmaSenator Bill Cassidy (R-LA):Has accepted over $5.1 million from the health sector throughout his career, including over $736,000 from Big Pharma. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY):Has accepted over $2.7 million from the health sector throughout his career, including over $651,000 from Big Pharma.

The same cannot be said of the Bush amendment. While Biden said during the 2020 presidential campaign that he supports restoring voting rights to former felons, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was alone among last year's Democratic presidential candidates in supporting voting rights for incarcerated people. Today, I went to the floor in support @RepCori Bush's amendment to HR 1 #ForThePeople Act to restore voting rights to incarcerated individuals. Voting rights must be extended to ALL people - and yes, that includes currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. — Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) March 2, 2021Civil and voting rights advocates voiced their support for the Bush amendment.

Despite the findings in the ODNI report, the Biden Administration chose to impose no sanction on him. As Congress pressured the administration to release the ODNI report, they will try to force Biden to hold MBS accountable. The ODNI report also confirms the core underlying factual claim made by plaintiffs in the Khashoggi case: MBS was responsible for Khashoggi’s murder. RSF relies on Germany’s universal jurisdiction laws that allow a German court to try MBS for crimes committed elsewhere. The Biden administration’s inaction certainly did not create incentives for MBS to temper his abuses.

This week witnesses one of the most influential and largest oil industry conferences take place, called CERAWeek. Normally, the crème de la crèmeof the oil industry descend on Houston for a pro-fossil fuel frenzy. “The tone is different: There’s one theme that permeates the entire conference and that is energy transition,” CERAWeek Founder Dan Yergin, vice chair of IHS Markit told Reuters. Another speaker, Andy Jassy of Amazon, said the industry is better off helping to shape the energy transition than wishing it away. Yesterday leading energy experts outlined how renewable energy could also be the sole source for the world’s heating, cooling, and transport industries by 2035.

"Global coal use in electricity generation must fall by 80% below 2010 levels by 2030," he added. Today, I call on all governments, private companies & local authorities to take 3 #ClimateAction steps: Cancel all global coal projects in the pipeline. End coal plant financing & shift investment to renewable energy projects. Cancel all global coal projects in the pipeline;End the international financing of coal plants and shift investment to renewable energy projects; andJump-start a global effort to finally organize a just transition. "The needs of coal communities must be recognized, and concrete solutions must be provided at a very local level."

In the face of pressure from a faction of conservative Senate Democrats, President Joe Biden reportedly agreed Wednesday to limit eligibility for direct relief payments by accelerating the phase-out of $1,400 checks proposed in the emerging $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The House bill proposes (pdf) ending the phase-out at $100,000 in yearly income for individuals and $200,000 for couples. Among the Senate Democrats who pushed for the quicker phase-out were Sens. Under the House relief bill, the IRS would be directed to base eligibility for the payments on 2020 income for those whose returns are on file. "This is not targeting," Matt Bruenig, founder of the People's Policy Project, said last month of earlier efforts to restrict eligibility.

Pointing out that Texas has vaccinated less than 7% of its population, Texas Democratic Party chair Gilberto Hinojosa called Abbott's order "extraordinarily dangerous" and warned, "This will kill Texans." "Make no mistake: opening Texas prematurely will only lead to faster Covid spread, more sickness and overcrowding in our hospitals, and unnecessary deaths. Wicker said she intends to continue requiring customers to wear masks while other businesses—including the grocery chain H-E-B—indicated in response to Abbott's order that they will drop such mandates. Noting that "Covid spread isn't neatly contained by state borders," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) warned Tuesday that Abbott's order could have far-reaching implications for the fight against the pandemic. "Explosions in Covid cases can increase the likelihood of new Covid variants to develop or spread to new places."

The legislation would also render bin Salman "ineligible to receive a visa or other immigration benefit" and revoke his current visas. "This is a test of our humanity," Omar (D-Minn.) said of the push to hold the crown prince accountable. Today, I introduced legislation to place sanctions on the Crown Prince for his role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. "The notion of sanctioning Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman... was never really on the table." https://t.co/nWFsBFGnuv — Abukar Arman (@Abukar_Arman) March 2, 2021Omar introduced her legislation as Reporters Without Borders filed a lawsuit accusing the Saudi crown prince of committing "crimes against humanity" by greenlighting the Khashoggi murder and other attacks on journalists.

CorporationIt can be used to reverse a decade of growing inequality and to force fossil fuels out of our economy. There’s a reason why the phrase 'the joy of tax' has become popular in radical circles, because tax is one of the most powerful levers governments can use to adjust the way the economy works. The argument about tax should not be about good or bad but about how it can be used strategically to manage an economy for the common good. The first and most important is a high and rising carbon tax: we propose £100 now, rising to £500 by 2030. Our carbon tax proposal is matched by a proposal to ensure that the money generated is returned to compensate citizens as fossil fuels companies increase their prices to absorb the cost of the tax.

They are the architects of social murder. But murder it remains.”The ruling class devotes tremendous resources to mask this social murder. The new state did not even require servants — just clerks.” This metaphysical ignorance fuels social murder. Why, if this social murder is inevitable, as I believe it is, do we even fight back? They keep alive the possibility, however dim, that the forces that are orchestrating our social murder can be stopped.

Even in the nonprofit sector, workers are unionizing— signaling that the modern-day labor movement is alive and kicking. Surprisingly, workers in the nonprofit sector, which has historically been hostile to unions, have also been capitalizing on this moment to organize. Though this moment is galvanizing nonprofit workers, we still have a long way to go. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, union workers continue to receive higher wages than nonunion workers. Nonprofit workers should seize this moment, but also remember this it is always the moment.

Sadly, two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, recently blocked the Senate from killing this democracy-crippling anachronism. Once in the Senate, Calhoun invented the filibuster specifically to increase the power of his plantation-owning colleagues and block any sort of anti-slavery legislation. The filibuster not only kept any anti-slavery legislation from being passed throughout Calhoun’s lifetime, but after Reconstruction collapsed with the Hayes election in 1876 it was turned against Civil Rights legislation. The filibuster was a useful tool — and excuse for racist senators — to block any sort of civil rights legislation for four generations. Worse, with the near-certainty it’ll be used to block effective climate legislation, their obstruction threatens all life on Earth.

This is the largest crime against humanity ever committed. It is being committed in front of us. And, with few exceptions, we are willfully being herded like sheep to the slaughter. Read more ?

The main focus of the special species protection project for critically endangered tree species is the building of special seed storage facilities (boxes and cabinets) and other innovative solutions in various areas. This announcement and information of the new Greening Deserts project for critically endangered species can be shared worldwide. Some of the other Greening Deserts projects and special programs can also help establish many of the endangered tree species on which many other species depend. These special biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration,environmental greening, ecological reforestation and species protection projects can save millions of life forms worldwide. With the endangered tree species that we want to cultivate and share worldwide, thousands of other species can be saved and protected.

Traitorous Republican Enabler and LoserSee the story on Raw Story — Perdue wants to be able to cheat by law. Admit we don’t want your totally shitty non-governance, and find policies that you don’t have to force down everyone’s throats — maybe you’ll do better. It’s not unbalanced if we don’t vote for you because we hate everything you and the Rethugs stand for. That’s why you lost, Dave. Stop blaming everything and everyone else — your just a shitty, hateful, lying Rethug — it’s no wonder you lost.

IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! But, when you are ready to write that diary, either post in thread or send FloridaSNMOM a Kosmail with the date. Warmer weather during the day and cool nights. Hoping all who live in the tundra get warmer weather, and we get some rain.

analogy in history: Von ClausewitzRepublicans are trying to kill what’s left of the voting rights act. That’s not the logical consequence of what they did: to take away the right to vote from minorities, or dem-voters. It is the Trumpian citizenry that has lost the right to vote ... uh ... it has abdicated that right. It has done so voluntarily … and publicly. In the words of Von Clausewitz: they have chosen to continue democracy with the application of other means.

Do you think that men should have the option of bilateral epididymectomy for sterilization purposes? I’ve already found a couple of doctors who would be willing to perform this surgery for sterilization purposes, but at a personal out-of-pocket cost of $2,000-$3,000. Also, why exactly doesn’t Planned Parenthood perform bilateral epididymectomies for sterilization purposes on men? Simply because no one has ever actually asked them to so far? Because I’ve noticed that a lot of men are unaware that bilateral epididymectomy is even an option for sterilization purposes, let alone that it is MUCH more effective than a vasectomy is!

An icicle-covered road sign and hedges in Shenley, Britain. Welcome to MF Daily(Formerly know as Mojo Friday’s Weekly Open Thread — MFWOT)All are welcome to hang out and share what is happening in your life today.

https://careers.state.gov/learn/what-we-do/where-we-work/ - location of foreign service posts - click on the image on the linked page to see a MUCH larger versionWelcome to an all day open thread hosted by “Foreign Policy and International Events Group”. MOT (Morning Open Thread): Goes live at 03:30 west coast ( 06:30 US east coast). just as the chatter in morning thread has petered out. The Overnight News Digest: Up at 21:00 west coast (midnight east coast)If we’re missing an open thread, please leave a note in Comments and we’ll add it in. ????? ????? ???Meanwhile, anyone who would like to host an open thread, please leave a note in the comments or get in touch with Torilahu via Kosmail.

“We were that generation called silent, but we were silent neither, as some thought, because we shared the period's official optimism nor, as others thought, because we feared its official repression. We support our community, invite and share ideas, and encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue in an open forum. This series was conceived as a haven where folks can drop in to share conversation, ideas, weather reports, and music. Like many people, this past pandemic/quarantine year has forced me to get in touch with feelings I normally keep suppressed. Waking in the morning to the feeling of her fingers on my skin.

You can, and should, watch the full 1989 KQED concert here:* * * * *And what about current mujeres mariachi? Mariachi DivasThis is the first all-female mariachi group both to be nominated for a Grammy Award and to win one. * * * * *Mariachi Flor de ToloacheA mariachi fusion ensemble out of New York City that also has a Grammy nomination as well as a win under their belt, Mariachi Flor De Toloache takes its name from nightshade, a plant associated with mysticism. Ungrateful woman, don’t tell me that you adore me,I can tell that your lipsHave nothing more to offerThis mouth of mine. Ungrateful woman, don’t tell me that you love me,You have no respect for what I say,Even though my kisseshave often thrilled you.

-Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, March 3, 2021Note: Lawyers rush to scene after baker's man refuses to play pattycake on religious grounds. -CHEERS to the left making things right. CHEERS to making it through the first hurdle. CHEERS and JEERS to making cents (and also losing them). CHEERS to fun things a president can do as his country disintegrates from a Great Depression.

The days are flying by without Trump causing us to tear our hair out every day! Work continues in the Senate on the reconciliation bill, and in the House on the For the People Act. Greg Dworkin brings his usual mid-week Raft o’ Stories,™ and I continue to operate on 15 minutes of sleep. Listen right here at 9:00 AM ET! Even more ways to listen, live or by podcast, below the fold.

Was the vague-sounding Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure a misguided outfit of well-meaning engineers and infrastructure experts? Or just another front for the oil and gas industry hiding behind glossy stock photos? That the piece appeared in RealClear gave us reason to suspect the latter, and we started poking around the organization’s website. But the very last sentence does say that he’s also the chief executive of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System. So it’s a vaguely-named organization with unusual succession practices formerly run by a current oil pipeline executive, and currently delivering pro-pipeline propaganda in a key outlet in the Koch et al.

Puppity: A dog with attitudeMuppity Puppity Poodlety Pooh,We’re going to market to make ice cream stew. We’ll buy a fine cabbage and crinkle the leaves,And mix it with mustard from middle Maldives. We’ll slice a few raisins and butter them well,Add ginger reduction with abalone shell. ‘Mid beans of vanilla and blades of meringue,We’ll riddle the roux with a peppermint fang. Then boil it and kiss it and watch it congeal,And finish it off with some raspberry peel.

What if you could apply social pressure through official channels and willing participants in enforced, immersive augmented reality, possibly with directed audio. Microsoft kicked off Ignite Tuesday with a dazzling keynote highlighted by Mesh, their augmented reality platform. FYI Azure is the Microsoft counter to Amazon AWS and Google Cloud in cloud computing. Moreover, cloud computing goes past maintaining productivity to opening whole new realms of collaboration, interaction and training. As much as augmented reality and cloud computing open up possibilities for progress, so too are avenues for abuse illuminated.

1923 Henderson Model K DeluxeHenderson manufactured motorcycles from 1912 until 1931. Hendersons appealed to sports riders and police because they were the largest and fastest motorcycles of this time. 1924 Douglas1927 Harley Davidson JD1930s Express Werke Motor Bicycle1933 Harley Davidson VLE1938 Indian Four1942 Harley Davidson WLA1947 Indian Chief1948 Schwinn Whizzer1949 Harley Davidson WL1953 Harley Davidson ST-1651954 Cushman Eagle1958 Cushman 765 Eagle1958 Cushman 721/281959 Cushman Super Eagle1960s Tule Trooper “Big Boy”1963 Honda CA-1101964 Bridgestone Street Fighter1967 Honda CP77 Super Hawk1975 Moto Guzzi 850-T1979 Honda CX5001982 Kawasaki Spectre 7502005 Harley Davidson Softtail DeluxeCustom TrikeBased on the “Penny-Farthing” style bicycle of the nineteenth century and powered by a 1928 Maytag Model 92 Hit-Miss Motor (designed for Maytag washing machines), this custom-built trike was made in 1986. 1943 Champ-CycleThis motorcycle was built in 1943 by Champ Bond using a 1942 Wards Hawthorne bicycle and a 1935 Briggs and Stratton washing machine engine. More motorcycle photo toursMuseums 101: The Vintage Motorcycle Museum (Photo Diary)World of Speed: Racing Motorcycles (Photo Diary)Museums 101: British Motorcycles at America's Car Museum (Photo Diary)Museums 101: BMW Motorcycles (Photo Diary)Museums 101: Motorcycles at America's Car Museum (Photo Diary)Museums 101: A Collection of Motorcycles (Photo Diary)Car Show: Motorcycles (Photo Diary)Motorcycles (Photo Diary)

NPR’s Noel King reported this morning that three-term New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is going to be stripped of the emergency powers granted to him to deal with the pandemic. This has also focused attention on the long history of Cuomo maintaining a toxic work environment while engaging in bullying behavior. Clark explained the powers allowed Cuomo to create and suspend any laws related to the pandemic without having to go through the legislature. Political observer Dr. Alan Chartock at NPR station WAMC predicts — barring further developments — that Cuomo will not resign. There were expectations Andrew Cuomo planned to run for a fourth term — but that’s not until 2022.

An enormous clash is underway in the highest reaches of our government. Some Americans ( and in the global population, too ) have a drive to live their life in a different gender than they were born into. But ask why to any serious Mental Health Professional, and they feel it is genetically driven. How and why it occurs has yet to be unlocked, but they HAVE unlocked the cause of Down Syndrome. It is an extra chromosome, chromosome 21.

This is where Mike Pence published “Election Integrity Is a National Imperative.” I'd expected a former Vice President to have an essay like this published in a mainstream publication. Does anybody have any doubt that Pence would do anything to get Trump to ordain him as the next in line to succeed him? In reality it is merely an excuse for Pence to interject himself into the public discourse and ingratiate himself to Trump. So Pence succeeded in getting a lot of coverage when he broke his silence on a website most people don’t read. He uses the word fraud five times:The PollTo what degree do you think Pence really "worships" Trump vs.

Democrats are already sacrificing a minimum wage increase, cowering to the Senate Parliamentarian, and coming hat-in-hand to King Manchin only to be tossed out on their ear. Democrats still haven’t learned that the taste of victory is better than the bland, blended flavor of moral superiority and electoral humiliation. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court stands ready to eliminate the Voting Rights Act, sending the United States careening back to Jim Crow. Everyone who gave their lives in the name of Black voting rights, and voting rights in general, are about to have those sacrifices tossed on the ash heap of history by a gaggle of Federalist Society religious extremists hoping to establish a permanent Republican majority. But I can’t get over this feeling that the only thing our party seems capable of doing is coming in after Republicans ruin everything to scoop out the cat box.

Good morning, Cafe! Like I need more nutty going on, between my own and that of the resident House Panther! On Twitter recently, I ranted about the fact that drugs are now using theme songs in their tv adverts. Why in the great blue hell, does a drug (for which we need a visit to the doctor and an Rx) need a freakin’ theme song?? Currently, Applebee’s is using a song I really like for their business.

Attorneys that prosecution of family unit adults would be swift and would be followed by immediate reunification of the separated family,” the report also said. During an appearance on right-wing host Laura Ingraham’s show at the height of media attention on the policy, Sessions openly said that he hoped the intentional cruelty scared away other asylum-seeking families. “General Sessions, is this policy in part used as a deterrent?” Ingraham asked her fellow anti-immigrant racist. Worried about the traumatic effects of family separation and the lack of immediate bed space for these children, ORR staffers took their concerns to superiors. Other staffers found out about the family separation policy not from the administration, but from the news.

Unlike four years ago when Trump flipped many districts with large populations of white voters without a college degree, the two districts that Trump picked up this time both have large populations of Latino voters, a demographic that shifted sharply back toward Republicans in 2020 after giving Clinton historically high levels of support four years earlier. Texas’ 23rd stands out in particular because it flipped twice over the last decade, having supported Mitt Romney in 2012. Five districts, meanwhile, showcased the opposite pattern, going for Barack Obama, then Trump, then Biden: Minnesota’s 2nd, Nevada’s 3rd, New Hampshire’s 1st, and New York’s 18th and 19th. In addition to the traditional map above, we have also created a cartogram below that shows every district as the same size so that dense populated districts in urban areas aren’t obscured and rural districts aren’t over-emphasized. You can find the election results for House and president for every district in our 117th Congress guide spreadsheet here, along with a whole host of other demographic statistics on both the districts and the members who represent them.

Welcome to the Daily Kos Elections Live Digest, your liveblog of all of today's campaign news. Please note: The Live Digest is a 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential primary-free space. It’s also a place to discuss elections, not policy. Sign up here to receive the Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest in your inbox each weekday.

1 pick for a flippable seat is the open seat in the Keystone State. North Carolina's open seat is also in the top five, and then there's Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio clocking in at No. Wisconsin: GOP Sen. Ron Johnson (most vulnerable GOP incumbent)4. Arizona: Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly6. Nevada: Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto7.

Starting off in the Bistro Cafe, Kayleigh McEnany is called out for her Capitol Riot lies. Then, on the rest of the menu, the GAO reported the 2020 census for redrawing congressional districts has been 'compromised' following Trump's attacks; the more contagious Brazilian virus variant has emerged in Oregon; and, former Georgia NAACP field secretary, Urban League head and Clinton adviser, Vernon Jordan, has died at age eighty-five. All that and more, on West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy with Chef de Cuisine Justice Putnam. Bon Appétit! The Netroots Radio Live Player

Only two characters in 50 Seuss books were depicted as Black, and those were a laundry list of stereotypes of “primitive” Africans. According to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, as he objected to an expansion of voting rights, “First, they outlaw Dr. Seuss and now they want to tell us what to say.”Nobody outlawed Dr. Seuss. But—gasp—Vice President Kamala Harris did say nice things about Seuss in a 2017 tweet, so she’s in trouble now. After a Virginia school system similarly moved to deemphasize Seuss in its celebration of Read Across America Day, claims spread like wildfire that it had “banned” Seuss. Millions of copies of these books remain in circulation, of course, and predictably, sales of these and other Seuss books spiked after the announcement, with people rushing to show that by gum yes they do embrace things that are hurtful and wrong.

As a whole, there can be no doubt we’ve seen how flawed our public health apparatus is at the core. Decades of decreased funding have taken a toll and it is plain to see we need to expend more resources to shore up public health. At the end of the day, public health is both economic security and national security. This is how I’m going to travel from now on. Sound-off below and let us know if your life has changed and if so, how?

It seems to me that the QAnon and pro-political violence caucus in Congress had two choices after Donald Trump incited the January 6 Save America crowd to storm the Capitol. His son, L. Brent Bozell, Jr., became a flaming anti-communist, a supporter of Senator Joseph McCarthy and The John Birch Society. Perhaps he’s worried that the “Hang Mike Pence” chants that were heard at the Capitol, will resound once again. An obedient toady during the reign of President Donald Trump? A purveyor – up until the very last moments – of The Big Lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election?

Even mostly “good” people, deceived into believing a false picture of the world, can be led to serve Evil. But just as the Lie is useful to Evil in making the world more broken, so also do other forms of brokenness make people readier to believe the Lie. But despite how obvious the truth was, three-fourths of the Republican base believe the Big Lie about the Stolen Election. Which raises the question: What makes it possible for otherwise intelligent people to believe so obvious a Lie? Such dynamics can teach people to embrace a lie while blinding themselves to the plain truth before their eyes.

I am dismayed; Greg Abbott can see that Texas is rounding the corner on COVID infections. Our infection rate was actually going down. Half of Texans will immediately go back to life before COVID and the rise in infection rates is about to happen all over again. ($) Why didn’t we upgrade our electric grid after it failed in a cold snap 10 years ago? ($) Why do we think COVID will “like a miracle” go away without continuing the precautions that got it finally under control?

Rick Black, a prolific social justice activist who has made frequent media appearances was caught on tape making transphobic comments about me as an LGBTQ journalist. In a phone call with a Michigan elder abuse advocate, Mr. Black engaged in misgendering, called me “a man” and made light of what he termed “emotional issues” which one assumes he relates to my gender identity. But there must be a line in social justice movements that are supposed to embrace, educate, elevate and empower communities while raising awareness to the injustices they suffer. That line is crossed when an advocate for them engages in the language in the video. Such malicious disrespect for a person’s identity, whomever that may be, is inherently damaging not only to the individual but social justice movements as a whole.

If the GOP tax scam could be passed through reconciliation, so should raising the minimum wage. The minimum wage has been raised 22 times by 12 presidents since first adopted in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 the midst of the Great Depression (with the same opposition as today), but has gone longer without increase in minimum wage than in the 80 years since. Republicans love to cite the figure from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that a $15 minimum wage would cost 1.4 million jobs. But that is disputed by the Economic Policy Institute – because new jobs would be created with higher consumer demand, as well as past experience: in states that raised the minimum wage jobs were not lost (14 states raised their minimum wage at the beginning of 2016), consumer prices did not rise significantly. The only reason wages did rise at the lower rungs was because of states that raised their minimum wage.

Threat March 4 on social media of violence. National Guard alerted. An excellent panel led by Sen. Peters of Homeland Securities. General Michael Flynn was last in line for OKing the deployment of the National Guard which was according to Congressman Eric Swalwell a conflict of interest as he was related to Flynn whom Trump pardoned. As for the three hours, the chain of command took to release troops who were watching insurrection on TV as well as President Trump who did nothing to help, it was a bureaucratic sham.

State Sen. Fitzgerald and others kept pointing out what could at best be called inconsistencies in Watkins’ stories. The Associated Press offers this take:Former Congressman Steve Watkins of Kansas has entered a diversion program to avoid trial over allegations that he voted illegally in a 2019 municipal election. Watkins, a Republican from Topeka who served only one term in the U.S. House, was facing three felony charges. While the congressman admits to voter fraud, it appears his penalty will be very minor: a $250 fine and an agreement to not possess firearms for six months. I guess it pays to be a wealthy white Republican facing voter fraud charges.

I really thought they were going to botch this. So I live in a red state, a really red state : Oklahoma. The first thing you do to get vaccinated in Oklahoma is to go to vaccinate.oklahoma.gov . I was absolutely flabbergasted that there were over 90 state vaccination sites within 50 miles. They filled out a CDC Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card and told me to go into the next room.

You might be a quisling if...For those that are unfamiliar with/unsure of the meaning. Quisling: Traitor or Collaborator Synonyms : traitor, turncoat, betrayer, informer, back-stabber, double-crosser, double-dealer, renegade, defector, deserter, apostate, Judas, snake in the grass, fifth columnist Origin Second World War from the name of Major Vidkun Quisling (1887–1945), the Norwegian army officer and diplomat who ruled Norway on behalf of the German occupying forces (1940–45). Notable Quislings GQP: Grand Quisling Party, formally known as the GOP. Oaf Keepers, Proud Boys, White Suprematists etcYou might be a Quisling if: You try and violently overthrow a legitimate election just because your guy lost. To try and maintain power you engage in gerrymandering.

x No evidence for the widespread right-wing lie that Antifa members disguised themselves as Trump supporters for the riot...but the feds have just charged a Trump supporter who allegedly said he was disguising himself as an Antifa member. x In voting rights case, Justice Barrett asks GOP lawyer Michael Carvin “what’s the interest” to Republicans in keeping voting restrictions in AZ. But Brnovich’s two-step test would also severely weaken the Voting Rights Act. And Native American, Hispanic, and African American voters were twice as likely to vote in the wrong precinct as white voters. Or, to give a more realistic example, in 1890, the state of Mississippi enacted a literacy test for voters.

https://t.co/UQmeDZZyhUThe idiots of QAnon and their Sovereign Citizens fellow travelers want America to be more like Myanmar. The Trump DC hotel has tripled its rates for the dates of and around March 4, because grifting. And at the right time, they’re going to be restoring the republic with Trump as president,” one woman said. "Many of the justifications for those dates stem from worn-out theories that can be traced back to the sovereign citizen movement." (The sovereign citizen movement is an extremist right wing anti-government idea that believes they are not subject to most U.S.

? Musical Opener ?President Joe Biden Continues to Make Us ProudAs Michael Tomasky said in his column last week, President Joe Biden’s first 30 days has been “staggeringly good”, and he will continue to show us why he is the man for this moment in history. pic.twitter.com/2lzbyyii1g — President Biden (@POTUS) March 1, 2021Biden urges Senate Dems to rally behind $1.9T virus bill, Alan Fram, AP News, March 2, 2021. With Democrats having no margin for error in the evenly split 50-50 Senate, Biden was expected to urge them on by conference call. Raimondo, a Democrat tapped by President Joe Biden, will oversee the Commerce Department and its bureaus, which have about 46,000 employees. ??Perspective; FDR, Johnson and Joe Biden: Democrats Are Learning Fast Why Being in Power Can Suck, Michael Tomasky, The Daily Beast, March 2, 2021.

Now, he sees a similar kind of promise in the traditional Southern GOP stronghold state of Mississippi:I actually think Mississippi is on that similar trajectory. With regard to Democrats winning in Mississippi and this red state’s potential to turn purple:I think the difference is just not being organized enough. We got a lot of rural votes because we focus on rural issues. Sometimes people think, ‘Well, maybe you can split the Republican Party by having this little faction,’ but that’s not what really happens. It’s not as if you form some sort of center-right party that it automatically breaks off from the conservative coalition.

And I literally thought I was getting gassed to death like I was in Nazi Germany, a Jew getting gassed to death. Coffee told agents that he, "did not engage in any type of physical confrontations with the police while at the Capitol Building," according to the complaint. According to the complaint, Coffee told agents that he departed Dallas in a truck on Jan. 4 and arrived in Washington D.C. on the night of Jan. 5. (snip) Regarding the events on the Capitol, Coffee says “I was ready to die last night. And I literally thought I was getting gassed to death like I was in Nazi Germany, a Jew getting gassed to death.

Fox propaganda finally got around to hiring Trump Sycophant and Liar Kayeigh McEnany, and the grunts at Fox are not happy. And it appears that only maybe now those who work in the trenches at Fox have realized it’s a propaganda outfit? There is more:“It’s upsetting,” a current Fox News staffer lamented to The Daily Beast. Yeah, the management and the opinion people at Fox were bad, but there were others who still believed in facts...blah, blah, blah. And all the people who worked for Fox knew that it was a propaganda outfit long before Trump showed up.

Jennifer Rubin/WaPo:Former chair of the Council on Economic Advisers Jason Furman explains : “States also had unusually high spending needs last year and this year. https://t.co/8YvHACUVF5Kurt Bardella/USA Today:The Republican civil war was over 5 years ago. Trump and the winners have a new target: UsTrump needed only tweets and cowardly Republicans to occupy the party. There is no “Civil War” brewing within the Republican Party. Sure, Republicans probably lose the election to Hillary Clinton in this scenario, but their orthodoxy remains intact.

McKee, though, came close to losing renomination in 2018 to progressive state Rep. Aaron Regunberg. There has also been speculation that state House Minority Leader Blake Filippi could also campaign for governor. ? LA-02: Both Democratic state senators competing in the March 20 all-party primary for this safely blue seat received a notable endorsement over the last few days. Mayors? Hialeah, FL Mayor: Republican Mayor Carlos Hernandez is termed-out this year as leader of Hialeah, a longtime GOP bastion that's home to the highest proportion of Cuban Americans in the country, and a familiar name is running to succeed him. ? Minneapolis, MN Mayor: Former state Rep. Kate Knuth announced Tuesday that she would challenge her fellow Democrat, Mayor Jacob Frey, in the November instant-runoff election.

"Current students don’t feel pride when singing a song that is meant to bolster school spirit," organizer Jacey Rosengren wrote in a petition to boycott the song. “People who target our students with hateful views do not represent the values of the Longhorn community,” the university president said in the statement. Next week, the Eyes of Texas History Committee will release its report. Even before the revealing Texas Tribune article, the president supported the song in a statement last October. "The Eyes of Texas is non-negotiable," wrote one graduate who bragged about having season tickets since 1990.

Republican governors are essentially pushing their states off the cliff and daring Joe Biden to catch them. That’s because Brazil edged out the United States for that “honor,” racking up 58,000 new cases. Unlike the United States, cases in Brazil show no sign of declining, and in fact are still on the rise. On a total cases per population level, Brazil is still well behind the United States … but then, maybe not. Which may help to explain why the rate of deaths in Brazil is rapidly catching up to the United States, despite well-documented underreporting.

A lawyer for the Arizona Republican Party explained that again in Supreme Court arguments this week. The voting rights bill Democrats are trying to pass, meanwhile, would make it easier for everyone to vote. This is the state of play as McCarthy wants to lecture Democrats on not passing bills to earn voters’ trust? Democracy for everyone vs. partisan efforts to disqualify the other side’s voters. Democrats vs. Republicans.

At issue is about $2.3 billion in annual SSI payments that could be going to more than 300,000 poor, blind, and disabled citizens in Puerto Rico. It later extended the program to the Northern Mariana Islands, but not to other territories including Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico gets roughly $36 million for AABD, as well as other adult assistance programs, a figure that hans't changed since fiscal year 1997. Others have chimed in, including the heads of U.S. and Puerto Rico Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, United Church of Christ, Christian (Disciples) and Evangelical churches, and leaders of the National and Puerto Rico Council of Churches, Catholic Charities, the General Bible Society and Jubilee USA Network. Having to provide these benefits to the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico, Trump's Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall wrote, could make Puerto Rico residents think they could get more federal benefits, like money for a school lunch program and Medicaid.

One of the things those Democrats wanted to secure by making cuts elsewhere was more funding for broadband infrastructure. The negotiations could push that back, though, if it appears Majority Leader Chuck Schumer won't have a finalized bill by Thursday. They are still dramatically misreading the moment, thinking they can use the same kind of tactics to poison this bill that they used on Obamacare a decade ago. Through climbing infection rates and death tolls, a plurality of Republicans have remained "not concerned at all" about the spread of the disease. He can introduce the final amendment that would strip out any of those amendments, and do it with simple majority support.

In a new letter, nearly two dozen House Dems are pressing Vice President Kamala Harris to ignore the Senate parliamentarian and fulfill her minimum wage promise. “Eighty-one million people cast their ballots to elect you on a platform that called for a $15 minimum wage. We urge you to keep that promise,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Harris and President Joe Biden, pressing the White House to raise the wage for workers as part of Biden’s American Rescue Plan. “We must act now to prevent tens of millions of hardworking Americans from being underpaid any longer.”

How will the latest campaign against 'misinformation' backfire for the country? Let's count the ways...a serious First Amendment issue. Censorship advocates may think this is purely a private affair, in which the only speech rights that matter are those of companies like Twitter and Google, but any honest person should be able to see this for what it is.

Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121"Rob Kall has been in on the modern bottom-up revolution from the ground floor. While the last two years have put the dangers of social media and connectivity at the forefront of our national debate, Rob Kall knows as well as anybody the infinite positive potential of our new world." Jesse Lee, former White House Director of Rapid Response and Social Media Director for Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi

Between Dec. 14, 2020, and Feb. 18, 2021, 19,907 reports of adverse events were submitted to VAERS, including 1,095 deaths and 3,767 serious injuries. Between Dec. 14, 2020 and Feb. 18, 2021, 19,907 reports of adverse events have been reported to VAERS, including 1,095 deaths and 3,767 serious injuries. About a third of the deaths reported occurred within 48 hours of vaccination, and 48% of the people who died became ill within 48 hours of being vaccinated. Of the reported deaths, 966 were reported in the U.S. and 129 outside the U.S. The number of serious adverse events reports increased by 641 this week, to a total of 3,767 between Dec. 14, 2020, and Feb. 18.

(Image by New York Times) Details DMCAOrdinarily, I do not take surveys. With those pieces of information, I had completed three percent of the survey. Remember the Dick Tracy cartoon strip that had the hero using "two-way wrist-radio" and "two-way wrist TV" way back in the last century? I am no expert on the current cash flows the Times and other opinion-leader newspapers now employ to remain profitable. Even without a pandemic, American schools went digital years ago.

However, the treatment offered by these centers could come at a steep price tag to patients, health finance experts warned, especially given that so much about the condition is unknown. Symptoms — which include high fever, a skin rash and stomach pain — can appear up to a month after getting covid. Because covid mimics symptoms associated with a variety of other illnesses, he said, part of his job is to rule out any other possible causes. Lauren, now 18, receives care at Mount Sinai Hospital’s adult covid care center and is improving. If a clinic serves a large enough area, it could attract enough patients to earn substantial dollars for the affiliated pediatric hospital.

And much of the wealth of Wall Street is in the hands of private equity and hedge fund executives. Warren Buffett and Michael Bloomberg, two Wall Street billionaires, have publicly endorsed a wealth tax plan in the past. Wall Street Billionaire WealthThere is bound to be loud and hostile opposition from the billionaires who will pay the tax. Imagine how Schwarzman, with his $22.5 billion fortune, will react when the Warren-Jayapal wealth tax demands a payment to the U.S. Treasury seven times that size. That’s right, the tax rate for the rest of us is twice as high as the tax rate for the super-rich.

"I mean we all knew this, but didn't think they would say it out loud," tweeted Arizona state Rep. Reginald Bolding (D). The Arizona Republican Party appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, which agreed to take up the case. During oral arguments in the case on Tuesday, the Supreme Court's conservative majority appeared ready to rule in favor of keeping the discriminatory restrictions in place, potentially spelling further disaster for the Voting Rights Act. "In its most important voting rights case in almost a decade, the court for the first time considered how a crucial part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 applies to voting restrictions that have a disproportionate impact on members of minority groups," the New York Times reported. In an appearance on MSNBC late Tuesday, Ari Berman of Mother Jones said that "it's hard to be optimistic" about the fate of the Voting Rights Act "with this court that already gutted the Voting Rights Act."

