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.
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, The Wrap, The Intellectualist, Insider, Florida Times Union, HillReporter.com, ABC News, Raw Story, Bark Bark Woof Woof, IJR and Crooks and Liars
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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.”
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 …
Jeff Stein / SpyTalk:
Gaetz ‘Extortion’ Figure's Levinson Obsession
Gaetz ‘Extortion’ Figure's Levinson Obsession
Discussion:
Fox News, Talking Points Memo, The Sun and The Daily Beast
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:
The American Independent, Forbes, The Intellectualist, TheBlaze, HuffPost and RedState
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
What a Pepsi can says about the GOP's rift with corporate Atlanta — The election law sparks a new divide between Republicans and Georgia business giants — Moments after gaveling the legislative session to an end early Thursday, House Speaker David Ralston stood before a bank of TV cameras …
Discussion:
CNN, HotAir, The Federalist, Mock Paper Scissors, The Guardian and Associated Press
Joseph Choi / The Hill:
Georgia governor defends voting law amid corporate backlash
Georgia governor defends voting law amid corporate backlash
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Slate, Popular Information and CNBC
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 and The Hill
Washington Examiner:
Why all the lies about Georgia's new voting law?
Why all the lies about Georgia's new voting law?
Discussion:
Politico, IJR and The Nation
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, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and National Review
Aaron Rupar / Vox:
Fox News has become a jobs program for some Trump family members and ex-staffers
Fox News has become a jobs program for some Trump family members and ex-staffers
Discussion:
HuffPost
Geoff Duncan / USA Today:
Georgia's election reform law isn't voter suppression, but Republicans need to ease up — Republicans have a huge hole to climb out of because of the 2020 election. Conservatism shouldn't be confused as divisive or mean-spirited. — Once again, Georgia found itself in the national spotlight …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, JONATHAN TURLEY, YouGov and Check Your Fact
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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 Federalist, The Hill, POLITICUSUSA and Washington Post
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.
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 Texas Tribune, The Hill, The Root, Forbes, Associated Press, Mock Paper Scissors and MyNorthwest.com
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Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
Texas Senate passes restrictive new voting bill
Texas Senate passes restrictive new voting bill
Discussion:
The Hill, Fox News, Breitbart, San Antonio Current, POLITICUSUSA, CNN, Democracy Docket and Election Law Blog
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:
NBC News, Washington Examiner, FiercePharma, The Times of Israel, TheBlaze and KRDO
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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, UPI, CBS Baltimore, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, Fox News and Business Wire
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.
Discussion:
The Week and Washingtonian
E.J. Dionne / Washington Post:
Biden is transforming the nation's political assumptions — Although he may not have planned it, President Biden picked an auspicious date for unveiling his big infrastructure program. Exactly 34 years ago Wednesday — March 31, 1987 — the House voted overwhelmingly across party lines …
Discussion:
IJR, Michael-In-Norfolk, Outside the Beltway, New York Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Common Dreams and Raw Story
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Ian Duncan / Washington Post:
A woman called for a highway's removal in a Black neighborhood. The White House singled it out in its infrastructure plan. — Since she moved back home to Tremé almost a decade ago, Amy Stelly has waged a campaign for the removal of a highway that cuts through her New Orleans neighborhood.
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, ABC7, Associated Press, BuzzFeed News, UPI, Breitbart, Mediaite, Insider and The Week
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.
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:
American Prospect, Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA
Kim Chandler / Associated Press:
Alabama yoga bill stalls after conservative groups object — MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's decades-old ban on yoga in public schools could stay in place a little longer following push-back from conservative groups. — The Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday did not advance …
Discussion:
The Hill, CBS News, Insider, Political Wire and MyNorthwest.com
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 …
Jonathan Shaw / Harvard Magazine:
The Fight for the Republic — IN 2021, THE UNITED STATES failed for the first time in its history to achieve a peaceful transfer of presidential power. The events of January 6, observes conservative commentator William “Bill” Kristol '73, Ph.D. '79—and the enabling political rhetoric …
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 …
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
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, National Review, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo and Insider
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, FiveThirtyEight and PBS NewsHour
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Will U.S. learn from a $1.7 trillion goof that would have paid for Biden's infrastructure plan? | Will Bunch — A Ferrari is surely a wonderful sports car, but let's be honest: Most of us couldn't afford the day-to-day maintenance, let alone the sticker price, and these beautiful creatures …
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
Slate:
I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Biden Administration — Slate is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Biden administration whose identity is known to us and whose reputation as a good boy would be jeopardized by its disclosure.
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon and The Hill