Top Items:
Jane Mayer / New Yorker:
Inside the Koch-Backed Effort to Block the Largest Election-Reform Bill in Half a Century — On a leaked conference call, leaders of dark-money groups and an aide to Mitch McConnell expressed frustration with the popularity of the legislation—even among Republican voters.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Politico, Talking Points Memo and Balloon Juice
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Ali Zaslav / CNN:
Mitch McConnell: ‘I would encourage all Republican men’ to get vaccinated — See how vaccine-hesitant GOP participants react to Covid-19 focus group — (CNN)Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday encouraged “all Republican men” to get the Covid-19 vaccine, as new polls indicate …
Jeff Stein / Washington Post:
White House dramatically increased tax proposal as it sought to address tensions over next big spending plan — Biden aides see next major legislative effort as comparable to LBJ's Great Society but face divisions among key allies — When President Biden's team began putting together …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Common Dreams, The Boston Globe, Insider, The Hill, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, Raw Story and CNN
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Politico:
Biden's white privilege — Welcome to POLITICO's 2021 Transition Playbook, your guide to the first 100 days of the Biden administration — JOE BIDEN has talked more explicitly about racism in America in his opening weeks than any president in recent memory. — He pledged to defeat “white supremacy” in his Inaugural address.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Raw Story
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Chuck Schumer's 51-vote gambit
POLITICO Playbook: Chuck Schumer's 51-vote gambit
Discussion:
Axios, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Washington Examiner, NPR, Daily Kos, CBS News, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway and The Babylon Bee
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
New York business leaders push Biden, Schumer to ditch the cap on SALT deductions
New York business leaders push Biden, Schumer to ditch the cap on SALT deductions
Discussion:
Bloomberg
Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:
Ghislaine Maxwell Charged With Sex Trafficking of 14-Year-Old Girl — A new indictment accuses Ms. Maxwell of paying a victim of her longtime associate Jeffrey Epstein. — Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, was charged on Monday for the first time with sex-trafficking …
Discussion:
The Guardian, HotAir, The Daily Caller and Just The News
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Kara Scannell / CNN:
Federal prosecutors add sex trafficking charges against Ghislaine Maxwell
Federal prosecutors add sex trafficking charges against Ghislaine Maxwell
Discussion:
USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Wrap, Vanity Fair, New York Post, Insider and Courthouse News Service
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Trump targets Fauci, Birx in lengthy diatribe — Former President Trump on Monday went on a tirade against Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, two of his former top medical advisers on the COVID-19 pandemic, excoriating their decisionmaking during his administration on the day after CNN aired previews …
Discussion:
Insider, Townhall, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, POLITICUSUSA, Boston Herald, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, KRDO, Mediaite, Washington Times, Raw Story and Political Wire
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Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Feuds, fibs and finger-pointing: Trump officials say coronavirus response was worse than known
Feuds, fibs and finger-pointing: Trump officials say coronavirus response was worse than known
Jonathan V. Last / The Triad:
Shame on Deborah Birx
Shame on Deborah Birx
Discussion:
Fox News, Townhall, The Daily Caller and KRDO
Axios:
Scoop: Substack is raising $65 million amid newsletter boom — Substack is raising $65 million in new venture capital funding that would value the company at around $650 million, Axios has learned. Existing investor Andreessen Horowitz is leading the round.
Gina Kolata / New York Times:
The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are very effective in real-world conditions at preventing infections, the C.D.C. reported. — The coronavirus vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are proving highly effective at preventing symptomatic and asymptomatic infections under real-world conditions …
Discussion:
CNN, Centers for Disease Control …, Los Angeles Times, Gothamist, The Daily Caller, National Review, Fox News, IJR, Rolling Stone and The Week
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Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
Florida Republicans considering new election bill that would effectively ban giving voters water — Florida Republicans are considering a bill that would effectively make it a crime to give voters food or drink, including water, within 150 feet of polling places.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Hill, HillReporter.com, The American Independent, Second Nexus, CBS News, Mock Paper Scissors and Vanity Fair
Michael Kunzelman / Associated Press:
Capitol riot suspect wore ‘I Was There’ shirt when arrested — Garret Miller didn't speak to the law enforcement officers who arrested him on charges he stormed the U.S. Capitol in January, but the T-shirt he was wearing at his Dallas home that day sent a clear and possibly incriminating message.
Discussion:
Mock Paper Scissors, DeadState, KRDO, The Hill, The Daily Caller, POLITICUSUSA, Law & Crime, Crooks and Liars, Raw Story and Political Wire
Amy Sherman / The latest factchecks PolitiFact.com …:
The facts about Georgia's ban on food, water giveaways to voters — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a sweeping elections bill into law. It includes some controversial provisions about absentee and in-person voting. — One provision of the new law includes a ban on giving away water or food …
Discussion:
Fox News
Washington Post:
New accounts detail how New York health officials were told to prioritize coronavirus testing of people connected to Andrew Cuomo — New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's relatives and other well-connected New Yorkers were among those given preferential treatment at state coronavirus testing centers.
