Disjecta Membra: News Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs/Frid/Sat/Sun

Free agent F/C Noah Vonleh is expected to sign a deal with the Brooklyn Nets. Vonleh provides immediate rotational depth for the Nets.
https://twitter.com/shamscharania/status/1358799010400763908

US moves to rejoin UN rights council
https://www.state.gov/u-s-decision-to-reengage-with-the-un-human-rights-council/
__________________________

https://www.state.gov/u-s-decision-to-reengage-with-the-un-human-rights-council/

U.S. Decision To Reengage with the UN Human Rights Council

Press Statement

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

February 8, 2021

The Biden administration has recommitted the United States to a foreign policy centered on democracy, human rights, and equality. Effective use of multilateral tools is an important element of that vision, and in that regard the President has instructed the Department of State to reengage immediately and robustly with the UN Human Rights Council.

We recognize that the Human Rights Council is a flawed body, in need of reform to its agenda, membership, and focus, including its disproportionate focus on Israel. However, our withdrawal in June 2018 did nothing to encourage meaningful change, but instead created a vacuum of U.S. leadership, which countries with authoritarian agendas have used to their advantage.

When it works well, the Human Rights Council shines a spotlight on countries with the worst human rights records and can serve as an important forum for those fighting injustice and tyranny. The Council can help to promote fundamental freedoms around the globe, including freedoms of expression, association and assembly, and religion or belief as well as the fundamental rights of women, girls, LGBTQI+ persons, and other marginalized communities. To address the Council's deficiencies and ensure it lives up to its mandate, the United States must be at the table using the full weight of our diplomatic leadership.

In the immediate term, the United States will engage with the Council as an observer, and in that capacity will have the opportunity to speak in the Council, participate in negotiations, and partner with others to introduce resolutions. It is our view that the best way to improve the Council is to engage with it and its members in a principled fashion. We strongly believe that when the United States engages constructively with the Council, in concert with our allies and friends, positive change is within reach.
__________________________

After citing the Gateway Pundit in their trial brief, Trump's lawyers chide the Democrats for "astonishingly" citing BLOGS (@lawfareblog, @dorfonlaw, among others) in their brief
https://twitter.com/sambrodey/status/1358812403568422917

Trump impeachment: Democrats could call witnesses to establish the fact that Trump was delighted by what was happening - people fighting for him, and the vote delayed - but that's unlikely to happen because Democrats are cowards.

DEMOCRATS RUN CANDIDATES PLEASE: With Republican Representative Ron Wright's death, there will be a 2021 special election to fill his seat. Will probably be one of the first true bellwethers of the political environment.
#TX06: Arlington-Fort Worth area D-trending suburban seat. 50.8% Trump, 47.8% Biden. Wright won 53% of the vote in 20.

Per govtrack, 71 members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19 since the outset of the pandemic. Wright is the first of them to die from the virus.
https://govtrack.us/covid-19

Taylor Heinicke had more total yards against the Buccaneers' Defense than 3 NFL MVP QBs.

"When we played them earlier Hill went off on us. He backflipped right in front of my face and give me the ✌🏻. So it was only right that I gave him the ✌🏻 right back to him. it felt amazing to be able to do that." - Antoine Winfield Jr
https://twitter.com/JamesPalmerTV/status/1358638800126283776

Tom Brady now has more Super Bowl wins than all 32 NFL franchises.

Everyone who scored a point for the Buccaneers tonight wasn't on the team 11 months ago. Tom Brady. Leonard Fournette. Rob Gronkowski. Antonio Brown. Ryan Succop

Antoine Winfield Jr taunts Tyreek Hill
https://www.clippituser.tv/c/arpeym

Chiefs recorded 0 touchdowns in a game for the 1st time since Patrick Mahomes took over as starting QB.

Mahomes almost throws a touchdown falling down on fourth down
https://www.clippituser.tv/c/mmqppm

Brady was pressured on 9.5% of dropbacks in the first half, per ESPNStatsInfo. Mahomes...57%.

Patrick Mahomes' had a 52.3 passer rating in Superbowl 55. That is Mahomes' worst passer rating in a single game in his career.

Brady tells Mathieu he's going at him all game. goes after him. then lets him know he went after him.
https://twitter.com/Jomboy_/status/1358586009865306114

Tom Brady named Super Bowl MVP for the 5th time in his career.
https://twitter.com/MikeClemensNFL/status/1358616683443875840

Todd Bowles the real MVP because it's too hard to split it up among 11 defenders. Holding KC to 9 points is legendary.