Despite their status as essential workers, however, many farmworkers are facing an uphill battle to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Some local pharmacies that are now supplying the COVID vaccine are also only making appointments online. In some other counties, there’s also collaborations between local clinics and other service providers that have deep connections to the farmworker community. Riverside does have significant farmworker population, but, actually, farmworkers — there’s more farmworkers in other counties throughout the state, specifically in the Central Valley. And until farmworkers are added to the list, vaccines cannot be administered to them in New York state.

However, the treatment offered by these centers could come at a steep price tag to patients, health finance experts warned, especially given that so much about the condition is unknown. Symptoms — which include high fever, a skin rash and stomach pain — can appear up to a month after getting covid. Lauren, now 18, receives care at Mount Sinai Hospital’s adult covid care center and is improving. Pediatric hospitals usually have little regional competition, he said, allowing them to charge more for their specialized services. If a clinic serves a large enough area, it could attract enough patients to earn substantial dollars for the affiliated pediatric hospital.

An attorney representing the Arizona Republican Party on Tuesday helpfully admitted outright what has long been obvious to observers of the GOP’s decades-long assault on the franchise: Easier voting makes it harder for Republicans to win elections. Today, the GOP once again screamed the quiet part out loud—this time before #SCOTUS. “I mean we all knew this, but didn’t think they would say it out loud,” tweeted Arizona state Rep. Reginald Bolding (D). The Arizona Republican Party appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, which agreed to take up the case. “In its most important voting rights case in almost a decade, the court for the first time considered how a crucial part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 applies to voting restrictions that have a disproportionate impact on members of minority groups,” the New York Times reported.

Allen v. Farrow purports to be an investigation into the 1992 incident. Allen v. Farrow (HBO)There are no new facts in the first two episodes of Allen v. Farrow and virtually no impartial, objective or genuine probing. None of these facts has deterred the American media from almost universally showering praise on Allen v. Farrow. The genesis of Allen v. Farrow is as shabby as the final result itself. Allen v. Farrow is a shameful, vindictive, McCarthyite attack.

When Sanders was fighting for the $15 federal minimum wage to be included in the latest stimulus package, his staff talked to the White House nearly every day. And, when he was trying to keep it alive after the Senate parliamentarian shot it down from the stimulus, the White House gave him space to do so, reports Barrón-López. When Biden backed Amazon workers’ union drive on Monday, the White House made sure Sanders’s team knew about it. Barrón-López writes that the White House staff and Sanders’s staff are carefully wording statements in order to project a level of peace and harmony among the Democrats and progressives. The White House has “been very good at tending the garden,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) told Politico last month.

“It is now time to open Texas 100 percent,” Abbott said to applause. The Texas governor emphasized his announcement in a Twitter post shortly afterward. On February 19, the seven-day average was at 4,571 new cases per day in the state. The seven-day average of deaths has seen a similar trend, nearly doubling in the daily rate from mid-February to now. Greg Abbott must not have looked at the recent numbers of coronavirus deaths in Texas,” the board wrote.

But in his appointments to top energy posts, he has selected nuclear power devotees. She has strongly opposed fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy, but she is a nuclear power advocate. Most regrettably, Granholm’s stance on nuclear energy might fit in well with the long avidly pro-nuclear U.S. Department of Energy. In the place of the AEC, the NRC was formed to regulate atomic energy and, later, the Department of Energy (DOE) was created to promote nuclear power, with the Office of Nuclear Energy in DOE the lead component pushing atomic energy at the agency. The nuclear industry will have no such problem with Hanson, an ardent, outspoken member of the nuclear power cult.

For Bush and other proponents of voter enfranchisement, restoring voting rights for incarcerated people is crucial to confronting the nation’s legacy of racist voter suppression. 1 would restore voting rights for people with felony convictions after they have served their sentences. A vote on the amendment split the House Democratic caucus between its moderate and progressive wings, with 119 Democrats voting against the amendment and 97 supporting voting rights. In a tweet after the vote, Bush vowed to continue the fight for universal voting rights. Across the country, grassroots activists are working to restore voting rights for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, and they have already had some success in states such as Florida and Louisiana.

Ever-widening allegations of rape involving government ministers or staff members are being used to destabilise the already faction-wracked Liberal-National Coalition government. Liberal Party Senator Sarah Henderson also referred to the Australian Federal Police a complaint she said she had received about a historic sexual allegation relating to a Labor Party shadow minister. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull asserts that he and his wife Lucy were sent the allegations in 2019. Labor Party foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, among others, received them last week through anonymous letters sent to their offices. Certainly, the hand of Washington was seen in Turnbull’s removal, as it was in the 2010 backroom Labor Party coup that ousted Kevin Rudd.

(AP Photo/John Minchillo)In his testimony Wray confirmed that:Militia “extremists” coordinated and pre-planned the assault on Congress. FBI intelligence reports were disseminated to the Capitol Police and the Metro D.C. Police prior to January 6. The FBI failed to issue a “threat assessment” prior to January 6. Durbin began his questioning of Wray by expressing his “surprise” that the FBI failed to issue a threat assessment in advance of January 6. Indeed, as Klobuchar well knows, the press has reported, citing 2014 court documents, that Proud Boys Chairman Tarrio has himself served as an FBI informant.

A typical smell kit might consist of four essential oils, though you could use a charred orange or any specific aromas with emotional value to you. For three weeks, I sniffed things constantly, things I loved, but couldn’t pick up anything at all. When I smelled something for the first time again, it was so unpleasant, it made me gag: the stomach-churning reek of spoiled milk. Bad smells are good, in the sense that they’re full of vital information about your surroundings that help keep you well. “It’s a warning system.”On the other hand, some smells are vital to quality of life, to accessing memories and emotions, to feeling close to people, to connecting with nature.

It goes vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. I’m old enough to get it, and I’m smart enough to get it.” She also broke into song (naturally), replacing the word “Jolene” in one of her best-known choruses with “vaccine.” “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” she sang, embellishing the last one with her trademark Tennessee lilt. “I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate.” “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” she added, “because once you’re dead, then that’s a bit too late.” Just before the doctor arrived to inoculate her — or “pop me in my arm,” as she put it — she doubled down on her message. The administration had also brokered a deal in which the pharmaceutical giant Merck would help manufacture the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine. He thanked Merck and Johnson & Johnson for “stepping up and being good corporate citizens during this crisis.” Noah Weiland contributed reporting.

Ariadna Phillips was close to panicking. It was nearing midnight in the Bronx, and she was scrambling to find food for an older woman in the neighborhood who was going hungry after deliveries of federal food aid had run out. For the past few weeks, Ms. Phillips, 40, who organizes a mutual aid group in the South Bronx, had been working frantically to gather enough food donations for those left in the lurch after a federal program stopped temporarily at the start of the year, and then again, a few weeks later, when it ran into logistical problems. A year ago, as the pandemic engulfed New York, mutual aid groups like hers quickly formed as stopgaps meant to help tide people over during the worst of the crisis. But even as the pandemic begins to subside, the economic and public health damage it has inflicted persists, especially in less well-off corners of the city that have been particularly hard hit by an outbreak that has disproportionately hurt poor people and communities of color.

The report, which was obtained by The New York Times, shed light on a number of rumors that had dogged Dr. Jackson beginning in 2018, after former President Donald J. Trump nominated him to lead the Veterans Affairs Department. After allegations emerged that Dr. Jackson had improperly distributed prescription drugs, created a hostile work environment, and had problems with drinking, the White House withdrew his nomination. Dr. Jackson went on to win a crowded Republican primary race to represent a district in northeastern Texas and was elected to Congress in 2020. The 37-page report, first described by CNN, painted a picture of a physician who engaged in reckless and sometimes threatening behavior, creating an uncomfortable environment for subordinates. A majority of the 60 witnesses interviewed by investigators said that Dr. Jackson had created a negative work environment, and nearly all of them said they had either personally witnessed, experienced, or heard from colleagues about Dr. Jackson “screaming, cursing, or belittling subordinates.”

In 2018, Porter was appointed executive superintendent of the Bronx, a role that gave her oversight of all the borough’s schools. By 2019, postsecondary enrollment had shot up more than 50 percent compared with the year before, according to the city’s data. The Bronx also saw the largest jump in graduation rates out of any other borough. Parents, educators and administrators who have worked with Porter said she deserves much of the credit for those gains.

Because Chrome is the most popular way people access the Internet worldwide, the move sent advertisers scrambling to find alternative ways of targeting ads. Instead, it will focus on developing its own tools that it says preserve privacy while still offering effective advertising. “Could Google unilaterally switch off the new solution if they so wanted?”Google has tremendous influence over the online advertising industry. Today, it controls tools used by both web publishers who sell ad space, and advertisers who buy the ads, plus a major exchange that helps connect the two. As skepticism of big tech has grown among consumers and politicians, the need to appear supportive of user privacy has grown.

The Virginia law is widely viewed as more industry-friendly than the California provision. Virginia’s new law signals that states increasingly are taking on tech regulation after years of lack of action in Congress. Many other states, including Washington and New Jersey, are considering privacy legislation. A growing patchwork of state laws could create more pressure on Congress to move forward on federal privacy legislation. Privacy advocates largely see the Virginia law as a mixed bag.

That was less than two weeks after saying that Trump was derelict in his duty as president. But many Republicans who initially criticized Trump for the attack have since demurred or recommitted themselves to him when asked about his role in the party. One week after the attack, McCarthy said Trump bore “responsibility” for it. The shifts by Republicans on Trump are perhaps not surprising considering his support within the party. But unlike 2016, the current criticism of Trump follows the worst attack on the Capitol in more than two centuries and the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history for Trump’s role in that attack.

In an op-ed for the Daily Signal, Pence details his opposition to a voting rights bill spearheaded by House Democrats. As The Post and others have written, even Republicans who didn’t support Trump’s claims have cited the distrust that they engendered to argue for increasing voter restrictions. GOP voting bills are front-and-center in Arizona and Georgia, but both Republican Govs. He largely faded into the background — not vouching for Trump’s fraud claims but also not speaking out against them. That he, too, is legitimizing doubts about the integrity of the election is a significant moment in the emerging GOP voting rights effort.

In a world of travel restrictions and lockdowns, loyalty programs became irrelevant. As the pandemic progressed, the companies behind travel loyalty programs were desperate to keep their customers. “With the pandemic pummeling travel, consumers’ choices are going to be more erratic in the next few months,’’ Garibaldi predicts. I suggested that loyalty programs faced an existential crisis because they weren’t taking care of their customers. AD“The pandemic has broken all established patterns and required consumers to rethink their loyalty to any and all travel companies,” says Erik Budde, loyalty expert and CEO of GigaPoints, a credit-card comparison tool.

A blast outside a coronavirus testing center in northern Holland Wednesday shattered windows but caused no injuries, Dutch police said in a statement. The apparent attack on the center, run by the public health department, would mark the second time coronavirus testing facilities have been targeted in the Netherlands since January. The RTL Nieuws program also reported that the explosive device was a metal pipe. “We don’t know yet exactly what exploded, the explosives experts must first investigate,” Reuters quoted Hartenberg as saying. In January, two youths set fire to a coronavirus testing center in the fishing village of Urk, which is just across the lake from Bovenkarspel.

About 46 percent of Hispanic women and almost as many Black women (39 percent) still earn less than $15 an hour. People earning minimum wage are still much better off.”Of course, $15 is still on the low end of the wage distribution. At the other end of the ranking, a number of states have already raised their minimum wage — plus an outlier, New Hampshire. Finally, you’ll need to account for research which shows that, when a government raises the minimum wage, you also raise earnings for workers earning slightly above the minimum wage. Put all that together, and you get estimates that as many as 32 million Americans — particularly Black and Hispanic women — will gain from a $15 minimum wage.

ADADNevertheless, the White House has to be especially careful about cyber security threats, and its reliance on Zoom is a problem, the House’s Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks (Ind.) wrote in a letter to Ron Klain, the White House chief of staff. They also emphasized the White House uses Zoom for Government, a more secure version, and not for classified meetings. A former senior Trump administration official acknowledged that the Trump administration had used Zoom, but pointed out that the Trump administration practiced lots of unsafe cyber security habits so it should not be held up as the standard going forward. McMaster’s latest book calls the Chinese Communist Party the greatest threat in a generation.

Walker, among the witnesses appearing before a pair of Senate committees on the breach of the Capitol, said that he received a “frantic call” at 1:49 p.m. from Steven Sund, then the chief of the Capitol Police. “He informed me that the security perimeter at the Capitol had been breached by hostile rioters,” Walker said. “We already had Guardsmen on buses ready to move to the Capitol. Consequently, at 5:20pm (in under 20 minutes) the District of Columbia National Guard arrived at the Capitol. We helped to re-establish the security perimeter at the east side of the Capitol to facilitate the resumption of the Joint Session of Congress.”

ADJackson, a retired two-star Navy rear admiral, “established a workplace where fear and intimidation were kind of the hallmarks of him, his command, and control of his subordinates,” one witness told investigators. ADJackson denied misconduct in a statement Wednesday, describing the report and the allegations that underpin them as partisan attacks. The allegations publicly surfaced in April 2018 following President Donald Trump’s nomination of Jackson as secretary of Veterans Affairs. “Three years ago I was the subject of a political hit job because I stood with President Trump. ADJackson began work as a White House physician in the mid-2000s and was named the top presidential physician in 2013, serving as President Barack Obama’s doctor and then President Donald Trump’s.

New York (CNN) Private equity giant Apollo Global Management is acquiring arts and crafts retailer Michaels in a $5 billion deal. Apollo will buy all outstanding Michaels shares for $22 each — a 47% premium to Friday's closing stock price, and well above the stock's pandemic-era low of around $1. Michaels, which operates more than 1,250 stores in the United States and Canada, was hit hard last spring when the pandemic forced it to shutter locations temporarily. Michaels has also implemented new strategies including adding curbside pick-up and same-day delivery. Saunders says Apollo will "benefit from the recent investments Michaels has made in its online proposition."

New York (CNN) The winter storm that left much of the nation covered in snow and ice last month also caused gun sales to cool down a bit after heating up in January following the Capitol Hill insurrection. Gun retailers across the country still managed to sell more firearms last month than in any February since 2016, according to FBI firearm-sale background check data released Tuesday afternoon. The estimated 1.39 million guns sold last month was a 7.2% year-over-year increase from the roughly 1.29 million guns sold in February 2020, according to the National Shooting Sports Federation, a firearms industry trade group that tracks monthly gun sales. The NSSF, which cross references FBI background checks with national retail sales figures to come up with its more-accurate firearm sale stats, said gun sales last month were the third highest for any February on record. An assortment of rifles hang in a gun shop on February 19, 2021, in Salem, Ore.With the exception of February 2016, last month's gun sales were surpassed only by those in February 2013, two months after the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting , which left many gun buyers fearful that Congress would pass sweeping legislation limiting their ability to purchase weapons.

Brady went on to become arguably the greatest quarterback of all time with seven Super Bowl wins, five Super Bowl MVP awards and three NFL MVP awards to his credit. At the time of Bradshaw's surgery in 1983, Brady was just five years old, meaning his choice of alias was nothing more than a huge coincidence. While Brady's eventual Hall of Fame football career wasn't even a thought in 1983, Bradshaw's was about to come to an end. The four-time Super Bowl champion appeared in just one game during the 1983 season. He missed the first 14 weeks of that campaign while recovering from elbow surgery before returning for a December matchup against the New York Jets.

The move to apply so-called "social conditionality" to the reformed CAP could mean slashing lavish subsidies to wealthy farm bosses found to be exploiting vulnerable workers in Europe's fields. Parliament pushThe issue of food workers' rights sparked debate in Brussels after massive coronavirus outbreaks at German slaughterhouses last summer. EU diplomats deny that the proposal is intended to stymie the push for workers' rights. "If the conditionality principle rightly applies for the environment and animal welfare standards, we do not understand why it cannot apply to protect workers’ rights," Bragason said. "It must be clear that workers’ rights are not red tape and that social conditionality can apply easily."

DUBLIN – Britain intends to unilaterally extend grace periods on full enforcement of EU customs requirements at Northern Ireland ports for at least six months, the U.K. government has announced. These included customs enforcement on parcels and the potential for new charges on some agri-food products. We now have short-term stability,” said Aodhán Connolly, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium. The trade deal’s Northern Ireland protocol leaves the Irish border barrier-free. However, Britain remains by far the most important source for Northern Ireland retailers and manufacturers.

In submissions to the European Commission and the bloc's data protection regulators today, British non-profit collective the Open Rights Group demanded stricter privacy standards for immigrants under the U.K.'s privacy framework before the data flows deal is finalized. He was referring to a carve-out in U.K. data protection law that waives rights for certain cases involving immigrants' data. The European Commission gave its preliminary approval to Britain’s data protection standards, in what is called an adequacy decision, in mid-February. The approval must now be scrutinized by Europe’s data protection regulators and receive a sign-off from national capitals before cross-Channel data flows are guaranteed. In a sign that the EU's executive will have a tough time convincing skeptics that it was right to give the U.K. data regime the green light, British academics also published a paper today criticizing the deal.

Withdraw support for businesses and jobs too soon and they risk a wave of bankruptcies and a spike in unemployment. The European Commission is due to present a communication tomorrow inviting governments to “ease” out of support measures gradually. Germany’s furlough scheme, or Kurzarbeit, has been extended until the end of 2021. The government will also likely extend its furlough scheme. Spain has extended its furlough scheme until May.

An explosion that took place at a coronavirus testing center in the Netherlands on Wednesday appears to have been targeted with a bomb, Dutch police said. The blast took place early on Wednesday morning at a drive-through test facility in Bovenkarspel, north of Amsterdam. “Because the object exploded right in front of the building, the windows were probably destroyed by the blast wave,” they added. A Dutch court soon after ordered the curfew to be lifted — a decision the government overrode with emergency legislation. Last week, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the curfew would stay in place while other restrictions will be relaxed.

Advocates for student loan borrowers are pressuring President Joe Biden’s administration to fire the head of Federal Student Aid, a Trump administration holdover they say has mismanaged an office that could be key in advancing Democratic goals to make college more affordable. and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten ? is likely to increase now that Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has taken office. The office’s struggles are well-known, and even prompted DeVos to propose spinning off FSA as an independent agency in 2019. On his first day in office, Biden extended a pause on student loan payments until the end of September. The office also faced intense criticism after Great Lakes, a major student loan servicer, provided inaccurate information to credit agencies last year, hurting some borrowers’ credit scores.

The state of Mississippi has been ordered to pay $500,000 to a man wrongfully imprisoned for nearly 23 years ? the maximum amount state law allows. Curtis Flowers was incarcerated continuously from his January 1997 arrest until his release in December 2019. That’s the maximum allowed under state law. But it denies compensation to Flowers for more than half of his 23 years behind bars. “I believe it should have been more, but I feel good,” Flowers said.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., is set to introduce three new bills related to the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol.

But he and other Republicans criticized Becerra's lack of health policy expertise in arguing he was the wrong pick to lead the sprawling federal health department during a pandemic. "Being HHS Secretary should not be a learn-on-the-job position," said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) accused the Republicans of "twisting reality" and warned that further delays on Becerra's nomination puts the country's Covid-19 response at risk. Republican lawmakers and conservative outside groups continue to ramp up pressure campaigns surrounding the nomination. Other anti-Becerra ad campaigns from Sen. Tom Cotton's PAC and anti-abortion groups Susan B. Anthony List and Students for Life are also underway.

The incident took place in August 2017 prior to the boys starting school that fall at St. Francis. "Believing themselves to look 'silly' in the masks, A.H. and Minor III took a time-stamped photograph of themselves in the masks," the lawsuit states. Pupils from St. Francis High School in Mountainview, Calif. The image sparked outrage from other St. Francis students and parents and prompted the school's president, Jason Curtis, to publicly condemn it. St. Francis and Curtis did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Voting was interrupted for about three hours Tuesday when a pipe bomb was found outside an Iowa polling location. Authorities lifted the evacuation order and voting resumed after the device was safely detonated, but no arrests were made in connection with the incident. The bomb "could have been any amount of days and not necessarily election related," Fitzgerald said in a statement. "I’m deeply concerned to learn that a pipe bomb was found at a polling place in Ankeny earlier today," she said Tuesday in a tweet. I’m deeply concerned to learn that a pipe bomb was found at a polling place in Ankeny earlier today.

Instead, they need to be taking proactive measures to expand voting rights to the disenfranchised. "Voting rights ought not be connected to the voter's ability to make payments," the board rightly noted. Instead, they need to be taking proactive measures to expand voting rights to the disenfranchised. Meanwhile, Oregon is considering joining Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C., in allowing currently imprisoned felons to keep their voting rights. Virginia lawmakers just passed a historic state-level version of the Voting Rights Act; the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the federal version in 2013.

WASHINGTON — Facebook announced Wednesday it recently took down separate networks of fake Iranian and Russian accounts attempting to promote pro-regime messages at home and stoke division inside targeted countries like Israel, underscoring the persistence of foreign influence campaigns on U.S.-based social media platforms. One of the Iranian networks used fake accounts to target audiences in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and the United Kingdom, posting memes, political cartoons and other content in Arabic, English, Pashto and Hebrew about news and domestic politics, Facebook said. FacebookFor profile pictures, Facebook said, the Russian accounts used celebrity or computer-generated photos, and the accounts appeared to have been created in bulk and purchased from a third-party broker. Facebook removed this post as part of a wider crackdown on fake Iranian and Russian accounts attempting to stoke political division. FacebookThe fake accounts were quickly detected by Facebook's automated systems and shut down, Nathaniel Geicher, Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, told NBC News.

THE HAGUE — The International Criminal Court prosecutor said on Wednesday her office will open a formal investigation into war crimes in the Palestinian Territories which will examine both sides in the conflict. Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the International Court in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2016. She named both the Israeli Defense Forces and armed Palestinian groups such as Hamas as possible perpetrators. When the court ruled on jurisdiction, he said: "When the ICC investigates Israel for fake war crimes, this is pure antisemitism." The Palestinian Authority welcomed the prosecutor's investigation.

When Eddie Murphy made the original “Coming to America,” he was, almost indisputably, the funniest man in America. The ’80s, Murphy says, are “all a blur.”“I was so young, all this stuff was happening. “Now I take nothing for granted and appreciate everything.”Thirty-three years after “Coming to America,” Murphy and Hall have returned to Zamunda. At the barbershop, where Murphy and Hall also reprise their characters, the conversation bounces from Teslas to transgender people. Eddie Murphy stars in COMING 2 AMERICA Courtesy of Amazon Studios“This is the only movie I’ve ever done that had a cult following,” says Murphy.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI sent a joint intelligence bulletin that there is the possibility of another Capitol attack happening as early as March 4. NBC News' Julia Ainsley reports that certain groups could be planning to storm the Capitol again as part of an unfounded conspiracy that former President Donald Trump will be inaugurated on March 4.

NBC's Garrett Haake reports that multiple Democratic sources have said that President Biden has signed off on a change to lower the income cap for those who will receive $1,400 relief checks in from the Covid-19 relief package Congress is working to pass.

Democrats lost 63 House seats and six in the Senate under Barack Obama in 2010. In 2018, the GOP lost 41 House seats under Donald Trump. This should scare the crap out of Democrats given their slim margins of majority: 10 seats in the House; one in the Senate. Voters responded in the 1934 midterms by giving Democrats nine additional House and Senate seats. Whatever the approach, ending the filibuster is the only way Democrats can deliver.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats plan to give $1,400 checks to fewer people under a deal struck with President Joe Biden, according to two sources familiar with it. But rather than zeroing out at $100,000 earnings, as the House's Covid-19 relief bill does, the Senate bill will cut off payments at $80,000, the sources said. But rather than zeroing out at $200,000, the Senate bill will cut off payments at $160,000 in earnings. But it maintains the crucial $1,400 topline number for the bulk of recipients, a campaign promise that Biden was determined to keep. The Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to proceed to the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill as early as Wednesday, with a final vote possible by the end of the week.

ET Britain Announces Relief Programs as Economy Slowly Reopens: Live Updates RIGHT NOW Michaels will be acquired by a private equity firm in a $5 billion deal. In the short term, he is aiming to support jobs as the vaccine rollout continues and the economy cautiously reopens. Borrowing this fiscal year has climbed to 355 billion (about $495 billion), a peacetime record, and a sixfold increase from the previous year. Michaels will be acquired by a private equity firm in a $5 billion deal. As a private company, Michaels will have “financial flexibility” to further expand its retail and online business, said Michael’s chief executive, Ashley Buchanan.

And I believe that this would be major stimulus package number three, correct? But of course, that would mean not having any Republican support for this giant stimulus package? michael barbaroSo to summarize, the Republican critique of these provisions is that they’re not required in an emergency and that really, they’re just Democratic priorities that could be debated and passed outside of an emergency stimulus package and should be passed outside of an emergency stimulus package? But yes, they are saying the Democrats should not put a bunch of these provisions into an emergency stimulus package. michael barbaroOn Monday afternoon, Democratic Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, said that the Senate would begin debating the stimulus package in the coming days.

“She was an icon and a trailblazer who dedicated her life to opening doors for women at a time when so many insisted on keeping them shut,” said Klobuchar, who introduced a companion bill in the Senate. “It is only fitting that the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives honor her life and service by establishing a monument in the Capitol.”

MEXICO CITY — When Mariana Zarate was 9, she got her first period. She had no idea what was happening to her body, she said, but before she could figure it out, classmates had already spread the word about the blood they saw in the school’s bathroom. Although Zarate experienced heavy flows, her mother didn’t allow her to wear tampons, because she believed it took away a girl’s virginity. Still, Zarate started using them in secret when she got to middle school, around the same time the Internet arrived at home and she was able to learn more about menstrual health — and realized that she wasn’t alone.

But the demand for ACA health plans during this early phase of the unprecedented three-month enrollment extension was a fraction of the enrollment during the first two weeks of the most recent regular enrollment time, when 1.6 million Americans signed up during the first half of November. ADADOrdinarily, the federal ACA insurance marketplace is open mainly during an annual enrollment season — a six-week period near the end of the year during the Trump administration. Days after he was sworn into office in January, Biden directed health officials to reopen the online federal insurance marketplace for three months, until mid-May. Among other things, the package would increase subsidies — received by nearly 9 in 10 people who have ACA health plans — to help pay monthly insurance premiums. The insurance sold through federal and state ACA marketplaces is intended for Americans who cannot get affordable health benefits through a job.

Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, testified that three hours and 19 minutes elapsed between the time he alerted senior Army officials of a request for troops to be deployed to the Capitol on Jan. 6 and when it was approved. Walker, among the witnesses appearing before a pair of Senate committees on the breach of the Capitol, said that he received a “frantic call” at 1:49 p.m. from Steven Sund, then the chief of the Capitol Police. “He informed me that the security perimeter at the Capitol had been breached by hostile rioters,” Walker said. “Chief Sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency on Capitol Hill and requested the immediate assistance of as many Guardsmen as I could muster.”Walker said he “immediately” relayed the request to “the Army Senior Leadership.”

The announcement follows a similar commitment from 2013, when it said it would invest $250 billion in products made (or grown or assembled) domestically. That effort later came under scrutiny after consumer advocacy groups reported what they called misleading labels on Walmart.com to the Federal Trade Commission. manufacturing really matters,” John Furner, chief executive of Walmart U.S., said in a statement. Walmart, which had $524 billion in sales last year, said its efforts could help reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by sourcing products closer to its customers. The agency briefly investigated the matter but closed its inquiry after it concluded that Walmart had taken sufficient steps to prevent consumer deception.

The man received the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine on Friday among a priority group that can access the vaccination first. Two days later, the man, who suffered from chronic and respiratory diseases, checked in to a hospital after experiencing shortness of breath. The patient’s condition that day, he added, could not be associated with the vaccination, according to the South China Morning Post. Last month, the Hong Kong government authorized the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use in the territory, which has an efficacy of 50 percent after one dose. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will become available in Hong Kong this week, similarly open to priority groups through a booking system.

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New York (CNN Business) Alamo Drafthouse, the movie theater chain beloved by fans for its boozy milkshakes, theme nights and strict no-talking rules, has filed for bankruptcy protection. Alamo put the blame for its bankruptcy on the pandemic, which has temporarily shuttered movie theaters in several states. Alamo said the deal will provide "much-needed incremental financing to stabilize the business during the pandemic, which has had an unprecedented and outsized impact upon the movie theater and dining industries." The purchasers include Alamo founder Tim League, some of the company's original investors and two financial firms. Alamo is permanently closing three locations, including a theater in its hometown of Austin, as well as outposts in Kansas City, Missouri, and New Braunfels, Texas.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated PressTampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady said Tuesday his decision to throw the Lombardi Trophy to another boat during the team's Super Bowl celebration is a blur. The seven-time Super Bowl champion also addressed another memorable part of the clip: his daughter pleading with him not to throw the trophy across water. The Bucs' celebration came after a 31-9 blowout of the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7. I'm happy I'm on land at that point. I'm happy I'm being surrounded by my fellow quarterback Griff [Ryan Griffin] at the right place at the right time.

Nick Wass/Associated PressThe Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic became just the second center in NBA history to reach 50 career triple-doubles during Tuesday night's win over the Milwaukee Bucks. "It's nice, of course," Jokic told reporters. The 26-year-old Serbian superstar leads the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating and ranks seventh in ESPN's Real Plus-Minus. "Nikola has 50 career triple-doubles, but he also has 20 games where he missed a triple-double by either one rebound or one assist," Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said. Jokic and Co. have one more game before the All-Star break as they take on the Indiana Pacers (15-18) on Thursday night.

(CNN) Solange Knowles is opening up about her health while making her last album. The singer took to Instagram and revealed that she was "literally fighting for my life" while making "When I Get Home." "2 year anniversary of the project that literally changed my life. When I first started creating 'When I Get Home' I was quite literally fighting for my life ... in and out of hospitals (s/out park plaza on Binz! The singer did not reveal details of her latest health issues, but Knowles in 2017 did open up about dealing with an autonomic disorder.

(CNN) Dr. Mehmet Oz sprang into action and helped save a man who had collapsed at an airport Monday night. Oz, along with Port Authority police, performed CPR on a 60-year-old man at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, according to a statement from the Port Authority Police Department. "I performed CPR with the help of a Newark Port Authority police officer and cleared the man's airway," Oz tweeted. I performed CPR with the help of a Newark Port Authority police officer and cleared the man's airway. Officer Croissant rushed to the man who was not breathing and did not have a pulse.

WASHINGTON — Two Senate committees will hear testimony Wednesday from national security officials about the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol as Congress ramps up its investigation into what unfolded that day. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Defense Department and Washington, D.C., National Guard will face questions from lawmakers on two Senate committees: Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Rules and Administration. Salesses said that at 3:04 p.m., Miller “ordered the full mobilization" of the D.C. National Guard to provide support. The witnesses told lawmakers that they blamed the Jan. 6 attack on poor intelligence and a slow response from the federal government. Separately on Wednesday, acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman is set to testify before the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the legislative branch at a hearing about her agency’s budget.

Watch live coverage as the Senate Rules and Homeland Security committees hold their second joint hearing on the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Department of Defense and D.C. National Guard are expected to testify.

(CNN) Don't look for Jennette McCurdy to appear in the planned reboot of "iCarly." McCurdy, who played Sam Puckett for six seasons on the Nickelodeon show that ended in 2012, talked about ditching acting on the podcast she now hosts, "Empty Inside." During a recent episode with "Mom" star Anna Faris, the pair talked about the "fish out of water" concept where Faris shared how she first broke into the business after she started acting as a child. McCurdy could relate, saying, "My mom put me in it when I was 6, and by sort of age, I guess, 10 or 11 I was the main financial support for my family." "It was very much the pressure of my family didn't have a lot of money, and this was the way out," she said, "which I actually think was helpful in driving me to some degree of success."

In an interview with POLITICO, Schmidt, who chairs the U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), said Europe is "simply not big enough on the platform side" to compete. But differences on privacy, trade and national security are driving a wedge between the two. Washington and Brussels are in the midst of thorny negotiations around data sharing. It's in mutual interests of both sides to have more data sharing for national security,” he said. The NSCAI report recommends the proposed Emerging Technology Coalition lead negotiations on a new transatlantic data sharing deal, and stressed that data sharing agreements for specific purposes, such as facilitating pandemic response efforts, “would have a greater chance of success” than a more general deal.

After word leaked that Boehner blurted out, “ Ted Cruz, go f**k yourself ” while recording the audiobook version of “ On the House ,” Punchbowl News posted the juicy-quote-filled dust jacket of the hardcover on Tuesday. Boehner ripped the Texas senator and even took a shot at former President Donald Trump . But the calls came in less and less as his tenure went on. “I’d never been sucker-punched like that in my life,” Boehner wrote. Of course, you’ll probably have to buy the book for the full context.

Investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department have executed a search warrant to get the data from the "black box" in the luxury SUV involved in the rollover crash that left Tiger Woods seriously injured last week. "Traffic collision investigators are continuing the investigation into the cause of the collision involving Mr. Woods," Deputy Trina Schrader told NBC News in a statement. "On March 1, 2021, they executed a search warrant to retrieve data from the vehicles 'black box.' Multiple requests for additional information from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went unanswered, but USA Today Sports reported that a sheriff's deputy said obtaining the warrant was routine. Woods' also famously crashed his Cadillac Escalade SUV into a fire hydrant and a tree just after Thanksgiving 2009 outside his home in Florida.

Bethany Christian Services, the largest Protestant adoption agency in the U.S., will now serve LGBTQ parents nationwide. Nyman said LGBTQ couples are more likely to adopt than straight couples. The study found that about 2,600 same-sex couples were raising an estimated 3,400 foster children in the U.S. Among couples with children under age 18, 13 percent of same-sex couples have adopted children compared to 3 percent of different-sex couples, according to the findings. McNama-Nyman said the change in Bethany's policy is welcome, because "there's a definite need for more homes."

Emmer predicted in an interview with POLITICO Playbook authors Eugene Daniels and Rachael Bade that he and Trump will have a conversation “at some point." With broad support in the Republican Party, Trump still looms large within the GOP and has already begun wading into 2022 primaries. Emmer voted to certify the election results. “I think we all perhaps as we go forward should re-examine what the Constitution says.”But the NRCC chairman stopped short of saying Trump and Republicans should stop pushing false claims that Trump won the election. Emmer added that Republicans should “celebrate” Trump’s policies going forward, saying they brought Republicans “a lot of new voters.” Emmer specifically pointed to Trump’s policies on energy, immigration and his “America First” agenda.

Two Senate committees will hold a joint hearing Wednesday on the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., will lead the hearing. Sen. Peters joins Morning Joe to preview the hearing.

That breakthrough has Democrats ready to press forward on Biden's bill as soon as possible. Biden urged the party to “swallow” provisions they don’t like during a virtual lunch meeting on Tuesday, according to one Senate Democrat. Schumer took procedural steps to put the House-passed legislation on the floor, though the Senate will substitute in its own text before it finishes voting. Senate Democrats need all 50 of their members to kick off consideration of the bill, a vote expected on Wednesday afternoon. Senate Republicans are debating how painful to make things for Democrats, possibly by dragging out the marathon of unlimited amendments overnight.

