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Texas mayor tells residents to fend for themselves during power outage: ‘Only the strong will survive’ — By Tuesday morning, the residents of Colorado City, Tex., were getting anxious. More than 24 hours had passed since a deadly Arctic blast knocked out power across the state …
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New York Daily News, Dallas Morning News, Earther, KXAN-TV, CNN, Fox Business and Insider
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Texas largely relies on natural gas for power. It wasn't ready for the extreme cold. — Texas largely relies on natural gas — especially during times of high demand — to power the state. From pumping it out of the ground to the plants in city centers, experts say natural gas infrastructure …


No, frozen wind turbines aren't the main culprit for Texas' power outages — Lost wind power makes up only a fraction of the reduction in power generating capacity that has brought outages to millions of Texans across the state during a major winter storm. — Copy link


“We're in it alone”: Power outages leave millions of Texans desperate for heat and safety — Texas residents said the storm — and ensuing partial collapse of the state's power system — sapped what mental reserves they had left after eleven months of a global health crisis that has cost thousands …
Discussion:
The American Independent


The Texas grid got crushed because its operators didn't see the need to prepare for cold weather — Republicans blame frozen wind turbines, but the problem was much bigger than that — When it gets really cold, it can be hard to produce electricity, as customers in Texas and neighboring states are finding out.
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Bloomberg, UPROXX, Daily Kos, WFAA-TV, Federal Energy Regulatory …, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Times, Raw Story, The Week, UPI and New York Post


Texas Gov. Greg Abbott blames wind turbines, Green New Deal policies for outages. Critics call that ‘a lie.’ — As millions of people across Texas struggled to stay warm Tuesday amid massive cold-weather power outages, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) directed his ire at one particular failure …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, Insider and Bloomberg


Beto O'Rourke: ‘We are nearing a failed state in Texas’ due to Republican leaders — Former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke blamed Republican leaders in Texas for what he says was a failure to prepare for widespread power outages resulting from a massive winter storm that swept across the state this week.
Discussion:
The Texas Tribune, Sean Hannity, Austin American-Statesman and Raw Story


Colorado City mayor resigns, responds to his controversial Facebook post
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Talking Points Memo, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, Insider, TheBlaze and Fox News

ERCOT officials say they have no idea when Texas' power outages will end
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, KXAN-TV, Yourbasin, Austin American-Statesman, Off the Kuff, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Politico, Houston Public Media, Insider, The Texas Tribune and Vox

Why Texas' energy grid is unable to handle the winter storms
Discussion:
CNN, UPI, Forbes and Joe.My.God.

A Glimpse of America's Future: Climate Change Means Trouble for Power Grids
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KVIA-TV, The Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Beast, KHOU-TV, Breitbart, Bloomberg, WCMH-TV, ScienceAlert and Slate

Texas power outages: How the largest energy-producing state in the US failed in freezing temperatures

‘A complete bungle’: Texas' energy pride goes out with cold
Discussion:
HotAir, KRON4, Bangor Daily News and NBC10 Philadelphia


Trump attacks McConnell in fiery statement — Former President Donald Trump issued a caustic and highly personal statement against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday, effectively declaring war on the Kentucky Republican for failing to back his attempts to undermine the 2020 election.
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Axios, New York Times, Mediaite, RedState, UPROXX, The Root, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Times, BizPac Review, Breitbart, The Wrap, Deadline, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, UPI, The Week, KRQE-TV, Insider and POLITICUSUSA
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Mitch McConnell Has Learned Nothing And Forgotten Nothing
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Fox News, Crooks and Liars and The Bulwark

Democrats defend some GOP members against Q label
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Roll Call, The Dispatch and Fox News


CNN And NBC Both Paid $35,000 To Left-Wing Activist For Footage Of Fatal Capitol Shooting — A left-wing activist facing criminal charges for his involvement in the Capitol riots received $35,000 from both CNN and NBC for footage he recorded of a Trump supporter being fatally shot inside …
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The Baltimore Sun to be acquired by nonprofit from Tribune Publishing — Returning The Baltimore Sun to Maryland hands, the state's largest newspaper and its affiliates will be acquired by a nonprofit formed by businessman and philanthropist Stewart Bainum Jr. that would operate the media organization for the benefit of the community.
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New York Times, Washington Post, Poynter, PR Newswire, Columbia Journalism Review, Axios, PRESS RUN, Forbes, The Hill and The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »
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Hedge fund Alden to buy Tribune Publishing in deal valued at $630 million
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Denver Post and Chicago Sun-Times, more at Mediagazer »