Andy Reid on Tampa Bay's defense tonight: "Give credit to Todd Bowles for the job he did. He got us."
https://twitter.com/mysportsupdate/status/1358621355638415367

Tom Brady says he's coming back. Bruce Arians says he's coming back Gronk already said he's coming back. Buccaneers will have the full gamut for their title defense.

Mahomes gets walloped by the Bucs defense
https://streamable.com/gzy2ag

Leonard Fournette: "(Tom Brady) was telling us what to expect. He was telling us that they're not very good at tackling. They were 31st in tackling, yards after catches."
https://twitter.com/ByChrisMason/status/1358628014121181184

Winfield Jr intercepts the tipped Mahomes ball
https://www.clippituser.tv/c/kxadgk

Patrick Mahomes ran a total of 497 yards before his passes tonight. That's the most pre-throw yards run by any quarterback in any game this season
https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1358624092170125316

Mahomes puts in an incredible effort to stay alive on 3rd down but can't find a teammate for the touchdown
https://streamable.com/isbf7p

.@COVIDOversight Releases New Evidence Of Trump Administration's Political Meddling In Coronavirus Guidance, Testing And Treatments; Chairman @WhipClyburn Renews Inquiry into Previous Administration's Disastrous Pandemic Response, Seeks to Identify and Address Failures.
https://coronavirus.house.gov/news/press-releases/select-subcommittee-releases-new-evidence-trump-administration-s-political

- Trump Administration Weakened CDC Guidance to Hide Positive Tests While Promoting Reopening
- Trump Officials Manipulated Public Health Information
- Trump Appointees Pressed FDA Director to Approve Treatments Over Objections of Scientists

Emails show that appointees at HHS, possibly at President Trump's direction, worked to devise a model that would justify rapidly reopening businesses in May 2020. On May 16, 2020, HHS Assistant Secretary Michael Caputo wrote: "I know the President wants us to enumerate the economic cost of not reopening. We need solid estimates to be able to say something like: 50,000 more cancer deaths! 40,000 more heart attacks! 25,000 more suicides! 155,000 more trauma deaths! 240,000 hospitals will close! 400,000 heath [sic] care workers jobless! 170,000 more high school dropouts! Etc"
https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/05.17.2020%20SSCC-0014242_Redacted.pdf

In response, Dr. Alexander came up with a model that projected two to four times the number of deaths forecasted by CDC and others. Dr. Alexander later admitted that he believed models of viral outbreaks could be manipulated to serve political goals, writing: "Ah models, I can manipulate models to make it what I want...we all do."
https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/05.17.2020%20SSCC-0014477_Redacted.pdf
https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/08.02.2020%20SSCC-0003511_Redacted.pdf

Documents show that Dr. Alexander consulted with White House officials, including Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Scott Atlas, during his campaign to pressure career CDC officials to change scientific reports he felt were politically damaging to President Trump. For example, on September 11, 2020, Dr. Alexander emailed Dr. Atlas about a forthcoming CDC report on coronavirus deaths in young people, which he claimed was "very duplicitous to damage the administration." He asked Dr. Atlas to help "craft an op-ed … disputing the reporting for on face value, it is meant to mislead."
https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/09.11.2020%20SSCC-0015141_Redacted.pdf

Documents reveal that HHS political appointees pushed FDA to approve coronavirus treatments including hydroxychloroquine. For example, on July 19, 2020, Dr. Alexander wrote to then-FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn about a study purporting to show benefits of hydroxychloroquine, explaining "I want to help the administration," and complaining, "we are being fought by the other side and media which is horrendous."
https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/07.19.2020%20SSCC-0005448_Redacted.pdf

On August 19, 2020, Dr. Alexander urged Commissioner Hahn to quickly issue an emergency use authorization (EUA) for convalescent plasma. He forwarded a summary of studies on the subject, writing, "I share this to help give us cover in our decisions." He also advised Commissioner Hahn to disregard objections from National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins and Dr. Anthony Fauci, writing, "NIH has stepped out of their lane." Three days later, on August 23, 2020, FDA granted the EUA. Commissioner Hahn later apologized for citing misleading statistics on the treatment's effectiveness.
https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/08.19.2020%20SSCC-0015402_Redacted.pdf

1.5 million Americans quit their jobs last year because they were fearful of catching covid19 at work. 80% of them were denied unemployment. The Biden WH wants to change the rules so these people CAN get unemployment.
https://washingtonpost.com/business/2021/02/08/executive-order-refuse-work-unemployment/

The House Oversight Committee is demanding documents related to Parler's financing, ties to foreign entities.
https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2021-02-08.CBM%20to%20Wernick%20-Parler%20re%20Negotiations_0.pdf

Increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 would cut employment by 1.4 million and reduce the number of Americans below the poverty line by 900,000, CBO says.

