Top Items:
Washington Post:
Inside the White House preparations for a Russian invasion — A “Tiger Team” of administration officials has spent the past several months preparing a clear series of responses, gaming out scenarios from cyberattacks and limited intervention to an invasion of Ukraine.
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Diana Leonard / Washington Post:
Southwest drought is the most extreme in 1,200 years, study finds — The past 22 years rank as the driest period since at least 800 A.D. — The extreme heat and dry conditions of the past few years pushed what was already an epic, decades-long drought in the American West into a historic disaster …
Discussion:
Nature, Informed Comment, Mercury News and Marginal REVOLUTION
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
Does Putin want a diplomatic solution in Ukraine? It's not looking that way. — Russian President Vladimir Putin's Ukrainian saber dance continued Monday, with his top aides suggesting the possibility of diplomacy and de-escalation even as Russian troops remained poised for attack on the border of Ukraine.
Discussion:
Financial Times, The Times, Al Jazeera, CBS News and NBC Boston
David Martin / CBS News:
Russian units near Ukraine moved into “attack positions,” official says — Russia has moved some long-range artillery and rocket launchers into firing position, threatening Ukraine, according to a U.S. official. — Some Russian units have left their assembly areas …
Henry Fountain / New York Times:
How Bad Is the Western Drought? Worst in 12 Centuries, Study Finds.
How Bad Is the Western Drought? Worst in 12 Centuries, Study Finds.
Discussion:
Watts Up With That?, UPI, Common Dreams and The Environmental Digest
Nathan Rott / NPR:
Study finds Western megadrought is the worst in 1,200 years
Study finds Western megadrought is the worst in 1,200 years
Discussion:
Associated Press
Alexander Smith / NBC News:
Ukraine president says he's been told Russia will attack Wednesday
Ukraine president says he's been told Russia will attack Wednesday
Discussion:
The Hill, Vox, Associated Press, Townhall, Forbes, HotAir, The Moderate Voice and CNN
Reuters:
U.S. moving Ukraine embassy from Kyiv to Lviv amid Russian buildup
U.S. moving Ukraine embassy from Kyiv to Lviv amid Russian buildup
Discussion:
CBS News, Reuters, National Review, The Daily Caller, Human Events, New York Post, Politico, Mediaite, eurofieldnotes, CNN, Just The News and IJR
euronews:
Ukraine far-right group offers training to civilians
Ukraine far-right group offers training to civilians
Discussion:
The American Conservative, Conquest of the Useless, Townhall, Associated Press and Weight of the World
Guy Faulconbridge / Reuters:
EXCLUSIVE Russian mercenaries with spy links increasing presence in Ukraine
EXCLUSIVE Russian mercenaries with spy links increasing presence in Ukraine
Discussion:
ЛІГ …
New York Times:
Accounting Firm Cuts Ties With Trump and Retracts Financial Statements — The firm, Mazars USA, said in a letter that it could no longer stand behind the annual statements, which are central to an investigation by the New York attorney general. — Donald J. Trump's longtime accounting firm cut ties …
Discussion:
Pawprints, Associated Press, HuffPost, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, CNN, NBC News, CNBC, NPR, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Reuters, The Moderate Voice, Financial Times, The Mind Shield, Bloomberg, Law & Crime, abc7NY, New York Post, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, NBC Bay Area, Insider, Raw Story, Mediaite, POLITICUSUSA, Vanity Fair, CBS News, Metro.co.uk, UPI, Mother Jones, USA Today, HuffPost, Insider, Wall Street Journal, The Hill and The Guardian
Washington Post:
Sarah Palin judge will dismiss her libel case, finding no malice by New York Times — The rare and closely watched case has raised concerns that historic protections for journalists may be at risk. — NEW YORK — A judge on Monday said he will dismiss Sarah Palin's libel case against the New York Times …
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, Four Freedoms, Law & Crime, New York Times, NPR, The Mind Shield, WHYY, Breitbart, Snopes.com, Fox News, Gawker, Raw Story, Deadline, Associated Press, Bloomberg, New York Post, Ace of Spades HQ, Power Line, New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, UPI, The Daily Beast, HotAir, Al Jazeera, Variety, The Mahablog, The Daily Wire, Occupy Democrats, ragnar_forseti's Newsletter, Metro.co.uk, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite, Instapundit, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, National Review, Althouse, Just The News, Wall Street Journal, Insider, CNN and The American Conservative, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
Killing of Christina Yuna Lee Heightens Safety Fears in Chinatown — Ms. Lee, who was described as “irreplaceable,” was stabbed to death in her apartment after a man followed her into her building. — A 25-year-old man was arrested on murder and burglary charges on Monday …
Discussion:
New York Daily News, CBS News, The Daily Caller, HotAir and New York Post
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Catharine Tunney / CBC News:
Federal government invokes Emergencies Act for first time ever in response to protests — Act grants cabinet ability to take ‘special temporary measures that may not be appropriate in normal times’ — CBC News Special: PM Invokes Emergencies Act — Join CBC News live for special coverage starting …
Discussion:
Financial Times, BBC, Angus Reid Institute, Associated Press, Toronto Star, The Daily Caller, Canadian Press, The Dossier, New York Times, The Daily Wire, Politico, True North, The Daily Caller, Page Array, BuzzFeed News, RedState, One America News Network, Breitbart, National Review, TheBlaze, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York Post, Streams of Crunchiness, True North, The Daily Wire, Washington Examiner, Cultural Action Party …, Global Community Weekly, Talking Points Memo, Louder With Crowder, Shaky Times, Al Jazeera, Yakk Stack, One America News Network, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, Insider, The Last Refuge, Bloomberg, The Guardian, All Facts Matter, Connecting Thoughts and Hennessy's View, more at Techmeme »
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Peter Grant / Wall Street Journal:
People Are Going Out Again, but Not to the Office — Only a third of U.S. employees have returned to the office, as workers prefer remote and companies fear ordering them back — Americans are dining again in restaurants, attending sporting events, and flying throughout the country.
