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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Biden can't negotiate with Iran as its proxies attack U.S. troops  —  On Monday, armed militants launched rockets at a U.S. air base in northern Iraq.  The Biden administration still hadn't weighed in on who was responsible as of Thursday evening, even though an Iranian-linked Iraqi Shiite militia quickly claimed credit.

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.

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

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 …

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 …

‘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.

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.

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 …

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.

UK top court gives Uber drivers benefits in landmark ruling  —  LONDON (AP) — Uber drivers in Britain should be classed as “workers” and not self-employed, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled Friday, in a decision that threatens the company's business model and holds broader implications for the so-called gig economy.

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).

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

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 …

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.

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 …

‘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 …

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.

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.