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8:35 AM ET, February 19, 2021

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
Ted Cruz's Cancún Trip: Family Texts Detail His Political Blunder  —  The Texas senator faced fierce blowback for fleeing his state as a disaster unfolded.  Text messages sent by his wife revealed a hastily planned trip away from their “FREEZING” family home.
RELATED:
Michael Hardy / New York Magazine:
Ted Cruz Abandons Millions of Freezing Texans and His Poodle, Snowflake  —  After jaunting off to Cancún with his family Wednesday night, Senator Ted Cruz explained that he was merely escorting his teenage girls on a vacation trip with their friends.  In an apparent bid for sympathy …
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Top Texas Republicans on the ropes after tone-deaf storm response  —  The brutal winter storm that turned Texas roads to ice, burst pipes across the state and left millions of residents shivering and without power has also damaged the reputations of three of the state's leading Republicans.
CNN:
Ted Cruz has repeatedly slammed politicians for vacationing during crisis  —  (CNN)Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is facing backlash for traveling to Mexico as a winter disaster ravages his home state, has repeatedly criticized politicians who vacationed or took part in leisure activities during times of crisis, a CNN KFile review finds.
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Reince reemerges as Cruz crashes  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  SCOOP: REINCE PRIEBUS has been calling key GOP officials and operatives in Wisconsin the past week and signaling he's seriously exploring a bid for governor of his home state in 2022, two sources with knowledge of the calls told Playbook.
Lauren Larson / Texas Monthly:
13 Curses to Mutter Against Ted Cruz While You Boil Snow to Drink
Discussion: Daily Kos
Christopher Hahn / Occupy Democrats:
Ted Cruz's Cancun scandal is a second Alamo for Texas Republicans
New York Times:
Manhattan D.A. Recruits Top Prosecutor for Trump Inquiry  —  The Manhattan district attorney has enlisted a former federal prosecutor who is an expert on white-collar crime to join the team investigating the Trump family business.  —  As the Manhattan district attorney's office steps …
RELATED:
Reuters:   Trump's former fixer Cohen interviewed by Manhattan DA's office and newly hired litigator
New York Daily News:   Ex-Gotti Jr. prosecutor joins Manhattan DA's Trump probe, has already interviewed Michael Cohen
Whitney Wild / CNN:
6 Capitol Police officers suspended, 29 others being investigated for alleged roles in riot  —  (CNN)Six US Capitol Police officers have been suspended with pay, and 29 others have been placed under investigation, for their actions in the January 6 riot, a department spokesman said Thursday.
RELATED:
Lindsay Watts / WTTG-TV:
6 Capitol police officers suspended, 35 under investigation after Capitol riot, spokesperson says
Discussion: The Hill and Washington Examiner
Issues & Insights:
Exposed: The Media Has Been Lying About The Capitol Protests
Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic:
Don't Read This If You Were a Rush Limbaugh Fan  —  As a radio broadcaster, Rush Limbaugh, who died yesterday, was a great success: He pioneered his genre, attracted millions of listeners for several decades, and grew fantastically wealthy.  Many good people were used to his daily company …
RELATED:
Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
Rush Limbaugh's Complicated Legacy  —  He was a gifted entertainer and advocate, but in his later years certain flaws became more evident.  —  I meant to talk about something else this week, but my thoughts keep circling back to Rush Limbaugh.  His obituaries in the mainstream press were mostly judgment, no mercy.
MICHAEL P. RAMIREZ:
RUSH LIMBAUGH R.I.P.
Discussion: Power Line
Erin Douglas / The Texas Tribune:
Texas was “seconds and minutes” away from catastrophic monthslong blackouts, officials say  —  Officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said that grid operators implemented blackouts to avoid a catastrophic failure that could have left Texans in the dark for months.  —  Copy link
RELATED:
Stephen Groves / Associated Press:
GOP's Thune says Trump allies engaging in ‘cancel culture’  —  PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — U.S. Sen. John Thune on Thursday criticized Republican activists and party leaders for engaging in “cancel culture” by rushing to censure GOP senators who found former President Donald Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection.
Discussion: The Hill and WTOP
RELATED:
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
It's still too soon to suggest that Jan. 6 prompted any massive GOP exodus
Discussion: CNN and NPR
New York Times:
Cracked Pipes, Frozen Wells, Offline Treatment Plants: A Texan Water Crisis  —  Electricity was restored to most Texans who had lost power after a winter storm, but water systems for nearly two-thirds of residents were disrupted, leaving millions without drinkable water.
Discussion: CNN, Eater and AustinGO RSS
RELATED:
Andrew Blankstein / NBC News:
California investor who donated nearly $1M to Trump inauguration sentenced to 12 years in prison  —  A Federal Judge in California on Thursday sentenced a venture capitalist who donated nearly $1 million to former President Donald Trump's inaugural committee to 12 years in prison …
Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Raw Story
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
After Years of Chaos, the White House Is Definitely in Different Hands  —  Biden's new chief of staff, like the new President, is a serious Washington lifer.  —  Donald Trump made numerous outrageous but not necessarily consequential decisions throughout his Presidency …
Discussion: Politico and Informed Comment
Aamer Madhani / Associated Press:
Biden to lay out his foreign policy at G-7, Munich summit  —  Joe Biden will make his first big appearance on the global stage as president Friday  —  Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.  —  WASHINGTON — Joe Biden will make his first big appearance on the global stage …
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Bloomberg
RELATED:
Nahal Toosi / Politico:
Biden aides debate how, or if, to save original Iran deal
Michelle Nichols / Reuters:   U.S. rescinds Trump White House claim that all U.N. sanctions had been reimposed on Iran