Tom Winter / NBC News:
Tech exec used access to White House computers to look for dirt on Trump, says special counsel — A tech executive “exploited” his access to computer data at the Trump White House in order to find “derogatory information” about President Donald Trump, said a special counsel appointed during …
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Times, Silent Partner, CNN, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Fox News, The Federalist and Fox News
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Andrew Wolfson / Courier-Journal:
Activist Quintez Brown named in attempted shooting of Louisville mayor candidate Greenberg — A Louisville activist has been identified as a suspect in Monday's attempted shooting of mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg. — Quintez Brown, 21, was charged with attempted murder and four counts …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Insider and The Daily Beast
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Eduardo Medina / New York Times:
Pastor Resigns After Incorrectly Performing Thousands of Baptisms — The pastor of a Catholic church in Phoenix changed one word in administering the sacrament, rendering baptisms performed there invalid, the church said. — The Rev. Andres Arango was leading a baptism at St. Gregory Catholic Church …
Discussion:
ABC, Insider, WHDH-TV, Fox News, The American Spectator and The Daily Caller
Azi Paybarah / New York Times:
2020 Election Denier Will Run for Top Elections Position in Colorado — Tina Peters, the Mesa County clerk, has been stripped of her county election oversight but is seeking to oversee her state's elections as secretary of state. — A Republican county clerk in Colorado who was stripped …
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Post, Denver Post, Talking Points Memo, Lawyers, Guns & Money and CNN
U.S. Department of Justice:
Maryland Nuclear Engineer Pleads Guilty to Espionage-Related Offense — A Maryland man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to communicate restricted data related to the design of nuclear-powered warships to a person he believed was a representative of a foreign nation.
Discussion:
Greensburg Tribune-Review
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David M. Herszenhorn / Politico:
On stage at the Kremlin: Putin and Lavrov's de-escalation dance — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his trusty foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, on Monday signaled that there would be no imminent military strike on Ukraine and that they were prepared to continue diplomatic dialogue with the West, led by the United States.
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Omega Inflection, Quillette, Politico and The National Interest
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Megan Cassidy / San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco police linked a woman to a crime using DNA from her rape exam, D.A. Boudin says — The San Francisco police crime lab has been entering sexual assault victims' DNA profiles in a database used to identify suspects in crimes, District Attorney Chesa Boudin said Monday …
Discussion:
NBC Bay Area, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, HuffPost, CBS San Francisco and Los Angeles Blade
David Remnick / New Yorker:
Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez an Insider Now? — After three years in the halls of power, she's seen the “shit show” up close—and hasn't given up on her vision for how to change it. … Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat representing parts of Queens and the Bronx (including Rikers Island) …
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Post, Townhall, Mediaite, Insider, The Hill, HotAir, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Twitchy and Jewish Insider
John Sexton / HotAir:
SF school board recall vote is tomorrow and turnout looks low — As Jazz pointed out last week, the San Francisco school board recall vote takes place tomorrow. The recall is taking place at the same time as a State Assembly race. Supporters of the three school board members who are facing …
Discussion:
Beyond Chron, WTOP News and Politico
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New York Post:
Mayor Adams fires 1,430 NYC workers for refusing to get COVID vaccine — Mayor Eric Adams fired more than 1,400 government workers who refused to get vaccinated, the city revealed on Monday — including 36 NYPD personnel, 25 Fire Department workers and 914 Department of Education staffers.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Manchin clarifies: He'd oppose second high court nominee right before presidential election — Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Monday said he would not support confirming another nominee selected by President Biden for the Supreme Court immediately before the 2024 presidential election …
Discussion:
HotAir, RedState, One America News Network, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and The Mind Shield
Jaclyn Hendricks / New York Post:
Snoop Dogg smokes weed right before star-studded Super Bowl 2022 halftime show — Before taking the stage for Sunday's epic Super Bowl 2022 halftime show, Snoop Dogg had something of a pregame warmup. — In a video currently making the rounds on social media, Snoop is seen smoking …
Discussion:
NBC News, Townhall, The Federalist, RedState, Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, Mediaite and Looper
Associated Press:
Plane with 8 aboard crashes off North Carolina; 1 body found — MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (AP) — A small plane carrying eight people crashed into the ocean off North Carolina's Outer Banks and left behind multiple debris fields where crews searched for the missing passengers, the Coast Guard said.
Discussion:
Metro.co.uk, Fox News, The Hill, CW39 Houston and CBS News
Paul Liotta / Staten Island Advance:
Sources: Savino will decline to seek re-election for North Shore Senate seat — STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Sources said Monday that State Sen. Diane Savino will not seek re-election, and for the first time in over a decade, Staten Island's North Shore will have a new person in that seat.
Hannah Knowles / Washington Post:
He shot a man over tossed popcorn, prosecutors say. His defense: Stand-your-ground. — Lawyers on both sides of Curtis Reeves's murder trial agree: It all began with a man who left his phone on in the movie theater. — Reeves was so irked by the white light emanating from Chad Oulson's device …
Discussion:
CNN