Last year, at least 560 healthcare facilities were infected with ransomware, according to a survey from cybersecurity company Emsisoft. Rehoboth, a rural not-for-profit hospital that serves about 20,000 patients a year — a majority of them members of Navajo Nation — was already in a difficult position. “Most ransomware actors now steal files,” said Allan Liska, a ransomware analyst at the cybersecurity company Recorded Future. “Recovery from a ransomware attack often requires negotiation with the ransomware actors,” Liska said. And whether the hospital paid the ransomware hackers or not, the event was another blow to a hospital that has already had trouble serving its population of Native Americans.

The search for a man accused of stealing more than $40,000 worth of lottery tickets ended Tuesday when Oklahoma authorities found him hiding in the back of a pickup truck. Oklahoma City police had been looking for 21-year-old Dylan Barrett since January, when the department posted surveillance video of him on their social media pages and asked the public to help them find him. The footage, they said, captured Barrett stealing the tickets. That is when "Mr. Barrett decided to show off his running skills," Oklahoma City police said in a statement. Oklahoma City Police Dept.

The photographer Corky Lee, who died in late January at age 73, captured images of some of the most pivotal moments in Asian American history. The coronavirus pandemic is amplifying a trend that experts say has been accelerating in recent years: the loss of the last living links to the Asian American movement. More than 50 years after the first Asian American studies curricula were established at selected California colleges, only a handful of post-secondary institutions offer degrees in the field. The recent wave of violence against Asian seniors also speaks to the need for more education in Asian American history, Marie Lee said, as anti-Asian hate "goes in cycles." Umemoto said a deeper understanding of the Asian American movement can also help activists build more inclusive and tactically effective campaigns.

ET Britain Announces Relief Programs as Economy Slowly Reopens: Live Updates RIGHT NOW Michaels will be acquired by a private equity firm in a $5 billion deal. In the short term, he is aiming to support jobs as the vaccine rollout continues and the economy cautiously reopens. The pandemic had led to one of the largest and most sustained economic shocks Britain had seen, Mr. Sunak said. Michaels will be acquired by a private equity firm in a $5 billion deal. The deal will bring Michaels back into the hands of private equity after seven years as a public company.

BERLIN — Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has placed the far-right Alternative for Germany under observation as a potential threat to the country’s democracy, officials said on Wednesday, setting the stage for a battle between the state and a party that is the main opposition in Parliament. It is the first time in Germany’s postwar history that a party represented in the federal Parliament has elicited such intense scrutiny, and it highlights an uneasy question facing the country’s institutions: What to do with a party that is considered a danger to democracy — but is popular in parts of the country and has become entrenched at all levels of politics? That question has particular resonance in an election year that will see Angela Merkel step down after 16 years as chancellor, a tenure in which she became a symbol of a Germany that has learned from its history and welcomes refugees. The leaders of the Alternative for Germany, AfD, as the party is known, routinely accuse Muslim immigrants of being criminals, attack the press and question the universalist principles of liberal democracy.

[Digital health passports promise to simplify travel, but come with a lack of standards]What is a vaccine passport? A few options for vaccine passports exist for Americans so far, and other countries and regions have also developed, or are in the process of developing, their own. While some people are already fully vaccinated, and some governments are already accepting travelers with proof of vaccination, vaccine passport apps aren’t an option for everyone. Outside of those privately developed apps, several countries and regions are creating their own vaccine passports. The WHO has recommended against mandating vaccine passports for entry for that reason: Doctors have warned that 1 in 4 nations will not see any coronavirus vaccinations this year.

When it comes to the cookie’s other integral ingredient, old-fashioned rolled oats are optimal for their chew. ADADAs for the size and shape of these cookies, the temperature of the cookie dough is key. Refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight before baking to reduce spread and get the thick oatmeal cookies intended with this recipe. And be sure to press the balls of cookie dough into pucks so that they bake up correctly. The raw, portioned cookie dough can be frozen, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months.

Tomas and older brother Petr escaped with their mother to India, where she met and married Maj. Kenneth Stoppard. Lee prefers to spotlight his defense of persecuted writers in Eastern Europe, battles against censorship and charitable work for children in war zones. ADADLee disputes the conventional wisdom that only with “The Real Thing” in 1982 did Stoppard start to plumb human feelings. Lee also rejects the view that the philosophical debates in Stoppard’s plays are mere window dressing. Wendy Smith is the author of “Real Life Drama: The Group Theatre and America, 1931-1940.”Tom StoppardA LifeBy Hermione Lee

Biden has pledged to hold a “global democracy summit,” a positive signal that he cares about freedom and human rights. And currently, the United States doesn’t have their back. It’s a test of how much Biden cares about democracy, beyond speeches and summits. Biden should make it a priority to restore that light — both by repairing democracy at home and doing more to support democracy abroad. Biden should seize the opportunity to show he’s serious about global democracy by giving them that help.

On the contrary, when Julie Payette abruptly resigned as governor general amid scandalous claims of workplace harassment in January, Canada’s newspapers treated it with the utmost seriousness. The governor general has to sign off on the prime minister’s decision to call an election, and he or she must also identify Parliament’s leader to inaugurate as prime minister. These rote duties are often dressed up in language framing the governor general as a heroic figure who must single-handedly determine the will of Parliament’s majority, as if it was some cryptic riddle. Yet Parliament could easily just state its preference through a vote, and this is the obvious answer for what should replace the governor general. The apologists reply, “But who will be Canada’s head of state?” The answer: How about nobody?

“I realized,” he says, “I may not be anything.”A few weeks later, his neighbor lent him a purple-sleeved VHS tape that changed everything: 1987's "Eddie Murphy Raw" standup special. "And I realized I wanted to be a standup comedian." That happened with "Coming 2 America," in which Fowler not only shares scenes with his comedy hero — he plays the unwitting son of Murphy's Prince Akeem. I don’t feel like he’s being false.’ ”As Fowler got to know Murphy on set, he came to appreciate his idol's reverence for Richard Pryor. Just as Murphy passed through doors opened by Pryor but decided not to retrace his steps, Fowler plans to blaze his own trail.

The Trump administration had slashed funding for these marketplace “navigators.”So for Democrats, expanding the subsidies is a no-brainer. Currently, more than 100 million vaccine doses have been shipped around the U.S., with more than 50 million people receiving at least one shot, according to The Post’s vaccine tracker. More in coronavirus newsA new federal report says the Trump administration failed to uphold safety protections for workers. Five weeks after their last day in office, the Trump administration health officials who stayed to the end are now popping up in new roles. Some of the most visible Trump health officials, like Jerome Adams, the former Surgeon General, and Alex Azar, the former HHS secretary, have yet to announce new ventures.

ADADThe GAO report provides an early blueprint for how Congress and federal agencies can work to address the significant cybersecurity issues raised by the hack of SolarWinds software, which led to the compromise of at least nine federal agencies. The report comes as Congress eyes potential legislation requiring all government contractors to report cybersecurity incidents. ADThe report points to a lack of cybersecurity leadership at the federal level, something the report says “regressed” under the Trump administration. “The FBI's demand for the power to spy on end-to-end communications undermines [end-to-end] encryption and makes everyone less safe,” Electronic Frontier Foundation Cybersecurity Director Eva Galperin tweeted. DaybookFormer Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Chris Krebs speaks at an Atlantic Council event on 2020 election misinformation today at 3 p.m.

Several of its elder members were on display — and the talk of Twitter — this week as the Senate Judiciary Committee began its investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) and James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) are 86, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will turn 80 this year, bringing the number of Senate octogenarians to six. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), 80, decided to retire last year, saying he didn’t want to make the mistake of staying too long. Once upon a time, it was considered poor form to ask a woman’s age, and women were deemed justified in rebuffing the request. ADADThis may well be true, but also true is that most people don’t think of themselves as old.

BASH: As you know, Dr. Fauci, many governors across the country are beginning to ease some restrictions that you were just talking about. Are the easing of those restrictions too...FAUCI: Yes, I would think it is. I think we — yes, I think, obviously, each individual state and city needs to look at the situation in their own location, where they are. If we do this and start coming up, then we're going to go right back to the road of rebounding. So, that’s the reason why I agree completely with what Dr. Walensky has said.

New York (CNN Business) The average paycheck for American workers has gotten bigger during the pandemic. But the reason for this increase is grim: Millions of low-income jobs are gone, and that has pushed average pay higher. "When the bottom drops out, the average is different," Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, told CNN Business. The change highlights that the nation is still a long way away from a recovered labor market, with low-income workers still bearing the brunt of the pandemic crisis. The leisure and hospitality sectors, which registered the biggest job losses due to the pandemic and the social distancing protocols it brought on, already paid below average earnings.

Yet when I pressed him about his favorite piece of music late last year -- was it something from Brahms? -- he replied somewhat foggily, "I don't know." Until last February, he would have regaled me with a boastful tale about some arcane piece of music he adored. Spending time with him has revealed how much I don't know about a man I consider my doppelganger and whom I can quote. I find it mildly unsettling that there are so many things I don't know about a man I thought I knew so well.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal is from Connecticut and first introduced the K2 Veterans Care Act last Congress. Some K2 veterans have sadly passed away while waiting for the VA to make a determination on their eligibility. That is why, last week, we introduced the K2 Veterans Care Act of 2021 to grant presumptive status for K2 veterans in order to ensure they receive the health care and disability benefits they have rightfully earned and deserve. It's been nearly two decades since US troops first deployed to K2 in 2001, and those veterans and service members who have fallen ill need immediate assistance. Our K2 veterans and service members deserve our gratitude and respect.

(CNN) — In September 1970 Jocelyne Nowaski was working as chief flight attendant on a Pan American World Airways flight from Paris to New York when her life changed forever. To become a Pan Am flight attendant, candidates needed a college degree, and to speak a second language. "And as I'm pouring the coffee in his cup, he looked up at me with those amazing blue eyes," recalls Jocelyne. Jocelyne with her friend Mala (left) who was on board the airplane when Tyler and Jocelyne met. Tyler now has some memory issues, but he still fondly recalls that momentous 1970 flight from Paris to New York.

Author and activist Rachel Cargle didn’t always realize that she would want to lead a child-free lifestyle. “The universal narrative tends to be that if you don’t have children you will miss out on the full life experience,” she said. “That provided a particularly immersive lens into the experience of parenthood,” Cargle said, adding the children ranged in age from newborn to 16 years old. According to Pew Research Center’s social research on childlessness, 7% of women who lack a high school diploma are childless. “I really love to engage people around the reality that choosing 'child-free' does not equate to a dislike for children,” she shared.

"It opened a historic new chapter for Kinmen's tourism industry," says Kinmen Tourism director Ting. "It was a big blow to Kinmen's tourism industry in the first few months. Half of Kinmen's tourists were from the mainland so the stopping of the ferries have impacted Kinmen's tourism industry significantly." But Kinmen's tourism industry rebounded fairly quickly after the first few months, as Covid-19 was quickly contained in Taiwan and local tourism resumed. courtesy Kinmen County GovernmentLearning from the impact of Covid-19, members of Kinmen's tourism industry say authorities should expand their offerings and diversify their target audiences.

That means without a healthy heart, we’re in deep trouble. Magnesium-rich spinach pairs up with another heart healthy food—salmon—in this simple weeknight meal. Potassium helps balance out sodium levels in the body, which keeps your heart healthy and lowers risk of cardiovascular disease. Fiber helps us to feel full, improves digestion, boosts gut health and also helps to lower cholesterol. Here are some recipes that will help you meet your daily goal:Start your day with this fiber-packed breakfast.

As Restaurant Week on TODAY continues, NBC investigative and consumer correspondent Vicky Nguyen is in Chicago to introduce women fighting to make sure female-owned restaurants stay open during this difficult time. Live on air, their organization gets a special surprise from Uber Eats.

Country music icon Dolly Parton, who donated $1 million to help develop a vaccine for COVID-19, has received a vaccination. She also urged others to get vaccinated by singing a modified version of her song “Jolene.”

Bunny Wailer, the last surviving member of the Wailers, the reggae band he co-founded with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, has died at the age of 73. He won three Grammy Awards for Best Reggae Album.

In a new fashion campaign for Stuart Weitzman, tennis star Serena Williams is front and center along with her 3-year-old daughter Olympia, in matching outfits.

"Dead butt syndrome", also called lower cross syndrome, gluteal amnesia or gluteus medius tendinosis, occurs when the gluteus medius (one of the three main muscles in the buttock) weakens due sitting all day. This means that dead butt syndrome can cause a decrease in range of motion as well as weakness in that area. Squeezing your glutes, lift your back and butt off the floor and into the air. It also works your balance in the standing leg as you do the side leg lift. ClamThe clam targets the gluteus medius specifically, and will also help with hip stabilization and range of motion.

An advantage of stool tests is they have the best scientific evidence showing they reduce cancer deaths, Brawley said. This is why FIT tests are recommended to be taken every year. Stool-based tests vs. colonoscopiesThe stool tests come with no real risks of harm to the body. “The FIT test has been around for a very long time,” Mehta said. Ultimately, the best test is the one that someone completes.”The FIT test looks for human hemoglobin in the stool, Brawley explained.

Trevor Noah thinks a compromise can be reached with Dr. Seuss Enterprises over its decision to stop the publication of six books containing racist and outdated imagery. And it involves Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, who is known for sowing division, attacking immigrants and peddling white nationalist rhetoric on his widely watched prime-time show. “An organization is making a decision on its own that they don’t want to be associated with their own outdated and offensive imagery. That’s not being canceled.”Then came the Carlson-themed ding:“Instead of getting rid of the books completely, they can just update the imagery. For example, take that offensive drawing of the two African men and put it in a Tucker Carlson thought bubble, that way we all understand, ‘Ah, this is racist.’”Watch the full video here:

WASHINGTON — Two Senate committees will hear testimony Wednesday from national security officials about the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol as Congress ramps up its probe of what unfolded that day. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Defense Department and Washington, D.C., National Guard will face questions from lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. Wray also repeatedly shot down claims by Republican allies of former President Donald Trump and others that antifa activists participated in the attack. The witnesses told lawmakers that they blamed the Jan. 6 attack on poor intelligence and a slow response from the federal government. Separately on Wednesday, acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman is set to testify before the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the legislative branch at a hearing about her agency’s budget.

The Department of Defense Inspector General plans to release a report that found Rep. Ronny Jackson drank while on duty and harassed staff while serving as the White House physician under the Trump administration.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, engaged in "inappropriate conduct" while serving as the top White House physician, according to a Pentagon inspector general report obtained Wednesday by NBC News. The scathing report, expected to be released later Wednesday, alleges abusive behavior toward subordinates including sexual harassment. The inspector general's review, first reported by CNN, says Jackson drank alcohol, made sexual comments to subordinates and took the sedative Ambien while working as White House physician. Citing interviews with dozens of former staff, the Pentagon inspector general said Jackson failed to treat his subordinates with dignity and respect. “We asked the female subordinate what she was thinking when RDML Jackson knocked on her door in the middle of the night and said 'I need you,'" the inspector general report said.

Instead, Google says it will only use “privacy-preserving technologies” that rely on methods like anonymization or aggregation of data. Cookies are small pieces of code that web sites deliver to a visitor’s browser, and stick around as the person visits other sites. To do so, Google launched its “Privacy Sandbox” initiative to find a solution that both protects user privacy and lets content remain free available on the open web. In January, Google said it was “extremely confident” about the progress of its proposals to replace cookies, and plans to start testing one proposal with advertisers in Google Ads next quarter. Alec Stapp, director of technology policy at the Progressive Policy Institute, called Google’s news a step in the right direction for user privacy.

Low-tech, high-trust approaches may provide a comforting alternative to the hard-to-navigate websites that have been erected to secure patients their vaccine appointments. “And some people have less trust in technology”Welcome back to Future Pulse, where we explore the convergence of health care and technology. Users of health tracking apps often aren’t aware that the companies behind them can sell health data to marketers, who use the information to target ads. ENCORE FOR CALIF. PRIVACY BILLS: California lawmakers behind two health privacy bills that failed last session amid pandemic-related obstacles are taking another run, writes POLITICO's Katy Murphy. What We're ClickingAre patient portals — and the difficulties they create for the less digitally-savvy — making health care more complicated than a world without them, asks an opinion piece in MedPage Today.

Dr. Atkinson, in hopes of assuaging her feelings and those of her students, designed a seminar on eco-grief and climate anxiety. (In cases of extreme anxiety, Dr. Van Susteren said it was important to seek professional help.) Based in Boulder, Colo., Dr. Kritee (she has a single name) leads workshops and retreats for people experiencing climate grief. She also works with farmers in India whose livelihoods are directly threatened by the extreme droughts and floods that come with climate change. Dr. Kritee, who has a doctorate in biochemistry and microbiology, said she believed people of all backgrounds should process their feelings about climate change.

Senate Democrats will have to stick together if President Biden cannot persuade any Republicans to vote for his $1.9 trillion economic relief plan. If Republican senators are united in opposition to President Biden’s stimulus bill, the chamber’s Democrats will need to be united in order to pass it. The demise of Ms. Tanden’s nomination offered a reminder of the math problem Mr. Biden must contend with for his cabinet picks and the stimulus measure: If Republican senators are united in opposition, he cannot afford any Democratic defections. Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, came out against her nomination last month, meaning that she would need the backing of at least one Republican senator to be confirmed. If no Republican support emerges, Mr. Biden must keep all 50 members of the Senate Democratic caucus on board.

But the Arctic is rapidly changing, warming much faster than any other region, and the snow is melting earlier. The images provide a rare glimpse at wolverines in the Arctic wilds. Mr. Glass and an assistant, Matt Kynoch, handled the trapped wolverines after the anesthetic had taken effect, to collar them and take hair and tissue samples. The collar on a wolverine provides data for several months after the animal is released and bounds off into the snow. Wolverines have been trapped for centuries by indigenous peoples in the Arctic, who prize the fur.

ET Britain Announces Relief Programs as Economy Slowly Reopens: Live Updates RIGHT NOW Markets are expected to open higher as optimism for an economic recovery rises. A year into the job, Mr. Sunak is trying to use this budget to juggle a number of different goals. In the short term, he is aiming to support jobs as the vaccine rollout continues and the economy cautiously reopens. He has alos faced questions about how he will meet the government’s commitment to “level up” the economy to reduce regional inequality and revitalize the post-Brexit economy. The pandemic had led to one of the largest and most sustained economic shocks Britain had seen, Mr. Sunak said.

McDermott said he made his comments Saturday after his 17-6 Bluejays suffered “an emotionally tough loss on the road” to Xavier. Creighton assistant coach Terrence Rencher, released his own statement Tuesday in conjunction with Coaches For Action, whose goal is to “educate and bring awareness to social injustices.”“I am deeply hurt by his words,” said Rencher, who is Black. “While my relationship with Coach has been positive and I have never witnessed any racist energy from him, what he said was wrong and insensitive. An Iowa native whose previous head coaching stops included Iowa State, Northern Iowa, North Dakota State and Wayne State, McDermott is the reigning Big East coach of the year and has taken No. “I immediately recognized my egregious mistake and quickly addressed my use of such insensitive words with my team.”Creighton’s visits No.

When the players arrived, Douglas, Old Glory operations manager John Manson and co-owner Chris Dunlavey were waiting with beers. They delivered the news that Major League Rugby had suspended all matches for 30 days to “assess the impact of covid-19.” A week later, the league canceled the rest of its third season. ADADThe international players on Old Glory’s roster returned to their homes across the globe to ride out the coronavirus pandemic. As New Zealand and Australia contained the virus’s spread, rugby was one of the first sports to return with fans permitted at games. Upon returning to the United States last month, Old Glory’s players quarantined for five days.

“The fact that we have not yet reached agreement on a new global deal is unfortunate for their artists, as well as for fans and listeners worldwide. ADKakao M tied the removal of the music to its ongoing negotiations with Spotify over a domestic music rights deal. The South Korea company had licensed Spotify to distribute music solely outside of the country. It is not uncommon for music to suddenly disappear from Spotify and other music streaming platforms as licensing deals expire or are renegotiated. South Korea is the world’s six-largest music market, according to Spotify.

The Big West moved from Anaheim to Las Vegas back in December, soon after Commissioner Dan Butterly — in his first year! While the surrounding county (Clark) allows for 20 percent of capacity, three conferences — the Big West, West Coast and Mountain West — will permit zero fans, and two — the Pac-12 and WAC — will allow only players’ family members. ADADThey found one through the kindness of the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA. As the America East began its men’s tournament last week, its commissioner took to Twitter to exult a little. The five conferences headed for Las Vegas have had group meetings on recent Fridays, Butterly said, weighing matters such as testing, transportation, officiating and whether to allow NBA scouts.

Belgium’s top scientific advisory body has announced that it recommends AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for people over age 55, reversing an earlier decision to withhold that shot from older populations. “AstraZeneca can be used for people aged 18 years and over without an upper age limit,” the council said in an updated advisory posted to its website. Germany’s health minister also said Wednesday that approval for the AstraZeneca vaccine could come within days. French President Emmanuel Macron drew criticism earlier this year after calling the AstraZeneca vaccine “quasi ineffective” in people 65 years and older. He reversed course last week while speaking to reporters after a virtual European Union summit.

Former vice president Mike Pence stokes claims of “significant voting irregularities” in the 2020 election and attacks a voting-access bill that House Democrats are poised to pass Wednesday in his debut column for the Daily Signal, a publication of the conservative Heritage Foundation. “Many of the most troubling voting irregularities took place in states that set aside laws enacted by state legislatures in favor of sweeping changes ordered by governors, secretaries of state, and courts,” Pence wrote. 1, or the “For the People Act,” that would overhaul elections, campaign finance and government ethics law. House leaders anticipate near-unanimous Democratic support and no Republican backing. Pence contends that many of the measures in the bill, such as automatic voter registration, would invite election fraud.

A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business' Before the Bell newsletter. You can sign up right hereLondon (CNN Business) Those betting on an economic boom in the United States this spring and summer just got a dose of very good news. Bank of America, for example, recently raised expectations for US economic growth to 6.5% this year, based on expectations of a $1.7 trillion stimulus package, as well as "better news on the virus front and encouraging economic data." Bitcoin vs. gold: Some argue that bitcoin could be a better bet than gold at a time when interest rates are climbing. But not forThe pandemic drove the big box chain to a record year of sales growth , my CNN Business colleague Nathaniel Meyersohn reports.

(CNN) One essential worker who was invited to attend this year's Golden Globes gave new meaning to the question, "who are you wearing?" The Facebook group, whose members are based in New York, allows people to lend or donate items they no longer wish to keep. Group members can also post requests to receive or borrow certain items. Anna Berger's Golden Globes outfitWith just days to go before the show, that's exactly what Berger did. One group member, who is a professional hair and makeup artist, even volunteered to do Berger's makeup the night of the event.

Generation Identity evolved into a pan-European movement over the last decade | Gerard Julien/AFP via Getty ImagesFrance is to ban the far-right group Generation Identity, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced Wednesday. Generation Identity, which was founded in 2012 as the youth branch of the Bloc identitaire, evolved into a pan-European movement over the last decade. The Austrian chapter of the group has been investigated over its links to Tarrant and Germany’s intelligence services have classified its German section as “right-wing extremist.”In France, the movement has ties with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN). Damien Lefèvre, also known as Damien Rieu, a founder and former spokesman for the group, later left it to join RN. Philippe Vardon, who was one of the founding members of the f, is now one of Le Pen’s right-hand men in the party.

LONDON — Corporations will see taxes on their U.K. profits rise to 25 percent from 2023 as Chancellor Rishi Sunak moves to plug the U.K.'s budget black hole. The U.K. corporation tax rate is currently the lowest of the G7 group of the world’s wealthiest nations, and Sunak insisted the country's economy would remain competitive even after the increase. The chancellor said he would also freeze the threshold for paying the basic rate of income tax until 2026, after next year's increase to £12,570. Temporary changes to the point at which stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland is paid were also extended until the end of September. An uplift in the Universal Credit welfare benefit scheme was extended following pressure from MPs in the chancellor's own party.

Vernon knew of the potential dangers, but he was undaunted by the prospect. Vernon reached out to Hollowell and Motley in Atlanta; they had already gone to a higher judge to appeal. Hamilton and I left campus with Vernon and went to a Black family’s place nearby to wait things out. (In fact, the historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. once called Vernon the Rosa Parks of Wall Street.) Vernon was raised in the A.M.E. Church (as I was), where he learned the power of faith.

Over 60 percent of Americans support gradually increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, according to new polling from Politico and Morning Consult.

A White House residence staffer recalled how ex-President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s stark difference in attitudes to COVID-19 were on full display on Biden’s Inauguration Day. The unnamed staffer told how colleagues on Jan. 20 gathered in one White House room to say goodbye to outgoing President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump. “It’s like night and day,” the staffer told The New Yorker, pointing out the social distancing differences of the outgoing and incoming first families in an article published Feb. 24 that’s now gaining traction online. “The Bidens came in and the first thing they did was make a loop of the State Floor and greet the staff,” the staffer remembered. Last month, it emerged that Trump’s condition was worse than was reported at the time.

The bill transferred 2,400 acres of national forestland, including Oak Flat, to Resolution in exchange for 5,300 acres of private land owned by the mining company. The legislation stunned and saddened Naelyn Pike, a San Carlos Apache tribal member who first testified before Congress in opposition to the arrangement when she was 13. The mine beneath Oak Flat is projected to satisfy 25 percent of U.S. demand. Oak Flat, along with its petroglyph-covered walls and Apache burial sites, is set to be swallowed up in a crater deep enough to hold the Eiffel Tower. The Apache Stronghold group argued in the suit that the planned destruction of Oak Flat would violate religious freedom protections.

The report in the Times newspaper, which quotes unnamed sources and contains details not independently verified by NBC News, comes days before media mogul Oprah Winfrey's hotly-anticipated interview with Meghan and Harry. The Times said that no action was ever taken over the alleged bullying claims. Meghan didn’t speak in the previews released ahead of the Winfrey interview, scheduled to air on CBS on Sunday evening. A press release said that Meghan will discuss her life as a royal, motherhood and philanthropic work. "Any woman, especially when they're pregnant, you're really vulnerable,” she said in an interview with U.K. broadcaster ITV.

Playbook Interview with Rep. Tom Emmer, RCCC ChairHouse Republicans mounted a comeback in November when they picked up a number of seats and defeated several Democratic freshmen who delivered the House majority in 2018. Then the Jan. 6 insurrection happened setting off an internal war within the GOP. Join Playbook co-authors Rachael Bade & Eugene Daniels on Wednesday March 3rd at 9 a.m. ET for a conversation with Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), chairman, National Republican Congressional Committee to discuss his strategy for the 2022 midterm elections, former President Trump's role in the party and continued fallout from the Jan. 6 insurrection.

WASHINGTON — Last week, we examined the counties — in Georgia — where Democrats made their biggest gains since 2008. Today, we look at the counties — in Texas — where Donald Trump improved his vote share the most between 2016 and 2020. In fact, of the six counties in the entire U.S. where Trump made his biggest gains during this span, five were in South Texas. Here are the five Texas counties:Starr (Texas)2016: Clinton 79.1 percent Trump 18.9 percent2020: Biden 52.1 percent, Trump 47.1 percentMaverick (Texas)2016: Clinton 76.5 percent, Trump 20.7 percent2020: Biden 54.3 percent, Trump 44.8 percentJim Hogg (Texas)2016: Clinton 77.2 percent, Trump 20.3 percent2020: Biden: 58.8 percent, Trump 40.9 percentKenedy (Texas)2016: Clinton 53.2 percent, Trump 45.2 percent2020: Biden: 33.5 percent, Trump 65.5 percentZapata (Texas)2016: Clinton 65.7 percent, Trump 32.8 percent2020: Biden 47.1 percent, Trump 52.5 percentWhat do these five Texas counties have in common? But those places are different than South Texas, and South Texas is different than Los Angeles.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told NBC News in an email Wednesday that special agents from the Homeland Security Investigations unit in San Diego are looking to see if the deadly crash involved a human smuggling operation. The deadly crash occurred about 6:15 a.m. local time at an intersection just outside Holtville, better known as the world's carrot capital, in Imperial County, about 11 miles north of the border, the California Highway Patrol said. The SUV driver, who authorities did not publicly name, was identified as a 28-year-old from Mexicali, which is south of where the crash occurred. Numerous people were ejected from the SUV because there were not enough restraints for everyone inside the vehicle, Watson said. The highway patrol and the National Transportation Safety Board said they were conducting an investigation into the crash.

GROSSE POINTE PARK, Mich. — A prosecutor declined to file charges Tuesday against a suburban Detroit man who displayed a Ku Klux Klan flag in his window next to the home of a Black family, saying the “horrible conduct” doesn’t violate Michigan law. JeDonna Dinges, 57, of Grosse Pointe Park, said the klan flag was hanging next door in a window directly across from her dining room. “There is absolutely no question that what happened to Ms. Dinges was despicable, traumatizing and completely unacceptable,” Worthy said. The average person would not own a klan flag, which is a true symbol of hatred,” Dinges said. Before the flag incident, Dinges said she was concerned about her safety after finding a full gas can inside her outdoor recycling bin.

(Nicola Muirhead)“His and hers” gloves for cleaning and disinfecting the flat, July 2020, in London. The moments I chose to capture were moments of the everyday, the passing of time in isolation or lockdown in London. Faraz prepares hair dye in our bathroom for my hair in June 2020, four months into the first lockdown in London. (Nicola Muirhead)A self-portrait on my 35th birthday in February 2021, six weeks into the third lockdown of the pandemic here in London. (Nicola Muirhead)Lavender blooms on our porch in July 2020, four months into the first lockdown in London.

ADADThere are many candidates for this branch forcing, all of them woody plants that naturally bloom in late winter and early spring. The choices include forsythia, various willows and Japanese flowering quince, as well as a range of prunus, specifically Japanese flowering apricot, flowering plum, flowering cherry and fruiting peach. ADLike a lot of plants, quince blooms sequentially from the bottom up. I love flowering quince, but it has its limitations as a garden shrub. ADThere’s no rule that says you have to force things into bloom weeks early.

ScienceHow Novavax uses moth cells to create its coronavirus vaccineNovavax, a biotech company out of Gaithersburg, Md., uses recombinant protein technology to create their coronavirus vaccine.

The PoliciesTHE VOTING RIGHTS EXCEPTION? The “For the People Act” includes measures to expand early and absentee voting, establish automatic voter registration, restore voting rights for individuals with past criminal convictions, etc. The Supreme Court yesterday heard a challenge to Arizona's election laws and appears poised to uphold two voting restrictions in the state that could hinder future challenges to voting rights' restrictions, our colleague Robert Barnes reports. The case is the “most important voting rights case in almost a decade,” per the New York Times's Adam Liptak. A former Obama advisor:On the HillGO TIME: Senate Democrats could place the full $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package before the chamber as early as today.

Seconds later, Myers, 59, felt something wet and rough on his face. Sadie backed up and began pulling Myers inch by inch out of the crawl space, and then wiggled toward his dresser. ADSadie exhibited aggression toward men, said Brinster, and visitors to the animal refuge were often intimidated by her large size and loud bark. “It was clear they were ready to go.”“When I first saw Sadie, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s one big dog,’ ” Myers recalled. On their first night together, Myers discovered that Sadie’s idea of happiness involved ditching the new dog bed and taking over his own.

Forty percent of Alexandria’s condo units are in Landmark-Van Dorn and 14 percent of its population resides there, according to data from Alexandria’s Department of Planning and Zoning. “The majority of condos were built in the 1960s to 1970s, with just a few more recent exceptions.”But Landmark-Van Dorn is not entirely multifamily housing. “We couldn’t find anything that was really what we wanted [in Arlington].”Although the Department of Planning and Zoning’s boundaries for the Landmark-Van Dorn neighborhood put Brookville Seminary Valley just outside the borders, Matthews insists her community belongs in the Landmark-Van Dorn neighborhood. “We’re the valley.”It is perhaps because she is near Landmark Mall that Matthews more readily identifies with the Landmark-Van Dorn neighborhood. “If you talk to West End civic association, that’s everybody’s concern — density and drivability.”ADThe redevelopment is unlikely to affect the housing market in Landmark-Van Dorn for some time, if at all.

“Families are waiting, victims are waiting, the state is waiting.”Democratic lawmakers, though, cited racial disparities in the death penalty, noting that of the 37 death row inmates in South Carolina, nearly half are Black. ADThe debate in South Carolina comes as other states move away from the death penalty, which the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated in 1976. Under South Carolina’s current law, death row inmates choose between lethal injections and the electric chair. ADSouth Carolina, which has 37 inmates on death row, has executed 282 people since 1912, when the use of the electric chair began. That’s not the government’s place.”The idea found support among some Democrats who oppose the death penalty, including Sen. Dick Harpootlian.

The savvy Los Angeles publishing company knew: One does not simply walk into a conference with Keanu. On a morning Zoom interview from Los Angeles last week, Reeves pithily recounts that meeting of like minds: “They went, ‘Comic book.’ I went: ‘Yeah! That sounds amazing!’ ”ADAnd just like that, the man who has long performed on soundstages and rock-and-roll stages decided to dive into something new. assures that its comic series will blaze a different trail. He cites two filmmakers who have previously directed Keanu action vehicles — Lawrence and Chad Stahelski — but thinks Reeves should take the professional step and direct himself.

Iraq’s caretaker government also wants the trip to happen, viewing it as a potentially celebratory moment for a wounded and fractured country. ADAD“A lot of people want to see the pope,” said Raghad Al-Suhail, a professor of virology and immunology at the University of Baghdad. Separately, the Islamic State continues to launch small-scale attacks throughout Iraq’s peripheries as it tries to maintain its foothold in Iraq. He added that even had Francis waited longer, Iraq might not become safer. “There is no point at which Iraq will be stable and healthy, not even in three years,” Almaliky said.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) intends to have Vice President Harris cast the tiebreaking vote, but first he needs to make sure all 50 members of his caucus are on hand to vote yes. In June 2001, Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) left the GOP and joined the Democratic caucus, making Daschle the majority leader. ADADThat Senate began essentially tied, with 48 Republicans, 47 Democrats and an independent who had left the GOP and caucused with Democrats. In late July 1953, two Republicans died — including the majority leader, Robert A. Taft Sr. (Ohio) — but Congress adjourned in early August that year. AD“If anyone has more problems than a majority leader with a minority, it is a minority leader with a majority,” Johnson said, according to Ritchie.

Start your day with this morning briefing of the news you need to know and insights you can’t get anywhere else.

“The lessons learned from the violent and illegal events of January 6th will help enhance our ability to stop future acts of violence,” DHS spokeswoman Sarah Peck said. ADBut the documents do show a level of awareness of potential threats on the part of the FPS, which is responsible for protecting federal properties, including some buildings around the Capitol. FPS officers are accustomed to flagging the presence of extremists and other potentially violent actors at protests and rallies. ADAs violence erupted at the Capitol, FPS officers took note in emails of clashes between protesters and police. But there is little in the documents to show what actions the FPS took or whether they linked any of the violence to specific groups the agency knew were coming to Washington.

The pace of arrests stemming from the Capitol riot has slowed in recent weeks. Joshua Lollar: Allegedly posted to Facebook after the Capitol riot saying, “Yeah, I’m good. Guy Reffitt: Allegedly told his family that he had been in the Capitol and that he had brought his gun with him. !” He later told the FBI he had a dream about being in the Capitol that day, before they showed him the Instagram. Jenna Ryan: Allegedly posted multiple videos from inside the Capitol promoting her real estate business, including saying, “You guys, can you believe this?