Laura Krantz Globe / The Boston Globe:
Cornel West threatens to leave Harvard again  —  Harvard University professor Cornel West, the well known philosopher, progressive political activist, and outspoken social critic, is threatening to leave Harvard University after he said the administration disrespected him by denying his request to be considered for tenure.
Discussion: Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
Pfizer Vaccine Is Highly Effective After One Dose and Can Be Stored in Normal Freezers, Data Shows  —  Peer-reviewed study comes as some governments debate whether to delay second vaccine doses  —  The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE generates robust immunity …
Marty Makary / Wall Street Journal:
We'll Have Herd Immunity by April  —  Covid cases have dropped 77% in six weeks.  Experts should level with the public about the good news.  —  Amid the dire Covid warnings, one crucial fact has been largely ignored: Cases are down 77% over the past six weeks.  If a medication slashed cases by 77%, we'd call it a miracle pill.
Discussion: National Review
Wall Street Journal:
Nursing-Home Death Data Was Sought From Cuomo by U.S. Prosecutors  —  Request came after governor's top aide told lawmakers information was delayed out of fear Trump would politicize it  —  Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn sought data this month on nursing-home deaths from New York …
Washington Examiner:
Frozen windmills show the need for fossil fuels and nuclear power  —  President Biden and his appointees frequently talk about a clean energy future in which carbon-emitting fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas are all replaced by windmills and rainbows.  But that future is a lot colder and darker than they admit.
Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Release of intelligence report on Khashoggi killing could push already strained U.S.-Saudi relations to new lows  —  Facing court cases and its own promises of transparency, the Biden administration is about to release a long-sought U.S. intelligence report concluding that Saudi Crown Prince …
Melissa Quinn / CBS News:
Biden gets chance to leave mark on federal judiciary as judges step aside  —  Washington - The opportunity for President Biden to make his own stamp on the federal judiciary and chip away at his predecessor's impact on the courts has quickly come knocking at the White House's door …
Discussion: Above the Law
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
James Murdoch, Who Publicly Broke With Family Over Climate Change, Took $2.2 Million In ‘Personal’ Flights On Corporate Jet  — James Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, took $477,000 in personal flights on his family company's corporate jet in 2018, his last year as CEO of 21st Century Fox, records show.
CNN:
Allegations of shackled students and gang rape inside China's detention camps  —  Hong Kong (CNN)On the first day of her new teaching job at a Chinese government-run detention center in Xinjiang, Qelbinur Sidik said she saw two soldiers carry a young Uyghur woman out of the building on a stretcher.
Discussion: DFRLab
Stef W. Kight / Axios:
Gerrymandering is about to get even more chaotic  —  The next round of congressional redistricting is shaping up to be a mess, beset by even more complications and lawsuits than usual.  —  Why it matters: This process will likely help Republicans pick up seats in the House in 2022.
Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
The Virginia G.O.P. Voted on Its Future.  The Losers Reject the Results.  —  In a sign of the Trump era's lingering alternate realities, Republicans in the struggling state party are refusing to move forward with a new system for choosing nominees.  —  ARLINGTON, Va. — The Republican Party …
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Biden can't negotiate with Iran as its proxies attack U.S. troops  —  On Monday, armed militants launched rockets at a U.S. air base in northern Iraq.  The Biden administration still hadn't weighed in on who was responsible as of Thursday evening, even though an Iranian-linked Iraqi Shiite militia quickly claimed credit.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Samantha Schmidt / Washington Post:
Equality Act introduced in House to provide sweeping LGBTQ protections
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
The Book That Should Change How Progressives Talk About Race
Glenn H. Reynolds / New York Post:
Media's censorious gatekeepers are mad — because they're losing power
Discussion: RedState and The Daily Caller
Roby Brock / Talk Business & Politics:
Sen. Hendren leaves GOP for Independent status; forms new ‘Common Ground’ effort
Discussion: Arkansas Online and The Hill
Morgan / Navigator:
The Public Supports Biden's Economic Agenda
Holly Otterbein / Politico:
MAGA crashes into moderates in train-wreck Senate race
Julia Terruso / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Malcolm Kenyatta is running for Senate in Pennsylvania
Discussion: WHYY
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Head Of Blue-Ribbon COVID Commission Has History Of Praising China, Criticizing US
Discussion: Instapundit
 Earlier Items: 
Tony Pipitone / NBC 6 South Florida:
DeSantis Omits Data on Child COVID Rates as He Touts Decision to Open Schools
Discussion: Raw Story
The COVID Tracking Project:
More Good News: This Week in COVID-19 Data, Feb 18
Discussion: Raw Story
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Republicans think they've found Biden's big weakness. But there's a problem.
Discussion: HotAir and Raw Story
Jessica Testa / New York Times:
Ella Emhoff Drops a Small (Very Small) Collection of Knits
Discussion: The Daily Beast and Washingtonian
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Ivanka Trump will not run against Marco Rubio for one of Florida's Senate seats.
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced she will leave the agency on January 20; she was the first woman to be confirmed to lead the agency

Guthrie Scrimgeour / Wired:
Hawaii's The Garden Island stops using AI-generated newscasters on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram after two months, likely due to the negative public response

Lachlan Cartwright / The Ankler:
Sources: MSNBC renewed Rachel Maddow's contract early this fall, but with a pay cut; MSNBC bosses' plan to shake up daytime and weekend programming

 
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