McConnell says Taylor Greene's embrace of conspiracy theories a ‘cancer’ to GOP, country  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday blasted Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's embrace of “loony lies and conspiracy theories” as a “cancer for the Republican Party.”

Dolly Parton turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice  —  Besides being East Tennessee's songbird, country superstar Dolly Parton has always had a philanthropic side and it turns out even presidents have noticed!  —  The queen of country, 75, told TODAY in an interview …

Trump pollster's campaign autopsy paints damning picture of defeat  —  Former President Donald Trump has blamed the election results on unfounded claims of fraud and malfeasance.  But at the top levels of his campaign, a detailed autopsy report that circulated among his political aides paints …

Democrats will expand their Senate majority in 2022  —  With the announcement last week that Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) will forgo seeking a third term representing the Buckeye State, Democrats are increasingly bullish about expanding their slim majority in the midterm elections.

D.C. Claims Eminent Domain To Seize Infamous NoMa Wendy's Site  —  D.C. is using eminent domain to seize the Wendy's property in NoMa as part of a plan to transform the notorious “Dave Thomas Circle” intersection.  —  The District government filed an eminent domain case in D.C. Superior Court …

A Pennsylvania Mother's Path to Insurrection  —  How claims from Rudy Giuliani and Alex Jones spurred a parent of eight to become one of the Capitol riot's biggest mysteries and a fugitive from the F.B.I.  —  Before the pandemic, Rachel Powell, a forty-year-old resident of a small town …

Scoop: Fees — not just strategy — blew up Trump's legal team  —  Disagreements over legal strategy weren't the only reason Donald Trump's defense team collapsed just days before his second impeachment trial, Axios has learned.  —  What we're hearing: The notoriously stingy former president …

White House Reporters: Biden Team Wanted Our Questions in Advance  —  “It pissed off enough reporters for people to flag it” for the White House Correspondents' Association, one of The Daily Beast's sources said. … If you're a reporter with a tough question for the White House press secretary …

Trump Official's Last-Day Deal With ICE Union Ties Biden's Hands  —  A whistle-blower accused Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II of an abuse of power in making sweeping concessions to pro-Trump Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.  —  WASHINGTON — A whistle-blower complaint filed on Monday …

The Brazil Variant Is Exposing the World's Vulnerability  —  Editor's Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers.  Find the collection here.  —  Even in a year of horrendous suffering, what is unfolding in Brazil stands out.

Dustin Diamond Dead at 44 After Battle with Stage 4 Lung Cancer  —  REMEMBERING DUSTIN DIAMOND  —  Dustin Diamond — best known for playing the lovable Samuel “Screech” Powers on the hit NBC sitcom, “Saved by the Bell” — has died ... TMZ has learned.  —  A rep for Dustin tells us he died Monday morning.

Officer Who Shot Capitol Rioter Ashli Babbitt Shouldn't Be Charged, Investigators Advise  —  Ms. Babbitt died after being shot by Capitol Police officer on Jan. 6  —  WASHINGTON—Investigators have made a preliminary determination that the police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during …

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's final financial disclosures … Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner disclosed receiving between $23,791,645 and $120,676,949 in combined outside income in their final financial disclosure reports.  The disclosures cover the entirety of 2020 through January 20, 2021.

Schumer quietly nails down the left amid AOC primary chatter  —  Just a few weeks after a group of young climate activists, accompanied by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, orchestrated a highly publicized sit-in in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office in late 2018, their Sunrise Movement received an unexpected email from Chuck Schumer's staff.

Trump's Sleight of Hand: Shouting Fraud, Pocketing Donors' Cash for Future  —  With breathless, often misleading appeals, the former president promised small donors that he was using the money to fight the election results, but in fact stored much of it for future use.

Democrats risk unintended Medicare cuts if they pass partisan Covid relief … WASHINGTON — Democrats considering a maneuver to forgo bipartisan support to pass Covid-19 relief are confronting an unintended consequence: doing so could automatically cut Medicare.

Anti-vaccine protest at Dodger Stadium was organized on Facebook, including promotion of banned ‘Plandemic’ video  —  The activity shows how the social media site remains a critical organizing tool of the anti-vaccine movement  —  The Washington Post is providing this important information about the coronavirus for free.

