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 …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Washington Post, New York Daily News, Newsweek, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Slate, National Review, The Texas Tribune, Patterico's Pontifications, Forbes, Snopes.com, Vanity Fair, The Week, The American Independent, New York Post, The Moderate Voice, POLITICUSUSA, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story, Juanita Jean's and Mediaite
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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, Insider, Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair, Occupy Democrats, BizPac Review, The Wrap, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
CNN:
Cruz travels to Cancun, Mexico, as millions of Texans remain without power amid historic winter storm — (CNN)Sen. Ted Cruz and his family flew to Cancun, Mexico, as a winter disaster in his home state left millions without power or water, according to photos posted on social media and confirmed …
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:
NBC News, CNBC, Politico, Al Jazeera, POLITICUSUSA, Political Flare, NBC4 Washington, UPROXX, Insider, Forbes, Mediaite, The Wrap, Twitchy, Raw Story and IJR
New York Times:
Senator Ted Cruz left Texas for Cancún as the state was battered by a brutal winter storm. — As Texas was battered by an icy storm and widespread power losses that left millions of residents freezing and fearing for their safety, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas left the state on Wednesday …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic, The Texas Tribune, Pharyngula, McSweeney's, Occupy Democrats, Insider, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and Townhall
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 …
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:
The Texas Tribune, Vanity Fair, POLITICUSUSA, LGBTQ Nation, UPROXX, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Crooks and Liars
The Texas Tribune:
Texas leaders failed to heed warnings that left state's power grid vulnerable to winter extremes, experts say
Texas leaders failed to heed warnings that left state's power grid vulnerable to winter extremes, experts say
Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Sen. Ted Cruz comes under fire after photos show him traveling to Cancún as Texans freeze
Sen. Ted Cruz comes under fire after photos show him traveling to Cancún as Texans freeze
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Axios and HotAir
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Biden Plan Would Offer Eight-Year Path to Citizenship for Millions — The proposal offers an eight-year path to citizenship for most of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, eliminates restrictions on family-based immigration and expands worker visas.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, Axios, Politico, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Florida Politics, The Wrap, Mediaite, Political Wire and Raw Story
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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, Mother Jones, Axios, Washington Post, Roll Call, Talking Points Memo, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, NBC News, UPI, Hackwhackers, CBS News, CNBC, Washington Times and NRSC
Mike Brest / Washington Examiner:
Bob Dole announces stage four lung cancer diagnosis
Bob Dole announces stage four lung cancer diagnosis
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Hill, Politico, CNN and Fox News
Politico:
Trump snubs Haley — SCOOP: NIKKI HALEY reached out to former President DONALD TRUMP on Wednesday to request a sit-down at Mar-a-Lago, but a source familiar tells Playbook that he turned her down. The two haven't spoken since the insurrection on Jan. 6, when Haley blasted Trump for inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol.
Discussion:
Insider, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Cincinnati.com, Mediaite, Raw Story and Political Wire
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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, Forbes, Fox News, Breitbart, Sean Hannity, Becker News, NBC New York, Townhall, The Guardian, RedState, IJR, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Western Journal, New York Times, The Daily Caller, HotAir, Twitchy, ABC News, Axios, Mediaite, New York Post, CNN, TheBlaze, Raw Story, Liberty Unyielding, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner and The Daily Poster, more at Mediagazer »
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Erin Durkin / Politico:
De Blasio rips ‘bullying’ Cuomo over nursing home controversy
De Blasio rips ‘bullying’ Cuomo over nursing home controversy
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Post, Townhall, RedState, HotAir, Jacobin and Common Dreams
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
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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, Forbes, Zandar Versus The Stupid 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, Slate, New York Times, The Week and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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 …
Rich Lowry / Politico:
What Trump Gets Wrong About McConnell — Well, it's on. — Donald Trump ended his post-presidency silence not with a blast at President Joe Biden, or at the left, or at the House impeachment managers, but at the true enemy—Mitch McConnell. — The Trump forces aren't forming a third party …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill, The American Spectator, The American Independent and Washington Post
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Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Biden-blessed immigration bill drops today — but even he's not sold
POLITICO Playbook: Biden-blessed immigration bill drops today — but even he's not sold
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Examiner, CNN, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Discourse Blog and The Week
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Smears Don't Diminish McConnell
Trump Smears Don't Diminish McConnell
Discussion:
Politico, The Dispatch, Washington Post, New York Times, Big League Politics, Washington Times, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, KTAB and Raw Story
Washington Post:
Mostly united over covid relief, Democrats face divisions over Biden's massive second economic plan — Fights loom on infrastructure, climate and other major — and competing — agenda items — Even as President Biden and congressional Democrats work to pass their $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill …
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Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Biden pushes expanded pathways to citizenship as immigration bill lands in Congress
Biden pushes expanded pathways to citizenship as immigration bill lands in Congress
Discussion:
Politico, National Review, IJR, New York Times and NBC4 Washington
Alexandra Jaffe / Associated Press:
Biden and congressional Democrats to unveil immigration bill
Biden and congressional Democrats to unveil immigration bill
Discussion:
USA Today, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, CNBC, New York Times, HotAir, Fox News, Reason, Los Angeles Times and Townhall
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 »
Chicago Tribune:
Michael Madigan resigns from Illinois House after being ousted as speaker, defends his legacy in face of ‘vicious attacks’ — By E. JASON WAMBSGANS / CHICAGO TRIBUNE “,sourceId: “119780616”,shareUrl: “https%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2 Fnews%2Fchi- illinois-politician-michael-madigan …
Discussion:
Human Events
John Nichols / The Nation:
While Texans Freeze, Governor Greg Abbott Lies About the Green New Deal — Republican politicians try—and fail—to deflect blame with outrageous spin. — Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been presiding over a waking nightmare, as millions of Texans have been freezing because of massive power outages caused …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story, Dallas Morning News and BizPac Review
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Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed News:
Trump Can Still Be The Republican Party's Future. Just Look To Arizona. — Arizona Republicans keep losing. But the Arizona Republican Party has already turned itself into a Trump machine, still trying to win an election that's long over. And that might be the future of conservatism.
Discussion:
Common Dreams
Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:
AP source: Police suggest keeping Capitol fence for months — WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Capitol Police officials told congressional leaders the razor-wire topped fencing around the Capitol should remain in place for several more months as law enforcement continues to track threats against lawmakers …
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Matt Fuller / HuffPost:
Capitol Police Investigate 2 GOP Lawmakers Over House Metal Detector Incidents
Capitol Police Investigate 2 GOP Lawmakers Over House Metal Detector Incidents
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Joe Concha / The Hill:
Simply the best: Why Rush Limbaugh was the GOAT of talk radio — Legendary. Unique. The GOAT (greatest of all time) of political talk radio. And it ain't even close. — Rush Limbaugh passed away Wednesday at the age of 70. He had battled Stage 4 lung cancer for more than a year …
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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
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:
Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, ABC News, Raw Story and Political Wire
Emily Stewart / Vox:
What, if anything, did the GameStop saga teach us? — What happened with GameStop exposed some real problems with the market. Nobody knows quite what to do about it. — Plenty of smart people think that someone should do something about whatever happened with GameStop in January.
Discussion:
Axios, NPR, Bloomberg, KRQE-TV, Insider and Al Jazeera, more at Techmeme »
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.
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.
Discussion:
Protocol, more at Techmeme »