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 …

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.

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 …

Los Angeles Times Owner Exploring Sale of Company  —  Patrick Soon-Shiong seeks exit after less than three years at the helm, as losses mount  —  Billionaire biotech investor Patrick Soon-Shiong is exploring a sale of the Los Angeles Times less than three years after buying it for $500 million, people familiar with the matter said.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Uber Drivers Are Entitled to Worker Benefits, a British Court Rules  —  The decision was an important victory for labor activists in the U.S. and Europe who are pushing for better wages and stronger protections for gig economy workers.  —  Uber suffered a major defeat in one of its most important markets …

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 …

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.

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 …

‘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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

Earthquake Rattles Oklahoma, Kansas  —  At a Glance  — The quake struck on the state line about 150 miles north of Oklahoma City.  — The USGS gave it a preliminary rating of 4.2 magnitude.  —  An earthquake rattled parts of Oklahoma and Kansas Friday morning.

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.  —  By Texas Observer Staff  —  February 18, 2021 … Michael Gienger

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.

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 …

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.

Biden vs. the base?  The reality of Biden's scaled-back ideas on minimum wage, student loans isn't so simple.  —  For the past few weeks, Republicans have accused President Biden of abandoning his promises of bipartisanship with his executive actions, along with an attempt to push through a coronavirus relief package without GOP votes.