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.

GOP senator pushes lie that police caused Capitol insurrection  —  Ron Johnson suggested Capitol Police officers instigated the Jan. 6 insurrection — a blatant lie to try to absolve Donald Trump of culpability in the deadly attack.  —  Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on Tuesday pushed …

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

We identified the 125 people and institutions most responsible for Donald Trump's rise to power and his norm-busting behavior that tested the boundaries of the US government and its institutions … - Insider compiled this database of the 125 people and institutions essential to Donald Trump's rise …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

When Amazon Erased My Book  —  My book When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment was released exactly three years ago.  It was attacked twice on the New York Times op-ed page.  The Washington Post ran a hit piece on it that was riddled with errors.  It was obvious the critics hadn't read the book.

Rudy Giuliani tried dodging getting served with $1B Dominion Voting Systems suit: source  —  Rudy Giuliani spent a week dodging service of a $1.3 billion lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems after publicly declaring he was ready for the legal fight, a source told the Daily News.

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.

Disclosing networks of state-linked information operations  —  Today we are disclosing four networks of accounts to our archive of state-linked information operations; the only archive of its kind in the industry.  The networks we are disclosing relate to independent, state-affiliated information operations …

Queens Republican district leader arrested for role in Capitol insurrection  —  A Republican district leader from Queens was arrested Tuesday and charged with various offenses for storming the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6.  —  FBI agents arrested Philip Grillo, a former candidate …

Two Supreme Court cases could destroy what remains of the Voting Rights Act  —  A 6-3 Republican Court will hear one of the most aggressive attacks on voting rights since Jim Crow.  —  Next Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear two cases that could shred much of what remains of the right …

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 …

Obama says he once broke a classmate's nose for calling him a racial slur  —  Former President Obama says he once broke a schoolmate's nose after the then-friend called him a racial slur during a locker room fight.  —  The 44th president shared the revelation in an episode of his Spotify podcast …

Ted Cruz's latest Cancún spin shows the rot of GOP victimization runs deep  —  Mark it down.  Republicans have hit on a new way to spin away their own screw-ups and scandals: By claiming the media focus on their political travails is driven by the press' search for a new Republican victim …

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 …

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 …

Trump's former treasury secretary expected to launch investment fund, seeking backing of Persian Gulf state funds  —  Steven Mnuchin has begun hiring staff for an investment fund likely to focus on the financial technology and entertainment sectors, people familiar with the plans said.

Raffensperger, staff feared wrongful prosecution under pressure from Trump to change election results  —  ATLANTA — Georgia's Secretary of State is speaking only to Channel 2 Action News about his steps during the final weeks of the Trump administration's push to overturn votes in Georgia.

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.

French Actor Gérard Depardieu Charged With Rape: Report  —  ALLEGATIONS  —  Gérard Depardieu, the prolific and highly decorated French actor whose most famous titles include Cyrano de Bergerac, The Last Metro, and Green Card, has been charged with rape, French news agency AFP reported Tuesday, citing a judicial source.

Vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna pledge massive boost to U.S. supply after sluggish rollout  —  The increases needed to meet March delivery targets will be steep, however, and Biden administration officials expect the companies could come up slightly short  —  Drug companies told lawmakers Tuesday …

The Future of Conservatism Is Flight 93 Elections Forever  —  Michael Anton has been confronted with a dilemma few writers have ever contemplated: how to handle catastrophic success.  Anton's 2016 essay, “The Flight 93 Election,” made a then-shocking case to the right-wing intelligentsia in favor of Donald Trump's election.

Capitol Defendant Bragged About Brawling With Cops On Pro-Trump Forum  —  Jose Padilla, who the feds say fought with police during the Capitol attack, said on the online forum TheDonald that God was on his side.  —  A Donald Trump fan caught on camera brawling with police officers during …

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

Vilsack confirmed as Agriculture secretary  —  The confirmation gives Vilsack a second spin in the same role he held for the entirety of the Obama administration.  —  Tom Vilsack speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Delaware.  The Senate on Tuesday easily confirmed Tom Vilsack …

Wisconsin Republicans Refuse To Condemn Political Violence  —  Nothing that might be taken as criticism of Donald Trump can be allowed.  —  We are long-time Republicans who have served in GOP leadership at the county, district, and state levels in Wisconsin.

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 …