Top Items:
Derek Thompson / The Atlantic:
The Pandemic's Wrongest Man — The pandemic has made fools of many forecasters. Just about all of the predictions whiffed. Anthony Fauci was wrong about masks. California was wrong about the outdoors. New York was wrong about the subways. I was wrong about the necessary cost of pandemic relief.
Washington Post:
Gaetz investigation complicated by overture to his father about ex-FBI agent who went missing — Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican known for his fierce allegiance to former president Donald Trump, had been under Justice Department investigation for months for a possible sex crime …
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The Daily Beast:
Republicans Have Been Waiting for a Matt Gaetz Scandal to Break — The Florida congressman's less-than-sterling reputation among his colleagues has many Republicans questioning the wisdom of jumping to his defense. — After Rep. Matt Gaetz accused a Florida lawyer of a $25 million extortion scheme …
Discussion:
Sun-Sentinel, Insider, The Wrap, IJR, Florida Times Union, HillReporter.com, ABC News and Raw Story
Salvador Rizzo / Washington Post:
Matt Gaetz's claim that ‘travel records’ debunk the allegations against him — “It is a horrible allegation, and it is a lie. The New York Times is running a story that I have traveled with a 17-year-old woman, and that is verifiably false. People can look at my travel records and see that that is not the case.”
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Week, CNN, The Capitolist, HillReporter.com, The Hill and Wall Street Journal
Thomas Moore / The Hill:
Fox has no interest in hiring Matt Gaetz — Fox News has confirmed it has no plans to hire Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for a job at the network. — “No one with any level of authority has had conversations with Matt Gaetz for any of our platforms, and we have no interest in hiring him,” the network said in a statement.
Discussion:
Mock Paper Scissors
Jeff Stein / SpyTalk:
Gaetz ‘Extortion’ Figure's Levinson Obsession
Gaetz ‘Extortion’ Figure's Levinson Obsession
Discussion:
Insider, Bark Bark Woof Woof and The Daily Beast
Emily Brooks / Washington Examiner:
Documents detail wild alleged $25 million Gaetz extortion scheme
Documents detail wild alleged $25 million Gaetz extortion scheme
Discussion:
Fox News, Salon, The Sun, The Intellectualist, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, The Week, HuffPost, HillReporter.com, New York Post, The latest factchecks …, Mediaite, JONATHAN TURLEY, The First TV, Florida Politics, The Gateway Pundit, Slate, New Republic, Law & Crime, The National Pulse, The Rectification of Names, The Wrap, RedState and Talking Points Memo
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The GOP war on voting takes an ugly new turn — Opinion by — An extraordinary event took place in Georgia on Wednesday night. Republicans sought to cancel a tax break for Delta Air Lines, the state's biggest employer, as punishment for the heresy of criticizing the new voter suppression law Republicans passed last week.
Discussion:
CNN, Forbes, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Federalist, The Intellectualist and The American Independent
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Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Biden's Election-Reform Deception — He has his facts wrong on Iowa and Georgia and applies standards inconsistently. — In last week's press conference, President Biden labeled Republican efforts to reform state election laws in Georgia and Iowa as “un-American” and “sick.”
Joseph Choi / The Hill:
Georgia governor defends voting law amid corporate backlash
Georgia governor defends voting law amid corporate backlash
Discussion:
The Guardian, POLITICUSUSA, Slate and Popular Information
95.5 WSB:
Delta CEO blasts Georgia voting law, calling it “unacceptable”; Gov. Kemp responds
Delta CEO blasts Georgia voting law, calling it “unacceptable”; Gov. Kemp responds
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Just The News, Associated Press and The Hill
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Byron York's Daily Memo: From Delta, a lesson for woke corporations
Byron York's Daily Memo: From Delta, a lesson for woke corporations
Discussion:
The Hill, TheBlaze and POLITICUSUSA
Politico:
Inside the ‘Lord of the Flies’ factionalism now plaguing Trumpland — Just one month after Donald Trump left the White House, a top donor to his campaign received a call on his personal cellphone from a Republican candidate seeking financial support. — The call was unsolicited …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: There's a new honcho atop Trumpworld — DRIVING THE DAY — It's been barely three months since he left office, but former President DONALD TRUMP is already reorganizing his nascent post-White House political operation, bringing in veteran political consultant SUSIE WILES to instill order.