But although this study stirred the pot and grabbed some headlines, such as “ ‘Fat but fit’ is a myth when it comes to heart health, new study shows,” it had some major shortcomings. Willer said statements recommending weight loss are common in the conclusion sections of these kinds of “fat/fit” papers, even when the study didn’t investigate intentional weight loss — something that, as a researcher, she finds disappointing. “Weight loss targets have been at the center of public health chronic disease prevention campaigns for years. Is there something we can learn from these outliers about whether weight loss leads to a longer, healthier life? “The main message is that physical activity and other lifestyle factors can have substantial health effects beyond changes in obesity,” Kuk said.

Rest assured that the economy won’t miss a beat no matter how far or fast the minimum wage is raised. We have entered a magical world where borrowing is costless, spending pays for itself, stocks only rise and the dollar never falls. ADADOr consider the current debate about the minimum wage. ADADAlternatively, we could peg the minimum wage to the level necessary to bring a full-time worker above the poverty line. When combined with food stamps and a fair minimum wage, these programs could effectively end poverty among working families in America.

(CNN Business) By now it's well known that Facebook has a misinformation problem. The company has tried to address it in various ways, from labeling false claims to reducing its visibility in users' feeds. But a new study from researchers at New York University finds that not all misinformation on Facebook is created equal when you factor in political ideology. The results provide evidence that right-wing sources of misinformation are some of the most engaging content creators on Facebook, said Laura Edelson, a researcher at NYU's Cybersecurity for Democracy initiative. "My takeaway is that, one way or another, far-right misinformation sources are able to engage on Facebook with their audiences much, much more than any other category," Edelson said.

New York (CNN Business) Wall Street threw a fit last week when Treasury rates spiked. Former New York Fed President Bill Dudley is warning that the temper tantrums are only just beginning. "Moving to 1.6%, that's nothing," said Dudley, who left the NY Fed in 2018 after nearly a decade there. He predicted Treasury rates will eventually climb to between 3% and 4% — or higher. "I don't see an equity market that's particularly expensive relative to the bond market," Dudley said.

It made her rethink the content she posts, which can be a difficult tradeoff since her mission is body positivity. Scrolling through videos on TikTok, the short-form video app especially popular among teens and 20-somethings, there's no shortage of scantily clad women and sexually suggestive content. Adding to their confusion is the fact that even after appealing to the company, the videos don't always get reinstated. And like many other social networks, TikTok also uses AI to help humans sift through large numbers of posts and remove objectionable content. The company statement followed a report alleging the platform took action on posts from users who were overweight, among others.

(CNN) Audi's new E-tron GT, unveiled Tuesday, presents something that is becoming rare in the world of electric vehicles, an actual car. While Audi's most recent electric vehicles have been SUVs, as have many new electric vehicles, the E-tron is designed to appeal to those who put a premium on the driving feel of a car, with its lower center of gravity and better handling. The E-tron GT will compete against cars like the Tesla Model S, as well as the Porsche Taycan, which is a close relative of the E-tron GT. The Audi E-Tron GT has Audi's trademark grille shape but, in this car, it mostly houses sensors and cameras. Unlike most electric cars, the E-tron GT has a two-speed transmission with a special low first gear for fast acceleration.

Dr. Seuss’s publishing company says it will no longer publish six of the late children’s author’s books because they contain racist images, and reaction to the decision is pouring in from all sides. NBC’s Rehema Ellis reports for TODAY.

Just days before Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s big interview with Oprah Winfrey is set to air, detailed accusations that Meghan Markle bullied royal aides have surfaced. TODAY senior international correspondent Keir Simmons reports for TODAY from Buckingham Palace.

(CNN) Reggae music pioneer, Neville "Bunny Wailer " Livingston, has died at the age of 73, Jamaica's Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport said in a statement. Wailer had been in the hospital since December and died at the Medical Associates Hospital in Kingston, Olivia Grange said in the statement Tuesday. "We remain grateful for the role that Bunny Wailer played in the development and popularity of Reggae music across the world." "Bunny Wailer has made a tremendous impact on the world setting the stage for a global movement a love for Rocksteady and reggae music. Wailer, whose real name was Neville Livingston, was a founding member of the Wailers, according to the statement.

(CNN) Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Oates and his wife Aimee are reviving Oates Song Fest 7908 to fundraise for Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization. Feeding America estimates that one in six Americans could face food insecurity as a result of the pandemic. Such alarming statistics inspired the Oates' to rally other artists and entertainers to help raise funds to tackle food insecurity. "It's (food insecurity) in our communities," Aimee Oates told CNN. "It is something special," John Oates said.

New York (CNN Business) Las Vegas Sands Corp., the upscale resort and casino company founded by the late Sheldon Adelson, is leaving its namesake city and selling its two Nevada properties in a $6.25 billion deal. Apollo Global Management and Vici Properties are partnering to buy the Venetian, a 7,000 room resort on the Las Vegas Strip, and the nearby Sands Expo and Convention Center. "This investment also underscores our conviction in a strong recovery for Las Vegas as vaccines usher in a reopening of leisure and travel in the United States and across the world," it said. Las Vegas Sands is shortening its name to Sands as a result of leaving Las Vegas. The upscale resort opened in 1999, helping it morph into the world's largest casino company.

Since the tragic deaths of her husband, Kobe Bryant, and their teenage daughter Gianna, Vanessa Bryant has been the embodiment of courage. Now she’s opening up exclusively to People magazine in their “Women Changing the World” issue. TODAY’s Sheinelle Jones reports.

Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall said they were forced to put a white actor in the original “Coming to America” ? and they weren’t joking. Asked this week by Jimmy Kimmel how comic Louie Anderson got his role in the 1988 hit, Hall replied: “I love Louie, but I think we were forced to put Louie in it. ... We were forced to put in a white person.”Murphy added that the studio, Paramount, made its mandate clear: “The whole cast is Black — and this was back in the ’80s — so it was like, ’We have to have a white person! There has to be a white person in the movie.? What? So it was, ‘Who’s the funniest white guy around?’ And Louie, we knew, we was cool with him.

Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) will vote to confirm interior secretary nominee Deb Haaland, making her the first GOP senator to publicly support President Joe Biden’s historic pick for the job. Haaland, who is currently a Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico, is awaiting her vote out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. tried to cast Haaland as “radical” for wanting to protect public land and air as interior secretary. They might even know that Haaland, the former chair of the House Natural Resources subcommittee with oversight authority for the Interior Department, introduced more bipartisan bills than any of her House colleagues in 2019. “The senator is still in the process of vetting the nominee and hasn’t announced how she will vote,” Murkowski spokeswoman Hannah Ray said Tuesday.

FRANKFURT — The Bundesbank will make no annual payout to the German government for the first time since 1979, citing risks from the European Central Bank’s large-scale asset purchases. Last year, the Bundesbank transferred its 2019 profit of €5.9 billion to the German government. But instead of declaring profits for 2020, the German central bank said on Wednesday it had decided to boost risk provisions against potential losses by €2.4 billion to €18.8 billion. “This step only goes some of the way towards covering last year’s increase in risk,” Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said as the central bank released its annual report for last year. Weidmann said the German economy is expected to return to its pre-coronavirus size around the beginning of 2022.

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, says it’s “obviously very good news” that President Biden says there will be enough vaccine for every adult in America by May. He says it’s “great” to see Merck and Johnson & Johnson working together to make vaccines, but feels it’s “a little too premature” for Texas to be lifting mask mandates: “I would plead with Governor Abbott to wait several more weeks, probably more like a month or a month and a half.”

The Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is the focus of more hearings on Capitol Hill, with the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard being called before Congress Wednesday to explain why it took so long to respond to the chaos. On Tuesday, Christopher Wray, director of the FBI, defended its handling of intelligence ahead of the siege. NBC justice correspondent Pete Williams reports for TODAY.

NY AG Letitia James' investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo will give her far-ranging subpoena powers to request documents and call witnesses, including the governor himself, according to reports. The Morning Joe panel discusses.

Pressure is continuing to mount for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to step down as he faces two scandals: one investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, and another into his administration’s handling of nursing homes during the pandemic. NBC’s Anne Thompson reports for TODAY.

Most of Blinken’s speech, at least according to the excerpts, consists of pledges made repeatedly during the 2020 presidential campaign and since Biden won November’s election. Blinken will acknowledge that the world today is different from 2017, when Donald Trump took over as president, or even from 2009, when many current Biden administration officials worked for then-President Barack Obama. We’re looking at the world with fresh eyes,” Blinken is expected to say. That includes more consideration of the ways in which foreign policy, domestic policy and trade issues are intertwined. The Biden administration will weigh how its moves abroad affect American workers, Blinken will promise.

Frank Sinatra sang about flying to the Moon, but a Japanese billionaire is offering a lunar trip to eight would-be astronauts in real life. The billionaire and CEO of Japanese fashion retailer Zozo was the first private passenger to book a spot on the Elon Musk's space expedition in 2018 for an undisclosed amount. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa poses with his T-shirt bearing an image of Earth during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo, Japan, March 3, 2021. Kim Kyung-Hoon / ReutersApproximately 12 people in total will fly around the moon and back on the week-long voyage, Maezawa said. But I'm more curious," he said, expressing full trust in Elon Musk's technology.

Less than a week after U.S. airstrikes in Syria, at least 10 rockets have been fired on U.S. troops at a military base in Iraq. NBC chief global correspondent Bill Neely reports for TODAY.

President Biden says there will be enough vaccine for every American adult by May, two months ahead of what was originally promised. Meanwhile, two states are rolling back restrictions despite a warning from the CDC. NBC’s Morgan Chesky reports for TODAY from Austin, Texas.

ET U.S. Infrastructure Earns a C- Grade Ahead of a Biden Spending Plan: Live UpdatesU.S. infrastructure earns a C- ahead of a Biden investment plan. Improving national infrastructure enough to earn a B grade will require an investment of $2.6 trillion over the next decade, the American Society of Civil Engineers said. Improving national infrastructure enough to earn a B grade will require an investment of $2.6 trillion over the next decade, the engineering society said. Despite the dire warnings, the new one bore some good news: The C– is a slight improvement on the D or D+ the group had awarded since 1998. Still, only two of 17 categories were graded better than a C: America’s ports earned a B– and rail a B.

Washington Performing ArtsADADWashington Performing Arts forges forth with two compelling new programs in its strong and steady Home Delivery Plus series. 73, new works by Banks and premieres of works by Carlos Simon and Saad Haddad (co-commissioned by co-presenter Young Concert Artists). Rehearsals and tapings are underway for a four-program series of streaming concerts to be released starting this month. (Individual live stream tickets are $20; series passes are also available.) ADOn March 5, 6 and 7, Fabien Gabel leads the orchestra into spring with Stella Sung’s Fanfare for brass ensemble, Beethoven’s “Pastoral” symphony (No.

It was the latest disturbing incident in a tense relationship with their neighbor, a 31-year-old White man who has not been publicly identified. But, very unfortunately in my view, not a crime,” Worthy, who is Black, said in a statement. More recently, a month before Dinges saw the flag, her ex-husband found a full gas can in their recycling bin. Like clockwork every year there is some kind of racially charged incident,” Dinges said. During a diversity and inclusion panel with the city council over Zoom last month, Dinges said a Black man spoke for the first time about being racially profiled by local officers.

Let’s start with a basic fact: Whether you carry a mortgage on your property has no impact on what you pay in real estate taxes. Your real estate taxes should be based on the actual value of the home or what your local taxing authority believes your home is worth. Having said that, when you pay off your mortgage, your lender no longer has the obligation to pay your real estate taxes and homeowners insurance premium. The way real estate usually works, as you pay down your mortgage, your real estate tax bill will continue to rise. Recently, we found a tax bill from around 25 years ago that was about one-fifth of our current tax bill.

By now, many of the basic facts about how Covid-19 spreads are clear. People tend to become infected by inhaling droplets that come from the mouths and noses of others. Crowded indoor spaces — where infected droplets can linger in the air — are the most dangerous places. If anything, many medical experts believe that the country has been too slow to restart some activities, like outdoor socializing and, above all, in-person school with precautions. The costs of an unending shutdown — in lost learning, lost earnings and mental-health problems — do sometimes outweigh the reduced risk of Covid transmission.

Listen and subscribe to The DailyApple Podcasts | Spotify | StitcherLast year, Megan Twohey, a Times investigative reporter, turned her attention to vaccines. While she was digging, one name cropped up again and again: Bill Gates. The Microsoft founder has played an integral role in the vaccine world for decades, and his entry into the fray in the 1990s helped revolutionize the market. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Mr. Gates was the most powerful and provocative private individual operating within global public health. Today, we speak to Megan and Nicholas Kulish, a Times enterprise correspondent, about the role Mr. Gates has played in public health and his latest mission: procuring Covid-19 vaccines for countries in the developing world.

The UK government has borrowed vast sums of money to fund nearly £300 billion ($419 billion) in fiscal stimulus over the past 12 months. Total government debt has soared to £2 trillion ($2.8 trillion), or close to 100% of GDP, a level not seen since the 1960s, according to the Office for National Statistics. "We're using the full measure of our fiscal firepower to protect the jobs and livelihoods of the British people," Sunak will say, according to excerpts of his speech released by the Treasury. "Once we are on the way to recovery, we will need to begin fixing the public finances — and I want to be honest today about our plans to do that." UK GDP fell nearly 10% over the course of 2020, returning the economy close to the size it was in 2013.

The man who asked whether the horrific bombing was "another false flag staged attacks" was Dan Bidondi, a radio host for Alex Jones's InfoWars. While Jones still remains on the fringes of US politics, the InfoWars approach has since then become part of the mainstream right. "It's probably not Trump supporters who would do that," he told his audience. But false-flag conspiracies remained on the fringes, in part because conservatives had other ways to distance themselves from right-wing violence. So it should come as no surprise that politicians eyeing a political future in the party would embrace the conspiracies fueling its base, even if it means transforming the Party of Lincoln into the Party of Alex Jones.

During the Boston Police Department's final press conference of a confounding and deadly day, someone in the audience asked if Monday's bombing was a "false flag" attack. Is this another false flag staged attack to take our civil liberties and promote homeland security while sticking their hands down our pants on the streets? What is a "false flag" attack? They would fly, in other words, a "false flag." Conspiracy theorists (of which there are a lot in America) often suggest that the 1933 fire at the Reichstag in Berlin was a "false flag" operation by the Nazis to consolidate power and undermine the Communist Party.

But the brilliant lights of Broadway have been dark for nearly a year. View of the closed Richard Rogers Theater near Times Square on October 12, 2020 in New York City. Nearly ten thousand miles from Broadway, in Sydney, Australia, live theater is thriving. She says the success of live performances in Australia "absolutely" gives her hope about Broadway. Credit: PIPPIN AustraliaA model for BroadwayAustralian playwright Tom Wright says Sydney should offer a model for how to reopen Broadway and the world's other theater districts.

A majority of French high schoolers believe they and their classmates should be allowed to wear religious symbols such as a hijab or a kippah, a poll has found. More high schoolers hold a different view on what laïcité really means, compared with French adults. Some 29 percent of them believe the French take on secularism is first and foremost about “putting all religions on an equal footing” (compared to 19 percent of French adults). Plus, 43 percent of high schoolers think current laws on laïcité — which was mostly codified by a 1905 law, and reinforced by the 2004 religious signs ban — are discriminatory toward at least one religious group. More than a third (37 percent) of them — and 81 percent of Muslim high school students — think they are Islamophobic.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not introduce new levies on meat or carbon and indicated fuel duty would remain frozen, in an interview with the Sun. Speaking during a visit to a primary school in Stoke-on-Trent, Johnson stressed the economic benefits of following through with the U.K.'s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. “So green technology, going forward with the green option, is very often the best way to drive, drive jobs and drive the economy," he said in the interview, published Monday. Johnson also told the Sun the U.K.'s "economic recovery is going to be powered by white van man amongst others," indicating the levy on fuel would remain frozen for the 10th year running. The comments come ahead of the COP26 climate summit in November, to be hosted by the U.K. in Glasgow.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party on Wednesday quit the center-right bloc in the European Parliament after a vote that paved the way for it to be suspended or excluded from the group. “I hereby inform you that Fidesz MEPs resign their membership in the EPP group,” Orbán wrote to group leader Manfred Weber. One Fidesz member is already suspended from the group. Fidesz leaders have rejected the charges and lashed out at top EU and EPP officials. Fidesz has been suspended from membership of the EPP party alliance since March 2019 but its MEPs had remained part of the EPP group in the European Parliament.

The White House isn’t setting aside additional funding for the effort. AHIP said the 2 million vaccination target has been set for weeks, though recent White House announcements about expanded vaccine supply could mean they reach the goal earlier than 100 days. Still, some industry lobbyists have expressed concern that the White House hasn't fully detailed the effort. Others told POLITICO they were concerned that involving health plans could slow an already complex rollout. “Everyone’s looking for ways to go faster, but what if there isn’t an easy answer?” said one lobbyist working with health plans.

POLITICO Playbook: The three factions set to face off over Tanden’s replacement Presented byWhile the proximate cause of Neera Tanden’s defeat was Joe Manchin’s opposition, the actual cause was Lisa Murkowski. Sinema: Though she didn’t publicly commit to backing Tanden, three White House sources insist that Sinema would have been a yes. On Tuesday afternoon, the White House determined — abruptly in the view of some sources — that there was no trade to be had. Both can be true: The White House knew what would get her vote and ultimately declined to provide it. According to our sources there are competing factions on the Hill and inside the White House pushing alternatives, but three names are worth spotlighting.

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are nominating 25 films highlighting the experiences of Latinos in the U.S. for inclusion in the National Film Registry. In January, Castro nominated Mexican American filmmaker Gregory Nava's 1997 movie "Selena" for preservation at the Library of Congress. "Including more Latino films in the National Film Registry will help elevate Latino stories, promote an inclusive media landscape, and empower Latino filmmakers and storytellers." A generational epic of an Mexican American family through the 20th century. A generational epic of an Mexican American family through the 20th century.

Myanmar security forces opened fire on protests against military rule on Wednesday killing nine people, witnesses and media reported, a day after neighboring countries called for restraint and offered to help Myanmar resolve the crisis. Protesters holding homemade shields as they run during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar on Wednesday. Security forces also detained about 300 protesters as they broke up protests in Yangon, the Myanmar Now news agency reported. Anti-coup protesters run from teargas and charging riot police and soldiers in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday. Tuesday evening's news bulletin on Myanmar state television said agitators were mobilizing people on social media and forming "illegal organizations".

The business that preserves Dr. Seuss’ legacy announced Tuesday that six of the legendary author’s books for children will stop being published because of racist imagery. The announcement came on Read Across America Day, an initiative to promote childhood reading, which falls on the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, known as Dr. Seuss. "Even during that time, our ancestors and elders were protesting racist works and producing alternative stories for our children. President Barack Obama lauded the author in 2016, saying, "Theodor Seuss Geisel — or Dr. Seuss — used his incredible talent to instill in his most impressionable readers universal values we all hold dear." Criticism of Seuss works can be found as far back as the ‘80s.

A federal court promptly blocked the law from taking effect, underscoring the concerns of some abortion opponents that the approach was too extreme and would be counterproductive. About a dozen states, including South Carolina, have sought to put such a law on their books but have been blocked by the courts. That 2019 push by abortion absolutists, two years into the Trump presidency, was also a push against a more incremental approach that had dominated the anti-abortion effort. The National Right to Life Committee, a giant in the movement, had warned the heartbeat campaign would backfire at the Supreme Court. Because the South Carolina law made exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape and incest, Republican lawmakers who are relatively moderate voted for the ban.

In the past, we’ve chosen the five minutes or so we would play to make our friends fall in love with classical music, the piano, opera, the cello, Mozart, 21st-century composers, the violin, Baroque music, sopranos, Beethoven, the flute and string quartets. Now we want to convince those curious friends to love the passionate, ringing tenor voice. We hope you find lots here to discover and enjoy; leave your choices in the comments. One of the tracks was a thrilling version of “Di rigori armato seno” from Strauss’s “Der Rosenkavalier,” and I became entranced with the aria. It was the first and only time I ever saw him live.

“One asked me, ‘When you leave, can I still send you video?’” she recalled with a laugh. They lived in Edison, N.J., and later in Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, and the mother taught the daughter game strategy. She picked up softball late, when she was about 12 years old, lured to the mental side of playing the game. She had the mind of an analyst, studying how plays unfolded and trying to predict the manager’s next move. When she entered Dartmouth, her parents’ alma mater, her baseball obsession was evident in the family cellphone bill.

Image Jonathan Allen Credit... Stuart Hovell“Shattered” arrived in the spring of 2017, when bewildered Democrats were still asking what happened. “Lucky” arrives at a completely different moment. A string of tell-alls about Trump’s White House have recounted a level of backbiting and chaos that made the inner workings of the Clinton campaign look like a Swiss timepiece by comparison. Within the last year alone, a pandemic has killed more than 500,000 Americans and the White House demanded crackdowns on protests against police brutality. Less than two months have passed since Trump supporters invaded the Capitol.

Republicans will spend the next 20 months debating and deciding whether Trumpism will be on the ballot in 2022. Will party leaders continue to embrace Donald Trump’s populist rhetoric? Can it resonate with voters if Trump isn’t the one saying it? Ross Douthat, an Opinion columnist at The New York Times, and Michael Brendan Dougherty, a senior writer at National Review, offer their own definitions of populism and debate with Jane populism’s merits, if Trumpism is real and whether Trump allies in the Republican Party will be the future or the demise of the Grand Old Party.

My mother asked me if she’d been a friend. But he also recalls the way people came together to help, and what it taught him about community, about society and what was possible. I’m grateful, too, for what the attempt to save a girl I barely knew taught me about the complexities of good will. I imagine those who have done the most to make my life harder, being filled up with Jenny Boylan blood. As my mother used to say, “Love is the wise man’s revenge.”It’s not hard to do a deep dive into the racism and homophobia and transphobia that are part of the history of blood donation in this country.

Andrew M. Cuomo was having one of the worst weeks of his administration, and he tried to divert attention to the New York City mayor’s race. In one of his famed slide show presentations, Mr. Cuomo listed the many challenges facing the city — a rising murder rate, a homelessness crisis, people deciding to move away — and questioned if the candidates were up to the task. “What have you managed before? What have you accomplished before?” Mr. Cuomo said in late February. This is not about slogans.”Mr. Cuomo failed to mention another top challenge for the next mayor: Figuring out how to get along with him.

Xi Jinping has struck a confident posture as he looks to secure China’s prosperity and power in a post-Covid world, saying that the country is entering a time of opportunity when “the East is rising and the West is declining.”But behind closed doors, China’s Communist Party leader has also issued a blunt caveat to officials: do not count out our competitors, above all the United States. “The biggest source of chaos in the present-day world is the United States,” Mr. Xi said, a county official in northwest China recounted in a speech published last week on a government website. He quoted Mr. Xi as saying: “The United States is the biggest threat to our country’s development and security.”That warning, echoed in similar recent public comments by senior officials close to Mr. Xi, reinforces how he is seeking to balance confidence and caution as China strides ahead while other countries continue to grapple with the pandemic.

The hospital where I work is now treating fewer people with Covid-19, after enduring a deadly resurgence of the coronavirus this year. They may also be less susceptible to some vaccines than the previously dominant lineages of the coronavirus. Keep wearing a mask — preferably a better oneMasks are the single most important tool for controlling the spread of the coronavirus, aside from vaccines. But since some of the new variants are more contagious, upgrading your mask is even more important now. These can better protect you from droplets and airborne particles, and they can prevent you from infecting others if you have the coronavirus.

Central to getting the green light was a trial that Johnson & Johnson ran to measure the vaccine’s efficacy. If a vaccine has an efficacy of, say, 95 percent, that doesn’t mean that 5 percent of people who receive that vaccine will get Covid-19. Share of U.S. Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial volunteers who got Covid-19 Placebo group Vaccinated group Efficacy estimate 63 per 5,000 volunteers contracted Covid-19 18 per 5,000 72% fewer cases in the vaccinated group than in the placebo group Placebo group Vaccinated group Efficacy estimate 63 per 5,000 volunteers contracted Covid-19 18 per 5,000 72% fewer cases in the vaccinated group than in the placebo group Notes: Numbers are rounded. In the United States trial site, Johnson & Johnson determined that the efficacy is 72 percent. Johnson & Johnson ran trials at three sites: in the United States, Latin America and South Africa.

ATLANTA — After record turnout flipped Georgia blue for the first time in decades, Republicans who control the state Legislature are moving swiftly to implement a raft of new restrictions on voting access, mounting one of the biggest challenges to voting rights in a major battleground state following the 2020 election. Two bills, one passed by the House on Monday and another that could pass the Senate this week, seek to alter foundational elements of voting in Georgia, which supported President Biden in November and a pair of Democratic senators in January — narrow victories attributable in part to the array of voting options in the state. The Republican legislation would undermine pillars of voting access by ending automatic voter registration, banning drop boxes for mail ballots and eliminating the broad availability of absentee voting. The bills would restrict early voting on the weekends, limiting the longstanding civic tradition of “Souls to the Polls” in which Black voters cast ballots on Sunday after church services. Taken together, the new barriers would have an outsize impact on Black voters, who make up roughly one-third of the state’s population and vote overwhelmingly Democratic.

In the Atlantic Ocean, Subtle Shifts Hint at Dramatic Dangers The warming atmosphere is causing an arm of the powerful Gulf Stream to weaken, some scientists fear. But now, in the North Atlantic, there is the “cold blob.” But now, in the North Atlantic, there is the “cold blob.” The fear: Melting Greenland ice will tip the delicate balance of hot and cold that defines not only the North Atlantic, but life far and wide. But in both scientific modeling of climate change and in the prehistoric record, a North Atlantic cooling presages a shutdown of the current. And according to one study, the subpolar North Atlantic recently became less salty than at any time in the past 120 years. A second sensor array, spanning the North Atlantic from Canada to Greenland to Scotland and called Osnap, went live in 2014.

And the variant has slipped Brazil’s borders, showing up in two dozen other countries and in small numbers in the United States. “You need vaccines to get in the way of these things,” said William Hanage, an epidemiologist at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, speaking of variants that might cause reinfections. “The immunity you get with your cemeteries running out of room, even that will not be enough to protect you.”That danger of new variants has not been lost on scientists around the world. “At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we’ve gained.”

ET Covid-19 Live Updates: Texas Lifts Restrictions, Part of a Wave of U.S. Reopenings The state announced plans to end a mask mandate and allow businesses to operate with no capacity limits. Texas was among the first states to ease restrictions after the first wave, a move that epidemiologists believe was premature and led to the summer surge across the Sunbelt. “I’m finally gonna get my vaccine.” “I’m so excited,” she added in the video, which racked up more than a million views within about four hours. @VUMChealth pic.twitter.com/38kJrDzLqC — Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) March 2, 2021 She also broke into song (naturally), replacing the word “Jolene” in one of her best-known choruses with “vaccine.” “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” she sang, embellishing the last one with her trademark Tennessee lilt. “I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate.” “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” she added, “because once you’re dead, then that’s a bit too late.” Just before the doctor arrived to inoculate her — or “pop me in my arm,” as she put it — she doubled down on her message.

“It’s like buying Bruce Springsteen tickets,” said Maura Caldwell, who started a Minneapolis Vaccine Hunter Facebook group to help people navigate the search for appointments. You can’t just sign up.”Thousands of doses have already gone to waste because of power failures, paperwork mix-ups and a shifting jumble of state and local guidelines about what to do with leftovers. Earlier this year, health officials in California and New York State loosened their rules for who could be vaccinated when vaccines are about to expire. Other health workers have distributed leftovers on their own. Some of the leftover chasers are not yet eligible to sign up for appointments.

ADAD“An online thread discussed specific calls for violence to include stating ‘Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa slave soldiers being spilled,’ ” the report stated. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.’ ”BLM is a common reference to the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice. The hearing Wednesday will allow lawmakers to press the FBI about the intelligence that the agency gathered, as well as military and homeland security officials about their response to the possible threat. In addition to congressional inquiries, the inspectors general of several federal agencies are investigating officials’ response.

The pandemic has upended America’s commercial property sector. The $16 trillion commercial property sector is being stressed in ways not seen since the Great Recession of 2008. According to Moody’s, the credit rating firm, commercial real estate values are projected to decline by 7.2 percent nationally from their pre-pandemic levels, bottoming out by the end of this year. States that do not have income taxes, such as Florida and Texas, are more vulnerable to fluctuations in real estate values. With real estate making up about half of New York’s annual tax revenue, the city is planning to cut thousands of jobs this year.

Buyer “love letters” are not always successful and not useful if the seller is an investor rather than someone leaving a home with sentimental value. While most people assume that a love letter is harmless, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) alerted its members in 2020 to the possibility that the letters could violate the Fair Housing Act. Frequently, buyer love letters are written to tug on the heartstrings of the sellers. If their offer is not chosen, the sellers could be accused of making a decision based on those factors in violation of Fair Housing laws. For more information about the Fair Housing implications of letters to sellers, click here.

ADToday (Wednesday): Mostly sunny skies, and a mild breeze from the southwest and west, make for a mighty nice day. Morning temperatures quickly rise through the 30s and 40s, with afternoon highs heading for the upper 50s to near 60. Tomorrow (Thursday): A more wintry feel returns, most notably a gusty breeze from the northwest. Highs reach near 50 under partly sunny skies, but it feels more like the 30s to low 40s most of the day. Winds come from the northwest around 15 mph, with gusts near 30 mph.

AD“It’s still too early,” Philip Huang, Dallas county’s health director said on Tuesday, the Dallas Morning News reported. ADAbbott on Tuesday issued an executive order allowing Texas businesses to operate at full capacity and revoking a statewide mask mandate. Texas has reported more than 2.6 million cases and more than 43,200 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Mississippi has reported more than 295,000 cases and more than 6,700 deaths over the same period. Texas had the fifth highest number of daily deaths per capita and was ninth in daily reported cases per capita as of early Wednesday, according to a Washington Post analysis.

Then as the coronavirus sent employees to their homes, much of the city center quickly went quiet and dark. The return of those employees to their offices has been halting and difficult. Wells Fargo has delayed its return to the office several times, telling its employees recently that they will continue to work remotely through at least May 1. Corporate executives around the country are wrestling with how to reopen offices as the pandemic starts to loosen its grip. The most important variable, many executives said, is how long it will take for most employees to be vaccinated.

The restrictions on the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine slowed EU countries' vaccination campaigns compared to the U.K.'s brisk pace | Bruno Fahy/AFP via Getty ImagesIn a course reversal, Belgium's Superior Health Council (SHC) announced on Wednesday that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective enough to use in people over 55. Belgium was one of the EU countries in January to recommend against using the jab in older populations — setting age limits ranging from 55 to 65 years old — citing insufficient data. After seeing promising data in February that showed one dose of the shot significantly reduced COVID-19 hospitalizations in England and Scotland, EU countries are making a U-turn — and Belgium is the latest. The data is "is reassuring at first sight," the SHC wrote in an updated recommendation this week. The restrictions on the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine have further slowed EU countries' vaccination campaigns compared to the U.K.'s brisk pace.

The service’s decision is based on a report by lawyers and extremism experts | John MacDougall/AFP via Getty ImagesBERLIN — The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been placed under surveillance by the country’s domestic security service, several German media outlets reported Wednesday. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has declared the entire party as a so-called “suspected case” of far-right extremism. This enables the service to step up its monitoring of the AfD, allowing it to observe and wiretap individual members and hire internal informants. The AfD’s youth organization has already been classified as a “suspected case” and the party is under surveillance in four of Germany’s federal states. The AfD is not the first party to come under BfV surveillance.

Tim Allen got a kick out of ex-President Donald Trump making people mad, the actor revealed in a new interview in which he also explained why he’s a conservative. “I literally don’t preach anything,” said Allen, who described himself as a fiscal conservative. I don’t like that, ‘We should do this’ or, ‘We should do that.’”“Once I realized that the last president pissed people off, I kind of liked that,” Allen added. If you don’t like it then wait ’til the next election.”Listen to the full episode here. Allen’s comments about Trump are from the 62-minute mark.

At least 13% of child care centers and in-home day cares are still closed, according to one survey. Though essential to working parents, child care centers operate on a shoestring. “The American Rescue Plan marks a historic shift in how our country approaches child care,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who’s been instrumental in pushing for child care aid throughout the pandemic and before. Teachers at her child care center make between $13.50 and $18 an hour, with some working multiple jobs and receiving government assistance. “We need continuing support.”brightstartearlycarepreschool/Instagram Last December, Marcia St. Hilaire-Finne, who runs a child care center in Washington, D.C., wondered how much longer she could stay in business.

Carson said in an interview that his American Cornerstone Institute is a conservative think tank that will emphasize election integrity, one of the ex-president’s fixations. Carson has also set up a PAC, Think BIG America, which can engage in elections and dish out funds to favored candidates. During an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference over the weekend, he urged supporters to donate to Save America, which has already banked tens of millions of dollars. Rollins said she has drawn staffers from the White House, the Trump campaign and Capitol Hill. Carson dismissed the idea that there would be clashing between the different groups and noted that his organization had been in touch with Vought’s.

Hugging Trump has become priority number one for most House Republicans, with feting the former president in Mar-a-Lago becoming a rite of passage among their leaders. House and Senate Republicans are taking divergent stances toward President Joe Biden and some of his priorities, even as they unite in opposition to his coronavirus bill. But they got there from different places, as Senate Republicans actually met with Biden to see if they could work together just a few weeks ago. Senate Republicans are open to cutting a deal on raising the minimum wage and are warmer toward earmarks, in addition to some presidential nominees, than House Republicans would like. NRSC Chair Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said he only learned this week that House Republicans don’t have the same policy of protecting incumbents.

Every few weeks or months, a critic might declare the latest buzzy movie “the movie of the moment” or “the movie we need right now.” Studios and their publicity consultants then splash these flashy quotes onto movie posters and For Your Consideration ads during awards season. The Rise Of The Phrase ‘The Movie We Need Right Now’The push to underscore a movie’s relevance for awards purposes isn’t entirely new. Search for phrases like “the movie we need right now,” and the results show a huge spike in articles in late 2016 and early 2017. “Loving,” about the couple whose legal fight brought an end to laws banning interracial marriage, was “the movie America needs right now.” Disney’s “Zootopia” was “exactly the movie we need right now.” “Arrival” was also “the movie we need right now.” So was “Hidden Figures.” “La La Land” was, too — but because it was an escape from the hellscape of 2016, rather than a corrective to it. “Wonder Woman” was the “superhero movie we need right now.” “I, Tonya” was “the movie we need right now.” Or was it “Mudbound”?

Almost certainly, this reflects the nature of a governor’s job, rather than that these particular politicians are somehow wired differently in their interests. | Kim Chandler/APWhat about your job worries you the most right now, and why? | Sarah Blesener/The New York Times via AP, PoolWhat about your job worries you the most right now, and why? | Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times via AP, PoolWhat about your job worries you the most right now, and why? What about your job worries you the most right now, and why?

