Top Items:
Jessica Sidman / Washingtonian:
Trump Hotel Employees Reveal What It Was Really Like Catering to the Right Wing Elite … Everyone knew Table 72 belonged to the President. The round booth in the middle of the Trump Hotel's mezzanine was impossible to miss. It didn't matter how many Congress members were clamoring …
Discussion:
Insider, Mediaite, Political Flare and Raw Story
Ashley Parker / Washington Post:
One night in Cancun: Ted Cruz's disastrous decision to go on vacation during Texas storm crisis — The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter's insights — Usually, it takes at least one full day in Cancun to do something embarrassing you'll never live down.
RELATED:
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.
Discussion:
National Review, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Post, RedState, Townhall, Forbes, The Daily Beast, UPROXX, HuffPost, REVOLT, Fox News, Poynter, The Nation, Crooks and Liars, The Wrap, Reason, PRESS RUN, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, IJR, Off the Kuff, Rolling Stone, Dallas Morning News, New York Post, Insider, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Common Dreams, Austin American-Statesman, Raw Story, Earther, CNN, Vanity Fair, Political Flare, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Twitchy, Occupy Democrats, The Week, Texas Democratic Party, FOX 46 Charlotte, Roll Call, San Antonio Current, Law & Crime, Media Matters for America, The Hill, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Bloomberg, spectator.us, CNBC, Deadline, Houston Public Media, Political Wire, Mother Jones and Texas Monthly, more at Mediagazer »
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.
Discussion:
The American Independent, ABC13, Houston Chronicle, Page Six and Raw Story
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.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Insider, The Daily Caller, The Hill, The American Independent, New York Times, The Week, HuffPost, The Daily Beast and Twitchy
Michael Hardy / New York Magazine:
Ted Cruz Abandons Millions of Freezing Texans and His Poodle, Snowflake
Ted Cruz Abandons Millions of Freezing Texans and His Poodle, Snowflake
Emily Brooks / Washington Examiner:
Flyin' Ted: Cruz said he flew to Cancun during weather crisis to be a ‘good dad’
Flyin' Ted: Cruz said he flew to Cancun during weather crisis to be a ‘good dad’
Discussion:
RedState, Crooks and Liars, The Hill and UPROXX
Ryan Cooper / The Week:
The Texas blizzard nightmare is Republican governance in a nutshell
The Texas blizzard nightmare is Republican governance in a nutshell
Discussion:
The Boston Globe, PREVAIL and Fox News
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
The devastating Texas-storm story centers Ted Cruz
The devastating Texas-storm story centers Ted Cruz
Discussion:
Houston Chronicle, HuffPost and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »
Ariane de Vogue / CNN:
Justice Sonia Sotomayor was targeted by gunman, federal judge tells ‘60 Minutes’ — Federal judge tears up over late son: I can't describe the pain — (CNN)US District Court Judge Esther Salas said that a gunman who killed her son and wounded her husband in 2020 had also set his sights …
Discussion:
The Hill
RELATED:
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 …
Discussion:
Pfizer, TechCrunch, STAT and The Week
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Capitol Police suspends 6 officers, investigates dozens in probe of Jan. 6 riot — The six officers were suspended with pay, and the department is looking into the behavior of more than two dozen others. — USCP's acting chief ordered that any officer whose behavior is not in keeping …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine
RELATED:
Andrea Salcedo / Washington Post:
An 11-year-old boy died in an unheated Texas mobile home. Authorities suspect hypothermia. — Even though he was still in bed after 2 p.m. on Tuesday under a pile of blankets in their unheated mobile home in Conroe, Tex., Maria Elisa Pineda wasn't concerned when she checked on her son.
Discussion:
The Hill, Houston Chronicle, Insider, Raw Story and ABC13
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:
Washington Post, RedState, Sara A. Carter, Politico, Townhall, Talking Points Memo, IJR, The Hill, HuffPost, CNN and WTOP
RELATED:
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:
Mediaite, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, RedState, Independent Women's Forum, OutKick and National Review
Joey Garrison / USA Today:
President Joe Biden planning trip to storm-ravaged Texas, but 'I don't want to be a burden' — WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Friday he plans to visit Texas next week following the state's brutal winter storm that left millions without power but will only go when he determines his presence won't be a “burden.”
