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2:45 PM ET, February 19, 2021

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 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 …
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:
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.
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.
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.
Michael Hardy / New York Magazine:
Ted Cruz Abandons Millions of Freezing Texans and His Poodle, Snowflake
Ryan Cooper / The Week:
The Texas blizzard nightmare is Republican governance in a nutshell
Discussion: The Boston Globe, Politico and PREVAIL
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
CNN:
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 …
RELATED:
Stephen Groves / Associated Press:
GOP's Thune says Trump allies engaging in ‘cancel culture’
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.
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.
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.”
RELATED:
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
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 …
RELATED:
Allan Smith / NBC News:
Biden admin targets Trump's let-the-water-flow legacy and other energy efficiency rules … Former President Donald Trump's effort to loosen regulations dictating the water-flow levels of many household appliances and fixtures is under threat with the Biden administration announcing it will launch …
Discussion: POLITICUSUSA
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 …
Andrew Freedman / Washington Post:
Devastating cold in Texas was forecast more than a week in advance  —  NOAA highlighted the threat beginning Feb. 5, while ERCOT's meteorologist also provided advanced notice.  —  The operators of Texas' electrical grid as well as state leaders and officials in surrounding states had ample warning …
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Discussion: Raw Story
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
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 …
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
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
Bob Egelko / San Francisco Chronicle:
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.
Discussion: Washington Post
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.
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
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
ABC News:
Biden addresses Munich Security Conference  —  Coming up in the next {{countdown}} {{countdownlbl}}  —  Coming up next:  —  {{nextVideo.title}}  —  {{nextVideo.description}}  —  Skip to this video now  —  Related Extras Related Videos Video Transcript  —  Transcript for Biden addresses Munich Security Conference
Discussion: Politico and CBS News
New York Times:
Heating Up Culture Wars, France to Scour Universities for Ideas That ‘Corrupt Society’  —  The government announced an investigation into social science research, broadening attacks on what it sees as destabilizing American influences.  —  PARIS — Stepping up its attacks on social science theories …
Discussion: The Daily Signal
 
 
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 More Items: 
Jan Wesner Childs / The Weather Channel:
Earthquake Rattles Oklahoma, Kansas
Discussion: The Daily Caller
Kristen Holmes / CNN:
White House says it's responding to pressure to act fast on USPS problems
Discussion: POLITICUSUSA
Martha Stoddard / Omaha World-Herald:
Nebraska Sen. Julie Slama's winner-take-all Electoral College proposal draws opposition
Discussion: Bloomberg
USA Today:
Indiana Republican lawmakers shout down, boo Black colleagues speaking about discrimination
Discussion: Raw Story
Jim Manly / MSN:
We need national summer school to help kids recover from learning lost in COVID pandemic
Discussion: Instapundit
Maleeha Syed / Burlington Free Press:
Burlington Republican Party Chair Kolby LaMarche will resign, leave party
 Earlier Items: 
Kelvin Chan / Associated Press:
UK top court gives Uber drivers benefits in landmark ruling
Dr. Quentin Kidd / Christopher Newport University:
Summary of Key Findings
Discussion: The Hill and Political Wire
Washington Examiner:
Frozen windmills show the need for fossil fuels and nuclear power
Holly Otterbein / Politico:
MAGA crashes into moderates in train-wreck Senate race
Discussion: Washington Post
CNN:
Allegations of shackled students and gang rape inside China's detention camps
Discussion: Breitbart
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
After Years of Chaos, the White House Is Definitely in Different Hands
Discussion: CBS News, Politico and Informed Comment
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered making a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

 
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