Texas to end all coronavirus restrictions  —  Texas will end its coronavirus restrictions next week with an upcoming executive order, Gov. Greg Abbot (R) announced Tuesday during a press conference in Lubbock.  —  Why it matters: After Abbott signs the new order, which rescinds previous orders …

Biden to announce ‘historic partnership’: Merck will help make Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, officials say  —  The administration brokered the arrangement amid concerns about Johnson & Johnson's production delays  —  President Biden will announce Tuesday that pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co …

‘Obviously’  —  Chris Cuomo says that he can't possibly cover the accusations that have been leveled against Andrew Cuomo, “because he is my brother”: … Question for Cuomo (and for Brian Stelter, who is selectively interested in media ethics): Why did this logic not obtain during the pandemic?

Fox News Insiders Rage Against Hiring ‘Mini Goebbels’ Kayleigh McEnany  —  The network announced Tuesday that McEnany, a career liar, is now a paid contributor.  Newsroom staffers, who've faced “purges” in recent months, are none too pleased.  —  Fox News officially announced on Tuesday …

6 Dr. Seuss books won't be published for racist images  —  BOSTON (AP) — Six Dr. Seuss books — including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo” — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author's legacy said Tuesday.

Alex Jones on Leaked Video: ‘I Wish I Never Met Trump’  —  Before multimillionaire conspiracy theorist Alex Jones riled up Donald Trump's fans with lies about a stolen election, he privately expressed revulsion over the 45th president, a video leaked to Hatewatch reveals.  —  “It's the truth and I'm just going to say it.

Raimondo wins US Senate confirmation; will soon resign as governor  —  PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Gov. Gina Raimondo on Tuesday secured U.S. Senate confirmation as the nation's next commerce secretary, becoming the first Rhode Island politician elevated to the president's cabinet in more than 70 years.

Murkowski weighs Tanden's fate with Alaska on her mind  —  Neera Tanden's been in Senate purgatory for a week now as she and the Biden administration fight to convince Sen. Lisa Murkowski to back her bid to be White House budget chief.  And Murkowski isn't making any sudden moves.

Liberals on fire over failure on $15 minimum wage  —  Liberal senators and outside pressure groups are steaming over the Senate's seeming failure to move a COVID-19 relief package with a provision hiking the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.  —  An adverse decision from the Senate …

Consultants repping Saudi, UAE interests partner with Blinken's old firm  —  A well-connected firm that represents Saudi and Emirati interests is partnering with a consulting firm launched by top Biden administration aides as the U.S. tackles foreign policy dilemmas in the Middle East.

Donors gave a House candidate more than $8 million.  A single firm took nearly half of it.  —  U.S. House candidate Kim Klacik walked onto Mike Huckabee's cable talk show last August as the latest conservative celebrity, riding high on a viral campaign ad that had attracted 10 million views …

Should Your School Be Fully Open?  Here's What the C.D.C. Says  —  Only 4 percent of the nation's schoolchildren live in counties where coronavirus transmission is low enough for full-time in-person learning without additional restrictions, according to the guidelines established by the Centers …

New nation-state cyberattacks  —  Tom Burt - Corporate Vice President, Customer Security & Trust  —  Today, we're sharing information about a state-sponsored threat actor identified by the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) that we are calling Hafnium.

Scoop: Biden briefing calls for 20,000 child migrant beds  —  A briefing scheduled for President Biden this afternoon outlines the need for 20,000 beds to shelter an expected crush of child migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, Axios has learned.  —  Why it matters: The rapid influx …

Biden's next big move could deliver a crippling blow to Trumpism  —  In a revealing moment at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida — a Republican who is a leading inheritor of the mantle of Trumpism — unintentionally displayed one of that inchoate ideology's most serious weaknesses.

Why Republicans Don't Fear An Electoral Backlash For Opposing Really Popular Parts Of Biden's Agenda  —  Republicans in the U.S. House last week unanimously opposed President Biden's economic stimulus bill, even though polls show that the legislation is popular with the public.

The Trump administration quietly spent billions in hospital funds on Operation Warp Speed  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration quietly took around $10 billion from a fund meant to help hospitals and health care providers affected by Covid-19 and used the money to bankroll Operation Warp Speed contracts …

Biden's Future Has Two Parts  —  There are going to be two different Biden administrations.  —  1 hr ago  —  1. AC: After COVID  —  More than any president since Truman, Joe Biden's administration is going to have a clear delineation between two distinct periods: COVID and After COVID.

MAGA-Obsessed State Rep. Accused of Being the Boss From Hell  —  Wendy Rogers fat-shamed an aide, threw away his belongings, berated him, and forced him to work while sick with COVID, an ethics report concluded.  —  A Trump-obsessed state representative from Arizona is under fire …