How the White House botched the Neera nomination  —  Just about everyone in Washington, D.C., could see that Neera Tanden's nomination to head the Office of Management and Budget was beleaguered from the beginning — everyone, that is, except the White House.

Retired NYPD Cop Once Assigned to Secure City Hall Accused of Pipe Attack on Capitol Police  —  What to Know  — Thomas Webster surrendered Monday at the FBI's Hudson Valley office on charges filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. related to the deadly U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6

McConnell to support Garland for attorney general  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will support Merrick Garland's nomination for attorney general, five years after blocking the judge's path to the Supreme Court.  —  “I do,” McConnell told POLITICO Tuesday afternoon when asked if he plans to back Garland.

The Sunday Shows Are Hopelessly Broken  —  Jonathan Karl, the guest host of ABC's This Week, knew exactly what he was doing on Sunday when he asked Republican Representative Steve Scalise if the 2020 election was stolen.  This was, on its face, a simple and straightforward question.

California's coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: ‘The devil is already here’  —  A coronavirus variant that emerged in mid-2020 and surged to become the dominant strain in California not only spreads more readily than its predecessors, but also evades antibodies generated …

Scoop: Biden will call Saudi king ahead of damning report  —  President Biden plans to call Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Wednesday, ahead of the public release of a potentially damning intelligence report about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a source briefed on the call told Axios.

Inside the new $65 million push from progressives to compete with conservative media  —  It's called the Project for Good Information, and it raises big questions about the future of the information wars.  —  A prominent Democratic strategist is planning a new $65 million effort …

NY Prosecutors Are Looking at Don Jr. in Trump Biz Probe  —  The Daily Beast has learned that investigators have been asking questions in recent days about Trump's eldest son as they expand their criminal probe into Trump's business empire. … For months, some of Donald Trump's top advisers …

Four ERCOT board members who live outside of Texas resign in the aftermath of the power outage, winter storm  —  Sally Talberg, board chair; Peter Cramton, vice chair; Terry Bulger, finance and audit chair; and Raymond Hepper, human resources and governance committee chair …

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Poet Who Nurtured the Beats, Dies at 101  —  An unapologetic proponent of “poetry as insurgent art,” he was also a publisher and the owner of the celebrated San Francisco bookstore City Lights.  —  Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a poet, publisher and political iconoclast …

Arizona Man Is Accused of Faking Own Kidnapping to Evade Work  —  When the police arrived, they found the man with his hands bound behind his back by a belt and a bandanna “stuffed in his mouth” in Coolidge, Ariz.  —  The authorities in Arizona accused a man of going to extreme lengths …

Climbing the Bell Curve to the Cathedral  —  Notes on reactionary sea lions  —  Some folks aren't thrilled about my previous post, “Grey Lady Steel Man.”  It seemed to distress Curtis Yarvin (aka Mencius Moldbug) in particular.  He penned a defensive, typically catty ad hominem response in his inimitably hysterical prose style.

Al Jazeera to launch rightwing media platform targeting US conservatives  —  Rightly will be led by a former Fox News journalist and is aimed at Republicans who ‘feel left out of conservative media’  —  Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based news network that has previously sought to become …

Covid-19 Live Updates: Studies Examine Variant Surging in California, and the News Isn't Good  —  The East Coast of the United States is still a hot spot as new coronavirus cases have declined across the country and the nation surpassed 500,000 deaths.  Around the world, new cases have declined …

Elon Musk moved to Texas and embraced celebrity.  Can Tesla run on Autopilot?  —  Investors fear a world where Musk no longer leads the company.  But his attention is already going elsewhere.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk says he is stretched too thin.  —  The chief executive …

NRSC CHAIRMAN RICK SCOTT: REPUBLICAN CIVIL WAR HAS BEEN CANCELLED  —  MEMO  —  TO: REPUBLICAN VOTERS, ACTIVISTS, LEADERS, DONORS  —  FROM: SENATOR RICK SCOTT, NRSC CHAIRMAN  —  RE: REPUBLICAN CIVIL WAR HAS BEEN CANCELLED  —  DATE: FEBRUARY 23, 2021  —  The long running impeachment show is now over.