Trump Era in Atlantic City Will End With 3,000 Sticks of Dynamite — An implosion of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, the last vestige of the former president's once-dominant brand in Atlantic City, N.J., is scheduled for Wednesday morning. — ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — It will not be the biggest or the best implosion ever.
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Associated Press, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Rolling Stone, The Week, Crooks and Liars and Mediaite


“Politically isolating”: White House issues obstruction warning to GOP — Mike Donilon, senior adviser to President Biden, argues in a memo to White House senior staff that GOP opposition to the COVID rescue package would shrink the party's already declining national support.
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Washington Examiner, Insider, Daily Kos and Off the Kuff
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Biden says he feels ‘a sense of history’ living at White House
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Insider, BizPac Review and Fox News


Brent Bozell IV, Son Of Prominent Conservative Activist, Charged In Capitol Riot — Online sleuths looked into Bozell because he wore the sweatshirt of a Christian school where he previously served as a girls' basketball coach. — Leo Brent Bozell IV, the son of conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III …
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Crooks and Liars, RedState, Law & Crime, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.
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Hacker Claims to Have Stolen Files Belonging to Prominent Law Firm Jones Day — Firm disputes network breach, says its file-transfer company was compromised — A hacker claims to have stolen files belonging to the global law firm Jones Day and posted many of them on the dark web.
Discussion:
Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
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News Corp and Google Agree To Global Partnership On News — Long-term Deal Involves Payment For Premium Content For Google News Showcase; — Will Yield Substantial Benefits For Journalism And Society — News Corp announced today that it has agreed to an historic multi-year partnership …
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico and The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »


The Crisis Candidate Maya Wiley believes she can be a better progressive mayor for our traumatized city than her former boss Bill de Blasio. — Maya Wiley's parents, both activists, raised her and her brother, Dan, to be resilient. In 1973, when Maya was 9 and her brother 10, their father, George Wiley, bought a small boat.


When You Don't Have Trump to Hide Behind — There's now space for other scandals. Witness the Lincoln Project. — In case you hadn't noticed, the Lincoln Project — an organization as pointedly anti-Trump as any other, its rise and political relevance symbiotically tied to his — is unraveling.
Discussion:
Althouse, Washington Free Beacon, The Wrap and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion


Crenshaw Reloaded — The Texas Congressman wants it both ways — Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw has some deep thoughts about what ails right-wing politics these days. — There is, he says, way too much “performance,” rather than persuasion. Too much much grift; too much talking about …


Only the truth will keep Trump away — And now he's really gone, acquitted under the rules yet condemned by the facts, nursing his grievances and planning his comeback from isolation at Mar-a-Lago. For the country, the question is how to ensure that Donald Trump remains there while the nation tries …
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Reuters, Detroit Metro Times, Townhall, Al Jazeera, Associated Press and Becker News
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Princess Latifa: UN to question UAE about Dubai ruler's daughter — The United Nations has said it will raise the detention of Princess Latifa, the daughter of Dubai's ruler, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). — Princess Latifa has accused her father of holding her hostage in Dubai since she tried to flee the city in 2018.
Discussion:
Sky News and The Daily Beast


Who paid for Texas AG Ken Paxton to travel to DC for the Jan. 6 rally? We asked. He won't answer — The state paid for the attorney general's second in command to travel to Washington the week of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, but said the agency did not fund Paxton's trip.


The Post-Trump GOP — Florida's DeSantis offers one possibility for the party's future — Republicans in search of a promising politician capable of assembling a post-Trump coalition need look no further than Florida governor Ron DeSantis. — A pugnacious populist by disposition …
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid, Politico, National Review and Twitchy


2021 TIME100 Next — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said the “ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Over the past few months, Congressman Adam Kinzinger has stood up for the truth …


The False and Exaggerated Claims Still Being Spread About the Capitol Riot — Insisting on factual accuracy does not make one an apologist for the protesters. False reporting is never justified, especially to inflate threat and fear levels. — 1 hr ago
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The Federalist, Big League Politics, Digby's Hullabaloo, Snopes.com, Instapundit and Newsbusters


‘Hell or high water:’ Manchin tells Biden he won't back push to skirt Senate rules on relief bill — (CNN)West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has privately informed President Joe Biden that he won't join any Democratic efforts to force through provisions in his economic rescue package if they are ruled …
Discussion:
Political Wire


Scoop: Doug Wardlow announces run for Minnesota's attorney general — Republican Doug Wardlow is officially launching his second bid for Minnesota attorney general, Axios has learned. — The state of play: Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, edged out Wardlow by four percentage points in 2018 …
Discussion:
Raw Story