Ga. bills would end no-excuse absentee voting, automatic registration  —  Republican state senators introduced a package of bills Monday to ban automatic voter registration, ballot drop boxes and no-excuse absentee voting in Georgia.  —  The proposals amount to an overhaul of Georgia's election laws …

Publix accountability  —  The riot at the Capitol on January 6 that left five people dead did not materialize out of thin air.  Rather, Trump supporters were instructed to come to Washington DC that day to attend a rally at the Ellipse, near the White House.

Biden administration eyes Rahm Emanuel for ambassadorship  —  WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is considering former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for a high-profile ambassadorship, potentially to China, three people with knowledge of the discussions said.  —  Becoming the U.S. ambassador …

Texas GOP fires staffer after he posted video from Capitol riot and spread false conspiracy theories at D.C. pizzeria  —  The field organizer was fired after The Texas Tribune asked about the posts on social media, which also included him praising the far-right Proud Boys.  —  Copy link

They stormed the Capitol to overturn the results of an election they didn't vote in  —  (CNN)They were there to “Stop the Steal” and to keep the President they revered in office, yet records show that some of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol did not vote in the very election they were protesting.

Biden to Free Up Billions in Delayed Puerto Rico Storm Aid  —  The administration plans to release $1.3 billion that was meant to help Puerto Rico rebuild after Hurricane Maria in 2017, and will remove restrictions on another $4.9 billion.  —  WASHINGTON — The Biden administration …

9 Top N.Y. Health Officials Have Quit as Cuomo Scorns Expertise  —  “When I say ‘experts’ in air quotes, it sounds like I'm saying I don't really trust the experts,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, referring to pandemic policies.  “Because I don't.”  —  The deputy commissioner for public health …

U.S. Hits Pandemic Milestone With More Vaccinated Than Cases  — 26.5 million people have gotten vaccine in U.S., data show  — About 1.34 million people a day being vaccinated on average  —  More Americans have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine than have tested positive …

Cash talks: The need for incentives in vaccine delivery  —  Vaccines save lives, but not when they sit on shelves.  If the Biden administration accelerates the health system's delivery of vaccines, it will save lives, reduce COVID-19's spread and hasten the pandemic's end.

Judge throws out Trump rule limiting what science EPA can use  —  Biden officials had asked the Montana federal judge to send back the Environmental Protection Agency rule limiting studies behind public health safeguards.  —  A federal judge on Monday vacated the Trump administration rule limiting …

Confederate names are coming down, but San Francisco is now taking on ... Abe Lincoln?  —  Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, cities and towns are belatedly but necessarily purging public spaces of the names and images of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the soldiers who served his treasonous, pro-slavery cause.

Biden's first days in office were way better than I expected … I have a confession to make.  During the Democratic presidential primaries, I was one of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden's fiercest critics on the left.  I reminded readers how he was the architect of the 1994 crime bill.

Republican State Legislatures Are Radicalizing Against Democracy  —  The Trump presidency is over.  But Trumpism is alive and well in state legislatures, which will serve as an incubator for GOP radicalism over the next four years.  —  Jim Brewster was cutting up with his colleagues …

Robinhood Raises Another $2.4 Billion From Shareholders  —  The $3.4 billion raised since last Thursday is more than it has raised in its entire prior existence  —  Robinhood Markets Inc. raised another $2.4 billion from shareholders, days after investors agreed to pump $1 billion …

Canada Post Carriers Suspended for Refusing to Deliver Pro-Trump Epoch Times  —  The newspaper, which has sent promo copies across the country, has come under fire for pushing pro-Trump and COVID-19 conspiracy theories.  —  SZ  —  Free copies of the Epoch Times, an international newspaper infamous …

It's Time: The COVID Tracking Project Will Soon Come to an End  —  After a year of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting COVID-19 data for the United States, we're ending our data compilation work in early March.  —  Every day for almost a year, hundreds of COVID Tracking Project contributors …

Let Civilians Run for Sheriff Again, New California Bill Proposes  —  The measure may pave the way for more sheriff candidates who want to challenge mass incarceration, but are currently banned from running.  —  California lawmakers are proposing to overturn a requirement that sheriff candidates have a law enforcement background.