The blitz is part of an intensified administration-wide push to reopen schools, as the Biden White House hurtles toward a 100-day self-imposed deadline to return children to the classroom. Beyond that, Biden administration officials are eyeing ways to use the bully pulpit of the White House to highlight examples of schools safely reopening. As the state’s education commissioner, Cardona pushed Connecticut schools to reopen during the pandemic without alienating the state’s teachers unions, who backed his confirmation. That left Biden’s transition team to attempt to head off some of the biggest obstacles to school reopening on its own. Mulgrew said he conveyed that key components to reopening schools also included aggressive testing and contact tracing.

Instead, it apparently now cares a lot about whether cancel culture is coming for Dr. Seuss. It would be funny if the talking heads on Fox News weren't so serious about it. That lack of focus on Biden's agenda from Fox News may be why Biden's stimulus bill is racking up support from all corners. The core of the GOP's war plan is to go on offense with these skirmishes in the culture war while at the same time focusing on heavy defense and a siege mentality in Washington. That's how we find ourselves in a position in which a majority of Republicans support Biden's stimulus bill — but a majority also still thinks the election was stolen from President Donald Trump.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) — Dutch police on Wednesday said a coronavirus testing center north of Amsterdam appeared to have been intentionally targeted after an explosion went off at the facility before it opened. The incident comes shortly before national elections on March 17 widely seen as a referendum on the government’s handling of the pandemic. “What we’re saying is that something like that doesn’t just happen by accident, it has to be laid,” the spokesman said. A security guard was inside the testing center when the explosive went off, but was not injured, national broadcaster NOS reported. (Reporting by Toby Sterling and Bart Meijer; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Toby Chopra and Giles Elgood)

Hong Kong (CNN Business) Microsoft says that a sophisticated group of hackers linked to China has exploited its popular email service that allowed them to gain access to computers. In a blog post Tuesday, the company said that four vulnerabilities in its software allowed hackers to access servers for Microsoft Exchange, "which enabled access to email accounts, and allowed installation of additional malware to facilitate long-term access to victim environments." The firm added that the online platform for Exchange,the cloud-based version of the service, was not affected. Microsoft MSFT is now urging users to download software patches, or fixes, for the four different vulnerabilities that were found. The company said that it believes the attacks were carried out by Hafnium, "a group assessed to be state-sponsored and operating out of China."

Jahmil French, best known for his role as Dave Turner in the Canadian teen drama "Degrassi: The Next Generation," has died at age 29. An agent for French confirmed the news in an email to TODAY, writing, "It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of a dear friend and client Jahmil French. Actor Jahmil French, best known as one of the stars of "Degrassi: The Next Generation," has died at age 29. French's former co-stars on "Degrassi: The Next Generation," which aired between 2001 and 2015, took to social media Tuesday to mourn his death. "Heartbroken over the loss of our friend Jahmil French ?We started on Degrassi the same year and I’ll never forget the day I met him.

Fox News went into full freakout mode on Tuesday after Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced it would stop publishing six books over “hurtful and wrong” stereotypes and racist imagery. “Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” the organization said. Fox News spent much of the day deriding “cancel culture” despite the fact that the company made the decision on its own and most of the beloved author’s books will remain in circulation. The progressive watchdog group Media Matters counted 85 mentions of Seuss on Fox News by 4 p.m.:

BAGHDAD (AP) — At least 10 rockets targeted a military base in western Iraq that hosts U.S.-led coalition troops on Wednesday, the coalition and the Iraqi military said. The rockets struck Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province at 7:20 a.m., spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto said. An Iraqi military official said they had been found in the al-Baghdadi area of Anbar, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to brief media. “Despicable attacks against Ain al-Asad base in #Iraq are completely unacceptable,” Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod tweeted. Wednesday’s attack comes two days before Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Iraq in a much-anticipated trip that will include Baghdad, southern Iraq and the northern city of Irbil.

LONDON — Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the suggestion she plotted against her predecessor Alex Salmond was “absurd” and “not based in any fact.”Sturgeon made the comments in her opening statement to a marathon grilling by a Scottish parliamentary committee that is investigating the government’s handling of sexual harassment complaints made against Salmond. The first minister is facing calls to resign over questions about her involvement in the saga, including her claims about when she first heard the allegations. “I feel I must rebut the absurd suggestion that anyone acted with malice or as part of a plot against Alex Salmond. That claim is not based in any fact,” Sturgeon said. Salmond gave evidence last week and insisted the leadership in Scotland had “failed.”

The editorial board of The Washington Post joined the growing chorus of criticism being leveled at Texas Gov. In a scathing column, the newspaper’s board described the decision ? which comes as daily new infections plateau ? as “premature and reckless.”Abbott was “gambling with the health of his state and beyond,” it said. “The governor’s decision may cheer those feeling rebellious, fatigued and impatient with the year-long pandemic restrictions,” wrote the board. “A fourth surge — which could spread beyond Texas — is the last thing the country needs just as vaccines are being rolled out. Fears over Texas’ relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions were echoed by White House senior adviser Andy Slavitt, who described it to MSNBC’s Ari Melber on Tuesday as “a mistake.”

The relief package isn't subject to the Senate filibuster, and it is likely to become law. The voting rights bill, like most of Biden's agenda, is on course for a fatal crash with the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. Many Republicans sounded pessimistic this week when asked whether Biden's agenda has a future; some of them blamed his decision to pass coronavirus aid without them. "Democrats cannot pass voting rights legislation with the filibuster in place and if Democrats do not pass voting rights legislation they are making a generational mistake that could doom them to the minority for a decade," Pfeiffer said by email. 1 would bolster the Voting Rights Act, guarantee 15 days of early voting and ensure universal access to mail-in voting, among other policies.

In Louisiana, the state GOP censured one of its U.S. senators, Bill Cassidy, moments after he voted to convict Trump. North Carolina's state GOP passed a similar measure aimed at Sen. Richard Burr just days later. In Arizona, the state GOP censured Gov. "And this talk of a serious divide in the Republican Party, it just isn't real." And in Utah, the state GOP issued a lengthy statement saying there is room for both Sens.

Ten rockets were fired at an Iraqi military base hosting U.S.-led coalition troops Wednesday, the latest in a series of rocket attacks in Iraq with this one just days before the Pope is due to visit the country. The rockets targeted Ain Al-Asad airbase, northwest of Baghdad, at 7.20 a.m. local time Wednesday (11.20 p.m. Tuesday ET). Iraqi security forces are leading the response and investigation, he added. NBC News had previously reported that Iranian-backed militias were most likely behind the Irbil rocket attack, and that the weapons and tactics resembled previous attacks by the Iranian-linked militias. However, it was unclear if Iran had encouraged or ordered the rocket attack.

"It's unfortunate that they didn't do anything to Derek Chauvin," Braddock said in a recent interview. Code says Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd until he complained that he could not breathe, treated her roughly, as well. Code told The Marshall Project that as he tied her, she told the officer: "You're learning from an animal. Prosecutors said Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd until he complained that he could not breathe, used excessive force against Hernandez in 2015. "If Officer Chauvin had been disciplined for physically abusing Mr. Braddock, to include kneeling on Mr. Braddock's neck, perhaps Officer Chauvin would have taken a different approach with George Floyd, resulting in George Floyd still being alive today."

The United States did not have diplomatic relations with only two of those countries — Iran and North Korea — when the sanctions were imposed. Moreover, even if the United States had diplomatic relations with these countries, relations were fairly rocky with the leaders by the time sanctions were imposed. ADPsaki told us that the distinction she was trying to make is that the United States generally does not sanction a leader of a country where the United States traditionally has close, long-standing relations. The Biden administration is trying to recalibrate those relations; Biden has only spoken to the Saudi king, not the crown prince. ADADThe reality is that it would have been unusual to levy sanctions on the leader of a country that has long enjoyed close relations with the United States.

Freedom House grades individual countries on 25 indicators that evaluate the health of a given nation’s democracy (or lack thereof). The cumulative score then enables the organization, which has been in operation since 1941, to rank a given country as “Free,” “Partly Free,” or “Not Free” (see map below). Freedom House judged Kyrgyzstan to be “Not Free.”As in previous years, major pro-democracy protests rocked various parts of the world. For years, Freedom House was seen by some critics on the left as a platform for Cold War moralizing, a cog in a larger Washington apparatus aimed at justifying American hegemony. But Freedom House also took issue with the United States.

Keith Olbermann faced backlash on Tuesday for his response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) decision to lift the state’s mask mandate and end other coronavirus restrictions next week. In a tweet, the ex-MSNBC and ESPN journalist asked:

The man received the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine on Feb. 26, among a priority group that can access the vaccination first. Two days later, the man, who suffers from chronic and respiratory diseases, checked in to hospital after experiencing a shortness of breath. The patient’s condition that day, he added, could not be associated with the vaccine, according to the South China Morning Post. Last month, the Hong Kong government authorized the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use in the territory, which has an efficacy of 50 per cent after one dose. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will become available in Hong Kong this week, similarly open to priority groups through a booking system.

Instead, the story looming on the horizon is about vaccine hesitancy and skepticism. "The media is going to have to focus on vaccine hesitancy in communities of color and also hesitancy in the GOP," Reiner told me over email. The role Fox can playReiner's point about vaccine hesitancy inside the GOP is a great one, and it is something that Jill Filipovic addressed in her CNN column on Tuesday. Indeed, the current coverage about how the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have higher efficacies might lead some people to hold off getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But as Wen pointed out to me, if one were to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine now, that doesn't prevent that person from later getting the Pfizer or Moderna shot.

Users are invited to supply old photos of their loved ones, and the program uses deep learning to apply predetermined movements to their facial features. Our brains, as sophisticated as they are, have a prehistoric response to things that are almost human, but not quite. Those kinds of applications are courting a similar kind of human connection as Deep Nostalgia. Farid is careful to point out that machine learning, which is what drives more widely available animation technologies like Deep Nostalgia, is a field within the greater world of artificial intelligence. When using Deep Nostalgia, MyHeritage cautions users against uploading photos of living people without their consent, and says the company did not add audio options in the interest of user safety.

In an exclusive interview with CNN's Richard Quest, Marriott International's CEO Tony Capuano discusses the importance of coronavirus vaccinations and a broad distribution of the vaccine.

Back in 2011, Politico asked its readers to nominate and vote on independent candidates ahead of the upcoming presidential election. “The public has had it with Washington and conventional politics,” VandeHei and Allen began, continuing:It has lost trust and respect in the conventional governing class. Though independent presidential candidates rarely enjoy any success, there was definitely something to the general spirit of this statement. Which brings us to The Reunited States, a new documentary directed by Ben Rekhi and co-produced by CNN pundit Van Jones and daytime TV heel Meghan McCain that debuted earlier this month. Nevertheless, the disparate nature of its various plotlines and the relentless way it pummels the same bland idea render The Reunited States a decidedly less than enjoyable sit.

Inside were nine members of the Illinois Black Panther Party, including the rising star of the chapter, Fred Hampton. So it is worth looking at what the COINTELPRO aimed at the Black Panther Party (BPP) actually was. As 1968 gave way to 1969, the Bureau was particularly fixated on the Black Panther Party. In the case of FBI informant William O’Neal, he appeared to be on the rise. But a notation on the letter reads, “Re: Black Panther Party,” making clear it was his work against the BPP.

Last week, the U.S. military bombed a site near al-Hurri, along the Iraqi border inside Syria, where Iranian-backed Iraqi militias were allegedly stationed. The same can be said of the recent rocket attacks that provoked the Biden administration’s deadly response in Syria. Iraqi militias pose no danger to the people of Baltimore, Maryland or Little Rock, Arkansas, and Baghdad does not demand an American military presence. This is the tired playbook that Joe Biden has inherited and the one he seems intent on following, no matter how unsuccessful it’s been or how much chaos it has wrought. Anything less is a formula for forever war, ever more.

And other statutes, like the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act passed in 1996, and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security following 9/11, hardened immigration laws and their enforcement. With the menacing "alien" firmly implanted in America's subconscious, it's not that much of a stretch to the idea of an "illegal alien" threatening its neighborhoods. It's clear that the use of stereotyping phrases like "illegal alien" does more harm than just hurt feelings. I mean they're very good workers... We're compassionate people, but for goodness sakes, we have to take care of American citizens, or people that are here legally, first." (Lesko later said that her remarks could be misinterpreted and that she meant that senior citizens should receive the vaccine before "illegal immigrants.")

David Gergen has been a White House adviser to four presidents of both parties and is a senior political analyst at CNN. He also became a quiet mentor to several of us White House staffers. Midway through the meal, a young staff member delivered the same note to each of us: a White House aide from Arkansas, Vincent Foster, had suddenly died . Years later, after I left the White House, I could also see just how much Clinton might miss him when Vernon wasn't available. With an investigation quickly starting up, lawyers advised both the President and Vernon that they shouldn't talk to each other.

Dr. David Kessler, chief science officer for the Biden administration's Covid response, talks with Rachel Maddow about the plans to expand vaccine access across the country, and the new Biden program targeting educators, childcare workers, and school staff, including bus drivers, to have all have at least one vaccine shot by the end of March.

The president has announced the federal government has procured enough Covid vaccines for every adult in the U.S. to get one by May. MSNBC's Brian Williams has the details.

WAREN, Ohio — An elderly woman who had gathered with relatives to plan her son’s funeral was killed when someone fired several shots into a residence in northeastern Ohio, authorities said. Ruth Lewis, 89, was sitting in her wheelchair when the shots rang out Sunday at the home in Warren. She was struck at least once in the back and was pronounced dead a short time later. Lewis, who lived in Warren, was apparently hit by a shot that came in through a window. Witnesses reported hearing roughly five to 10 shots, and one person saw two vehicles being driving erratically not far from the home.

Rachel Maddow reports on President Biden's appointment of Channing Phillips as acting U.S. attorney for D.C., and reminds viewers of how that office was abused by Bill Barr in service of the goals and interests of Donald Trump.

The New York Times reviewed dozens of these videos, which show both soldiers and police officers using a variety of weapons, including shotguns, flash bangs, tear gas grenade launchers and rifles. In at least two episodes we tracked, footage captured civilians suffering from what appeared to be fatal gunshot wounds. A fatal shooting in YangonOne of the most violent episodes on Sunday occurred in Yangon near Hledan Junction, which has become a regular gathering point for protesters. At around 8:30 a.m., the Mizzima TV news organization filmed police officers advancing west on Hledan Road. They are seen firing riot guns and pump-action shotguns, which are capable of firing both lethal and less-lethal munitions.

I confessed to him that I read his messages, and we talked about it. I feel like I've already done the nuclear option and now I don't know what else to do. I also know what I am doing is very bad, but I can't just stop, knowing all this. Your own choice to continue to violate his privacy is leaping over an important personal boundary that is affecting your relationship. Your husband “can’t be honest” with you, and you can’t seem to be honest with him.

Miss Manners realizes this may not be taken well by potential guests, but it has the advantage of setting the ground rules before anyone sets foot in the door. ADDear Miss Manners: Is it correct to use the verb "invite" as a substitute for the noun "invitation"? Dear Miss Manners: I have been in a tiff with my sister-in-law for about a year, when her ill-considered words rocked my marriage. New Miss Manners columns are posted Monday through Saturday on washingtonpost.com/advice. You can send questions to Miss Manners at her website, missmanners.com.

“The @AnkenyPolice did an excellent job today ensuring community safety,” said Jamie Fitzgerald, Polk County’s auditor and commissioner of elections. “I’m deeply concerned to learn that a pipe bomb was found at a polling place in Ankeny earlier today,” Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa) said on Twitter. The building was being used as a polling center as voters weighed in on a special election to decide how the Ankeny Community School District should spend capital improvement funds, the Des Moines Register reported. The center opened back up for voting around 12:30, and Fitzgerald said his office helped anyone who showed up to vote during the police operation find a different polling center. Paul Pate, Iowa’s secretary of state, thanked police for safely disarming the bomb.

Or just leave this limbo crap going? — It's Only MeIt’s Only Me: You say, “limbo crap,” I say tomahto. However, in my experience at least, minds do a better job of processing and making sense of new and strange things when we give them time and space to do it. Then take a day, then another, then another, to see how your own choices fill the husband-shaped space in your life. You say “limbo crap,” I say healing, grounding, acceptance.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers Tuesday that domestic extremism has been “metastasizing” around the country, saying the number of domestic terrorism investigations has grown “significantly” since he took over the agency three years ago. Wray testified before lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, his first appearance before senators since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January. Wray said he believed the Jan. 6 attack was “not an isolated event” but rather part of a troubling and growing trend across the nation. “The problem of domestic terrorism has been metastasizing across the country for a long time now, and it’s not going away anytime soon,” Wray told senators. “That doesn’t mean we’re not looking, and will continue to look,” Wray told lawmakers.

Texan and prominent Democrat Beto O'Rourke is blasting Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott for announcing the state will end all Covid restrictions and allow all businesses to reopen at full capacity. Tim Miller joins to discuss.

Dr. Oz demonstrated he's not just a TV doctor when he rushed to help save a man who had collapsed at a New York City-area airport Monday night. Dr. Mehmet Oz and police performed CPR on a 60-year-old man at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey just after 11 p.m., the Port Authority Police Department said. Port Authority Officer Jeffrey Croissant went to help, called for backup and started CPR. "I performed CPR with the help of a Newark Port Authority police officer and cleared the man's airway," Oz tweeted. #cprsaveslives pic.twitter.com/QEorDtA3ar — Port Authority of NY & NJ.

WASHINGTON - Congressional leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee released the new CLEAN Future Act on Tuesday. The CLEAN Future Act takes a broad approach to tackling climate change, including provisions that address energy, transportation, manufacturing and plastic pollution. It features a clean electricity standard that would require 80 percent clean electricity by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035. Reps. Frank Pallone, Paul Tonko and Bobby Rush released a detailed memo summarizing the scope of the CLEAN Future Act. “The CLEAN Future Act lays the groundwork for an America that meets these goals.

WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Brnovich v. DNC, a case which could have profound implications for the future of voting rights in America. The case focuses on the role of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), a federal statute providing protection against racial discrimination in voting. “The Supreme Court should issue a ruling that upholds the Voting Rights Act, our nation’s most effective defense against racially discriminatory voting policies,” said Paul Smith, vice president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC). “Now is not the time to weaken the key provisions of the Voting Rights Act. The court must affirm its vital role in preserving voting rights by striking down Arizona’s discriminatory laws.

WASHINGTON - Today, leading House Democrats unveiled an updated version of the CLEAN Future Act, a climate bill that backers have touted as an alternative to a bold Green New Deal. In response, Food & Water Watch Policy Director Mitch Jones release the following statement:“Democrats should be making a big, bold push on climate -- and the CLEAN Future Act is simply not strong enough. “The larger problem is that the bill’s clean energy standard includes provisions that essentially greenwash dirty energy sources -- including rebranding fracked gas as ‘clean’ by pairing it with unproven, non-existent carbon capture methods. The bill also promotes factory farm biogas as a clean energy source. The CLEAN Future Act may have been revised since last year, but it’s still a Green New Dud.”###

The following is a statement from John Bowman, managing director for Government Affairs at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):“The CLEAN Future Act is urgently needed; it harnesses our ingenuity, resources and determination at the scale needed to curb the growing climate crisis. It will invest in good-paying jobs for workers transitioning away from fossil fuels to clean transportation and energy. It will strive to shield communities from health and economic harm wrought by climate change. Common Dreams is the nonprofit news source for the 99%Will you pitch in now to help meet our Winter Campaign goal? “And it will send an unmistakable signal to our children and future generations we won’t doom them to ever-worsening droughts, floods, wildfires, extreme heat and punishing storms.”The Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act was introduced by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Chairman Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Energy Subcommittee Chairman Bobby L. Rush (D-IL).

“Distributing posters of the Virgin Mary wearing a rainbow halo should never be criminalized, so it is absolutely correct that they have been acquitted. Targeting these activists with such absurd and unfounded charges is emblematic of, and unfortunately consistent with, a much wider pattern of harassment and intimidation of human rights activists all across Poland. “The acquittal of these brave human rights activists shows that the prosecution attempt was nothing more than an intimidation tactic from by Polish authorities. As such, it is incompatible with Poland’s international and regional human rights obligations. To date, 160,000 people have joined Amnesty International’s campaign urging the Polish Prosecutor General to drop the unfounded charges against the three women human rights activists.

Central to their prediction is their tacit assumption that there is also a Goldilocks interest rate and a corresponding stimulus size that will deliver it. And there’s the rub: It is not at all clear that there is a single interest rate that can do both. Interest rates nosedived to zero and capitalism fell into what John Maynard Keynes referred to as the "liquidity trap." In theory, this can be prevented if the stimulus simultaneously boosts incomes and consumption, so that corporations' rising income can compensate for the rising interest rates. “Going big” might have worked in 2009, but in 2021 Biden must go beyond fiscal stimulus.

So with no public benefits and clear risks for climate action, why are countries hesitant to leave the treaty? No state has proposed a clear exemption for climate action. No ECT member wants to exclude protection of fossil fuels from the modernised treaty any time soon. In short: the negotiations around ECT ‘modernisation’ will not bring the treaty in line with global climate commitments. The ECT’s sunset clause only applies to investments made before withdrawal, while those made after are no longer protected.

This situation is reflective of a crisis state for water infrastructure nationwide. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives the country’s water infrastructure a D+ rating. It is shameful that thousands of Jackson residents have gone weeks without water due to crumbling 100-year old pipes. The situation in Jackson is not the first water crisis and won’t be the last; much of our nation’s water infrastructure is old and decaying, and it lacks climate resiliency. This funding would help Jackson and thousands of other communities across the country.

"But President Biden can still scale up production to meet global demand by using existing authorities." Better yet, @JoeBiden should encourage US vaccine companies to transfer their technology to LMICs. —Peter Maybarduk, Public Citizen"This technology should not be the property of these giant corporations," he said. "In fact, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a perfect candidate to be a people's vaccine," Dearden continued. "It promises to work well across the world, it's one-shot, and it was developed with huge amounts of public funding."

If governments don't move quickly with the right energy policies, this could put at risk the world's historic opportunity to make 2019 the definitive peak in global emissions," said IEA executive director Fatih Birol. "This year is pivotal for international climate action," he added, "but these latest numbers are a sharp reminder of the immense challenge we face in rapidly transforming the global energy system." In India, an increase in emissions began in September with the loosening of Covid-19-related restrictions. China's emissions began climbing upward in April, and its emissions for the year overall increased by 0.8%. "Governments and corporations are returning to carbon-intensive business-as-usual while extreme weather events wreak havoc and displace millions of people across the globe," said the climate group.

Andrew met four Qatari royals, including the Central Bank governor, the trade minister, the prime minister and his deputy. On Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011, Prince Andrew met the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ), at his Bateen Palace. The course is provided by Huddersfield University, of which Prince Andrew was then the chancellor. BIRD’s director, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, has said it “sickened” him to see Prince Andrew “jovially greeting” the interior minister, given his department’s track record of systematic torture. Admiring the EmiratesAnother Gulf monarchy with whom Andrew has helped deepen British relations since the Arab Spring is the UAE.

That's how Canadian author and activist Naomi Klein reacted Tuesday to the news that Stacy Gallagher, an Indigenous land defender, had been sentenced to 90 days in jail after being arrested in 2019 for performing a ceremony along the Trans Mountain pipeline route in British Columbia. Breaking: INDIGENOUS LAND DEFENDER POLITICAL PRISONER HELD CAPTIVE Stacy Gallagher, Indigenous Land Defender, sentenced to 90 days today in Vancouver, sheriffs take him away right after judges sentence. On Tuesday, Stacy Gallagher, 58, appeared in court after being convicted last year with criminal contempt. Gallagher is one of more than 200 people, many Indigenous, who have been arrested for mobilizing against the $12.6 billion pipeline. Since 2018, Trans Mountain has had an injunction that makes it illegal for people to obstruct construction along the pipeline's route.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said that he had "accepted Neera Tanden's request to withdraw her name from nomination" for OMB director. "Goes to show: nasty tweets and nasty politics have consequences," tweeted Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the antiwar group CodePink. BREAKING: White House pulls Neera Tanden nomination. Goes to show: nasty tweets and nasty politics have consequences. — People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) March 2, 2021"The reason to celebrate the end of Neera Tanden's nomination has nothing to do with her late-night out-of-control rage-tweeting and everything to do with her record," tweeted Guardian columnist David Sirota.

"The bill's clean energy standard includes provisions that essentially greenwash dirty energy sources—including rebranding fracked gas as 'clean' by pairing it with unproven, non-existent carbon capture methods." BREAKING: Rep @FrankPallone just released his CLEAN Future Act — which he claims to be an ambitious bill to combat the climate crisis. A bill that calls fracked gas a clean energy is a joke. The CLEAN Future Act "fails to grasp the fundamental truth of fighting climate change: We must stop extracting and burning fossil fuels as soon as possible." The CLEAN Future Act may have been revised since last year, but it's still a Green New Dud."

"Taxing unemployment insurance benefits directly contradicts the stated goal of expanding those benefits—getting more money into the hands of people who need it. The Axne-Durbin proposal many of you keep asking about to waive taxes on unemployment benefits does not currently appear likely to make the final bill. "For people who have been without a job for nearly a year, finding money to pay their tax bills is yet another financial burden coming at a fraught time." "Democrats have no time to spare if they want to avert an epidemic of surprise tax bills; Americans are already receiving them." "But Democrats have no time to spare if they want to avert an epidemic of surprise tax bills; Americans are already receiving them."

As expected, Morocco’s breach of the ceasefire forced the people of Western Sahara under the leadership of their legitimate representative, the Frente POLISARIO, to resume their legitimate liberation struggle put on hold since 1991. The proclamation made by the outgoing U.S. president in December has dealt another heavy blow to the UN peace process in Western Sahara. The ICJ ruled that there was no tie of territorial sovereignty between the Territory of Western Sahara and the kingdom of Morocco. As a matter of historical fact, Morocco did not only claim Western Sahara but also Mauritania in 1960s. The legal and political nature of the issue of Western Sahara as a decolonization case is unquestionably clear.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D. OR)Some big news today:x ?I'm leading Senate Democrats in pressing the Biden administration to include an automatic extension of unemployment benefits tied to economic conditions in the next round of COVID relief. These Senate Democrats say setting up stabilizers for stimulus checks and unemployment assistance would be effective at providing immediate relief during economic downturns. Key signatories include Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, chair of the Senate Finance Committee; Sen. Bernie Sanders, chair of the Senate Budget Committee; and Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, chair of the Senate Banking Committee. Struggling Americans need ongoing relief checks and unemployment benefits tied to economic conditions. Biden offers his next big economic bill in a couple weeks.

On Tuesday morning the newest member of the Fox News family made her debut on the conservative propaganda network. Former Donald Trump Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, sat for an interview with Fox's Harris Faulkner. The segment was as jam-packed with the lies and worshipful adoration that was typical of her many prior appearances on Fox News and her infrequent, always hostile, White House press briefings. and it was a very hard, difficult day in the White House, there was no doubt. For the record, McEnany is contradicting Trump, who now says that he requested 10,000 National Guard troops prior to the rally.

Democrats and Progressive must continue to ensure that the insurrectionists and enablers remain exposed. Don’t let insurrectionists hidePolitics Done Right Live weekdays @ 3:00 PM CentralVideo Zoom: LINK — Live Calls: (346)248-7799 ID:254 0 9091Republican Senator who voted to convict Trump threw him further under the bus implying he’s a loser. Every Democrat must use these selective words about the insurrection enablers this Congressman used. Is GOP Senator implying a large number of Republican COVID Relief Bil supporters are freeloaders? Please join our YouTube channel to get the numbers up to open up some more features and reach more folks.

xWe don't even have a full death toll yet of Texans who froze to death without power two weeks ago and the Governor is out here cheering the next mass casualty event https://t.co/Drg6C8jDJa

This may have been one of the most influential board games ever made. During this time, the board game Al Qirqut appeared, and quickly spread throughout Arabia and into North Africa. The game spaces are not all the same. AlquerqueIf you would like to try out the Arabic game that swept the world, here is a version you can play. Download the game board here:www.flickr.com/…Download the game pieces here:www.flickr.com/…And download the rules here:www.flickr.com/…Print the game out on 8.5x11 heavy cardstock paper, cut out the player pieces and game board, and you are ready to play using the rules reference card.

Wray didn’t read an FBI Norfolk SIR telling of threat for attack on Congress until “days” after Jan. 6Full Senate Judiciary Cmte. hearing video is Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation: the January 6 Insurrection, Domestic Terrorism, and Other Threats with statements to download on official www.judiciary.senate.gov/…Also on C-SPAN.org at www.c-span.org/…World media outlets have covered & reported on this all day so far. However, as was stated by President Obama in 2013-2014,[P]romoting civil society that can surface issues and push leadership is not just in keeping with our values, it’s not charity. So I believe America’s support for civil society is a matter of national security. Graham, Cotton, Grassley and others seem to truly desire us to be, truth be known.

Greg Abbott has declared COVID cured with just 10% of the population vaccinated. It is now time to open Texas 100%. I’m not really sure how Texas is going to double vaccinations in just one week. The Texas Tribune notes the seven-day average of new coronavirus deaths remains above 200. But hey, according to Morning Consult Abbott’s polling numbers are just barely under water:

David Waldman and Joan McCarter deliver Tuesday’s KITM as well as you’d expect. Liberal Thinking is always welcome on KITM, especially when personified by the blogger of that name (and also the name of Rich). Dems have avoided disarray for a while now, but that will soon become tougher once the COVID relief bill passes. Also hanging by a thread, the remains of the Voting Rights Act, and the voting rights of minority voters. In Idaho, the Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution battle lawyers paid by the Idaho Constitutional Defense Fund.

The realityWho Really Owns The Whip Hand? The Republican Party eliminated the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 under Reagan, immediately giving birth to the hate-talker industry, which, in turn, poisoned the minds of a significant number of Americans since then. The bird in hand is eliminating the filibuster, and the GOP schism is the 2 birds in the bush. At the end of the day, that is a very large part of the whip hand. Unless we react, and react now, we'll all be Sieg Heil'ing our new master, who will have that whip in his hand, and we will have given it to him.

Ms. Simmons will be one of the longtime Evanstonians featured in an ABC special tonight about the housing reparations program in Evanston, Il: the first reparations program of its kind for Black Americans by an American city. The Soul of Evanston, IllinoisCommentary by Chitown KevWhen it comes to the issue of reparations for Black Americans, I tend to be a bit more “lowkey” than on other issues. At the national level, I tend to shy away from even discussing the issue much, although I am on record for being in favor of targeted reparations for Black Americans. “It's ‘Oh, Tuskegee, Tuskegee, Tuskegee,’ and it's mentioned every single time,” says Karen Lincoln, a professor of social work at the University of Southern California. IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLACK KOS COMMUNITY, GRAB A SEAT, SOME CYBER EATS, RELAX, AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.

For adherents to this type of religion to abandon it is a religious crime known as apostasy. The International Humanist and Ethical Union, in their 2016 Freedom of Thought Report, found that 22 countries had laws against apostasy and that in 13 countries the death penalty was possible for apostasy. While apostasy is generally an individual action or religious crime, there have been incidents in which groups of people have committed apostasy. One of these was the Flathead Apostasy of the nineteenth century. Because of the Flathead apostasy, the Jesuits were forced to close their mission in 1850.

And yet, strangely enough, as TomDispatch regular and Pentagon expert Mandy Smithberger reports, Washington, in a remarkably bipartisan fashion, continues to fund the Pentagon at levels that should astound us all. But studies have consistently shown that military spending is a remarkably poor job creator compared to almost any other kind of spending. Investing in healthcare, combating climate change, or rebuilding infrastructure are all significantly more effective job creators than yet more military spending. Still, there’s no question that non-military stimulus efforts are more effective, by orders of magnitude, than defense spending when it comes to job creation. Make no mistake: the addiction to Pentagon spending is a bipartisan problem in Washington.

The President added that the Trump administration had failed to secure enough doses of FDA-authorized vaccines to cover the country’s population at all. The Trump administration passed up an opportunity from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to order millions of additional doses. [...] “The prior administration had (contracted) for not nearly enough vaccine to cover all the adults in America,” Biden said. In fact, prior to their ignominious departure, Trump administration officials actively lobbied to deny individual states the wherewithal to distribute the vaccine. The push, described to STAT by congressional aides in both parties and openly acknowledged by one of the Trump officials, came from multiple high-ranking Trump health officials in repeated meetings with legislators.

Embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is under fire for his handling of the NY response to the coronavirus and for several troubling encounters with women. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has become the center of controversy that threatens him and his career in ways that would have seemed highly unlikely only a few months ago. Disclaimer: I worked for New York State for 40 years as a low-level state employee. You may be a state employee, but you work for the people of New York State through him at his pleasure. The accusations became serious when it was found the Cuomo administration had undercounted thousands of nursing home deaths through the way the deaths were categorized.

"Both former Presidents Trump and Obama mentioned Dr. Seuss in their Read Across America Day proclamations, but President Biden did not. Lets recall that it was Leviticus and Paul who issued his decrees against being Gay. That's a great question because Paul could have used many words if he intended to blast gays and lesbians. Yet Paul used none of those available words, choosing instead to coin an interesting new word, arsenokoitai. That’s capitalism, that’s the “free market.”There is no debate to be had here.

It doesn’t say where this is happening, but the text below the video is in English and Portuguese. [0:37]But, moving away from actual dominoes for a minute, people do this chain reaction trick with other stuff. [7:42]To close out on the Rube Goldberg theme, here’s OK Go’s music video for their song This Too Shall Pass. Here’s a minute about why Welsh people wear leeks on St. David’s Day (which was yesterday, March 1). I have nothing to add to that, except perhaps a baby panda taking a ride on a door.

The Committed, Viet Thanh Nguyen's second novel, continuing the story of the narrator in 2015's The Sympathizer, ensures it. Before long, he draws the attention of those who were selling beforehand, and there's a criminal street war going on. Ideas and connections, contrasts and comparisons, pro and con -- this is the core of the novel as well. It helps me remember when ideas were more important than slogans, although there were plenty of slogans as well. It won't be a surprise if The Committed is at least in the running for the same honor, and more.

I thought I’d add in a Zen perspective to water intake. How much water should a Democrat drink? The way more important conversation for a Democratic political blog would be how can we ensure that everyone has access to clean drinking water? My Zen answer to that would be, “Elect more and better Democrats.”We don’t need to learn the physiology of water, we just need to run a fucking Democratic candidate in every race, every time! When corporate Republicans are in charge, regulations controlling how safe our drinking water is fall by the wayside.

xCOONS: Has there been any evidence the riot was organized by people simply posing as Trump supporters? WRAY: "We have not seen any evidence of that." COONS: Is there any evidence it was carried out by Antifa or BLM? WRAY: "We have not seen any evidence to that effect."

FBI’s Christopher Wray testifies at Hearing but fails to answer why the information of an impending attack was not forwarded to appropriate parties to call National Guard. Sheldon Whitehouse D RI only Senator who grilled Wray who fiddled with answers. Wray called attack domestic terrorism. Wray is saying we did warn you to the agencies who were denied National Guard. Domestic terrorism core.

