Top Items:
Fox News:
Ted Cruz flew to Cancun with his family amid power crisis in Texas: source — Millions in Texas without power, at least 20 dead — Texas outages is proof we need to expand energy options: Wesley Hunt — Sen. Ted Cruz flew to Cancun, Mexico, with his family this week as Texas dealt …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
AP source: Sen. Cruz went to Mexico on vacation amid storm — DALLAS (AP) — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has traveled to Mexico for a family vacation as his home state struggles with a weather crisis that has left much of Texas without power. — The high-profile Republican lawmaker went with his family …
Discussion:
Salon, Talking Points Memo, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, Raw Story and CBS News
Todd J. Gillman / Dallas Morning News:
Barbs fly at Ted Cruz for heading to Cancun as millions in Texas freeze without power — Fellow vacationers spotted the well-known Texas Republican and his family on flight from Houston — WASHINGTON — With 3 million Texans shivering in the dark, Sen. Ted Cruz jetted off to Cancun with his family …
Discussion:
Politico, Bloomberg, Snopes.com, Law & Crime, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA, The Wrap, Mediaite, Raw Story, Insider, IJR, UPROXX and Twitchy
Joseph Guzman / The Hill:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Texas Gov Abbott fire at each other over deadly winter storm, Green New Deal — More than 3 million Texans were without power as of Wednesday afternoon. — Story at a glance — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) criticized the Green New Deal Tuesday as his state …
Discussion:
NBC News, Washington Examiner and IJR
KSAT-TV:
Did Ted Cruz fly to Cancun during Texas' winter disaster? — Cruz hasn't commented but some Twitter sleuths believe they have proof — Kolten Parker, Digital Executive Producer — Photos circulating on Twitter late Wednesday purport to show Texas Senator Ted Cruz on a flight to Cancun …
Discussion:
Mock Paper Scissors, The Daily Caller, LGBTQ Nation, Crooks and Liars and Mediaite
The Texas Tribune:
Texas leaders failed to heed warnings that left state's power grid vulnerable to winter extremes, experts say — Texas officials knew winter storms could leave the state's power grid vulnerable, but they left the choice to prepare for harsh weather up to the power companies — many of which opted against the costly upgrades.
Discussion:
CNN, Reuters, CBS News, POWER Magazine, New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, News, San Antonio Current, The Week, KXAN-TV and The Hill
John Nichols / The Nation:
Governor Greg Abbott Is Telling Texas-Sized Lies About the Green New Deal — As Texans freeze because of massive power outages, Republican politicians try to deflect blame with outrageous spin. — Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been presiding over a waking nightmare …
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Examiner, Washington Post and BizPac Review
Wall Street Journal:
Texas Spins Into the Wind
Texas Spins Into the Wind
Discussion:
Instapundit and Media Matters for America
CNN:
Cruz travels to Cancun, Mexico, as millions of Texans remain without power amid historic winter storm
Cruz travels to Cancun, Mexico, as millions of Texans remain without power amid historic winter storm
Discussion:
New York Times, CNBC, VICE and The Hill
Karen Attiah / Washington Post:
It's time to bury the myth of Texas exceptionalism
It's time to bury the myth of Texas exceptionalism
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Hill, The Federalist, The Guardian and Raw Story
Brendan J. Lyons / Albany Times Union:
FBI, U.S. attorney in Brooklyn probing Cuomo administration on nursing homes — Investigation is in its early stages; no allegations of wrongdoing have been made — ALBANY — The FBI and the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn have launched an investigation that is examining, at least in part …
Discussion:
Insider, Fox News, Axios, The Guardian, Townhall, Becker News, The Daily Caller, The Western Journal, IJR, New York Times, RedState, NBC New York, Sean Hannity, ABC News, HotAir, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York Post, Twitchy, Mediaite, CNN, TheBlaze, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, Liberty Unyielding, The Daily Poster, HuffPost, Forbes and Gothamist, more at Mediagazer »
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Jesse McKinley / New York Times:
Cuomo Faces Revolt After Handling of Nursing Home Deaths — Democratic lawmakers have begun to challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo's handling of virus-related nursing home deaths, and the governor also faces a federal inquiry. — ALBANY, N.Y. — The Democratic leaders of the New York State Senate …
Erin Durkin / Politico:
De Blasio rips ‘bullying’ Cuomo over nursing home controversy
De Blasio rips ‘bullying’ Cuomo over nursing home controversy
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Week and Sean Hannity
Jimmy Vielkind / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Prosecutors Investigating How Cuomo Administration Handled Covid-19 in Nursing Homes
U.S. Prosecutors Investigating How Cuomo Administration Handled Covid-19 in Nursing Homes
Discussion:
New York Magazine, WTOP and Washington Examiner
New York Times:
A Grim Measure of Covid's Toll: Life Expectancy Drops Sharply in U.S. — American life expectancy fell by one year, to 77.8 years, in the first half of 2020. It may rebound as the pandemic's end approaches. — Life expectancy in the United States fell by a full year in the first six months of 2020 …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Slate
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Marilynn Marchione / Associated Press:
US life expectancy drops a year in pandemic, most since WWII
US life expectancy drops a year in pandemic, most since WWII
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Forbes and Hackwhackers
Lenny Bernstein / Washington Post:
Pandemic cut U.S. life expectancy by a year during the first half of 2020
Pandemic cut U.S. life expectancy by a year during the first half of 2020
Discussion:
NBC News, The Week and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Janet Adamy / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Life Expectancy Fell in First Half of 2020 as Covid-19 Deaths Surged
U.S. Life Expectancy Fell in First Half of 2020 as Covid-19 Deaths Surged
Discussion:
National Review
CNN:
White House announces sweeping immigration bill — What Biden has said he'll do about immigration — (CNN)The White House announced a sweeping immigration bill Thursday that would create an eight-year path to citizenship for millions of immigrants already in the country and provide …
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, Roll Call, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, UPI, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, NBC News, New York Times, CNBC, Washington Times and NRSC
RELATED:
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Live Updates: Biden's Immigration Plan to Be Introduced in House — Here's what you need to know: — The Democrats' immigration proposal offers an eight-year path to citizenship. — President Biden's allies on Capitol Hill plan to formally introduce his immigration overhaul in the House …
Discussion:
Fox News, Politico, Florida Politics, Raw Story, The Western Journal and National Review
Alexandra Jaffe / Associated Press:
Biden and congressional Democrats to unveil immigration bill
Biden and congressional Democrats to unveil immigration bill
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fox News, HotAir, NBC News, Reason, USA Today, Townhall, Los Angeles Times and The Hill
Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Why We're Taught to Not Speak Ill of the Dead — We used to widely honor the instruction to not speak ill of the dead, at least in media and public communications. But in our modern era of social media, the instinct is largely the opposite. When a prominent political figure passes away …
Discussion:
RedState, Three Martini Lunch and Issues & Insights
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Dan Froomkin / Press Watch:
Limbaugh obituaries show the mainstream media still fawning over the people who poisoned politics
Limbaugh obituaries show the mainstream media still fawning over the people who poisoned politics
Discussion:
National Review, The Nation, HEATED, HuffPost, Mediaite, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, PRESS RUN, CNN, Associated Press, TIME, The Hill, Insider, FiveThirtyEight, The Times of Israel, WTOP and KTLA, more at Mediagazer »
Ben Domenech / New York Post:
Appreciation: Rush Limbaugh remade talk radio — and modern conservatism
Appreciation: Rush Limbaugh remade talk radio — and modern conservatism
Discussion:
Politico, House Republican Leader and Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Rush Limbaugh's Legacy of Weaponizing Radio Commentary
Rush Limbaugh's Legacy of Weaponizing Radio Commentary
Discussion:
UPROXX, Washington Post, New Republic, Slate and Mediaite
Nicholas Quah / Vulture:
Reply All Is Having Its Own Reckoning Now — Oh, you like podcasts? Sign up for Vulture's new recommendation newsletter 1.5x Speed here. — Earlier this month, Reply All kicked off an ambitious miniseries, “The Test Kitchen,” which sought to take on one of the bigger stories …
Discussion:
The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »
CNN:
The Supreme Court is still sitting on Trump's tax returns, and justices aren't saying why — (CNN)Lawsuits involving Donald Trump tore apart the Supreme Court while he was president, and the justices apparently remain riven by him. — For nearly four months, the court has refused to act …
Mike Brest / Washington Examiner:
Bob Dole announces stage four lung cancer diagnosis — Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole has been diagnosed with lung cancer. — The 97-year-old Republican, a war hero who ran unsuccessfully as the 1996 Republican presidential nominee, announced he was “recently” …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Hill, Politico, CNN and Fox News
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Adam Edelman / NBC News:
Bob Dole diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer
Bob Dole diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer
Discussion:
USA Today, ABC News, The Daily Caller, New York Post and KRON4
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Biden-blessed immigration bill drops today — but even he's not sold — DRIVING THE DAY — SCOOP: House Minority Whip STEVE SCALISE (R-La.) made the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday to meet with the King of the GOP while fundraising in the area.
