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.
Discussion:
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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.
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:
ABC13, Houston Chronicle, Washington Post, Fox News and Raw Story
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
The devastating Texas-storm story centers Ted Cruz — An epic winter storm spiraled across the South this week. In Texas, the temperature plummeted, driving demand for electricity; supply systems froze; soon, the power went out. As of Tuesday lunchtime, more than four million people had been affected.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Becker News and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, TMZ.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hackwhackers, Althouse, New York Post, ImmigrationProf Blog, The Wrap, UPROXX, Raw Story and ABC News
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:
The Hill, Insider, The Daily Caller, HuffPost, The Week, Twitchy, New York Times and The Daily Beast
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:
Slate, Washington Post and Hackwhackers
Houston Chronicle:
As Texans froze, Ted Cruz got a ticket to paradise. Paradise can have him.
As Texans froze, Ted Cruz got a ticket to paradise. Paradise can have him.
Discussion:
HuffPost, Raw Story, Daily Kos, New York Post, Yahoo News, Insider, CNBC and Mediaite
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 …
Discussion:
Insider, CNN, CANNONFIRE, Law & Crime, Washington Examiner, Political Wire and Raw Story
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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 …
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:
Althouse
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Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic:
Don't Read This If You Were a Rush Limbaugh Fan
Don't Read This If You Were a Rush Limbaugh Fan
Discussion:
CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, Raw Story, Newsbusters, Hollywood in Toto, Vox, Human Events and The 19th
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 …
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.
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Magazine, TheBlaze, UPI, HuffPost, The Week, Political Wire and Liberty Unyielding
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Issues & Insights:
Exposed: The Media Has Been Lying About The Capitol Protests
Exposed: The Media Has Been Lying About The Capitol Protests
Discussion:
David Stockman's Contra Corner and spiked
Lindsay Watts / WTTG-TV:
6 Capitol police officers suspended, 35 under investigation after Capitol riot, spokesperson says
6 Capitol police officers suspended, 35 under investigation after Capitol riot, spokesperson says
Discussion:
The Hill, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Examiner
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:
OutKick and National Review
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:
Talking Points Memo, IJR, HuffPost, The Hill and WTOP
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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:
The Federalist, Insider, TheBlaze and Raw Story
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
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Maeve Reston / CNN:
Nation's top governors under fire as three big states reckon with deadly crises
Nation's top governors under fire as three big states reckon with deadly crises
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, CBS News and LifeNews.com
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.
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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 …
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
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
NBC News:
It's been a brutal two months for the GOP — WASHINGTON — Just how brutal have the last two months been for the Republican Party and the conservative movement? — The party's biggest donor (Sheldon Adelson) passed away. — So did its most influential communicator over the last 25 years (Rush Limbaugh).
Discussion:
CNN, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Hill, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Florida Politics and Political Wire
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:
Houston Chronicle and ABC13
Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:
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 …
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Politico and Crooks and Liars
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
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:
HotAir, RedState, Townhall, Breitbart and The New Neo
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 …
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
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.
David Naftulin / UN Watch:
U.N. to elect Syria to top post fighting “subjugation of peoples” — On the same day that a UN commission of inquiry accused accusing Syria of “crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other international crimes including genocide,” the world body announced that the Assad regime will be elected …
Washington Post:
Biden memo for ICE officers points to fewer deportations and strict oversight — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will need preapproval from a senior manager before trying to deport anyone who is not a recent border crosser, a national security threat or a criminal offender …
Discussion:
Fox News, RedState, Breitbart and The Atlantic
Pfizer:
Pfizer and BioNTech Submit COVID-19 Vaccine Stability Data at Standard Freeze Temperature to the U.S. FDA — NEW YORK and MAINZ, GERMANY, February 19, 2021 — Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced the submission of new data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration …
Holly Otterbein / Politico:
MAGA crashes into moderates in train-wreck Senate race — PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey isn't running for reelection in 2022. But his vote to convict former President Donald Trump is already rocking the race to succeed him. — County parties have censured Toomey …