Biden Won't Penalize Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi's Killing, Fearing Relations Breach  —  The decision will disappoint the human rights community and members of his own party who complained during the Trump administration that the U.S. was failing to hold Mohammed bin Salman accountable.

“Danger Warning”: Women Say Madison Cawthorn Harassed Them In College  —  Madison Cawthorn arrived at Patrick Henry College's small Christian campus in northern Virginia in fall 2016 blazing with charm, bravado, and a flashing white smile.  His former classmates said the future member …

F.B.I. Said to Have Singled Out Potential Assailant in Capitol Officer's Death  —  The death of the officer, Brian Sicknick, after the Capitol riot has been a major focus for investigators scrutinizing the attack by a pro-Trump mob.  —  WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. has pinpointed an assailant …

Lady Gaga's dogs recovered safely  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lady Gaga's two French bulldogs, which were stolen by thieves who shot and wounded the dogwalker, were recovered unharmed Friday, Los Angeles police said.  —  A woman brought the dogs to the LAPD's Olympic Community Police Station …

White House and press are at odds over plan to charge reporters for coronavirus testing  —  Reporters who cover the White House may soon be paying what amounts to an admission fee to do their jobs.  —  Starting Monday, the White House's press office said it will start charging journalists …

U.S. Attorney Durham Announces Departure from Office  —  After serving as the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut for more than three years, and as a federal prosecutor in Connecticut for more than 38 years, John H. Durham today announced his resignation from the U.S. Attorney's Office …

Mars Is a Hellhole  —  There's no place like home—unless you're Elon Musk.  A prototype of SpaceX's Starship, which may someday send humans to Mars, is, according to Musk, likely to launch soon, possibly within the coming days.  But what motivates Musk?  Why bother with Mars?

CRUZ at CPAC: ‘They Want Him to Go Away’ but 'Donald J. Trump Ain't Going ANYWHERE!'  —  Texas Senator Ted Cruz delivered an explosive speech at CPAC Friday morning before a packed crowd in Orlando; telling conservative voters that Donald Trump “ain't going anywhere!”

Susan R. Lowry, R.I.P.  —  My mom passed away last night, at 90 years old.  She was married to my dad for more than 50 years, but arguably the defining relationship in her life was with my older brother, who has autism.  She was his lifelong friend, protector, companion, and advocate.

This golden statue of Trump at CPAC is a perfect metaphor for the state of the GOP  —  Apparently CPAC attendees missed the part of the Bible about the Golden Calf.  —  The Golden Calf is one of the most famous stories in the Old Testament.  The Israelites, newly freed from Egyptian slavery …

More than a dozen Republicans tell House they can't attend votes due to ‘public health emergency.’ They're slated to be at CPAC.  —  (CNN)More than a dozen of former President Donald Trump's closest Republican allies in the House have skipped Friday's votes and enlisted their colleagues to vote …

Biden said ‘Diplomacy is back!’  Then he started dropping bombs  —  Biden may inadvertently achieve what Trump couldn't: destroying the Iran deal, Obama's main foreign policy achievement  —  iplomacy is back!  " President Joe Biden declared at the Munich Security Conference last week.

‘Humiliated’ Rioter Jessica Watkins Vows to Ditch the Oath Keepers: ‘Time to Let All of That Go’  —  Jessica Watkins defended her actions at the Jan. 6 riot in court Friday—but said she'd renounce the far-right group.  “I did it out of love for my country,” she said of the siege.

5 Pandemic Mistakes We Keep Repeating  —  We can learn from our failures.  —  Contributing writer at The Atlantic  —  When the polio vaccine was declared safe and effective, the news was met with jubilant celebration.  Church bells rang across the nation, and factories blew their whistles.

‘Superman’ Reboot In The Works At Warner Bros With Ta-Nehisi Coates Writing, J.J. Abrams Producing  —  Deadline has confirmed that author Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing a Superman reboot feature for Warner Bros and DC, which J.J. Abrams is producing under his Bad Robot label.  —  Hannah Minghella will serve as producer.

Amazon Strips Clarence Thomas Documentary From Streaming Service During Black History Month  —  Amazon stripped a documentary on conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, the only black justice currently serving on the Supreme Court, from its streaming service during Black History Month.

New Class and Neocons  —  Why the Red Dogs won't hunt.  —  3 hr ago  —  Dear Reader (Including acolytes of the Apis Bull(sh*tter)),  —  Yesterday, a bunch of people—at least I assume they were people—emailed me a piece by Scott Alexander.  They wrote: “What do you think?”

Revealed: Meet The Trump Fanatic Who Tasered A Cop At The Capitol Insurrection  —  Danny “DJ” Rodriguez brawled with cops, tried to smash out a Capitol window, and assaulted a police officer on Jan. 6.  He's still at large.  —  The man in the red “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” hat seemed to think he was untouchable.

Biden considers elevating Mayor Pete's spokesperson  —  Chris Meagher, a top spokesman for Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, is being seriously considered to be a White House deputy press secretary, according to two people familiar with the matter.  —  Meagher, who recently started …

U.S. diplomat openly calls for Christian nation-states, rails against Jews  —  A State Department official for several years has been publicly calling for the establishment of Christian nation-states, warning that white people face “elimination” and railing against Jews as well as Black Lives Matter and other social movements.

New York Times Columnist David Brooks Wrote A Blog Post For Facebook's Corporate Website  —  On Tuesday, New York Times columnist David Brooks published a 900-word ode to Facebook Groups and how they foster online communities around the world.  —  The column didn't appear in Brooks' usual spot in the Times …

The GOP's strategy for retaking power is uglier than you think  —  By now, it should be clear to even the most committed both-sides commentators that Republicans are rerunning their 2009 scorched-earth strategy.  Back then, Republicans correctly calculated that if they denied the Democratic president …

Georgia Senate panel backs end to automatic voter registration, no-excuse absentee voting  —  A Senate committee passed voting restrictions Friday that would end automatic voter registration and no-excuse absentee voting in Georgia.  —  The Senate Ethics Committee voted mostly along party lines …

As attacks against Asian Americans spike, Jeremy Lin pushes for action  —  Violence against and harassment of Asian Americans have spiked in the United States in the past year.  Jeremy Lin, the former New York Knicks star guard, spoke out this week via social media, recounting …