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Discourse Blog, Salon, Washington Post, Bloomberg and The Week
RELATED:
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Smears Don't Diminish McConnell
Trump Smears Don't Diminish McConnell
Discussion:
New York Times, The Dispatch, Big League Politics, TheBlaze, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and KTAB
The Daily Beast:
Trump Frets Foes Will Be ‘Suing Me for the Rest of My Life’ — Though the riot was the culmination of Trump's months of attempts to overturn the election, it's hardly the only incident that may have left the ex-president legally exposed. — A criminal investigation in the state of Georgia.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, ABC News and Political Wire
Julia Duin / Politico:
The Christian Prophets Who Say Trump Is Coming Again — Perched on a cream-colored armchair, Johnny Enlow, a 61-year-old, California-based Pentecostal pastor with short-cropped gray hair, a trim beard and Tom Selleck-style mustache, looked into the camera and prophesied that Donald Trump would become president again.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Politico:
It might just be game over for the Iowa caucuses — The siege of Iowa and New Hampshire has begun. — The two states with privileged places on the presidential primary calendar are finding their roles more threatened than ever before — most recently in the form of a bill introduced …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Benjamin Wermund / Houston Chronicle:
FEMA sending generators, water and blankets to Texas — WASHINGTON — The federal government is sending generators, water and blankets to Texas and is preparing to ship in diesel, as well, to help with backup power amid the massive outages that accompanied the recent cold snap, the White House announced on Wednesday.
Yue Stella Yu / The Tennessean:
Tennessee bill would grant fathers veto power over abortion, allow establishment of paternity without a woman's consent — In an effort to further restrict abortion in Tennessee, two Tennessee lawmakers have introduced legislation that would allow a father to deny an abortion without the pregnant woman's consent.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller and CNN
Mara Hvistendahl / The Intercept:
How Oracle Sells Repression in China … Police in China's Liaoning province were sitting on mounds of data collected through invasive means: financial records, travel information, vehicle registrations, social media, and surveillance camera footage. To make sense of it all, they needed sophisticated analytic software.
Zack Budryk / The Hill:
Nearly 5,000 National Guard troops to stay in DC over concerns of potential violence in March — Thousands of National Guard troops will remain in Washington, D.C., in early March amid concerns over followers of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, some of whom hold out hope former President Trump will be returned to office March 4.
Discussion:
CNN
Bronson Stocking / Townhall:
Here's What Trump Said When Asked If He's Running for President — On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump gave his first interviews since leaving the White House. While the former president discussed the remarkable life of radio legend and conservative icon Rush Limbaugh …
Discussion:
National Review and Washington Examiner
New York Times:
How a Liberal Lawyer in Georgia Took an Extreme Right Turn — W. McCall Calhoun Jr., who ran for office in Georgia as a Democrat, is a walking embodiment of his state's political contradictions. — AMERICUS, Ga.— Over the past three decades, as the state around him turned ever more resolutely Republican …
Daniel Dale / CNN:
Fact check: Biden makes at least four false statistical claims at CNN town hall — Washington (CNN)President Joe Biden took questions from Wisconsin residents and from Anderson Cooper at a CNN town hall event in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. — We're still looking into some of the claims Biden made …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, ABC News and The Western Journal