"Hundreds of condominiums remain unsold, and the mall is barren of customers. Its anchor tenant…filed for bankruptcy…at least four other stores, as well as several restaurants" also closed. And the centerpiece, the Vessel, closed after multiple suicides
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/06/nyregion/hudson-yards-nyc.html

Asked yesterday by @jaketapper about VP possibly overruling Senate parliamentarian on $15 minimum wage in the relief bill, Bernie Sanders said first he has to get through the parliamentarian. "Then I got to get 50 votes in support of raising that minimum wage to $15 an hour."

Jen Psaki says that "the proper process" is for the Senate parlimentarian to make determinations about what should be allowed under reconciliation, not the VP. Why this matters: people feared the VP would overrule the parlimentarian on minimum wage if it did not survive Byrd bath.

For people saying that of course Shelby is retiring because he's 86....Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley are older than Shelby...
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/29/politics/congress-age/index.html

On POTUS not yet calling China's Xi Jinping, PressSec says the strategy has been to consult first with partners and allies, including in the region. Asked why POTUS has already spoken to Putin but not Xi, Psaki pointed to tight timeline of New START which required a call.

House Dems respond to Trump's brief, saying they "deny each and every" allegation that Trump's team made in their first brief. "This is not a case about protected speech." https://judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/house_managers_replication_02.08.2021.pdf

The Republican Accountability Project , a Republican group, plans to run ads in the home states of nearly two dozen Republican senators during the impeachment trial, pressuring them to vote to convict Trump and bar him from holding office again.
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article249037875.html

Bulls' Lauri Markkanen will miss 2-to-4 weeks with a right shoulder sprain.
https://twitter.com/shamscharania/status/1358819186907168772

UK refuses to stop selling weapons to Saudi that Saudi is using to genocide Yemeni
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/08/uk-declines-to-follow-us-in-suspending-saudi-arms-sales-over-yemen

At least 177 people are missing and 20 have died in northern India after part of a Himalayan glacier burst
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/08/asia/india-glacier-dam-disaster-climate-intl-hnk/index.html

A hacker gained access to Oldsmar's water treatment plant, bumping the sodium hydroxide in the water to a "dangerous" level, according to Pinellas County's sheriff. In a press conference Monday, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said his deputies, along with the FBI and U.S. Secret Service, are investigating the breach as it is unclear if it came from within the U.S. or from a foreign actor. The incident first occurred on Feb. 5 at the city's water treatment plant when, around 8 a.m., an operator noticed someone had remotely entered the computer system that he was monitoring. It's a system responsible for controlling the chemicals and other operations of the water treatment plant, Gualtieri said. At first, the operator did not think much of the action due to the common use of the remote access software by supervisors to troubleshoot from different locations. That's until it happened again. And this time, Gualtieri says, the hacker did more than just remote in. According to the sheriff, the hacker spent up to five minutes in the system and adjusted the amount of sodium hydroxide in the water from 100 parts per million to 11,100. "This is obviously a significant and potentially dangerous increase. Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is the main ingredient in liquid drain cleaners," Gualtieri added. The operator immediately reduced the levels back to the appropriate amount and "at no time was there a significant adverse effect on the water being treated."
https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/pinellas-oldsmar-water-system-computer-intrustion/67-512b2bab-9f94-44d7-841e-5169fdb0a0bd

Good, Mike Evans is garbage who contributed nothing: Mike Evans has offered to give up money to keep team together https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/02/08/bruce-arians-mike-evans-has-offered-to-give-up-money-to-keep-team-together/

Brady made an extra $3.375m of a possible $4.5m in incentives this year, on top of his $25m salary. He earned $2.25m for winning the Super Bowl, and $1.125m for finishing top 5 in TD passes and passing yards
https://twitter.com/BenVolin/status/1358811946716430339

Trump's Crack Impeachment Lawyers Misspelled 'United States'—Again
https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgzk3z/trumps-crack-impeachment-lawyers-misspelled-united-statesagain