It may seem optimistic, but if the three vaccine manufacturers currently sending out doses can live up to their announced production levels, there will be enough Covid doses to cover 55% of the entire US population by early April. As of yesterday, the CDC reports that 51.8 million Americans have received at least one dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The vaccine makers expect to produce 240 million doses in March. This would amount to about 181 million Americans being vaccinated if at least half the shots of Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines go into new arms. Since children may still spread Covid-19 without symptoms, we will not be at herd immunity levels just yet.

The degree to which Hannity advanced these lies resulted in a study that confirmed that higher rates of coronavirus deaths could be directly linked to watching Hannity. On Tuesday Hannity thought he would post another of his attempts to "own the libs" by plucking a year old comment by Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, completely out of context. Hannity tweeted that...x ONE YEAR AGO: Fauci Tells Americans ‘There’s No Need to Change’ Their Daily Routines https://t.co/MAprokzfBQ — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) March 1, 2021Of course, Hannity was demonstrating his notorious dishonesty and compulsion to distort reality. x Dr. Anthony Fauci of the NIH on coronavirus: "There is no need to change anything you're doing on a day by day basis. Hannity, on the other hand, ignores facts in favor of fallacies that advance his self-serving agenda and benefit his political idols.

Photo by Douglas Fehr on UnsplashJosh Hawley, in his questioning of FBI Director Christopher Wray during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing about the January 6th Insurrection, seems to be testing out a defense strategy for someone who might have been caught in the midst of the drama that day. Questions about 1) Geolocation and 2) Cell phone Metadata begs two questions:WHO was Mr Hawley on the phone with during the period in question,and WHERE were they? Stock up on some Immodium, Josh.

I have been a long time member and former board member of a national support and advocacy organization called The National MPS Society. We also began lobbying on behalf of legislation like the IDEA, expansion of the ADA and newborn screening. I know this might shock you all, but one of the Society’s earliest supporters on the Hill was Lindsay Graham. To setup the meetings, The Society has adults and families pair off as to keep each meeting small. TOP COMMENTS from March 2, 2021Once again it was an empty submission day, but I did find one by myself and one that was flagged.

I had actually been toying with the notion of foregoing any sleep the night before to see if I could make it all the way down to Las Vegas in one push. Day 6 (Thursday, April 13): Las Vegas at LastPreviously, no matter how hot the days had been, at least the nights had all cooled off to a significant degree — but not this time! Shortcut to North Las Vegas? After a seemingly interminable series of hills I came to a junction with a potential shortcut to North Las Vegas, where I once again debated my options. News from the Test Site demonstrations would be relayed by courier to Indian Springs, which could then be passed on by phone to Las Vegas and elsewhere.

The incident was brought to the school’s attention when the student who recorded the video notified another teacher, a source close to the matter told KCRA 3. "For many of us who are Asian, the gestures that were made in that video are not unfamiliar to us," said state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan. Please know that Twin Rivers is committed to providing all students with a safe and civil learning environment in which all members of the school community are treated with dignity and respect. “Anti-Asian hate and violence are not new in our community,” Vang said in a statement. These actions and stereotypical gestures not only create an unsafe environment for Asians and other students, but contribute to harmful ideology.

Together, they achieved international fame with reggae classics like Simmer Down and Stir It Up, before Wailer left to go solo in 1974.

As might be expected, several of the Senators’ questions came back to the FBI report that was issued on the evening of Jan. 5, but which Capitol Police claimed never reached leadership. However, Wray continued to insist the information was handled property and if anything, suggested the FBI might have been better off not saying anything. Wray said he had seen no evidence of antifa, or any other leftist involvement, in the events of Jan. 6. x Sen. Whitehouse accuses FBI Director Wray of giving politically sensitive info to GOP while withholding answers from Democrats for years"You've been asked questions for the record. Are they going to go into the same hole where questions for the record go to die at the FBI?"

In 2008, the National Education Association of Rhode Island, the state AFL-CIO, and Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals ran ads against McKee during his re-election bid as mayor of Cumberland, but he decisively won with 64% of the vote. Six years later, after McKee claimed the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, several unions decided to back his Republican opponent in the general election, but McKee prevailed 54-34. McKee, though, came close to losing renomination in 2018 to progressive state Rep. Aaron Regunberg. A crowded field, though, would likely aid McKee in a state where conservative Democrats still retain plenty of influence in primaries. There has also been speculation that state House Minority Leader Blake Filippi could also campaign for governor.

On Feb. 25th Meteor Blades announced that the Night Owl was going to stop being published, I decided to do it for a few days & get the people who used the Open Thread to move to Overnight News Digest. x The winter was exceptionally warm for parts of Canada, Greenland and some of the high Arctic. THREAD pic.twitter.com/VePk7o94Lk — Scott Duncan (@ScottDuncanWX) March 2, 2021x Our daily update is published. He "treated everyone he met like family & his family meant everything to him. pic.twitter.com/wIuQMylYxb — FacesOfCOVID (@FacesOfCOVID) March 3, 2021x Three weeks ago, I announced we would have enough vaccine supply for all Americans by the end of July.

Interior Department is a 'proxy fight' over something else entirely. It might be over the fact that Haaland would be the first indigenous cabinet member for any Presidential Administration in U.S. history. We discuss what lies behind the pathetic pushback against Haaland's nomination and why it is such a monumental moment for so many Native Americans around the nation. "Never before in the history of Interior have we had a Native person on the other side of the desk," he tells me. He also explains, by the way, why "Republicans might actually be burning their own wagon" in attacking Haaland.

Ever since last summer I have felt like DeSantis is having a contest with Brian Kemp to see which of them could be the worst governor when it comes to pandemic policy. Despite their best homicidal efforts to be the worst governors, Kemp and Desantis have so far been outdone by Kristi Noem of South Dakota. Nearly 5.7 million vaccine shots have been administered to Texans, and the state is now administering almost one million shots each week. Please feel free to add other nominees for Worst Governor -- Coronavirus edition. The rest of you can feel free to share your views on which governor is the worst and what makes them the most terrible.

Let’s investigate what today is, because we need all the holidaze we can celebrate, right? This is an Open Thread, so please feel free to add your favorite pomes and photoes and holidaze for today in the Comments! Today is International Rescue Cat Day! International Rescue Cat Day is the day to bring a new member into your family by adopting at cat! The first Humane Society was the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) founded in 1867, by Henry Bergh.

Your otherwise legal ballot in AZ could be nullified because the GOP needs to stop you from voting for Democrats. In voting rights case, Justice Barrett asks GOP lawyer Michael Carvin “what’s the interest” to Republicans in keeping voting restrictions in AZ. But, under the state GOP’s framework, this hypothetical law would not violate the Voting Rights Act because it merely regulates the “where” of voting. But Brnovich’s two-step test would also severely weaken the Voting Rights Act. And Native American, Hispanic, and African American voters were twice as likely to vote in the wrong precinct as white voters.

SPOILER WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Insomniacs' Vent Hole is a latenight gathering for non-serious palaver. ______________________________________________________This vent-hole (hereinafter known as IVH), if lost or stolen will not be replaced nor purchase price refunded. Violation of IVH rules will result in expulsion without refund. A copy of IVH rules can be obtained from one or more members wearing tie-dyed oxford shirts after submitting written requests.

“Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself” Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933Before 1937, inaugural day wasn’t until March 4. Back in the day we would’ve been facing 6 more weeks of Trump. Going big on the economy and infrastructure could deal a crippling blow to authoritarian populism just as it devolves into a QAnon-ified Trump cult. New piece:https://t.co/WKVJKl1HBP — Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) March 2, 2021 This quote from Ron DeSantis perfectly captures the bankruptcy of Trumpism's hallucinatory anti-leftism:“We can have academic debates about conservative policy. Last night he took the more famous VC-25 for the longer trip to Wisconsin.

Whether or not one likes country music, Dolly Parton’s actions during this pandemic has left no doubt that she is a truly good person with a heart of gold. And she did it all in a fun, adorable, lighthearted way that even included her singing a little vaccine song. Dolly posted the video to Twitter, so here’s the tweet. x Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine. @VUMChealth pic.twitter.com/38kJrDzLqC — Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) March 2, 2021For those of you who can’t view Twitter, I hope you can find this video elsewhere.

CPAC RuinAs part of their usual deflection and dumbing-down of the US populace, Fox News and the general Wingnut-American community are in a froth about.. the cancelling of Dr. Seuss. I didn’t actually watch this drivel, but in the spirit of providing links, here is Biden erases Dr. Seuss from 'Read Across America' proclamation as progressives seek to cancel beloved author if you really want to watch. Dr. Seuss did draw some very racist stuff, particularly of Japanese during WW2 for the US war propaganda. But of relevance to Fox and other wingnuts should be his opinions of the “America First” movement. Update #2 I can’t let this pass.. thanks to WesMorgan1 here is a link to the UC San Diego site with a whole collection of Dr Seuss, including his ads for Flit insecticide.

x A Fox News reporter asked Jen Psaki today about why Biden didn't mention Dr. Seuss in his statement about Read Across America Day. Why not?” JEN PSAKI: “Words, words words … [translation: what the fuck is this nitwit talking about, and who the fuck cares?] … words words words.” REPORTER: “So does the omission have anything to do with the controversy about the lack of diverse characters in the author’s books?”And … scene. In her answer, Jen Psaki noted that the Department of Education actually wrote the statement, and … yeah, who the fuck cares? It was Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which was founded by the Seuss family, that pulled the plug on several of the author’s titles.

But that would require me to rationalize my way out of a feeling and override all my sound, sane animal instincts. Those instincts are of pre-cognitive repulsion and disgust, and I refuse to let them go. I refuse to humanize those who cannot be bothered to lift a finger to humanize themselves. The rest need the whip. There are some people who can’t “humanize themselves,” and thus “need the whip?” I’ve seen some unhinged stuff from right-wing sites in my time, but this is up there with the worst.

Neera TandenNeera Tanden, President Joe Biden’s pick to head the Office of Management and Budget, has withdrawn herself from consideration after her confirmation collapsed in the Senate. In an evenly divided Senate, Tanden’s nomination first ran into problems when Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced last month that he would not support her confirmation. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate held a confirmation hearing for Shalanda Young to be the OMB’s deputy director. These Trump appointees apologized and their apologies were accepted by virtually all Republicans and a lot of Democrats, Kaine said. Tanden would have been the first woman of color and first South Asian person to lead the OMB.

Chicago Sun-Times: Illinois smokers now prioritized for the coronavirus vaccine by Zac ClingenpeelIllinois smokers are now among the priority groups eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the Centers for Disease Control, being a “current or former cigarette smoker” puts you at greater risk for severe COVID-19 illness. As a smoker myself, I find that interesting...we don’t get “prioritied” for anything but tax increases, lately. Biden also announced that Merck & Co Inc would help make rival Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, a partnership similar to those seen during World War Two. The measures, which target Russia's top spy and six others, are being co-ordinated with similar moves by the European Union.

Congressman Eric Swalwell was very disciplined in this interview as he intertwined keywords that kept the insurrection and its enablers in the forefront. Insurrection and its enablers kept at the forefrontSee full episodes here. Katie Tur asked Swalwell what his open question relative to the FBI hearings he listened to today was. “Many of the people questioning Director Wray went to the INSURRECTION REUNION this past weekend in Florida and showing no remorse for what they did,” Swalwell continued. When asked what the FBI director needed to do, his answer made sure to paste the keywords unto them.

As Daily Kos has covered, the anti-trans legislation flurry tends to hit one of two (if not both) areas: keeping transgender youth out of girls’ sports and preventing transgender youth from getting gender-affirming medical care by making it a crime for physicians to provide it. Meanwhile, transgender youth (and, frankly, everyone else) are just trying to survive an actual public health crisis and collective trauma. But here’s the thing: Transgender girls aren’t boys or men. Studies show that LGBTQ youth, and particularly transgender youth, are more likely to live with mental health issues like anxiety and depression, experience bullying and harassment at school, and are even more likely to become homeless. Studies also show that transgender youth are more likely to leave high school without a diploma.

About 33 people had a military background, and of those, 36% had ties to militant extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Ethan Nordean was arrested and released during a Proud Boys riot by Portland Police on June 30, 2018. A key component of the Proud Boys’ planning involved distributing Chinese-made Baofeng multifrequency radios to key members to remain in touch during the attack on the Capitol. The Proud Boys left a money trail in order to obtain equipment for their plans that prosecutors cited in detail. On Jan. 2 and 3, Nordean also communicated with someone seeking to contribute $1,000 to the Proud Boys’ “travel fund,” the filing says.

This decline in ticket splitting has major implications for the way House elections work. These 16 crossover districts now represent some of the most obvious targets for each party as they attempt to gain seats in the next election, though redistricting will scramble the picture in some cases. Furthermore, it makes gerrymanders more potent and easier to draw when voters reliably back the same party for House as they do for president. Demographically, these crossover districts share some commonalities. You can find the election results for House and president for every district in our 117th Congress guide spreadsheet, along with a whole host of other demographic statistics on both the districts and the members who represent them.

Mississippi Democrat Mike EspyAfter a decade of hyping up Georgia and its status as a demographically purple state, the state finally came through this past election cycle, giving its Electoral College votes to Joe Biden and electing two Democratic senators. But I have another state identified on my long-range scanners, one that is obvious to painfully few others, but should demographically be a purple state—Mississippi. Only about 10% of Mississippi whites vote Democratic; they are a solid, monolithic, and racist conservative vote. But it doesn’t have to be that way, just like we saw in formerly solid Republican states like Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, and Virginia. That said, it really is demographically purple.

Following the Bethel investigation, Fisher wrote a letter calling the allegations false and claiming that they were spread by antifa. While the Proud Boys have been around for over five years, the group began gaining further national attention after Donald Trump mentioned the hate group during a presidential debate in 2020. Instead of denouncing white supremacy as he was asked to do, Trump gave the group orders: “Proud Boys: Stand back and stand by,” he said. Following the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, multiple people including group members have been charged with involvement. But despite the number of those who get charged and are deemed associated with this hate group, the ideology still exists.

It has been more than two decades since Prof. Kocsis worked on early modified pig cells on non-human primates’ spinal injuries, yielding positive results. Shortly after that, he co-authored a paper on research into spinal cord remyelination and bone marrow stromal cells, or MSCs, in 2002. New understandings about the varied nature of spinal cord injuries, therapies, and other treatments have evolved and shown promise in ameliorating some of the kinetic losses faced by people with spinal injuries. Susan Harkema of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center told LeapsMag in 2018 that "The spinal cord has much more responsibility for executing movement than we thought before. The research and breakthroughs taking place in service of spinal cord injury patients will have far-reaching uses for all kinds of other neurodegenerative issues people face.

That official said the companies “recognize this is a wartime effort" and praised their sense of “corporate citizenship.”Merck has agreed to dedicate two of its U.S. facilities to streamlining production and delivery of Johnson & Johnson shots. One facility will be focused on what's called "fill-finish" services, where vials are filled with the vaccine and packaged for delivery. The other facility will actually be involved in vaccine production, which could potentially double the vaccine supply of what Johnson & Johnson would otherwise be able to produce on its own, according to the Post. The 2022 election cycle could well come down to how many shots the Biden administration gets into American arms how quickly and whether that allows businesses and schools to safely reopen and get the economy humming again. Turning two giant corporate competitors into partners in that effort is the type of innovation that could set Democrats up to claim that mantle.

Founded in 2013, the Black Lives Matter movement took shape in response to the acquittal of a Florida man accused of murdering a Black child. So fed up with the cycle of abusive and deadly policing, Black Lives Matter made its initial call on May 30 to defund the police and instead invest in “education, mental health, and non-carceral and non-punitive community-led systems and programs,” the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation said in its 2020 impact report. Governments, organizations, and businesses throughout the country have made statements of support and initiated plans to better support and respond to the needs of Black communities. Aislinn Pulley, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Chicago, told Scientific American an especially important result of the movement is the push to collect better data on police killings. “We should use that knowledge to know that the work we’re engaged in—the movement, the advocacy, the organizing—is what we need,” Pulley told Scientific American.

Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock was one of the organizers of an April event in which armed militia members tried to enter the floor of the state Senate. She also helped send 19 buses full of Trump supporters to Washington, D.C., for Jan. 6. Then again, this is Donald Trump’s party, and in his own CPAC appearance, Trump vowed to purge the party of anyone who dares to stand against him. And that is inextricably tied to Trump’s white supremacist agenda. How completely can Trump remake the Republican Party in his own image after costing it the House, the Senate, and the White House?

JERUSALEM — Sixteen years after he was elected for what was meant to be a four-year term, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority announced on Friday that presidential and parliamentary elections would be held in the spring and summer. The announcement appeared to be part of an effort to get the divided Palestinian house in order and project at least a semblance of unity as the Palestinian Authority prepares to repair ties with Washington and the incoming Biden administration after a disastrous few years of discord and disconnect under President Trump. The presidential decree stated that the voting for the long-defunct Palestinian Legislative Council would take place on May 22, followed by presidential elections on July 31. Mr. Abbas, 85, the leader of Fatah, the mainstream Palestinian party, was last elected to office in early 2005 after the death of his predecessor, Yasir Arafat.

The Making of Hamas’s Foreign Policy is the first comprehensive account of how the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, conducts its international relations, its attempts to develop a coherent and dynamic foreign policy, and its leveraging of this foreign policy to strengthen its global legitimacy and credibility. Endorsements for Engaging the World: The Making of Hamas's Foreign Policy"Palestine represents one of the great moral and political causes of our time, it unites people everywhere." This undeniable truth is reiterated in the final chapter of this comprehensive study on 'the making of Hamas's foreign policy'. One of our last decisions in the field of foreign policy was the recognition of Palestine as an independent and sovereign state. Although it has emerged as a highly influential Islamic movement and partner in deciding the course of the Palestinian problem, no other study was dedicated to understanding Hamas's foreign policy.

“The 1,000 Sputnik vaccines delivery, donated by Russia and provided to the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian Authority, have just been transferred,” an Israeli security official said. Israel captured the West Bank from Jordanian troops in a 1967 war and its forces have remained there since. It took the Gaza Strip in the same conflict, although its military pulled out in 2005. Hamas and Fatah, the political group that dominates the Palestinian Authority, are political rivals, but they cooperate on several issues, including healthcare. After international pressure, Israel agreed this month to transfer 5,000 Moderna vaccine doses to Palestinian medical workers in the West Bank, while the Palestinian Authority intends to source the majority of its doses elsewhere.

Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121"We are in the midst of a profound change of paradigms: from seeing the world as a machine to understanding it as a network. Rob Kall has interviewed many of the leaders, both thinkers and activists, of this global cultural transformation. In this eminently readable book, he weaves their statements, values, and ideas into a coherent and inspiring whole. Bottom-Up is a joy to read!" Fritjof Capra, author of The Web of Life and The Hidden Connections, coauthor of The Systems View of Life

Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121"Rob Kall has certainly acquired the firsthand experiences and knowledge gained through interviews to deliver some interesting insights about the "bottom-up" information revolution. Whereas the old 'top-down' systems created stove-pipes and excessive secrecy that blocked information sharing and led to the 'failure to connect the dots' before 9-11, the bottom-up approach should be the main fix. Kall's concept would seem to interface equally well with the founding fathers' idealism in setting forth their democratic theory of governance as with the realism that makes the multi-sourced, bottom-up Wikipedia work. As someone who shares my support of both government and corporate whistleblowing -- which is nothing more than encouraging greater horizontal sharing of information, I commend Rob Kall's important work on this topic." Coleen Rowley, former FBI special agent and named one of TIME Magazine's "Persons of the Year" in 2002)

Exclusive to OpEdNews: OpEdNews Op Eds 3/1/2021 at 4:34 PM EST H4'ed 3/1/21Sonnet: The Dark Ages Return With A Vengeanceby John Kendall Hawkins. Monsters with their scales of Just Is romp inall swagger, magical thinking fingersextended warlock-like, real humdingerscalling the shots, laying down a pomp spin,saying, it has always been that way herein this Hell-dressed-in-Paradise clothing,invisibly and unspoken. Now, there's a kangaroo court in your head,mobsters presiding. It's not a trialso much as a New World Order style. Next Page 1 | 2(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121"Rob Kall already had a serious understanding of the Internet and its implications for media and democracy while I was still figuring out how to use email. Some see Internet connectivity solely as a means toward power and profit; Rob's book, Bottom up, sees and offers it as a vehicle for bettering society and ourselves." Jeff Cohen, Founder, FAIR, and founding Director of the Park Center for Independent Media

There are two competing narratives about the 2020 election -- it was rigged and it was the most secure election ever. To start with, I wanted to learn the meaning of the phrase "the most secure election in American history". I am reprinting his answer in full because it clarifies what the government meant when it said the 2020 election was the most secure in American history. "PART 2: The Election Experts of the Stakeholder Community (NASS, NASED, EIGCC, and EISCC)"For these groups of experts 2020 was the most secure election in terms of eight factors:"1. The 2020 election produced the greatest number of state and local election staff receiving basic training for cybersecurity (we were involved in such efforts).

El FBI detiene a la exnovia de Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell La mujer, prfuga de la justicia desde hace un ao, esta' acusada de facilitar el contacto con menores de su pareja fallecida(Image by rupertomiller@hotmail. 6672 6121 hijo 66852945 from flickr) Details DMCAGhislaine Maxwell reportedly told a journalist that Jeffrey Epstein recorded tapes of former presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, who were former acquaintances of the disgraced sex offender. Ms Maxwell, who awaits trial on charges she assisted Epstein’s crimes in the 1990s, reportedly told a CBS “60 minutes” producer that she would not release tapes of Mr Trump without those of Mr Clinton before the 2016 presidential election. Maxwell reportedly said: “I am the daughter of a press baron. If you get the tapes on Trump you have to do Clinton'.'

Two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court this term, Caniglia v. Strom and Lange v. California, are particularly noteworthy. In Caniglia v. Strom, police want to be able to carry out warrantless home invasions in order to seize lawfully-owned guns under the pretext of their so-called "community caretaking" duties. In Lange v. California, police want to be able to enter homes without warrants as long as they can claim to be in pursuit of someone they suspect may have committed a crime. At issue in Lange is whether police can justify entering homes without a warrant under the "hot pursuit" exception to the Fourth Amendment. The case arose after a California cop followed a driver, Arthur Lange, who was honking his horn while listening to music.

In fact, the No. 1 rule is 'no computers, cell phones, and PDAs in bed and at least one hour prior to bed time,' Dr. Vsevolod Polotsky, who directs sleep basic research in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told CNN in a recent interview. That's because 'any LED spectrum light source may further suppress melatonin levels,' Polotsky said. Melatonin, secreted in a daily 24-hour circadian rhythm, is often referred to as a 'sleep hormone,' because we sleep better during the night when levels peak.

Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121"We're at a paradigm-shift moment in history, where we will look back at it and realize that a particular model of how we govern our affairs together became outdated. Kall's book Bottom-Up offers great alternatives and solutions that are not found in conventional governing models." Carne Ross , is a former British diplomat, a strategy coordinator for the UN, and author of the book, The Leaderless Revolution.

More than 900 Islamophobic hate crimes were recorded in 2020 and there has also been an increase in attacks targeting migrants, according to German Interior Ministry report Monday. The German police recorded 901 anti-Muslim hate crimes and attacks last year, up from 884 a year earlier, according to latest figures. The number of people injured in Islamophobic violence rose from 34 in 2019 to 48 in 2020, according to the official figures. A country of over 80 million population, Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France. The attack was a clear indication that far-right terrorism is on the rise in Germany.

There's a figure you might think should cause a genuine stir (especially since each of those was a taxpayer dollar). They would be responsible for the deaths of thousands of American military personnel and hundreds of thousands of civilians in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. Today, Crawford's figure would, of course, have to be updated as we await Joe Biden's decisions on future American war-making from Afghanistan to Iraq and beyond. And yet, strangely enough, as TomDispatch regular and Pentagon expert Mandy Smithberger reports, Washington, in a remarkably bipartisan fashion, continues to fund the Pentagon at levels that should astound us all. But those urging us to increase Pentagon spending to compete with China in the middle of a pandemic are, in reality, only compounding the damage to our country's recovery.

(This article is co-written with Dr. Ed Adams, co-author of Reinventing Masculinity: The Liberating Power of Compassion and Connection)"Contact with nature." by Juan Calderón A. is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0Evidence shown during the impeachment trial last month was chilling. Members of the mostly male mob stomping through the Capitol building last month were out for blood. The insurrectionists' hero, would-be strongman Donald Trump, was acquitted in his second impeachment trial, thanks to mostly male Republican Senators. It's not an exaggeration to say that a "masculine spring" is on the horizon--one that promises a brighter future for our families, our workplaces, our country and our world.

Republicans control every single elected statewide office in Texas' state government including the governor's mansion. THREADRep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) February 16, 2021It is true that 16 gigawatts of renewable energy, mostly wind power, had gone offline during the storm. This can be directly attributed to the fact that Texas did not have regulations in place requiring utility companies to winterize wind turbines. With the proper technology wind turbines can operate successfully in conditions much colder than what was experienced in Texas. "Natural gas, coal, and nuclear plants which provide the bulk of Texas' power in the winter were knocked offline".

What if the minimum wage had kept rising at a rate that respected the contribution of workers? He has started with a modest proposal to raise the wage to $15 an hour in stages between now and 2025. "$15 an hour -- and by the way, it's over a four-year period -- is not a radical idea," says Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). "If you make $15 bucks an hour, you are not getting rich. The slow march to $15 an hour, as outlined in the American Recovery Act, was always a compromise.

Congolese Whistleblowers, Who Allegedly Exposed Israeli Oligarch’s Efforts To Evade US Sanctions, Identify ThemselvesThe following post was originally published as part of The Dissenter Newsletter. He also was accused of using the network to “acquire new mining assets” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On February 26, two Congolese whistleblowers identified themselves as the source of these and other disclosures involving Afriland First Bank. “The whistleblowers, Navy Malela and Gradi Koko, worked for several years in the audit department of Afriland First Bank, the Congolese subsidiary of a Cameroonian bank,” the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers (PPLAAF) in Africa declared. “We call on the Congolese authorities to launch investigations into these acts and on President [Félix] Tshisekedi to promote mechanisms to protect whistleblowers, as he recently announced.”

On Friday, The New York Times continued its long, predictable tradition of backing U.S. coups in Latin America by publishing an editorial praising Donald Trump’s attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. A survey of The New York Times archives shows the Times editorial board has supported 10 out of 12 American-backed coups in Latin America, with two editorials—those involving the 1983 Grenada invasion and the 2009 Honduras coup—ranging from ambiguous to reluctant opposition. Why, historically, has The New York Times taken for granted the liberal pretexts for U.S. involvement, rather than analyzing whether there were possibly other, more cynical forces at work? The idea that the U.S. is motivated by human rights and democracy is taken for granted by The New York Times editorial board and has been since its inception. While obviously not in Latin America, it’s also worth noting that the Times cheerled the CIA-sponsored coup against Iran’s President, Mohammad Mossadegh, in 1953.

The background to the Breitscheidplatz terrorist attack remains murky to this day. They knew about his plans for a terrorist attack and allowed him to go ahead with them. This would also have been possible in the Abu Walaa trial. However, according to statements from the defence lawyer Thomas Koll, who represented Abu Walaa, O. There is much to suggest that his role is being exaggerated to divert attention from the role of state agencies in the Breitscheidplatz terrorist attack.

Given a respiratory pathogen like SARS-CoV-2, it becomes imperative to ensure that school heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems are constantly running and meticulously maintained. It found that 85 percent of them didn’t provide adequate ventilation, meaning fresh outdoor air was not coming into the rooms. So even though they’re putting in these $100,000 or $1,000,000 units into their school systems, they don’t know how to run them. The GAO report also notes that a recent inspection of 21 schools in New Haven, Connecticut, found that two-thirds had dirty or poorly maintained ventilation systems. But the safety of children and teachers is more important than the extra cost of running these HVAC systems.

Manchin joined a group of centrist Democrats who said that they’re going to push for less aid in the upcoming $1.9 trillion stimulus package. The bill currently includes $400 unemployment checks per week through August, which is already a cut from the CARES Act from last year that gave unemployed people $600 checks a week. Many economists have also roundly rejected the idea that the extra unemployment checks discourage people from finding work. If the idea of the stimulus package is to stimulate economic activity, the unemployment checks also help with that. As Bivens also notes, unemployment benefits are very efficient in increasing household spending.

Recent strikes in Istanbul in the municipalities controlled by Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) have strikingly exposed the CHP and the reactionary role played by the nominally “opposition” trade unions and pseudo-left groups that support it. The Genel-?? union affiliated to the D?SK federation brazenly betrayed the Maltepe municipality workers strike. From the beginning of the strike, the CHP municipal administration lied about workers’ demands and provoked the district’s residents against the workers. These strikes also exposed the reactionary role played the middle class pseudo-left groups around the CHP-led bourgeois opposition, vindicating the exposure by the World Socialist Web Site. In fact, the AKP and the CHP agree that strikes must be ended before they get out of control.

On February 23, the bargaining committee for the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) issued a 10-day strike notice to the management of St. Vincent Hospital. Located in Worcester, Massachusetts, St. Vincent Hospital is owned and operated by Tenet Healthcare of Dallas, Texas. Nurses want maximum assignments set at four, as medical-surgical nurses care for patients who require a level of care second only to patients in the intensive care unit. [Wikimedia Commons]The decision to strike comes after months of struggle by St. Vincent nurses. St. Vincent nurses should reach out to nurses and other health care workers across the state and beyond to support them in this fight.

The ruling followed a judicial review against the Tory government’s failure to publish its contracts with private companies involved in the response to the pandemic. The Conservative government is not only using the pandemic to continue privatizing the National Health Service (NHS) but to enrich a select group of corporations and shareholders. This amount equals one eighth of the entire National Health Service (NHS) annual budget and excludes the money spent on outsourcing treatment and care services to private hospitals. One £98.7 million PPE contract has the quantity, unit price, measurements and even the colour of gowns redacted. Some £160 million worth of masks purchased were unusable in the NHS.

As local Democrats move forward with reopening the School District of Philadelphia, opposition continues to build among teachers and parents. In the Philly suburb of Downingtown, parents and teachers have organized a walkout today to protest the reopening of the Downington Area School District, which covers 12,000 students. We don’t understand why the school district hasn’t put more money into virtual learning.”“The people who want us open are COVID deniers. “The parents sending kids in were under the impression that the school district was following guidelines,” Tara said. “The Philadelphia [School District] is absurdly requiring teachers to enter unsafe buildings that have been long left to deteriorate prior to the pandemic.

If you are a student or youth at Appalachian State University or the surrounding area we encourage you to join the International Youth and Students for Social Equality. The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), the youth and student wing of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is pleased to announce the establishment of a new chapter at Appalachian State University (ASU) in Boone, North Carolina. The ruling class seeks to divide the working class and youth along lines of individual identities, especially race and gender. The ruling class seeks to divide the working class and youth along lines of individual identities, especially race and gender. The goal of the IYSSE at Appalachian State is to develop such a leadership.

Los Angeles County alone accounts for one third of the cases and 40 percent of the death toll in the state. Orange County, which neighbors with Los Angeles, is expected to be reclassified to the red tier any day. In Los Angeles, the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) has been facilitating the reopening of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest school district in the US with roughly 665,000 students. On Monday, the Los Angeles Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee published an important statement, which outlines a strategy to fight back against these murderous policies and their proponents. We urge all Los Angeles teachers to join and help build this rank-and-file committee today as the genuine voice of opposition to the inevitable betrayals that the UTLA will carry out.

The move comes as the result of a ruling by an “independent” mediator appointed by the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) and the Philadelphia Teachers Union as part of a Memorandum of Agreement signed last fall. Each week, another 50 schools will be opened until March 22, when the school district hopes to have all K-2 schools opened. The move in Philadelphia is part of a nationwide campaign, led by the Biden administration, to reopen all K-8 schools by the end of April. Along with schools in Philadelphia, schools in Pittsburgh are set to reopen April 6. The terms of the Memorandum of Agreement, which was itself accepted without a vote by the membership, allow it to force through a deal to reopen schools without even the pretense of a vote.

The National Education Union’s March 1 online meeting was dominated by broad hostility and anger among teachers and other educators to the NEU colluding with the criminal reopening of schools. The event was organised to “talk through our new advice on wider reopening” of schools, beginning March 8. All the education unions have pleaded with the government for a phased return over a few weeks as opposed to a “big bang” full reopening of schools. Last June, when the government announced they would reopen schools, the unions only called for a two-week delay so schools could get ready. The NEU and other education unions refused to organise strike action or walkouts called for at some schools.

US President Joe Biden held his first full meeting with his Mexican counterpart Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) via videoconference on Monday. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico City, Friday, April 3, 2020. “Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States,” Díaz supposedly said. Public schools remain closed in Mexico, but pressures are growing for their reopening, which is well underway in the United States and represents a core policy for the Biden administration. Instead, his response was to condemn the blocking of Trump’s social media accounts, which were being used in the fascist conspiracy.

It prompted a significant fall on Wall Street amid rising concern that a rise in interest rates could spark another crisis in the global financial system. However, if investors withdraw from the government debt market, then bond prices will fall and interest rates will rise (the two move in the opposite direction). He has indicated that interest rates are going to remain at virtually zero for the indefinite future and the central bank will not respond to an increase in inflation by lifting its base rate. Following last week’s Wall Street sell-off, markets bounced back on Monday. The dependence of the markets on the Fed was highlighted in comments to the Wall Street Journal by Fahad Kamal, chief investment officer at Kleinwort Hambros.

A growing crisis surrounds New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over allegations of sexual harassment made by three women, two of whom are former aides. Governor Cuomo Holds Briefing on COVID-19 Response. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has long squabbled with Cuomo, has said that the governor should resign if the allegations are true. His administration had forced nursing homes to admit residents who were or could be positive with COVID-19 during the spring 2020 surge. He followed this up by granting those very same nursing homes legal immunity from pandemic-related injuries and deaths through a provision buried in the 2020 budget.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that he will end a statewide mask mandate on March 10 and will simultaneously lift all coronavirus-related restrictions on business operations. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference where he provided an update to Texas' response to COVID-19, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, in Austin, Texas. There have been nearly 2.7 million cases of the pandemic in Texas since March 2020 and more than 44,000 recorded deaths. Those actions tripled the number of new cases and daily deaths, causing an additional 250,000 deaths in just three months. In light of such dangers, the CDC is now warning that a new surge is on the horizon as the variants continue to spread.

More than two weeks after sub-freezing temperatures from winter storms devastated the southern US, hundreds of thousands are still without water and many face a long road to recovery. Some residents reported having to melt snow for the same purpose. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)On top of having to boil water, residents are also being asked to limit their water usage. Houston officials lifted a boil water advisory more than a week ago, but thousands still do not have running water because of damaged pipes. On Tuesday, the Dallas County medical examiner’s office said it is investigating whether 17 deaths are linked to the winter storm.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison, with two years suspended, for corruption and influence peddling in the so-called “wiretapping” affair. The revelation of criminal actions by the highest representative of the French state is a further blow to the legitimacy of the entire political regime. Sarkozy had sought to bribe a magistrate to suppress the fallout from the Bettencourt affair, named after the billionaire Bettencourt family with a fascist past. The affair exposed the family’s financing of large portions of the French political establishment, and implicated the entire state apparatus. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives at the courtroom Monday, March 1, 2021 in Paris.