‘Bad politics for them’: GOP sneers at Dem Covid bill  —  Republicans are making a risky but calculated bet: that voters won't punish them for opposing a popular $1.9 trillion coronavirus bill.  —  With President Joe Biden and Democrats barely even seeking their input …

Now Ted Cruz may be buying his own books through a mystery company  —  If Cancún Ted is paying royalties to himself through a shadow entity, that could stir the FEC into action  —  One day before the Georgia Senate runoff elections — and two days before the Capitol insurrection …

U.S. Postal Service Awards Contract to Launch Multi-Billion-Dollar Modernization of Postal Delivery Vehicle Fleet  — Oshkosh Defense Will Finalize Design of Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV), Delivering Up to 165,000 of the U.S.-Built Vehicles Over the Next Decade

Biden's slow start  —  With help from Renuka Rayasam and Tyler Weyant  —  TIME KEEPS ON SLIPPING — For the past few weeks, Democrats have comforted themselves about the slow clip of Joe Biden's cabinet confirmations by noting he was on track to get all of his nominees confirmed.

A Simple Rule of Thumb for Knowing When the Pandemic Is Over  —  At some point—maybe even soon—the emergency phase of the pandemic will end.  But what, exactly, is that magic threshold? … In the middle of January, the deadliest month of the pandemic, one day after inauguration …

Liz Cheney calls on Republicans to “make clear we aren't the party of white supremacy”  —  Liz Cheney, the third ranking House Republican, on Tuesday called on the Republican party to “make clear we aren't the party of white supremacy.”  Cheney's remarks came during an event hosted by the Reagan Institute.

Moderate Senate Democrats target state aid fund in Biden covid relief bill  —  Disputes grow over minimum wage, aid to states and other issues  —  Even as the House prepares to pass President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill this week, divisions are growing among Senate Democrats …

It's Bigger than Fox News: Time for Mainstream Journalism to Reckon with Monetizing Disinformation and Eroding Truth  —  “Anti-Black racism is a national security threat.”  Those were the simple, direct words of disinformation specialist Mutale Nkonde, CEO of AI for the People, on a listserv of journalists and academics recently.

Britney Spears Was Never in Control Why did I ever believe a teen girl could hold all the power?  —  The New York Times's Framing Britney Spears documentary casts a spell.  I am thinking specifically of the stretch that chronicles Spears's rise as a teen idol, starting with the “Baby One More Time” video.

Top Senate Republican has ‘serious concerns’ over Pentagon policy pick  —  The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee has “serious concerns” over the nomination of Colin Kahl, President Joe Biden's pick to run the Pentagon's policy shop.  —  The news comes as the committee plans …

Pence speaks highly of Trump in meeting and plans to launch a political group  —  Did Pence feel betrayed after riot?  His former chief of staff responds  —  (CNN)Former Vice President Mike Pence told a group of conservative lawmakers on Tuesday that he maintains a close personal friendship …

Bill requiring ID for absentee voting passes Georgia Senate  —  The Georgia Senate approved a bill Tuesday requiring more identification for absentee voting, the first elections measure to clear either legislative chamber as lawmakers consider new voting rules after last year's heated presidential race.

House Democrats, Targeting Right-Wing Cable Outlets, Are Assaulting Core Press Freedoms  —  Democrats' justification for silencing their adversaries online and in media — “they are spreading fake news and inciting extremism” — is what despots everywhere say.  —  5 hr ago

Georgian opposition leader arrested, deepening the political crisis in the South Caucasus country  —  MOSCOW — Georgian authorities arrested the South Caucasus country's top opposition leader Tuesday, deepening its political rift and plunging yet another ex-Soviet state into crisis.

One America News clashes again with White House correspondents over Trump-approved camera tent  —  One America News, the upstart right-wing cable channel that was granted special status by the Trump White House, is clashing again with its mainstream colleagues on the presidential beat.

We Have PTSD About COVID Reality  —  We don't have to undersell our COVID future now just because people oversold it in the past.  —  1 hr ago  —  1. 500,000  —  Half a million dead Americans.  Does that even register for people?  —  I want to show a couple tweets from a conservative gentleman …

Vehement opposition to Deb Haaland ‘motivated by something other than her record’  —  First Native American nominee should get the same respect paid to other Interior secretary picks.  —  Our public lands lie at the heart of our identity and shared heritage as Americans.

This 105-Year-Old Beat Covid.  She Credits Gin-Soaked Raisins.  —  Lucia DeClerck, the oldest resident of her New Jersey nursing home, tested positive for the virus on her 105th birthday, one day after her second vaccine shot.  —  Ask Lucia DeClerck how she has lived to be 105, and she is quick with an answer.

Illinois Becomes First State to Eliminate Cash Bail  —  Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law that he said would end a system that disproportionately hurts the poor and favors wealthier defendants.  —  Illinois has become the first state to completely eliminate cash bail, a result of a push …