The office of Georgia's secretary of state has started an investigation into Trump's attempts to overturn the state's election results, including the phone call he made to Brad Raffensperger to 'find' enough votes to reverse his loss. Walter Jones, spokesperson for Sec. of Raffensperger told CNN in a written statement "The Sec of State's office investigates complaints it receives. The investigations are fact-finding & administrative in nature. Any further legal efforts will be left to the Attorney General."
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/us/politics/trump-georgia-election-investigation.html

World Health Organization officials expressed confidence that AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine can prevent severe cases of the disease, as well as hospitalizations and deaths, despite questions about the protection it offers against a South African strain
https://www.wsj.com/articles/astrazenecas-covid-19-vaccine-defended-by-world-health-officials-11612821292

This suit was an abusive deployment of state power for personal revenge by Melania Trump: US Justice Dept. drops Trump-era lawsuit against Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, an ex-friend and former adviser to Melania Trump
https://twitter.com/MikeScarcella/status/1358906982665773059/photo/1

DC fed magistrate judge finds terorrist John Earle Sullivan, whom sought to murder lawmakers to prevent them from certifiying the electoral college results, did violate pretrial release conditions - including with a recent appearance on Infowars when he promoted his org Insurgence USA and terrorist conspiracy theories, which he wasn't supposed to do - but says she doesn't believe detention is appropriate or required even though he committed a terrorist attack on the US government and US lawmakers

Good, the original numbers and threshold remain the same (same threshold for bailout 1/April and bailout 2/December) House Democrats propose full $1,400 stimulus payment for those up to $75K (singles) and $150K (couples), a reversal from bringing those thresholds to $50K and $100K
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/02/08/democrats-stimulus-checks-covid-relief/
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/08/democrats-income-debate-direct-payments-467626

87-7, former WH chief of staff Denis McDonough confirmed as secretary of Veterans Affairs.
https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1358930240303755266
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Zlj6Jr23D4a-Ajzh1VtC_5HGB55DGO-leVWzQkTc1h8/edit#gid=1830138682
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/08/965540518/senate-confirms-denis-mcdonough-to-head-veterans-affairs-department

Indiana Pacers assistant coach Bill Bayno has resigned his job, citing mental health issues, sources told ESPN.
http://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1358917313450377219

Court rules Paul Manafort can't be prosecuted on state charges
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/08/politics/new-york-appeals-court-manafort/index.html

South Dakota Republicans introduce illegal and unconstitutional legislation that would illegally and unconstitutionally nullify Biden executive orders
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/south-dakota-legislation-nullify-biden-executive-orders

Good: Hawaii Lawmakers Advance New Tax On Alcoholic Drinks
https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/02/hawaii-lawmakers-advance-new-tax-on-alcoholic-drinks/

Newly reelected Michigan Republican pro-Trump terrorist vice chair who supported murdering US lawmakers to prevent them from certifying the electoral college sent an email Monday seeking help "investigating" voters in Wayne County. "To know where all the holes are we still need to understand how the election was rigged last November," Marian Sheridan wrote. The email vaguely talks about voters listing abandoned lots on their registrations. Homeless voters are advised by the state to list a street corner or a park address on their registrations. (At what point can the clerks sue for defamation?)
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/08/michigan-gop-official-seeks-help-investigating-wayne-county-voters/4435801001/

Shocking. Trump's lawyers' brief (p. 2) reads as if it came straight from Reconstruction. It says Democrats are using Americans' horror and confusion over January 6 to gain political advantage. In 1866, white supremacists said the same about those trying to protect Black lives.

You worked for a president who intentionally tried to get his base to murder everybody to keep him in power, a president who when in power did everything he could to destroy everybody and everything for personal gain. Unsurprisingly you support destroying the planet and everything in it to make lazy white trash who refuse to work real jobs that involve saving the planet and making the planet great again happy. You support worthless racist lazy ignorant trash who prefer murdering everything in existence than making existence great again.
https://twitter.com/GOPChairwoman/status/1358915462713778179

Important thread. Hard to overstate how historically anomalous this was: While Trump got thumped by 7.1 million votes nationally, House Rs netted +12 seats. Gotta go back to 1960, when Rs won 22 seats as JFK won presidential, to find something remotely close: A RECAP of 2020 House races (now that #NY22 is finally resolved)
Dems have 222 House seats. Rs have 213 seats. They are 5 seats away from the majority
Rs flipped 14 Democratic seats & captured the Amash seat. Dems flipped 3 seats. The Republican net gain: 12 seats
https://twitter.com/allymutnick/status/1358899698128584712

