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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

As Trump's latest intra-party feud rages, Sen. Graham heads to Mar-a-Lago on a peace mission  —  Lindsey Graham: I'm worried about GOP's chances in 2022  —  Washington (CNN)Sen. Lindsey Graham is heading to Mar-a-Lago this weekend to meet with Donald Trump in hopes of bridging a growing rift …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

You might have heard that Texas has its own power grid.  Did you know not all parts of the state use it?  —  Millions of Texans were left in the dark for days after winter storms triggered power outages.  But people in El Paso, the upper Panhandle and parts of East Texas kept their lights on …

U.S. Senate judiciary chair to retain GOP's ‘blue slip’ system of selecting some judges  —  Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate Judiciary Committee's new Democratic leader, is retaining a Republican rule that allowed President Donald Trump's judicial nominees to be confirmed to federal appeals courts over home-state senators' objections.

ABC ‘World News Tonight’ gives Cruz Cancun fiasco four times more coverage than Cuomo nursing home scandal  —  ‘CBS Evening News’ only network program to devote more time to Democrat's controversy Thursday  —  Justice Department, FBI investigating Cuomo nursing home scandal

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

‘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.

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.

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.

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 …

Indiana Republican lawmakers shout down, boo Black colleagues speaking about discrimination  —  Arika Herron Kaitlin LangeIndianapolis Star  —  INDIANAPOLIS - Tensions flared at the Indiana Statehouse Thursday when Republican lawmakers shouted down and booed Black lawmakers during floor debate …

Policing Leaders Praise DOJ Nominee Vanita Gupta.  One Group Is Smearing Her Anyway.  —  Biden's nominee for the No. 3 position at the Justice Department is a progressive civil rights lawyer with a lot of support from GOP and law enforcement leaders.  —  President Joe Biden's nominee …

Biden warns European allies that ‘democratic progress is under assault’  —  President Biden on Friday warned that “democratic progress is under assault” in the United States and Europe as he pledged support for the transatlantic alliance and called on countries to work together to address shared challenges.

Nebraska Sen. Julie Slama's winner-take-all Electoral College proposal draws opposition  —  LINCOLN — Opponents of returning Nebraska to a winner-take-all system of awarding Electoral College votes far outnumbered supporters at a legislative hearing Wednesday.

‘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 …

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 …

To Save Democracy, Principled Conservatives Must Ally with Democrats  —  The impulse to start a new anti-Trump conservative party or GOP splinter is admirable—but the present crisis demands a different response.  —  Appalled by the GOP's comprehensive degradation, a serious group …

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.