Discussion:
The Guardian
David Gelles / New York Times:
Corporations, Vocal About Racial Justice, Go Quiet on Voting Rights — “They are complicit in their silence,” one activist said, as bills that would disproportionately affect Black citizens across the country stir public debate. — As Black Lives Matter protesters filled the streets last summer …
Jason Samenow / Washington Post:
Japan's Kyoto cherry blossoms peak on earliest date in 1,200 years, a sign of climate change — Amid an exceptionally warm March in Japan, the cherry blossoms in Kyoto peaked Friday, the earliest in more than 1,200 years of records. The record bloom fits into a long-term pattern toward …
Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Trooper who arrested Ga. lawmaker says he was wary of a Jan. 6-type of attack — A Georgia State Patrol lieutenant said memories of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol were on his mind when he arrested a Democratic legislator after she knocked repeatedly on the door …
Discussion:
Raw Story
New York Times:
The Biden administration makes a swath of ocean between New York and New Jersey an offshore wind zone. — The Biden administration on Monday announced it will designate an area between the South Shore of Long Island and the New Jersey coast as a priority offshore wind zone …
Discussion:
Common Dreams
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Julia Manchester / The Hill:
64 percent view ‘cancel culture’ as threat to freedom: poll — A majority of Americans say they view “cancel culture” as a threat to their freedom, according to a new Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey released exclusively to The Hill on Monday. — Sixty-four percent of respondents said that there is …
Discussion:
National Review, IJR and RedState
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Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Poll: Biden approval remains steady amid struggles with immigration, foreign affairs
Poll: Biden approval remains steady amid struggles with immigration, foreign affairs
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Newsbusters
Bloomberg:
CDC Chief Warns of ‘Impending Doom’ as Covid Cases, Deaths Rise — Walensky says she's scared by uptick that hints at fourth wave — U.S. doesn't have ‘luxury of inaction’ amid spike, she says — The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pleaded with Americans …
Discussion:
CNN, KRDO, Forbes and Wall Street Journal
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' membership in houses of worship continued to decline last year, dropping below 50% for the first time in Gallup's eight-decade trend. In 2020, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church …
Discussion:
Axios, HotAir, The First TV, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, OutKick, New York Magazine, Forbes, Fox News, The Hill and Washington Examiner
James David Dickson / Detroit News:
Judge tosses terrorism threat charge against 3 accused in alleged Whitmer plot — Three men accused in an alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will not face false report or threat of terrorism charges, a Jackson County judge ruled Monday. — Judge Michael Klaeren of 12th District Court …
Discussion:
The Hill, Detroit Free Press, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, Law & Crime, The Last Refuge and UPI
Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
NSA Opens Door to Domestic Internet Spying, Privacy Advocates Say — The establishment of the NSA's twin, Cyber Command, also created a Chekhov's gun: broad access to the American internet. Now the SolarWinds hack has NSA's finger on the trigger. — The latest king-sized …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
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Alan Suderman / Associated Press:
AP sources: SolarWinds hack got emails of top DHS officials
AP sources: SolarWinds hack got emails of top DHS officials
Discussion:
Insider, Raw Story and Political Wire, more at Techmeme »
Angela Giuffrida / The Guardian:
Mafia fugitive caught after posting YouTube cooking video — Marc Feren Claude Biart was betrayed by failing to hide his distinctive tattoos in the clip — A mafia fugitive has been caught in the Caribbean after appearing on YouTube cooking videos in which he hid his face but inadvertently showed his distinctive tattoos.
Discussion:
Raw Story
John Ganz / Unpopular Front:
The Dumbest Tweet I Have Ever Seen — Not Really, but C'mon — I usually defend a high degree of license verging on irresponsibility when it comes to Tweets—I think its fine for them to be half-baked, ironical, whimsical, the first drafts of ideas, or one's most cranky and maybe not most-well-informed opinions.
Discussion:
Althouse
Bethany Rodgers / Salt Lake Tribune:
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said he will not vote for new federal gun laws — The Utah senator argues that firearm policies should be developed at the state level. — (Brandon Bell | The New York Times file photo) Sen. Mitt Romney walks through the Senate Reception Room at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Political Wire and Washington Post
Josh Lederman / NBC News:
Biden task force to probe science manipulation under Trump — WASHINGTON — A new White House task force will examine instances where the Trump administration may have distorted or suppressed science in critical government decisions, with an eye toward creating fail-safes to prevent it from happening again, the White House said Monday.
Discussion:
Newsweek
Jerry Dunleavy / Washington Examiner:
White House announces ‘expert’ review of WHO-China COVID-19 origins report — The Biden administration announced that “experts” from a range of federal agencies and scientific fields would review the controversial WHO-China report on COVID-19's origins as the Biden team continues expressing its …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Fox News and Associated Press
Vianney Gomez / Pew Research Center:
A partisan chasm in views of Trump's legacy — Two months after President Donald Trump left office, 38% of Americans say he made progress toward solving major problems facing the country during his administration - while a nearly identical share (37%) say he made these problems worse.
Discussion:
CNN, Courthouse News Service, Fox News and Washington Post
The Daily Beast:
Dominion Builds Legal Behemoth To Drain Trumpland of Billions — Dominion Voting Systems is adding a new team of lawyers as they prepare for their current lawsuits—and another potential round. — With billions of dollars in lawsuits now in the balance, Dominion Voting Systems …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Caroline Kelly / CNN:
Buttigieg says no gas or mileage tax in Biden's infrastructure plan — (CNN)Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday that neither a gas tax nor a mileage tax would be part of President Joe Biden's sweeping infrastructure plan to be detailed on Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Liberty Unyielding and Twitchy