Last week, US President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party effectively torpedoed a provision in the COVID-19 stimulus package making its way through Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Second, the fight over the minimum wage has once again revealed the real role of Senator Bernie Sanders and his fellow “progressives” as a critical part of the Democratic Party operation. Sanders was given the position because he is a trusted member of the Democratic Party apparatus. If proof of his allegiances is required, one must look no further than the current debate on the minimum wage. Despite all of his bluster, Sanders’ “political revolution” has proven incapable of achieving even the most minimal social reforms.

Amid mass youth protests over the jailing of Stalinist rapper Pablo Hasél by the Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government, Spain’s Morenoite party, the Workers’ Revolutionary Current (CRT), has suddenly received unprecedented coverage in capitalist media. On local Barcelona channel Teve.cat, Pere Ametller, another CRT youth member, along with Castilla, are now regular participants in debates sponsored by OpinaYouth programme. It seeks to block rising working class opposition across Europe from evolving into a direct struggle against capitalism and for state power on a socialist, internationalist program. They based this rejection of an orientation to the working class on the populist, anti-Marxist theories of the late Ernesto Laclau and of Chantal Mouffe. Its defense of capitalism and rejection of any policy that impinges the prerogatives of bourgeois property and wealth precludes any appeal to the working class.

On January 8, the Cyberspace Administration of China published a new Draft Revision to its “Measures on the Administration of Internet Information Services” and further suppressed freedom of speech on the internet by prohibiting individual news bloggers from commenting and reporting on political developments. The original document, “Measures on the Administration of Internet Information Services,” was published on September 25, 2020. The original measures were made to “regulate Internet information services activity and to promote the healthy and orderly development of Internet information services”. Almost every year, new regulations have been implemented by the Chinese regime to impose tougher restrictions on information and communication over the internet. This is also not restricted to China in particular, but is an expression of the growth of authoritarianism and police state measures around the world.

In this case, the Biden gave no indication of impartiality, all but calling on workers to vote the union in and accusing Amazon of intimidation. The very fact that Biden has intervened so forcefully exposes the claims that what is involved in the unionization campaign at Amazon has anything to do with the interests of Amazon workers. First, the ruling class confronts an unprecedented crisis, which has been enormously intensified by the pandemic. There is particular concern over the political radicalization of Amazon workers, who have become even more critical to the overall process of capitalist exploitation since the onset of the pandemic. The combination of aggressive backing by the government and anger and opposition among Amazon workers could produce a victory for the union drive in Bessemer.

In a brief speech at the White House, Mr. Biden said his administration had provided support to Johnson & Johnson that would enable the company and its partners to make vaccines around the clock. The administration had also brokered a deal in which the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. would help manufacture the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine. Merck is the world’s second-largest vaccine manufacturer, though its own attempt at a coronavirus vaccine was unsuccessful. “As a consequence of the stepped-up process that I’ve ordered and just outlined, this country will have enough vaccine supply — I’ll say it again — for every adult in America by the end of May,” Mr. Biden said. That’s progress — important progress.”

While Ms. Tanden’s social media posts were often aggressive, White House officials believed Republican senators would not scuttle a nomination over Twitter behavior after years of standing behind President Donald J. Trump, who excoriated Republicans and Democrats alike in frequent Twitter rants. Ms. Tanden and a variety of groups supporting her were able to secure several high-profile endorsements, including one from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But the White House underestimated what would become bipartisan consternation over Ms. Tanden’s posts, particularly given Mr. Biden’s repeated calls for “unity” after four years of divisive rhetoric from Mr. Trump. During two confirmation hearings, senators in both parties grilled Ms. Tanden about her social media posts and her decision to delete more than 1,000 tweets after the election in November. That included Mr. Manchin, whose decision last month to oppose her nomination dealt a crucial blow to her chances of confirmation.

Covid-19: Biden Says Vaccine Doses Could Be Available for All Adult Americans by End of May Merck will help manufacture the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. @VUMChealth pic.twitter.com/38kJrDzLqC — Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) March 2, 2021 She also broke into song (naturally), replacing the word “Jolene” in one of her best-known choruses with “vaccine.” “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” she sang, embellishing the last one with her trademark Tennessee lilt. “I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate.” “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” she added, “because once you’re dead, then that’s a bit too late.” Just before the doctor arrived to inoculate her — or “pop me in my arm,” as she puts it — she doubled down on her message. The first boxes of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine coming off the conveyor at the McKesson facility in Shepherdsville, Ky., on Monday. By contrast, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine used an abortion-derived cell line not just in testing but in development and production, which raises “additional moral concerns,” the bishops said.

Most of us put our lives on hold over the past year. Most of us put our lives on hold over the past year. It was always coming back to me, asking me what I’m going to do about it. My dad is 71 and lives alone in Massachusetts in the house that I grew up in. I wanted to be close, [so] the day my work decided to switch to remote work, I decided to leave.

PoliticsDemocratic lawmakers react to allegations of sexual harassment against CuomoSeveral Democratic lawmakers on March 2 said they support New York Attorney General Letitia James’s (D) investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D).

He sparked a burst that put Georgetown up double digits in the first half and finished with 12 points, one of four Hoyas in double figures. But we were still able to do enough things to come away with a win against a very good team. “There was a lot of mixed emotions today, knowing that it’s my last [home] game,” senior Jamorko Pickett said. Blair followed with a floater, a pair of free throws and a pull-up jumper as he scored nine of 11 Georgetown points. KyKy Tandy led Xavier with 14 points, and Zach Freemantle had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

(CNN Business) An Instagram bug briefly hid likes from some of its users on Tuesday, after the company accidentally expanded a long-running test of the feature. Facebook FB "We've been testing a new experience to hide likes on... posts," a spokesperson for, which owns Instagram, told CNN Business. Several users reported seeing the change on their profiles Tuesday, with the number of likes replaced with the phrase "and others." Instagram has been running limited tests of that change for years — in 2019, the company said it would start removing the number of likes from a limited number of accounts in Canada. Instagram has not provided a timeline for when it expects the hidden likes to roll out widely.

But a late charge by the Free Democrats might present a whole new set of options. FDP leader Christian Lindner has made no secret of what he wants the government to do. Though Lindner is by far the FDP’s best-known and most popular politician, his own future as party leader will depend on September’s election result. Laschet is a leading contender to succeed Merkel as chancellor, and has made no secret of his preference for the liberals over the Greens. As the German saying goes: Those said to be dead live longer.

That, Hayes said, reminded him of the guy in the hot dog suit from the Netflix show “I Think You Should Leave.”In the skit, a hot dog car crashes into a store. When the dust settles, the driver is gone and the people inside wonder who did it ? only to find a guy in a hot dog suit has appeared among them, acting just as angry. “Yeah, c’mon, whoever did this just confess,” the hot dog man yells. “We promise we won’t be mad!”Cruz was much like the guy in the hot dog suit, clearly responsible but pretending to demand answers just like everyone else. Here’s the original hot dog sketch for comparison:

The disputes were just a taste of what could be to come as Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Sunak settle into Britain's COVID-adjusted political landscape. The Tory manifesto, which promised huge spending increases on public services (notably the National Health Service) and infrastructure investment was an early symptom of the change. Red Wall Tories want to see taxes cut for smaller businesses but are more relaxed about hikes for the biggest companies. “It would be the least worst option.”But Anderson insisted his constituents know that in the longer term, the pandemic spending will need to be paid for in some form. Polls show that even Conservative voters are comfortable with tax rises to fund public services.

Britain doesn’t only specialize in high finance: it’s also world-leading in consulting, accountancy, law, music, TV and film production, and advertising. British politicians risk undermining its position if they don’t find a way to make it cheaper and easier for U.K. firms to attract talent. This will make it more difficult for British services firms to attract and retain the best and brightest. In order to keep Britain as an attractive destination for multinational services firms and international talent, it must rethink its broad approach to labor mobility and immigration. The U.K. should also prioritize cutting the cost and bureaucracy of getting a U.K. work visa.

Either way, EU governments should keep up their spending as long as those wildly divergent economic scenarios both remain possible, the European Commission says in a draft guide to fiscal policy, seen by POLITICO. EU finance ministers will debate the fiscal guidelines in mid-March, then the Commission will propose more in-depth measures including national recommendations in late May. Don’t stopTo avoid worsening those problems, countries must not withdraw public support too quickly, once economic conditions start to get better. Cut taxes, help wagesThe immediate challenge is how to wean the economy off public support next year without leaving businesses and employers exposed in the post-pandemic recovery. Coordinating EU fiscal policy, which should adapt to changing circumstances, will be key for the bloc’s economic health, according to the draft.

By contrast, only 23 percent of Germans, 19 percent of Swedes and 18 percent of French respondents took a similarly generous view of their respective national vaccine rollouts. In both France and Germany, net support for the pharmaceutical industry was higher in February than it was in September, though it dropped significantly from 60 percent support to 34 percent net support in Sweden in the same period. In the U.K., net support rose from 51 percent to 78 percent between September and February. Only 22 percent of British respondents said they didn't believe that the country will need another, with 38 percent of Germans, 33 percent of Swedes and 28 percent of French respondents saying the same. The low figure among U.K. citizens may be in part because the polling was carried out ahead of the government's announcement of its plan to open up the economy and lift most restrictions in stages by June.

Neal Katyal, former acting U.S. Solicitor General, tells Lawrence O'Donnell that the lawyer representing Republicans at a Supreme Court hearing argued that the Voting Rights Act "should basically have no teeth to it and that ran into hot water from even the conservatives on the court" because the Republican argument was "contrary to the plain text of the law."

ER Physician Dr. Rob Davidson and Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson join Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss the American Rescue Plan and why “we have to hold tight for a few more months.”

MSNBC legal contributor Chuck Rosenberg joins Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss why the FBI should’ve taken more steps to ensure the report warning of violence on January 6 was used as credible intelligence.

The country music star Dolly Parton has yet another a new gig: Singing the praises of coronavirus shots and getting vaccinated on camera. Last year, Ms. Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which worked with the drugmaker Moderna to develop one of the first coronavirus vaccines to be authorized in the United States. On Tuesday, Ms. Parton, 75, received a Moderna shot at Vanderbilt Health in Tennessee. “Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine,” she wrote on Twitter. “Well, hey, it’s me,” she said to her fans in an accompanying video, a minute before a doctor arrives to inoculate her.

Before announcing the broader review, VCU suspended the Delta Chi chapter over the weekend, as did the national organization of the fraternity. Some students have been circulating a petition calling for the expulsion of Delta Chi after Oakes’s death. Richmond police said Tuesday they had no update on the investigation into Oakes’s death. She said the medical examiner had also ruled out that Oakes’s death was caused by head trauma. White said she was happy to see VCU was going to review Greek life but said the university still needs to do more.

“American music was a part of Jamaican culture,” Mr. Wailer told the San Francisco Chronicle in 1998. AD“Going on tour every time you record an album, you’ve got to be jukeboxing yourself,” Mr. Wailer told the Los Angeles Times in 1986. AD“I did it as a hobby, for entertaining the community,” Mr. Wailer told GQ magazine in 2011, describing his early approach to music. AD“I tried to call him Snoop Lion,” Mr. Wailer told the Irish Times in 2014, “but he disrespected me . ADEven as his beard and dreadlocks turned white, Mr. Wailer was an energetic concert performer, and his exquisite voice never deserted him.

“Spring break is in the air.”The key to getting Washington back to its winning ways was defense, Brooks said. Defense was the critical reason his team had closed February with a 7-2 stretch, and defense could get it past the Memphis Grizzlies and their highflying star, Ja Morant. ADBut the Wizards’ defense never showed up in a sluggish, 125-111 loss, leaving Washington (13-20) with one last chance to sneak in a win before its mini-vacation. They were no match for the feisty Grizzlies, still buzzing from a 49-point win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday. But cracks in the Wizards’ defense showed early; Memphis shot 59.1 percent in the first 12 minutes, and Washington was turning the ball over too much for its solid start to last.

In an exclusive interview with CNN's Richard Quest, WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala discusses how coronavirus vaccine distribution is her top priority in order to open up world trade.

Novavax is on the cusp of getting approval for its Covid-19 vaccine. CEO Stanley Erck says proving to the FDA that the UK trial data is comparable could get the vaccine into the US faster. Source: CNNBusiness

Hong Kong (CNN Business) Rio Tinto Chairman Simon Thompson is stepping down over the company's destruction of a 46,000-year-old, sacred Indigenous site in Australia, becoming the latest in a string of departures connected to the event. Thompson, who has chaired the company since 2018, has told Rio Tinto's board that he will not seek re-election in 2022, according to the company. "As Chairman, I am ultimately accountable for the failings that led to this tragic event," Thompson said in a statement. "The tragic events at Juukan Gorge are a source of personal sadness and deep regret, as well as being a clear breach of our values as a company." Thompson's announcement comes nearly a year after Rio Tinto, the world's second largest mining company, blew up the Juukan Gorge caves in Western Australia to expand an iron ore mine.

CNN’s Chris Cuomo is coming under fire for saying this week that he “obviously” can’t report on his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women. And obviously I cannot cover it because he is my brother,” Chris Cuomo said Monday night. He was immediately called out for a shifting standard, given his regular interviews with his big brother during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Now Trevor Noah’s team at “The Daily Show” is getting in on the act with a supercut video of the two’s on-air moments that seem especially awkward now:

Residents have been lining up at several sites that distribute non-potable water or water for flushing throughout the city. More than half of the city's schools are closed because of the water crisis; only 19 of nearly 50 public schools have reopened. "This water crisis has really exacerbated a system that has never really worked for poor folks, Black folks, seniors, for so many people." Because of the water crisis, some families lost a week of pay because many people couldn't work. The Mississippi Women's Economic Security Initiative and other local organizations have coordinated supplies, water and services for residents in need.

Despite breaking well-established barriers through her position at Tulane, Dennar was suspended last month after she filed a federal lawsuit against the medical school in October. The medical school "didn't want to change the face of Tulane" with her at the helm, the lawsuit claims. Even before Dennar sued, Ledet had organized a now-viral photo of Black medical students posing outside a Louisiana plantation. Standing in front of the slave quarters of our ancestors, at The Whitney Plantation, with my medical school classmates. Kaiser's medical school declined to discuss personnel matters and did not address in the statement why Khoury was not promoted.

“They originally said that this was going to go for a month and they have pushed it out to indefinitely. “You can enjoy your city, right here, right now,” she said from Fisherman’s Wharf, one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions. She added: “We are not where we need to be yet, but we’re getting there, San Francisco.”Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said he is getting rid of most mask mandates and lifting most other restrictions, including limits on seating in restaurants, starting Wednesday. Go to Vegas,” Miami Beach City Manager Raul Aguila said during a recent virtual meeting.

Another was the spread of more contagious variants, three of which have already been confirmed in Houston, Texas’s largest city. “At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained,” Walensky said. Abbott implemented a mask mandate on July 2, when the state was seeing about 6,300 new cases a day. Walensky’s point was that the country (and states) shouldn’t settle for “better than January” as a benchmark, given how bad January was. Texas has other advantages that not all states share, like usually moderate weather in early spring facilitating outdoor activities.

ADAD“As we previously announced, interim U.S. attorney Sherwin will be leaving his post this week. Phillips will take office Wednesday on an interim basis until a new U.S. attorney for the District is confirmed, the spokesman said. ADPhillips referred questions to the Justice Department. “Channing Phillips is universally respected, trusted, and beloved by those in the U.S. attorney’s office and by the whole city. In 2009, Phillips briefly served as acting U.S. attorney when Holder became attorney general, but he was passed over for the top spot.

ADADA growing patchwork of different state laws could create more pressure on Congress to move forward on federal privacy legislation. Privacy advocates have widely viewed the Virginia law as a mixed bag. Although they have applauded Virginia for acting on consumer privacy, they are calling policymakers in the state to consider adding more protections before the law takes effect. ADADNortham’s administration will have an ongoing work group to continue to strengthen the law’s consumer protections, according to the news release from Marsden. Hayes also said he wanted to propose legislation in the future that specifically addresses data privacy concerns related to artificial intelligence and facial recognition.

Greg Abbott (R) on Tuesday lifted the state’s mask mandate and allowed all businesses to operate at full capacity; Mississippi also lifted most restrictions Tuesday. Governors in numerous states, including Arkansas, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Virginia, loosened restrictions this week. More than half the states have already put teachers into a high-priority group in their vaccination programs, but others have not. Asa Hutchinson (R), who last week lifted nearly all restrictions on businesses, said his state’s mask mandate probably will be rescinded March 31. Experts say vaccination efforts should drive down hospitalization and death numbers in the coming months, as the vaccine helps prevent severe cases.

The newest addition to the pandemic arsenal — the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine that does not need to be kept frozen — might be best for people who want to be immunized quickly or would have difficulty returning for a second shot. ADADThe Johnson & Johnson vaccine may be most suitable for people who move frequently or those who live and work in homeless shelters or correctional facilities, the CDC said. AD“The solution to all of this debate is to get more vaccine out there, period,” she said. ADAdvocates for people with disabilities say the updated guidance is a step in the right direction but does not go far enough. The implementation guidance said the easier-to-use Johnson & Johnson vaccine might be the best fit for certain populations.

“I have the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel, and I look forward to having her serve in a role in my administration,” Biden said in a statement. Her nomination began to collapse last month when Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) said he would oppose Tanden for the post, citing her past remarks targeting Republicans. ADIn recent days, attention had largely turned to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has been weighing whether to support Tanden and met with the nominee earlier this week. Tanden had the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and powerful labor unions such as the Communications Workers of America. ADJust hours before the White House pulled Tanden’s nomination, Young appeared before the Senate Budget Committee, where she won praise from Democrats and Republicans.

Renren Yingshi, also known as YYeTs.com, was one of China's largest and longest-running destinations for pirated foreign TV shows and movies. An outpouring of support for Renren Yingshi dominated China's Twitter-like Weibo platform in the days after the crackdown. The public outcry came, at least in part, because of how tightly the Chinese government restricts access to foreign content. No matter what happens to Renren Yingshi, though, it leaves behind a vast legacy of cultural exchange. Even Xu said that Chinese fans will likely continue to be tempted to watch pirated shows.

Ryan Kang/Associated PressThe Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will obtain data from the "black box" in Tiger Woods' single-car crash that sent the golfing legend to the hospital. Brent Schrotenboer and Josh Peter of USA Today reported the news, noting the department executed the search warrant needed to access such data. The department will not seek a warrant to obtain Woods' blood to see if he was under the influence at the time. Woods released a statement Friday explaining he was "recovering and in good spirits" after being moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Woods was known for wearing red on Sundays, especially when he was in contention for a victory.

| Mario Tama/Getty Images Newsom calls Texas 'absolutely reckless' for lifting Covid rulesOAKLAND — California Gov. Gavin Newsom chided his Texas counterpart on Tuesday for lifting coronavirus restrictions, saying the change risked a viral resurgence. Greg Abbott, it was clear Newsom’s rebuke was aimed at Abbott’s decision to lift a mask mandate and allow businesses to operate at full capacity. Earlier in the day, Newsom reacted to Abbott’s move by tweeting, “Absolutely reckless.”“We’re never going to subscribe to the point of view of some other states. Utah Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) replied Tuesday, encapsulating a critique that Newsom shirks his own rules.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Gov. | Mark Lennihan, FIle/AP Photo New York De Blasio’s payback: New York mayor unloads on wounded Cuomo The mayor has called Cuomo’s alleged behavior “grotesque,” “perverse” and “terrifying." New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is sticking it to Gov. “The people of New York State will look at everything and make their judgments in due time,” de Blasio said last week. When de Blasio first called for a shutdown in New York City as the disease encroached, Cuomo immediately shot down the idea .

When asked by Justice Amy Coney Barrett why the Republican Party was involved in a case about restricting voting rights, a lawyer for the Arizona GOP made a startling admission.

Anyone else think of the hot dog guy from “I Think You Should Leave” every time they see Ted Cruz talking about the January 6th insurrection?

“Governor Abbott has lost his mind by doing this,” says Gilberto Hinojosa on the Texas governor lifting mask mandate and announcing full reopening of state, "right before spring break."

also investigated white supremacists suspected of menacing protesters. In contrast, the Biden administration has made fighting domestic terrorism a priority. and the Justice Department decided to elevate the threat posed by antigovernment and anti-authority extremists such as militias and anarchists. Still, bureau officials listed the threat a tier below the one presented by racially motivated violent extremists like neo-Nazis. Mr. Wray pointed out another alarming trend: The number of white supremacists arrested in 2020 had almost tripled from when he started running the F.B.I.

The U.A.E., by contrast, is transitioning from decades of oil abundance to an era of oil scarcity by building its own ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in the same fields as Israel. To that end, in November the country announced a major liberalization of its Islamic personal laws — allowing unmarried couples to cohabitate, which, among other things, makes the U.A.E. But the U.A.E.’s new social laws constitute a big leap forward in its quest to attract the talent needed for a non-oil economy. All the neighbors are watching, and they are particularly watching how Iran and Saudi Arabia react. As for Saudi Arabia, it is already letting Israel’s national airline, El Al, fly across Saudi airspace to the U.A.E.

ADIn February the singer told USA Today that she wouldn’t “jump the line” to get vaccinated. Last year, Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt in the doctor’s honor, which helped fund the early stages of coronavirus research. AD“Her work made it possible to expedite the science behind the testing,” Abumrad told The Washington Post at the time. “You and I have been friends forever and I thought it was only appropriate that you should be the one to give me my shot today,” Parton said, joking that she hoped he had practiced. As Abumrad prepared to give her the shot, Parton, who put on a mask, joked that “well it didn’t take this long to film ‘9 to 5,’” referring to her 1980 movie.

ADThreats to voting laws loom in the courts, as well. The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard a Democratic challenge to two Arizona voting laws that they argue disproportionately affect minorities and therefore run afoul of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Democrats fear that a 6-to-3 conservative court could set a high bar for voting rights litigation, opening up the possibility that states could pursue even more restrictive measures that could harm minority voting. “Politics is a zero-sum game.”Democrats, meanwhile, are preparing to litigate against any new state laws that they believe will curtail ballot access. “Voting rights is preservative of all other rights, and we have to do everything we can to preserve the voices of the people in our democracy,” said Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D-Ga.).

There are seven races in the House left uncalled – all are Republican-held seats; Democrats lead in five of the seven. In that election, Republicans netted an astounding 63-seat gain, the largest since Democrats lost 72 House seats in the 1938 midterms. But more broadly, the 33 seat loss (at least) by Republicans in 2018 places this election firmly in the upper echelon of House-seat losses by a president’s party in modern midterms. The Point: It’s fair to say the 2018 election wasn’t a complete and total disaster for Republicans, but it was far from a nothing burger either. If 1 is calm political waters and 10 is a tsunami, I think the 2018 election is rightly described between 7.5-8.5.

Corporations aren’t just saying they’re sad about the mess the president has made — they’re taking away his toys. Corporations aren’t just saying they’re sad about the mess the president has made; they’re taking away his toys. Trump’s presidency has been a catastrophe for his brand. It wasn’t a guarantee this is how Trump’s presidency would come to an end. This is a reminder that Trump didn’t orchestrate his dangerous rise on his own — networks always could have stopped airing his hate-filled rallies.

Their latest focus is Dr. Seuss. No one is canceling Dr. Seuss. Still, this decision by the company, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, presumably made rationally and in response to the demands of the free market, has prompted a full-on right-wing freakout. Instead, they're whining about Dr. Seuss. And conservatives think the top story is Dr. Seuss?

If he's former president Donald Trump, the answer is: use his principal assets -- fame and attitude -- to revive his brand through a "hostile takeover." Check and check: The Trumps as "characters" are riveting to both those who love them and those who hate them. Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. was deposed by District of Columbia prosecutors investigation possible fraud allegations as part of a lawsuit related to 2016 inauguration spending. The investigation of his finances, which the Supreme Court permitted, is part of "the Continuing Political Persecution of President Donald J. Trump," Trump said in a statement last week. A Trump political action committee raised $250 million since Trump lost the election and there's more to be earned from paid speeches and merchandise sold -- on the premise that these embattled heroes need support.

Tanden's confirmation failure makes her the first of President Joe Biden's picks to be disqualified. As many Asian Americans have learned over time, you're only the model minority until someone else decides you aren't. It's time for us to name the implicit biases and assumptions that Asian Americans face so we can be judged from a place of consciousness. Is Tanden more "mean" than other appointees, or are we offended by Asian American women who are assertive and want to lead? As many Asian Americans have learned over time, you're only the model minority until someone else decides you aren't.

Last week, when it became clear that a $15 minimum wage would not be included in the Covid-relief bill, several senators offered alternative approaches. For weeks, the Biden administration has pegged school reopenings to two necessities: confirmation of its Education secretary and advancing a massive Covid-19 rescue package. Any parent relying only on their full-time, full-year federal minimum wage income to raise a child is doing so in poverty. For example, Congress could increase the child tax credit, the child and dependent care tax credit, and the earned income tax credit. A public option would also reduce the burden on small employers who lack bargaining power to cover their employees with affordable health care plans.

Getty ImagesFor the last week-and-a-half, my sister and I have communicated almost exclusively through “90 Day Fiancé” memes. Even Zoom hangouts, which once seemed so novel and at least vaguely fun, feel emotionally taxing at this point. Fortunately, in many friendships, a mutual, unspoken understanding exists that it’s not personal; each party simply doesn’t have the emotional bandwidth to engage as usual. That said, don’t feel bad if some of your longstanding friendships are running on “this link is hilarious and made me think of you” texts and DMs. “So even for people who communicate with friends only through memes, even if it is shallow, there’s nothing wrong with friendships of pure pleasure.”

The attorney for Britney Spears' father, Jamie Spears, is defending his conservatorship over the pop star in the aftermath of a documentary that detailed the family’s legal battle to control the singer’s estate. Last year, she petitioned to have her father removed from her conservatorship with her attorney saying Britney Spears was “afraid” of Jamie Spears. Criticism of the conservatorship — and specifically of Jamie Spears as sole conservator — escalated following the release last month of the New York Times documentary, "Framing Britney Spears." The family’s public legal struggle drew interest from Britney Spears’ fans, who began a #FreeBritney movement to remove her from her father’s conservatorship. Britney Spears has not spoken publicly about “Framing Britney” since its Feb. 5 release on Hulu.

After the Senate Parliamentarian said an increase in the minimum wage couldn’t be included in reconciliation, Rep. Karen Bass joins The ReidOut to make the case for a $15 minimum wage. She says, "Frankly, in some states $15 an hour is not even enough. And California has been in the process of raising the minimum wage for quite a while. And guess what: our economy is doing ok."

“Too often economists focus on average outcomes instead of examining a range of outcomes,” Rouse said at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee. “I wanted to know why this was happening,” Rouse said at her confirmation hearing last month. In that way, the council’s influence is limited to how much Biden will be willing to listen to its policy recommendations. But the challenge awaiting her is that “in some ways, providing relief is the easy part,” said Jason Furman, another former CEA chair. “To sustain a much better recovery is a much more complicated economic and political task,” Furman said, “and that’s what she will be intimately involved in.”

Some residents of Jackson, Mississippi, have been without water for 14 days. Laurie Bertram Roberts of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund says, "What really needs to be done is major infrastructure investment on the federal and state level. It was not shocking to me that it took the state so long to even show up in Jackson."

ET Covid-19 Live Updates: Biden Says Vaccine Doses Could Be Available for All Adult Americans by End of May Merck will help manufacture the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Under the new agreement, Merck will dedicate two of its facilities to production of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the third to receive emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration — following Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. And the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has some advantages: It requires only one shot, and studies show it may curb spread of the virus. The first boxes of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine coming off the conveyor at the McKesson facility in Shepherdsville, Ky., on Monday.

Standing in an empty church office, surrounded by glass barriers that were installed as a coronavirus safety measure, the Rev. Jesus Zamarripa of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in East Los Angeles looked over the paperwork for the two funeral Masses he would offer over the weekend. Both of the deceased were victims of Covid-19. Father Zamarripa has been a priest at the church for seven years. Originally from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, he said that as a child he was drawn to a life of service, “When I was very young I saw videos of missionaries helping people and since then my intention was to go to another country and help the poor.”

ALBANY, N.Y. — With allegations of unsettling behavior toward women spilling into the public eye, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo spent Tuesday fending off calls for his resignation, with few voluble defenders in a moment of unparalleled weakness in his decade-long tenure in Albany. A small, but expanding, coterie of Democratic lawmakers called on Mr. Cuomo to step down, as did the state Working Families Party, which has frequently clashed with the governor. Still, for all that, one major bulwark to any forced departure — the Democrat-dominated statehouse, which could impeach him — appeared to be holding, for now at least. Impeachment would require mass defections by Democrats in both the State Assembly and the Senate, which seemed unlikely as of Tuesday.

Officer Jake Sanchez, a spokesman for California Highway Patrol, said the Ford S.U.V. The authorities were still trying to identify some of the passengers in the crash by about noon local time, Chief Watson said. He said the immigration status of those in the vehicle was unknown and was still under investigation by the California Highway Patrol. Chief Watson said the truck driver had “moderate” injuries and was taken to a hospital. Several state agencies responded to the crash scene, including the California Highway Patrol and the El Centro Fire Department.

LOS ANGELES — At least 13 people were killed early Tuesday in what appeared to be one of the deadliest border-related crashes in recent decades, as a big rig loaded with gravel slammed into an S.U.V. The crash occurred just after sunrise on the outskirts of Holtville, Calif., in the Imperial Valley, a rich agricultural region and a busy corridor for migrant smuggling. The impact threw passengers from the vehicle, a maroon Ford Expedition, the police said. Twelve were killed on the spot, and a 13th died in a nearby hospital, where several other passengers were also treated for injuries. “Just thinking about it makes you sick to the stomach,” said Michael Kelley, the chairman of Imperial County’s board of supervisors, adding that the area where the crash occurred was heavily traveled by farmworkers who cross the border to work in the local fields.

Michigan is 4-0 in Quadrant 2 games; Baylor is 2-0. ADEast Region(1) Ohio State vs. (16) COLONIAL/James Madison(8) MISSOURI VALLEY/Loyola Chicago vs. (9) PAC-12/UCLA(5) Texas vs. (12) SUN BELT/Western Kentucky(4) Arkansas vs. (13) SOUTHERN/UNC Greensboro(3) Florida State vs. (14) ATLANTIC SUN/Liberty(6) Southern California vs. (11) ATLANTIC 10/St. BonaventureAD(7) Missouri vs. (10) Boise State(2) West Virginia vs. (15) AMERICA EAST/UMBCIf not Ohio State for the last No. … Colorado and Colorado State didn’t play this season, making that potential first-round pairing a kosher one since the committee tries to avoid rematches so early in the tournament. … Fun with subplots, Part II: For a mere four-season spell, Virginia Tech and Rutgers shared a home in the Big East.

ADADA carbon tax would provide a financial incentive for industries to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases they emit. “It is also very hard to believe a carbon tax could replace other policies. And they fear that a carbon tax will drive up the cost of oil and gas for consumers. ADOne leading group advocating a carbon tax was formed by former secretary of state George P. Shultz and former treasury secretary James A. Baker III. They backed a $40 a ton carbon tax that would be refunded to taxpayers through dividend checks.

And Gensler said he would review the apps’ practice of adding celebration displays when users place trades, encouraging a gamelike experience. Gensler appeared with Rohit Chopra, Biden’s nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. ADADActivists shareholders, for example, have been pressing companies for years to disclose more about their political spending. Gensler noted that in last year’s proxy season, shareholder resolutions that would require more disclosure gathered more than 40 percent approval. Investors, Gensler added later, “want to see what the companies they own are doing in the political arena.

ADAD“Our organization continues to actively cooperate with MLB on their investigation into Mickey Callaway,” the team said. In it, he suggested his father did know about Callaway’s behavior but “just doesn’t get it.”AD“When the news about Mickey Callaway’s behavior came out earlier this year, I confronted my father, Chris Antonetti, and others with the Cleveland Indians. I wanted to know why they didn’t say anything to me when the Mets hired Mickey Callaway and they gave him a strong endorsement. “To deal with it publicly is hurtful.”Cleveland is not the only team having to publicly deal with Callaway’s behavior. AD“When we hired Mickey, Mickey was a hot commodity.

AD“We identified new safety concerns related to power restoration, deliberate deviation from safety procedures and a lack of [Metro] oversight and quality control in the ROCC,” she told commissioners. ADADRemotely restoring power ensures the control center knows whether it has regained control of third-rail power while adding another layer of safety checks. Safety commission officials informed ROCC leadership and Metro’s safety department of the repeated flouting of procedures. ADThe violations were part of a discussion last week between Samarasinghe, safety commission Chairman Chris Hart, Wiedefeld and Metro board Chairman Paul C. Smedberg. Metro has contested some of them, while the safety commission has said it is troubled that Metro repeatedly makes the same mistakes.

Jordan — who died at his home Monday at 85 — was a civil rights activist, an NAACP supporter and a Washington insider. Years ago, after writing about his style — a story for which he did not return my messages — Jordan called to express his gratitude after it was published. He talked about the racism he faced as a young man when he tried to find an apartment in the city. In public, as an eminence grise, Jordan used charm to batter down doors. He was a man of substance who used style as both an introduction and a post script.

This season’s death toll is a marked decline from the 2019-2020 flu season, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 195 children died of the flu. ADADInfluenza spreads reliably each fall and winter, although with different dominant strains and at varying levels. Combined with the flu vaccine and existing immunity, those factors have made flu circulation nearly negligible. Recent data from several countries, including Cambodia, Laos and Bangladesh, showed the flu resurging as coronavirus restrictions were lifted and students returned to schools, Brammer said. It also isn’t too late for the flu to surge in the current season if coronavirus restrictions are relaxed.

“I always believed that sexual harassment is not acceptable, must not be tolerated.”House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, took a similar stance. AD“These allegations are very serious against Governor Cuomo, made by serious individuals and deserve a serious and independent investigation,” Jeffries said. Still, Cuomo is a fixture in Democratic politics, the son of a popular former New York governor and a Cabinet secretary in President Bill Clinton’s administration. “We were horrified to learn of the Governor’s pattern of sexual harassment. “Governor Cuomo has repeatedly abused his powers and yet has faced no accountability,” the lawmakers said in a statement.

“At this level of cases, with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained. We have the ability to stop a potential fourth surge of cases in this country. He announced Texas can return to full capacity next week as long as local hospitals are not experiencing high levels of covid patients. Only 12.9 percent of the Texas population has received one or more doses of vaccine. A fourth surge — which could spread beyond Texas — is the last thing the country needs just as vaccines are being rolled out.

Every high-profile sexual harassment case raises, and helps resolve, questions of crime and punishment: what behavior is acceptable, how workplaces should respond and what price must be paid. So it is possible to examine the stream of allegations about Cuomo and ask: Really? When law professor Anita Hill came forward nearly 30 years ago with allegations that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her, you could see the male senators charged with weighing her claims struggling to comprehend the realities of sexual harassment. ADThe Packwood story showed a system rife with sexual exploitation and only starting to take harassment seriously. ADPolitics is a notoriously handsy occupation, but Cuomo wasn’t asking male guests for a kiss.

