Poor, Misunderstood Mark Joseph Stern  —  One has to feel sorry for Slate's Mark Joseph Stern, who is being criticized on Twitter and beyond for what was clearly just a big ol' misunderstanding.  There he was on Twitter, minding his own business, when he came across some tweets he disliked …

Pittsburgh bridge collapse injures 10 on day Biden visits city to talk infrastructure  —  A Pittsburgh bridge collapsed early Friday, injuring 10 people just hours before President Biden visited the city to talk about infrastructure.  —  Pittsburgh Public Safety said a “confirmed bridge collapse” …

Let Kids Take Their Masks Off After the Omicron Surge  —  Elissa Perkins, the director of infectious disease management in the emergency department of the Boston Medical Center, told me she spent most of 2020 “imploring everybody I could in every forum that I could to mask.”

We Uncovered How Many Georgians Were Disenfranchised by GOP Voting Restrictions.  It's Staggering.  —  Fight disinformation.  Get a daily recap of the facts that matter.  Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter.  —  “States are not engaging in trying to suppress voters whatsoever …

Scoop: Ukraine gives U.S. senators 4 specific asks on Russia sanctions, military aid  —  The chairman of Ukraine's parliament has sent a letter to eight U.S. senators outlining four specific requests for security assistance and sanctions that Kyiv believes will help deter a Russian invasion, Axios has learned.

Pennsylvania court declares state's mail-in voting law unconstitutional, in win for Republicans  —  The state's Democratic attorney general promised a swift appeal and insisted that the court's action won't have an immediate impact on elections this year  —  A Pennsylvania court struck …

Justice touts achievements, tells haters to kiss Babydog's hiney in delayed State of the State address  —  NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED, QUALITY LOCAL JOURNALISM..  —  Gov. Jim Justice on Thursday used his second State of the State address as a victory lap for economic development and tourism in West Virginia …

Republicans may prevent Broward's new Democratic lawmaker from participating in annual legislative session after all  —  Republicans who control most of state government aren't prepared to let Broward's newly elected Democratic state representative, Daryl Campbell, take office during the current legislative session.

This Wisconsin Lawmaker Is Ready to Quit the GOP Over Trump  —  “He is lying.  He did not win Wisconsin.  And he has provided no proof otherwise.”  —  CJ  —  Kathy Bernier has been a stolidly conservative voice in the Wisconsin Legislature for more than a decade.

‘Quick Reaction Forces’ And The Lingering Mysteries Of The Plot Against The Capitol  —  The Oath Keeper “QRFs” show how things could have been a lot worse, and how much more there is to learn.  —  The Comfort Inn location just off the interstate has three stars on Yelp …

New data shows Americans more miserable than we've been in half a century  —  The latest release from the General Social Survey shows the toll the pandemic has taken on our mental health  —  When I worked at the Pew Research Center back in the mid-2000s one of our pollsters …

This Senate Rule Could Stop Democrats From Confirming Biden's SCOTUS Nominee  —  With the Senate split 50-50, the provision of Rule 26 that saved Lindsey Graham in 2020 could now doom a similar Democratic effort in 2022.  —  With Justice Stephen Breyer officially announcing his retirement on Thursday …

The Big-Name Journalists Who Are Trying to “Both Sides” Covid  —  There is a movement afoot just as insidious as right-wingers refusing to wear masks and get vaccinated.  It's progressives who are fully vaccinated but whose overcautious attitude toward Covid-19 is harming a generation …

Cyber Ninjas CEO participates in contentious deposition, says he's not ready to turn over audit records  —  Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan says he will not turn over records from the review of Maricopa County's 2020 election until he has a “clear” ruling he can appeal to the highest court.

The Disillusionment of a Young Biden Official  —  Andrea Flores's efforts to roll back Trump's immigration policies faced opposition inside and outside the White House.  —  In the spring of 2019, Andrea Flores, then a thirty-one-year-old associate at a law firm in Washington, D.C. …

A Chinese Satellite Just Grappled Another And Pulled It Out Of Orbit  —  A Chinese satellite was observed grabbing another satellite and pulling it out of its normal geosynchronous orbit and into a “super-graveyard drift orbit.”  The maneuver raises questions about the potential applications …

George Soros-founded group challenges Tucker Carlson documentary as ‘anti-American propaganda’  —  The Fox News host lavishes praise on Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban while claiming the liberal billionaire philanthropist is ‘waging a kind of war’ on the West

VMI's first Black superintendent blasts White critics of diversity and equity reform  —  A scathing Facebook post from VMI leader Cedric T. Wins exposed the battle over the future of the nation's oldest state-supported military college  —  Retired Army Maj. Gen.Cedric T. Wins had a message he wanted to send.

NEW POLL: Backlash - Youngkin Already Out of Touch With Virginia Voters on COVID-19; Virginians Support Vaccination and Mask Mandates to Slow Spread  —  FROM: Katherine Patterson, Public Policy Polling  —  RE: Backlash - Youngkin Already Out of Touch with Virginia Voters on COVID-19 …

In-Person Equity Hubs Available for Students in Virtual Learning Due to School Closures  —  MCPS is providing in-person Equity Hubs for Kindergarten through Grade 5 students in schools that have transitioned to virtual learning.  Virtual learning may pose a challenge for families whose children need …

Fox News Abandons the GOP on Russia  —  Russia-Ukraine is becoming a trial of strength between different parts of the conservative universe.  —  About the author: David Frum is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy (2020).

In J.D. Vance's primary, nonstop Trump-worship shows the perils of populism  —  Here's an unsettling thought: In GOP primaries, declaring unshakable fealty to the mythology that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump is becoming a bedrock condition of political survival.

China's ambassador to the U.S. warns of ‘military conflict’ over Taiwan  —  China's ambassador to the United States issued a warning Thursday: The U.S. could face “military conflict” with China over the future status of Taiwan.  —  In his first one-on-one interview since assuming his post in Washington …