Discussion:
The Hill, NPR, Fox News, Bloomberg and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
RELATED:
Martin Fletcher / Telegraph:
Anthony Fauci exclusive interview: ‘When I publicly disagreed with Trump he let terrible things happen’ — Labelled a ‘disaster’ by President Trump, who publicly lobbied against his top Covid adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci is now back in the spotlight — It is not easy to secure an interview …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Daily Beast, The Federalist, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze, Insider and Raw Story
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 …
Discussion:
NBC4 Washington
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.
Discussion:
The Dispatch, alicublog, Althouse and justoneminute.typepad.com
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
The Book That Should Change How Progressives Talk About Race — Heather McGhee writes that racism increases economic inequality for everyone. — When Heather McGhee was a 25-year-old staffer at Demos, the progressive think tank she would eventually lead, she went to Congress to present findings …
Politico:
‘Bullying, screaming’: In Albany, Cuomo wields phone as a weapon — ALBANY, N.Y. — Rep. Tom Reed was pulled off on the side of an upstate New York road, somewhere along the 40-mile stretch between Ithaca and Corning, being berated for about 45 minutes straight. — On the other end of the line: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Discussion:
Insider, Townhall, National Review, HotAir, RedState, Tennessee Star and Breitbart
Jane Harper / Virginian-Pilot:
Chesapeake man gets 3 years for driving truck toward Black Lives Matter protesters — A Chesapeake man was sentenced Thursday to three years in jail after he pleaded guilty to driving his truck toward a group of Black Lives Matter protesters and angrily confronting several of them while wielding a hatchet.
Discussion:
The Hill, cbs19news.com and Washington Examiner
Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:
It's time to kill the Iowa caucuses, if Democrats want to win at the state level again — I love the Iowa caucuses. — But for the good of our state, it's time to kill the Iowa caucuses. — The caucuses have defined my professional career in journalism and politics …
Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:
Fox News Anchor Bill Hemmer Warns Cancel Culture Could ‘Come After Bible Characters Next’ — Cancel culture could “come after Bible characters next,” warned Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer on Friday, during a segment about Chicago putting dozens of its monuments under review.
Karen Heller / Washington Post:
He was locked up at age 15. Almost seven decades later, he's reentering an unfamiliar world. — PHILADELPHIA — On a snow-flecked morning earlier this month, Joe Ligon stepped from his lawyer's car, his gait deliberate yet steady, his hair as white as cotton.
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Under Biden, Justice Department presses fight against Omarosa — The Biden Justice Department is showing no sign of letting up in a two-year-old legal fight against a former White House aide who became an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump. — While the Justice Department …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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
Megan Brenan / Gallup:
Americans Remain Largely Dissatisfied With U.S. Gun Laws — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fifty-six percent of Americans say they are dissatisfied with U.S. gun laws and policies, marking the ninth consecutive year of majority-level dissatisfaction since the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Discussion:
The Hill
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:
The Daily Caller and Raw Story
Anastasiia Carrier / Politico:
‘This Crap Means More to Him Than My Life’: When QAnon Invades American Homes — For months, Emily has been married to a ghost. The trouble began last summer, when her husband Peter, the man who once showered her with affection and doted on their kids, started to spend all of his free time online …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Mark Niesse / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Absentee and Sunday voting targeted in broad Georgia elections bill — In Georgia's most sweeping elections bill yet, Republican state representatives are seeking new absentee voting ID requirements, drop box restrictions and a ban on early voting on Sundays.
Discussion:
CNN, Mother Jones and Raw Story
Dr. Quentin Kidd / Christopher Newport University:
Summary of Key Findings — Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe opens Democrats' primary race for governor with a quarter of the vote (26%), but half of Democratic voters are undecided (49%). — State Sen. Amanda Chase leads Republican field for governor with 17%, with former Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox …
Discussion:
The Hill and Political Wire
Texas / The Texas Observer:
Nine Texans On How They Survived A Frozen Week — After an unprecedented freeze swept Texas, the state's grid approached a catastrophic blackout. Millions of Texans lost power or water—or both. … Michael Gienger … At 2 a.m. on Monday morning, the power went out at Galveston Central Church.
Kristen Holmes / CNN:
White House says it's responding to pressure to act fast on USPS problems — (CNN)The White House is working to quickly fill the vacant seats on the Postal Service Board of Governors. — “President Biden has made clear his feelings on the current leadership of the Postal Service …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
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:
Breitbart