ADADThe impact of this new policy will extend far beyond Saudi Arabia, a senior State Department official told me Tuesday. He said his organization is studying how to submit cases to the State Department for review and action, so that the Khashoggi Ban has real impact. He said the State Department would gather information about harassment of dissidents and journalists from open sources and reporting by U.S. intelligence agencies. We expect that it will have a deterrent effect the world over,” the senior State Department official said. The Khashoggi Ban would be a step forward after last week’s messy release of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s report on Khashoggi’s murder.

One of the greatest correspondents of this long, long war shares his latest dispatch from Afghanistan in the March 8 issue of the New Yorker. Dexter Filkins visits places along the country’s main highway, where Taliban forces already operate with impunity. He sketches a portrait of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, grouchy and isolated in a feckless twilight. The losses to be cut are not Afghan losses, which sadly are sure to continue once Western forces are gone. Biden must stop the loss of U.S. and coalition forces in a war for which no plausible path to victory remains.

The White House also appears set to announce the appointment of a “czar” to coordinate the effort to reopen schools. Several officials, including Vice President Harris, declined to back up the CDC, though ultimately the White House said it agreed. Now the White House is bypassing state decision-making and giving teachers direct access to vaccine supply under its control through its pharmacy program. The Biden administration began deploying vaccine doses directly to retail pharmacies on Feb. 11, starting with 1 million. ADUntil now, access to this program was governed by eligibility rules in each state, though the Biden administration said locations were chosen to prioritize hard-hit communities.

At 6 feet, 4 inches tall, Jordan was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. And when “one of us” moved into the White House, Jordan was no stranger to him. It is hard to put into words what Jordan meant to African Americans, especially professionals such as me. And because he did, he cleared a path for more of us to follow in his elegant footsteps. After Clinton won election, Jordan had a hand in selecting the Cabinet and White House staff.

Biden has moved up the timeline for vaccinating Americans, saying the United States will have enough supply for the entire country by the end of May. “We’re now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May. When we came into office, the prior administration had contracted for not nearly enough vaccine to cover adults in America,” he said. Biden said his administration immediately went to work procuring more doses with a goal of having enough by the end of July. But increased production and a third vaccine has sped up that timeline to the end of May.

CNN's Jessica Schneider reports on FBI Director Christopher Wray's testimony to the Senate committee investigating the security failures that took place during the January 6th Capitol riot.

The White House is pulling Neera Tanden's nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget after key senators said they would vote against confirmation over her past tweets.

But in NBA circles, change seldom happens when it comes to the hiring of Black head coaches, which has become a hot discussion topic in recent days. We would be remiss not to acknowledge a deeper concern and level of disappointment with the Minnesota head coach hiring process." The hiring of Finch and bypassing of Vanterpool shined a spotlight on the dearth of Black head coaches in the NBA despite what league executives say is a talent-rich pool of Black assistant coaches. On the 30 NBA team rosters, 46.8 percent of assistant coaches are Black, while just 20 percent (six out of 30) of full-time head coaches are Black. While most NBA head coaches come from an NBA bench, there is an exception when former players jump to the front of the head coach pecking order.

A growing number of children are becoming “Covid long-haulers.” NBC News’ Kristen Dahlgren takes us inside one of the first clinics dedicated to learning more about the long-term impact of the virus on children.

According to the family’s attorney, 5-year-old Ariel Young “will have permanent brain damage” as a result of her injuries. In February, she was hit by former Kansas City Chiefs linebackers coach Britt Reid while sitting in her family’s parked car.

A South Carolina man bragged in a group text chat that he disguised himself as an anti-fascist, or antifa, activist during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and succeeded in assaulting officers and stealing police gear, authorities said. had told her that Norwood had done "'terrible things' inside the Capitol, including assaulting law enforcement officers," the criminal complaint said. He admitted entering the Capitol and its rotunda after he was separated from his wife, according to the FBI. He claimed that "two U.S. Capitol Police Officers were waving people inside, and that one of the Capitol Police officers told him, 'I'm on your side,'" the FBI said. Norwood provided the FBI with a photo of himself wearing a camouflage jacket standing near the Washington Monument on Jan. 6.

Andrew Cuomo has left the three-term governor politically stranded and created a new dilemma for top members of the Democratic party in both New York and Washington. And at least one, Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), has since joined the calls from Republicans and left-leaning Democrats for the governor to resign. It was also forcing leading Democrats who are less predisposed to criticizing Cuomo to respond. “The behavior described in these allegations against Governor Cuomo is completely unacceptable and every allegation of sexual harassment must be taken seriously and be reviewed,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Tuesday evening. Instead, national Democrats are distancing themselves from Cuomo and deflecting pointed questions from reporters about the recent reports.

The White House will withdraw its nomination of Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden’s pick to direct the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, after it became clear that she would lose a Senate confirmation vote. The official withdrawal could occur as early as Tuesday evening, White House sources told The Washington Post on Tuesday. “I appreciate how hard you and your team at the White House has worked to win my confirmation,” she wrote to Biden. The White House continued to publicly stand by Tanden on Feb. 22, even as the prospects for her confirmation grew slimmer. White House press secretary Jen Psaki also noted in a tweet that Tanden, who is Indian American, would be the first person of Asian descent to head the OMB.

On Tuesday, the country icon posted a short video to her social media accounts that showed Dr. Naji Abumrad , a professor of surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a longtime friend, administering the jab. Dolly Parton has received her first shot of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine and, true to form, made sure to bring a little extra sparkle to the occasion. The video included a pointed message to anti-vaxxers and those who may be on the fence about making their vaccine appointments, too. “The sooner we get to feeling better, the sooner we are gonna get back to feeling normal,” she said. Get out there and get your shot.”Parton captioned the post, “Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine,” alluding to the $1 million donation she’d made to Vanderbilt University last year to fund research toward the coronavirus vaccine.

Former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi reacts to FBI Director Chris Wray’s testimony on the Capitol riot today and the reluctance of Republicans to address the threat of white supremacy

A criminal probe of Trump is heading to a grand jury in Georgia this week. The Fulton County District Attorney is seeking subpoenas for witnesses and documents in the investigation into whether Trump and his associates committed election fraud. MSNBC’s Ari Melber is joined by NYU law professor Melissa Murray to break down the crimes the DA is investigating, including solicitation of election fraud and conspiracy.

That is the question. After Tanden, Sen. JOHN BARRASSO (R-Wyo.) Are you in touch with the White House? Gensler said in response to a question from Sen. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-Mass.) A White House spokesperson declined to comment on the letter.

In California on Tuesday morning, a Ford SUV was T-boned by a semi-truck carrying gravel. Officials say 25 people were crammed into the SUV, and police confirm that there was no Border Patrol pursuit before the accident.

Anna Ruch told the New York Times that the New York governor put his hand on her lower back and asked to kiss her when they met at a wedding in 2019. Cuomo denied two other allegations from former aides last week.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said his agents did share what they knew about the potential for violence at the Capitol, but admitted the FBI needs to know more about the threat of domestic terrorism.

Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin (D-IL) reacts to two breaking developments on covid: Biden announces that the country will have enough vaccine supply for every American adult by the end of May, and Texas and Mississippi are lifting their mask mandates

Former Obama White House health policy director Dr. Kavita Patel and New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker on President Biden’s announcement that pharmaceutical rivals Merck and Johnson & Johnson will partner to boost vaccine production and there will be enough supply to vaccinate all American adults by the end of May

There is work with the onion crop, but the yield is expected to be reduced, leaving less work and competition for the jobs. We are in the house because there is not much work," she said in Spanish, saying the lack of work affects "many people, many people." Citrus trees were covered in snow and ice when temperatures dropped below freezing during the peak of the cold weather. Courtesy Dale Murden / via Texas Farm BureauAfter the snow melted and temperatures warmed up, the citrus trees began turning brown. Courtesy Dale Murden / via Texas Farm BureauThe citrus harvest usually runs from mid-September to about late May.

WASHINGTON — The White House is withdrawing Neera Tanden's Office of Management and Budget nomination, marking the first major personnel defeat for President Joe Biden. Biden had hoped a moderate Republican would give Tanden the support she needed, but that appeared unlikely. After Manchin, multiple Republicans including Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and Sen. The last hope rested on Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, but by Tuesday evening the White House was ready to concede the battle. Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had clashed with Tanden, a former adviser to Hillary Clinton, during his two presidential runs.

The Biden administration used the Defense Production Act to call on pharmaceutical competitor Merck to help produce the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine after initial production fell short.

While Covid-19 infection numbers are down dramatically from the deadly winter surge, authorities are warning against easing restrictions too soon.

MSNBC's Ari Melber reports on the breaking news that President Biden has accepted Neera Tanden's request to withdraw her nomination to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Senior White House coronavirus adviser Andy Slavitt tells MSNBC's Ari Melber the White House thinks "it's a mistake" for Texas to drop its mask mandate as coronavirus cases across the state surge.

Real Clear Politics associate editor and columnist A.B. Stoddard argues that even with Wray’s testimony calling out white supremacy, the Republican party will still refuse to blame Trump for the insurrection and support domestic extremists in its base

Among the things they missed most was seeing their granddaughter, Lindsey Hawkins, regularly. He knew Lindsey, a pharmacist, was working with a Covid-19 vaccination team. So he made a special request: that she be the one to vaccinate her grandparents. A few days ago, she returned to Cherrywood Pointe of Plymouth to administer their second dose, and probably some sweet relief. Lindsay Hawkins gives her grandmother Glenna Luetgers her second Covid-19 vaccine in Plymouth, Minn. KARE11Said Hawkins: "I'll remember this for the rest of my life."

It was unclear if the United States planned to release a formal report, as it did last week when it confirmed two-year-old findings on Mr. Khashoggi, or whether it would simply summarize the key finding in the Navalny case. The sanctions are notable chiefly because they are the first Mr. Biden has taken in the six weeks since he became president. While most presidents have come into office declaring they would seek a reset of relations with Russia, Mr. Biden has done the opposite. He has warned that Mr. Putin is driving his country into an era of authoritarianism and promised to push back on human rights violations and efforts to destabilize Europe. One official told reporters on Tuesday morning that the Biden administration was not seeking to reset relations or escalate confrontations.

Exactly one year ago, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci said it would take 12 to 18 months, at best, to discover a single vaccine of potentially middling efficacy. In Israel, a recent analysis of 602,000 vaccinated people found that only 21 later contracted the virus and had to be hospitalized. As my colleague David Leonhardt has pointed out, that’s a minuscule fraction of the rate of flu hospitalization in the United States every year. And that’s before taking into account the partnership between Merck and Johnson & Johnson the White House announced on Tuesday, which an official said could eventually double the supply of the new vaccine. The number we should be striving for, experts say, is three million doses per day, up from the current 1.94 million.

In the other, a mother coaches that daughter to falsely accuse the father. These stories, one proposed by Mia Farrow and her advocates, one by Woody Allen and his, clearly contradict each other. A fun fact about high heels: They make it harder to run away. There were limitless ways, the culture informed me, that a woman could get it wrong — “it” being her body, her career, her accusations of abuse. I can still remember an article, probably from The National Enquirer, that pitted celebrity women against one another according to their knees.

Late one night in 2016, Jasper Verhulst was sitting on his balcony in Amsterdam, pondering his next career move. The Dutch bass player had been playing in an indie band, he recalled in a recent video interview, but its singer had decided to stop touring, and Verhulst needed a new project. That night, he put on a playlist of his favorite Turkish rock songs — tracks written in the 1970s that combined traditional Turkish melodies and instruments with psychedelic rock, to make a funky sound all their own. Suddenly, he was struck by thought: “This is what I want to do.”Turkish rock songs like these would sound great at a music festival, he thought, yet he’d never heard that before. He just had a few problems to overcome first: He didn’t speak Turkish, and he didn’t play any Turkish instruments.

This excerpt is from the book “Singled Out: The True Story of Glenn Burke,” which will be published by Philomel Books on March 2. Burke, a promising prospect for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970s, was gay and dealt with discrimination throughout his career. LATE AT NIGHT, as Lutha Davis sat at the end of the bed and rubbed her brother’s feet, Glenn Burke would often begin softly singing a song that provided comfort in the midst of debilitating pain. He spent day and night lying in a small twin bed, clutching at thin sheets printed with red-and-blue toy cars. “No one can say I didn’t make it,” he said.

An unusual deal between two pharmaceutical rivals could substantially ramp up the pace of vaccination in the U.S.Merck & Co. will help manufacture the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine in an arrangement brokered by the White House, several days after federal regulators granted emergency authorization for the third U.S. vaccine. President Biden said the faster production of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would help position the U.S. to have enough coronavirus vaccines for all Americans by the end of May.

Still, when Ms. MacDonough advised lawmakers last week that she considered the wage hike out of bounds for a reconciliation measure, liberal activists swiftly began applying pressure. They demanded that Democrats reject the ruling and abolish the 60-vote filibuster threshold that had prompted them to turn to the reconciliation process in the first place. Leading progressives, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, have been vocal in urging Democrats to consider such moves. Democrats are determined to highlight the positive aspects of the stimulus measure, encouraging rank-and-file lawmakers to discuss them on Friday during a so-called day of action in the House. “Never!” Mr. Manchin bellowed at reporters on Monday as they made their latest inquiries about the prospect of ending the filibuster.

Even big business groups are saying they want to see the minimum wage increase. The only place with a $15 minimum wage right now is Washington, D.C.; the next-highest minimum wage is in the state of Washington, whose minimum is now $13.69. ADThis is a consistent pattern: When Democrats take power, they try to extend help everywhere — and in some cases, especially to residents of red states. So is there any hope for a minimum-wage increase? On the other hand, people earning the minimum wage have been waiting for a raise for nearly 12 years.

The average refund interest amount last year was just $18, the IRS said. ADADUnder the tax code, the interest rate is set on a quarterly basis. Currently, the interest rate is 3 percent. In response to the GAO report, the IRS pointed out that returns that are amended can reduce the amount of taxes owed, thereby triggering a refund interest payment. In fiscal 2017, the IRS paid just over $1.1 billion in refund interest.

If it can happen in music, it’s happening in Noname’s music. “Rainforest” isn’t a song to chant in the streets. “Now I ain’t no dummy to think I’m above criticism/So when I see something that’s valid, I listen,” Cole rapped. Two days later, Noname delivered her atomizing response — and because “Song 33” was music, not Twitter, the serenity of her tone had a lot to do with it. “He really ’bout to write about me when the world is in smokes?

On one occasion, a diner imperiously demanded a coffee refill and, impressed by Mr. Graham’s polished response, remarked to her companion: “My goodness. Once, a police officer detained Mr. Graham and his brother after spotting them playing with what the officer assumed to be a stolen Radio Flyer wagon. AD“It wasn’t until we were poolside that we discovered that we were the threat,” Mr. Graham wrote years later in Westchester Magazine. Mr. Graham unsuccessfully sought a New York-based seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000. “I knew the day would come,” Mr. Graham wrote, “but I didn’t know how it would happen, where I would be, or how I would respond.

ADAD“We have not to date seen any evidence of anarchist violent extremists or people subscribing to antifa in connection with the 6th,” Wray said. “And we have had some already arrested who we would put in the category of racially motivated violent extremism, white as well. “In terms of domestic violent extremism, domestic terrorism, that number is now — has grown steadily on my watch,” said Wray, who became FBI director in 2017. “It’s the biggest chunk of our racially motivated violent extremism cases for sure. There is a pervasive and apparently growing threat posed by white extremists beyond what happened on Jan. 6.

ADMeanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he hoped that “in the end Senate Republicans will unanimously oppose it, just like House Republicans did” when the legislation passed the House on Saturday with no GOP support. With the Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, it means that Democrats can succeed only if they stay united and Vice President Harris breaks any tie. And moderate Senate Democrats are eyeing changes of their own that, if adopted, could create problems for the bill among liberals in the House. ADBiden’s bill would increase the existing $300 weekly federal unemployment benefit to $400 per week and extend it through August. ADAsked if Democrats are open to “targeting” certain aspects of the bill as moderates are proposing, Schumer said: “We want to get the biggest, strongest, boldest bill than can pass.

By the end of Klacik’s campaign, she would raise a staggering $8.3 million and pay nearly $3.7 million of it to Olympic Media, according to campaign finance filings and her campaign manager. Other Republican candidates, including Johnson and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), also misreported expenses to vendors, WinRed said. ***Maryland Republican congressional candidate Kimberly Klacik told the RNC on Aug. 24 that successive Democrats had run Baltimore "into the ground." A contract between Arsenal and another 2020 Republican campaign, which was obtained by The Post, showed in detail how the payment structure can work. But Salata found it “ridiculous” that companies would take a sizable cut of a candidate’s fundraising money.

Hershey HSY Reese's latest iteration of its wildly popular peanut butter cup will be all peanut butter, no chocolate,announced on Monday. The Reese's Ultimate Peanut Butter Lovers Cup is made entirely of peanut butter, both inside and in the peanut butter candy-flavored outer shell. This is the first time in the company's 90-year-history that its peanut butter cups have taken chocolate completely out of the equation. Versions of the Peanut Butter Lovers Cup came out in 2019 and 2020, but those still contained some chocolate. "While launching a Reese's Cup with absolutely no chocolate might come as a shock, we're giving the truest peanut butter fans something to go wild about," Margo McIlvaine, Reese's brand manager, said in a statement.

With the US Food and Drug Administration's authorization last week, Johnson & Johnson said about 4 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine would immediately head to states to help meet enormous demand. Biden announced that drugmaker Merck will help manufacture the Johnson & Johnson vaccine -- a decision made after it became clear that J&J would fall short of its manufacturing goals. It can't happen overnight, but companies say vaccine manufacturing has moved at a speed that has never been seen before in the history of pharmaceutical manufacturing. Put another way, Dr. Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer for Johnson & Johnson, told CNN, "you can't accelerate it by yelling at it." How the vaccine is madeThe company that actually starts the manufacturing process for J&J is not Catalent, but Baltimore-based Emergent Biosolutions.

(CNN) The historic winter storm that crippled Texas during the third week of February spotlighted the Lone Star State's pervasive history of structural racism. The storm's aftershocks continue to be felt in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mississippi where many Black and brown residents continue to lack power, clean drinking water and shelter. The conservative free-market ideology that led to the deregulation of Texas utilities has been catastrophic on racially segregated and economically impoverished communities. Abbott's false claims that the winter storm "showed how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal" for America reflects the Orwellian nature of American politics. The failure of political leadership and moral imagination of the Texas governor is boundless.

Last Friday, the WNBA approved the sale of its Atlanta Dream franchise to a new ownership group. The sale of the Dream bookends a remarkable period of activism by athletes that has fully repudiated the “stick to sports” orthodoxy that has prevailed in the sports world until recently. It certainly didn’t hurt the campaign — before the Dream debuted their “Vote Warnock” shirts, Warnock was polling at only 9 percent. Eventually, under pressure from the league, the players and sponsors, Sterling was forced to sell the team. The sale of the Dream might be a fitting climax to this tumultuous period, but it could also be the beginning of a new era in sports management.

Frank Franklin II/Associated PressCreighton head coach Greg McDermott issued an apology after making an analogy to a plantation following a 77-69 loss to Xavier last Saturday. McDermott acknowledged saying he would "need everybody to stay on the plantation" and "can't have everybody leave." He followed up to say he "immediately recognized my egregious mistake and quickly addressed my use of such insensitive words with the team." McDermott said he met with athletes, staffers, parents and school administrators regarding the matter and "realize[d] the pain that my words have caused." Creighton issued a statement as well, saying McDermott "used deplorable language that is inconsistent with the university's values and commitment to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment."

Kayleigh McEnany’s introductory appearance in her new role at Fox News earned her a particularly scathing review Tuesday from CNN’s Brianna Keilar. “Everyone was expecting peace,” McEnany said of then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, during which he urged supporters to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell” to stop Congress from certifying incoming President Joe Biden’s electoral votes. “When the grenade that you’ve been helping build for months finally explodes in your face, that is just inevitable,” Keilar said. Everyone was not expecting peace, as she claims,” Keilar added, pointing to FBI warnings about extremist violence ahead of the rally. “And what did Kayleigh McEnany expect would happen when she personally and baselessly alleged for months before the election that there were widespread problems with the election and pushed the ‘big lie’ for two months after Election Day?”

Sacha Baron Cohen said on Sunday that he would be retiring the madcap Kazakh journalist Borat after his most recent project, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” pointing out that the role had become too dangerous. “The gray suit is locked up and not coming out again,” Cohen said during a question-and-answer session during Sunday’s virtual Golden Globes. “I made this movie because of Donald Trump, because I felt that democracy was really in danger,” Cohen said. “I felt that the underbelly I’d exposed in ‘Borat 1’ of anti-Semitism, hatred and misogyny had become overt. I felt that the only thing I could do was pull out the gray suit and do Borat again.”

But there weren’t big bucks being waved around for the kind of memoir Jordan wanted to write. Later in life, Jordan would be squired around town by a driver of his own. During Jordan’s tenure, the group’s strategy was to advance Black progress in part through alliances with enlightened white civic and corporate leaders. Even though he didn’t win Jordan’s endorsement in 2008, no one demonstrated that more potently than Obama himself. Even so, the racial progress of the next generation will be more attainable in the wake of progress of the past two—achievements with which Jordan’s life was inextricably intertwined.

Arsenio Hall, who once competed on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” said former President Donald Trump once expressed his dismay with him via a direct note with two words written with a Sharpie: “No Trump.”The legendary late-night talk show host and comedian, who won 2012’s season of the reality competition series, briefly talked about the then-reality TV boss during his appearance with Eddie Murphy on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Monday night. After host Jimmy Kimmel jokingly asked Hall about the last time he heard from his “celebrity mentor” Trump, Hall replied with a laugh: “We don’t talk a lot.”Hall then recalled a time, he said, Trump got upset with him after Hall apparently failed to mention him in an interview. “Sometimes people don’t mention everything you say,” Hall said. “He took the interview, and he wrote in Sharpie, ‘No Trump,’ and he photographed it and emailed it back to me — I think someone in his office did.”“It was the strangest transmission I’ve ever had,” Hall added. (See the clip below.)

And industry groups, which spent tens of millions of dollars on ads and lobbying campaigns against previous Democratic health care proposals, are largely supportive this time. Unlike with other health care reforms, there are few obvious "losers" beyond fiscal hawks worried about adding to the deficit. Democrats are already discussing creating a public insurance option that would compete with private insurers in a future bill. Polls have long found broad bipartisan support for the idea, and Biden has called for both a public option and lowering the Medicare age to 60. "The health care industry would fight a public option with everything they have," Levitt said.

An FBI official said last week that the bureau was aware of the discussion among far-right groups that March 4 could be the next rallying point. President Joe Biden's inauguration and the Capitol riot did cause some fracturing on the far-right, with some extremists turning on QAnon supporters and even other QAnon followers starting to question the movement. The sovereign citizen movement, a 50-year-old conspiracy movement largely composed of radical tax protesters, believes there has not been a legitimate president since Ulysses S. Grant, who was inaugurated March 4, 1869. Many QAnon followers partook in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, including Douglas Jensen, who led the first wave of the mob toward Capitol police Officer Eugene Goodman. While users in online QAnon groups are looking forward to March 4, no specific protests or events are being planned, according to an NBC analysis of the largest remaining forums.

A Water Mission volunteer team works on home repairs in Austin, Texas. Water MissionOn Monday, he went to a trailer park in Austin, working alongside volunteer plumbers from Kansas, California, New York and Georgia to help restore water to the residents there. “They gave me the address and I went.”Mitchell volunteered through Water Mission and Plumbers Without Borders, two groups hoping to make an impact with the Texas recovery efforts. Water Mission is a Christian organization that usually works internationally in developing countries to help install water systems and get people access to clean drinking water. The couple is coordinating with Water Mission and local Texas officials and trade unions to get volunteers to work, particularly in the neediest areas.

A South Carolina man bragged in a group text chat that he disguised himself as an anti-fascist activist, or antifa, during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and succeeded in assaulting officers and stealing police gear. had told her Norwood did "'terrible things' inside the U.S. Capitol, including assaulting law enforcement officers," the criminal complaint said. He admitted to entering the Capitol and the Capitol Rotunda after he was separated from his wife, according to the FBI. He claimed "two U.S. Capitol Police Officers were waving people inside, and that one of the Capitol Police officers told him, 'I’m on your side,'" the FBI said. Norwood provided the FBI with a photo of himself, wearing a camouflage jacket and standing near the Washington Monument on Jan. 6.

“It’s like Hellmann’s mayonnaise — you can’t imitate it, man,” said Waverly Woods, 54, a Republican activist from Virginia Beach. Mr. Cotton, who notched one percentage point in the conference’s non-Trump straw poll of possible 2024 presidential candidates, was not the only Republican hopeful who struggled to resonate, despite adopting Mr. Trump’s language. “Oh, there’s going to be a ‘win-win,’” Mr. Scott said. With 95 percent of CPAC attendees indicating their continued support for Mr. Trump’s agenda, expressions of solidarity were not exceptional but expected. As a result, many people flocked last weekend to Republicans who offered another dimension to their pitch.

Last month, the e-commerce giant released an update to its flagship shopping app, complete with a brand new logo. Positioned on top of the smile line, it looked a bit like the mustache of German dictator Adolf Hitler, users on Twitter pointed out. ADADThis week, Amazon updated its app logo again this week and quietly folded the tape on top of the image. “I think rightfully so, the Internet is more sensitive to these things,” Forrest said. “Your thumbs are attached to your Instagram button, or your fingers are attached to clicking and ordering things on Amazon,” Reed said.

It quickly became apparent that a malfunction had occurred in the dissemination software associated with the emergency alert system. According to National Weather Service spokeswoman Susan Buchanan, the agency’s computer code accidentally triggered the issuance of a wireless emergency alert. A test tornado warning on March 4, 2013, was accidentally coded as a real one, and prompted alerts in Sullivan, Wis. Several test tornado warnings were sent to the public in the Mid-Atlantic in October 2011. Those alerts came before the era of wireless emergency alerts or widespread handheld smartphones. And on Jan. 13, 2018, residents of Hawaii received an erroneous emergency alert that read “ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii,” followed by, “this is not a drill.”

But after Republicans and some conservative Democrats quietly complained, lawmakers struck all 11 references to racism, past and present. Sen. Delores G. Kelley (D-Baltimore County), the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said the goal was to move the bill forward without a drawn-out fight on the Senate floor. The commission would advise the state government on racial, ethnic, cultural or socioeconomic disparities in health, and set goals for health equity. It came to the floor last week with the references to racism intact. If the Senate bill passes, the measure will be taken up in the House.

The bill the council passed will offer two weeks’ leave only to those employees who lose a child under the age of 21, including stillbirths. O’Donnell said she sought eight weeks of paid family leave, permitted to new mothers by city policy, to recover physically and to mourn. Some advocates opposed that option, saying mothers of stillborn children should receive the full parental leave granted to other new parents. On Tuesday, they limited the expanded bereavement leave to the loss of a child rather than other relatives. “It’s also a difficult policy decision for us to make, what is the line [while] also being within our budget.”

ADHogan (R) on Tuesday also announced three new mass vaccination sites will open in Maryland this month, bringing the total to six across the state. Vaccine doses also will increase at existing sites, doubling in Prince George’s County and Baltimore City, Hogan said. ADHead of Emergency Management Earl Stoddard told lawmakers he recently toured Montgomery College’s Germantown campus as a possible option for a county-run, large-scale vaccination site. “And here we are, still begging for a mass vaccination site . Maryland had administered 1,364,145 vaccine doses as of Tuesday, with 485,911 people fully vaccinated, according to data compiled by The Washington Post.

ADMany polls that measure what Americans think about political issues rely on similar methods to sample respondents that election polls do, making them susceptible to error in similar ways as election polls. Pew then compared those two “balanced” and “tilted” samples across a range of political issues to see how much results shifted. ADADBecause issue polling does not need to be as precise as election polling, it might be insulated from shifts in political makeup of poll samples. Yet, issue polls have other unique challenges. Even as Pew’s report suggests the downstream impact on election poll accuracy on issue polls may be limited, the 2020 election underscored that polls face serious challenges in obtaining politically representative samples.

ADADSuch tweets were part of a broad effort by Saudi accounts, working in both English and Arabic, to shape the public narrative around the role of the crown prince in Khashoggi’s killing, according to researchers. (The crown prince is 35.) But two top aides to the crown prince whom Saudi prosecutors said played a central role in the plot were exonerated. The crown prince has denied knowing about the operation against Khashoggi. These include hashtags on topics such as human and women’s rights, criticisms of the crown prince and the Khashoggi killing.

Push too far, and the result could be Majority Leader McConnell, foreclosing Democrats’ avenue to pursue infrastructure, tax reform and health reform legislation. Instead of naming and shaming them, Democrats might consider looking at what Manchin and Sinema like about the filibuster. Sinema recently said, “Retaining the legislative filibuster is not meant to impede the things we want to get done. And I will not do that.”If you take their views at face value, the goal is to preserve some rights for the Senate minority, with the aim of fostering compromise. The burden is on the majority, a consequence of filibuster reform in 1975, which moved the standard from two-thirds of senators present and voting to three-fifths of the entire Senate.

Donnie Sanders' family questions why a police officer shot who shot to death during a March 2020 traffic stop won't be charged. Sanders was unarmed at the time. KSHB's Andres Gutierrez reports.

(CNN) Jahmil French, an actor known for his role as Dave Turner on the Canadian series "Degrassi: The Next Generation," has died, according to his manager, Gabrielle Kachman. "It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of a dear friend and client Jahmil French," Kachman said in a statement. "He will be remembered by many for his passion for the arts, his commitment to his craft, and his vibrant personality. I ask that you keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time." "Soundtrack" creator Joshua Safran on Twitter paid tribute to the young star, writing, "I can confirm my good friend, co-worker, and all around inspiration, Jahmil French, passed away yesterday.

Authorities in Missouri say they will not file charges against the Kansas City police officer who shot and killed Donnie Sanders, a 47-year-old unarmed Black man, in March 2020. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker made the announcement Monday and said a witness corroborated the officer's belief that Sanders was moving toward him with what he thought was a weapon. One witness "said he was 'pointing whatever it was' at the officer,'" and later said they also thought it appeared to be a gun. The Kansas City Star reported that the police dashcam footage showed an officer making a U-turn and following Sanders into an alley before he turned on his sirens and lights. The officer later pursues Sanders by foot, off camera, where shouting and gunshots can be heard.

Andrew Cuomo speaks during a press conference before the opening of a COVID-19 vaccination site in Queens, New York, on Feb. 24. It is this face that a friend captured Anna Ruch making the moment she said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo grabbed her cheeks and asked, “Can I kiss you?” at a wedding in 2019. Ruch told The New York Times that she first met Cuomo at the aforementioned wedding reception back in September 2019. “I didn’t have a choice in that matter,” Ruch told the Times, explaining why the incident had left her rattled.

To that end, the Biden administration told governors Tuesday to prepare for their supplies of vaccine to continue to climb over the coming weeks. Biden had originally suggested that the supply would be enough to vaccinate every adult American by the end of July. The company has promised to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June. Now, amid the global clamor for more vaccine doses, those heavyweights are helping manufacture doses for less-experienced rivals whose vaccines won the first emergency authorizations from regulators. GlaxoSmithKline, which makes vaccines against shingles, hepatitis, meningitis and many childhood illnesses, has focused its COVID-19 efforts on combining its adjuvant technology with rival companies’ vaccines.

“I didn’t hear anything today that convinced me that there was justification that I’d apply to any administration,” Murphy added. And Democrats have made clear that they aren’t willing to give Biden a pass just because of partisan allegiances. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said the Biden administration has yet to schedule a briefing for the senators who sit on his panel, adding that he is continuing to push for one. Senators from both parties have expressed frustration that they were not given sufficient notification about the strikes and that Biden ordered them without first seeking congressional approval. I’m on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees.

States are also discouraged from using exams to determine students' final grades or whether they’ll advance to the next grade. Some education leaders argue that a flexible approach to testing is one way to track student achievement during an unpredictable year. The state plans to let schools hold off testing until later this year, Ortega said, partly to ensure more students participate. California’s state education board voted to request flexibility from the federal government, adding to a list of local authorities that already hoped to skip broad standardized tests this spring. “All the assumptions that go behind standardized testing are false in 2021, because of pandemic-related learning conditions.”Overall testing data that emerges this year “will be meaningless,” Schaeffer argued.

To that end and to help anyone shopping for Dr. Seuss-like children’s books, we’ve compiled some alternatives, including popular classics and contemporary options. “Tiara’s Hat Parade” by Kelly Starling LyonsNEA’s pick for the month of March, “Tiara’s Hat Parade” is centered around young Tiara and her mother, who gives up her dream of owning a hat shop when another hat shop opens up nearby with much less expensive hats. Tiara ends up helping her mother in this illustrated children’s book that’s recommended for ages five and six. “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown“Goodnight Moon” could be one of the books you can add to your child’s bedtime routine. Another classic that kids might love from Silverstein’s is “The Giving Tree.”Follow NBCBLK on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Like many vaccine makers, Johnson & Johnson uses cells originally derived from fetal tissue in the manufacturing of the vaccine. In a statement on Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson said there's "no fetal tissue in our Janssen Covid-19 vaccine." The New Orleans Archdiocese statement offered only the slightest opening for followers seeking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, saying that taking any of the Covid-19 protections remain an issue "of individual conscience in consultation with one's healthcare provider." "I would point out that I don’t read his statement as completely telling people, who are Catholic or otherwise, not to avail themselves of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine." Edwards said he'll work to create a system in which vaccine seekers will be told if their appointment will be for Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer.

Gina Raimondo to serve as President Joe Biden’s commerce secretary and help guide the economy's recovery during and after the coronavirus pandemic. Raimondo, 49, was the first woman elected governor of Rhode Island and is serving her second term. U.S. companies need to get a license to sell sophisticated technology to companies on the list. He said it would have been a simple matter for Raimondo to commit to keeping Huawei and others on the Entity List. Raimondo’s private sector experience really means a lot," said Sen. Maria Cantwell, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Oscar- and Grammy-winning hip hop artist Common reflects on music today, his pioneering work as a “conscious" artist, equality and feminism in hip hop, and his new song addressing an American double standard that "loves" Black people as entertainers -- but does not love them when they face discrimination and police violence. This in-depth discussion is the new installment of “Mavericks with Ari Melber,” a series of interviews with artists, musicians and cultural icons. Warning: this video contains some adult language.

President Biden announced a partnership between Johnson & Johnson and Merck in order to increase production of Covid-19 vaccines to help combat the pandemic. The president thanked both companies, who are usually competitors, for being "good corporate citizens" as the nation deals with the crisis.

Country singer Dolly Parton joked about receiving her Covid-19 shot Tuesday at Vanderbilt Health in Tennessee, alluding to the fact that she helped fund the Moderna vaccination. “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” Parton sang. @VUMChealth pic.twitter.com/38kJrDzLqC — Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) March 2, 2021Parton encouraged people to “get out there and get your shot” before showing her own vaccination, administered by her friend Dr. Naji Abumrad. Her participation in the Moderna vaccine research was revealed in a preliminary report that credited “the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund" in November. The Food and Drug Administration authorized Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in December, the second vaccine to be given the special authorization.