The # of House Republican women grew 130%, from 13 to 30, in one cycle
13 Dem members lost in November. But House Rs didn't lose a single incumbent.
Dems flipped #GA07 (Biden+6) & #NC02 + #NC06, thanks to redistricting. The Republicans flipped 11 Trump-won & 4 Biden-won districts
https://twitter.com/allymutnick/status/1358899699055554571

Republican flips by presidential margin:
#MN07 (Trump+30)
#NM02 (Trump+12)
#NY11 (Trump+11)
#UT04 (Trump+9)
#SC01 (Trump+6)
#OK05 (Trump+6)
#FL26 (Trump+5)
#IA01 (Trump+4)
#IA02 (Trump+4)
#MI03 (Trump+4)
#NY22 (Trump+??)
#CA48 (Biden+2)
#FL27 (Biden+3)
#CA21 (Biden+10)
#CA39 (Biden+10)
https://twitter.com/allymutnick/status/1358899699961495553

https://twitter.com/Wilistillam/lists/wh-press
http://www.williamsandjensen.com/news/daily-update
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1
https://twitter.com/ERICBALFOUR
https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden
https://twitter.com/POTUS
https://twitter.com/FLOTUS
https://twitter.com/VP
https://twitter.com/sensanders
https://twitter.com/BernieSanders
https://twitter.com/SenSchumer
https://twitter.com/ewarren
https://twitter.com/senwarren
https://twitter.com/AOC
https://twitter.com/repaoc
https://twitter.com/IlhanMN
https://twitter.com/ilhan
https://twitter.com/BetoORourke
https://twitter.com/SenBooker
https://twitter.com/AndrewYang
https://twitter.com/ossoff
https://twitter.com/ReverendWarnock
https://twitter.com/tedlieu
https://twitter.com/ClimateEnvoy
https://twitter.com/SamanthaJPower
https://twitter.com/HouseDemocrats
https://twitter.com/alfcyberbrigade
https://twitter.com/seashepherd
https://twitter.com/ElectProject
https://secure.actblue.com/directory/all/all/state-gov
https://secure.actblue.com/directory/all/all/fed-senate
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G20/
https://twitter.com/neeratanden
https://twitter.com/TheOvalPawffice
https://www.instagram.com/first_dogs_usa/
https://twitter.com/repdebhaaland
https://twitter.com/debhaalandnm
https://twitter.com/StateDept
https://twitter.com/SecBlinken
https://www.state.gov/press-releases/
https://twitter.com/statedeptspox
https://www.doi.gov/news
https://twitter.com/interior
https://twitter.com/usdol
https://www.transportation.gov/newsroom/press-releases
https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg
https://twitter.com/Michael_S_Regan
https://twitter.com/LindaT_G
https://twitter.com/usun
https://usun.usmission.gov/
https://twitter.com/usun
https://twitter.com/wahleah/
https://twitter.com/joekennedy
https://usun.usmission.gov/category/remarks-and-highlights/
https://twitter.com/usmissiongeneva
https://twitter.com/ClimateEnvoy
https://twitter.com/USAIDSavesLives
https://twitter.com/USAIDSavesLives
https://twitter.com/PotusSchedBot
https://factba.se/biden/calendar
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse
https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/
https://twitter.com/ronaldklain
https://twitter.com/WHCOS
https://twitter.com/brucereed46
https://twitter.com/Nick_Conger
https://twitter.com/SpaceForceDoD
https://www.budget.senate.gov/chairman/newsroom
https://twitter.com/SenateBudget

ICE is preparing to issue new guidelines to agents this week that could sharply curb arrests and deportations, as the Biden administration attempts to assert more control over the agency.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/new-biden-rules-for-ice-point-to-fewer-arrests-and-deportations-and-a-more-restrained-agency/2021/02/07/faccb854-68c6-11eb-bf81-c618c88ed605_story.html

Confirmation Hearing: Nominee to be White House Budget Director Neera Tanden - LIVE at 9:15am ET on C-SPAN3 https://c-span.org/video/?508733-1/white-house-budget-director-nominee-neera-tanden-confirmation-hearing

Steph beats the buzzer from waaaay downtown
https://streamable.com/euak5j

Steph Curry pump fakes DeMar DeRozan on the free throw line
https://streamable.com/6n4guo

Dejounte Murray makes a clutch 3-pointer to give the Spurs a 4-point lead over the Warriors with 12.6 seconds left
https://streamable.com/or2vt2