Discussion:
New York Times, Insider, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Washington Post and National Review
Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
SCOOP: Inside Dems' plans to take down Lauren Boebert — Ally Mutnick, Melanie Zanona, Marianne LeVine and Nicholas Wu contributed. — CASH COW — We're about to find out how Donald Trump's campaign to overturn the presidential election — which culminated in an insurrection …
Discussion:
Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA
Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:
Five Thoughts About the Politics of Infrastructure — A few points on the politics of the Democrats' infrastructure initiative: — President Joe Biden keeps trying to do popular things. Government investment in infrastructure does extremely well in public opinion polls …
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Times, PBS NewsHour and Washington Post
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David E. Sanger / New York Times:
40 Years After Reagan, a Bet Big Government Can Get Something Done
40 Years After Reagan, a Bet Big Government Can Get Something Done
Discussion:
New Republic and Victory Girls Blog
E.J. Dionne / Washington Post:
Biden is transforming the nation's political assumptions
Biden is transforming the nation's political assumptions
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Michael-In-Norfolk, New York Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Common Dreams and Raw Story
Associated Press:
New GOP-led voting restrictions move forward in Texas — AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans advanced a slate of proposed new voting restrictions Thursday that would reduce options to cast ballots, limit polling hours and hand more power to partisan poll watchers.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Texas Tribune, The Root, Forbes, The American Independent, Associated Press, Mock Paper Scissors and MyNorthwest.com
RELATED:
Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
Texas Senate passes restrictive new voting bill
Texas Senate passes restrictive new voting bill
Discussion:
CNN, POLITICUSUSA and Democracy Docket
Maggie Fox / CNN:
Pfizer says Covid-19 vaccine protection lasts at least six months, protects against variants — Take an exclusive look inside a busy Covid-19 vaccine facility — (CNN)The ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of Pfizer/BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine confirms its protection lasts at least six months …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, FiercePharma, The Times of Israel, TheBlaze and KRDO
RELATED:
Pfizer:
Pfizer and BioNTech Confirm High Efficacy and No Serious Safety Concerns Through Up to Six Months Following Second Dose in Updated Topline Analysis of Landmark COVID-19 Vaccine Study
Pfizer and BioNTech Confirm High Efficacy and No Serious Safety Concerns Through Up to Six Months Following Second Dose in Updated Topline Analysis of Landmark COVID-19 Vaccine Study
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, CBS News, CBS Baltimore, UPI, Fox News, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth and Business Wire
Los Angeles Times:
4 killed, including child, in mass shooting at Orange office complex — Four people, including a child, were killed Wednesday evening and a fifth person was injured in a mass shooting at an Orange office complex. — It marks the third mass shooting in the United States in two weeks …
Discussion:
KTLA, Orange County Register, BuzzFeed News, ABC7, Associated Press, UPI, Breitbart, Insider, The Week and Mediaite
Jesse Dougherty / Washington Post:
Mets-Nationals postponed in Washington as coronavirus issues disrupt Opening Day — The Opening Day matchup between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets on Thursday has been postponed because of coronavirus concerns, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
Amelia Pollard / American Prospect:
The Right Curriculum? How PragerU Infiltrates Schools. — The right-wing nonprofit, known for viral videos like ‘The Left Ruins Everything,’ launched a program specifically designed for teachers last fall. But according to students, its content has been in public schools for years.
Washington Post:
New York authorities file hate-crime charges in attack on Asian American woman — NEW YORK — Local authorities said Wednesday they have filed three felony hate-crime charges against 38-year-old Brandon Elliot in the brutal stomping of an elderly Asian American woman …
RELATED:
Eddie Scarry / Washington Examiner:
Joe Biden is about to lock up a lot of black people
Joe Biden is about to lock up a lot of black people
Discussion:
Daily Kos, NBC New York and Law & Crime
Josh Lederman / NBC News:
Texas officials circulated climate skeptic's talking points on power failures during storm — WASHINGTON — As millions of Texans went without power for days during February's devastating storm, Texas oil and gas regulators were circulating talking points from a noted climate skeptic blaming system failures …
Mike Allen / Axios:
Exclusive: Apple's Tim Cook says voting “ought to be easier than ever” — Apple CEO Tim Cook, an Alabama native with a lifelong interest in civil rights, joins condemnations of Georgia's new voting law, in a statement provided first to Axios. — What he's saying: “The right to vote is fundamental in a democracy.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo and Insider
New York Times:
As Cuomo Sought $4 Million Book Deal, Aides Hid Damaging Death Toll — Gov. Andrew Cuomo boasted, “I am not a superhero,” in early versions of his book, drafted as his aides scrubbed a politically damaging Health Department report. — ALBANY, N.Y. — As the coronavirus subsided in New York last year …
Discussion:
Insider, The Journal News, Forbes, Talking Points Memo, Bulwark+, HotAir, Human Events, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Post, Fox News, The Sun and Mediaite
David Frum / The Atlantic:
The Strange New Doctrine of the Republican Party — In 2002, the Weyerhaeuser paper mill in Valliant, Oklahoma, faced a drug problem. Managers at the mill in the small town, just north of the Texas line, brought contraband-sniffing dogs into the parking lot to identify suspect cars.
Craig Timberg / Washington Post:
One of QAnon's most widely quoted critics reveals his real name. Hint: It's not Travis View. — QAnon Anonymous co-host, riding a wave of newfound fame, acknowledges he was using a pseudonym all along — On a live stream of “QAnon Anonymous” last week, co-host Travis View did something …
CBS News:
Capitol Police inspector general slams department's January 6 planning — Prior to the January 6 attack on the Capitol, officials from the U.S. Capitol Police failed to act on intelligence that suggested protesters coming to rally that day could be armed and planned to “target” Congress …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:
‘My God’: Former White House lawyer says ‘Donald Trump is in serious trouble’ with new lawsuit — Former acting White House Solicitor General Neal Katyal explained to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace that the new lawsuit in Washington, D.C. court saying former President Donald Trump is to blame …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
Liam Stack / New York Times:
The Push to Vaccinate 20,000 Holocaust Survivors in New York — One survivor who got her vaccine, Eva Rose, 96, said the last year has been “lousy,” but added: “I am still here, thank God.” — A year spent hiding at home from the coronavirus has given Anne Bertolino, 96 …
Kara Scannell / CNN:
Trump's own statements in old lawsuit could haunt him in a future criminal case — New York (CNN)Donald Trump once said he calculated his net worth, to a degree, on his “feelings,” and that he put the “best spin” on some of the assets. — “I think everybody” exaggerates about the value of their properties.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Raw Story
Jesse Drucker / New York Times:
An Accidental Disclosure Exposes a $1 Billion Tax Fight With Bristol Myers — The I.R.S. believes the American drugmaker used an abusive offshore scheme to avoid federal taxes. — Almost nine years ago, Bristol Myers Squibb filed paperwork in Ireland to create a new offshore subsidiary.