Mason Jones flops big on a 3 point attempt

MPJ misses a bad shot; Jokic, visibly frustrated, knocks down a 3 on the next trip and tells MPJ to shoot it like that (unconfirmed lip reading)
https://streamable.com/cpzoky

Curry hits the high-arching three to cut the lead to 1
https://streamable.com/k6sa84

LaMelo Ball versus the Rockets: 24 points (including 7/12 from three), 6 rebounds, 10 assists, and a ridiculous game-high +27

Siakam has now scored at least 30 points in four of his last six games.
https://twitter.com/howevolution/status/1358977692134162434

Kelly Oubre with the tunnel vision
https://streamable.com/7rvgl7

Khris and Giannis execute their unforgiving pick and roll
https://streamable.com/j8ia3h

KCP fouls Shai on a 3-point attempt with 1.2 seconds left in regulation

Biden Admin DOJ Drops Trump-Era Opposition to California's Strongest-in-Nation Net Neutrality Law
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/biden-doj-drops-trump-era-opposition-to-californias-strongest-in-nation-net-neutrality-law/

Arizona Senate Republicans fail in attempt to hold Maricopa County supervisors who did their job legally in contempt over election audit. They were 1 vote short of being able to arrest people for doing their job and not subverting a US presidential election. This is absolutely terrifying.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2021/02/08/arizona-senate-republicans-vote-contempt-maricopa-county-supervisors-election-audit/4435515001/

LaMelo Ball hits his 6th 3 of the night
https://streamable.com/fv4ia1

Caleb Martin beats the buzzer with a circus shot off the deflected pass from LaMelo
https://streamable.com/wcn4cl

Donte DiVincenzo nearly ends Jokic' career but the Joker fights back
https://streamable.com/0ozpsc

Former aides to Donald Trump told CNN that Trump enjoyed watching his supporters assault the US Capitol in the final days of his presidency.
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-was-loving-watching-the-capitol-mob-white-house-official-2021-2

Last month, The Washington Post reported that Trump was slow to act on calling for an end to the riot — which he did hours after it began in a video posted to Twitter in which he called the rioters "special" — because he was watching it live on television.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-mob-failure/2021/01/11/36a46e2e-542e-11eb-a817-e5e7f8a406d6_story.html

Good: Biden's Justice Department asked 56 Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys to resign (they're fired if they refuse)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/biden-s-justice-department-ask-nearly-all-trump-era-u-n1257100
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/biden-us-attorneys-trump-hunter-biden/2021/02/08/7f6dccd2-6a80-11eb-9f80-3d7646ce1bc0_story.html

Biden World is vowing to not make the same mistakes as previous administrations going into the midterms. They're pulling together plans to ensure Americans know about every dollar delivered and job kept because of the relief bill they're crafting.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/08/biden-gop-covid-relief-punish-466995

DeMar DeRozan says Dejounte Murray is no longer invited to his house after tonight's performance: "He might steal something."

Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley was sentenced today to 120 days in the Hennepin County Workhouse with work release and home confinement option — to be served at end of the season, stemming from charges via October arrest, per his attorney Steve Haney.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1359173163192614913

Tingus Pingus with the double crossover and cans the smooth mid-range jumper
https://streamable.com/6s5mep

Booker hits two tough shots to give the Suns the lead late in the 4th
https://streamable.com/oi9uai

(Kobe Bryant) NTSB: the pilot's decision to continue the flight into deteriorating weather conditions was likely influenced by a self-induced pressure to fulfill the clients travel needs, his lack of an alternative plan, and the plan continuation bias which strengthened as the flight neared the destination.
http://ntsb.windrosemedia.com/live/

Biden believes teachers are priority for vaccinations, White House says
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN2A91UR
_________________________________

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/us/politics/joe-biden-democratic-party.html

How Biden United a Fractious Party Under One Tent

President Biden and progressive Democrats are united by a moment of national crisis and the lingering influence of his predecessor. But the moment of harmony may be fragile.

Reid J. Epstein

By Lisa Lerer and Reid J. Epstein

    Feb. 9, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET

For years, Bernie Sanders and Joseph R. Biden Jr. wrestled over the Democratic Party's future in a public tug of war that spanned three elections, two administrations and one primary contest.

But when Mr. Sanders walked into his first Oval Office meeting with the new president last week and saw the large portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt opposite the Resolute Desk, the liberal luminary felt as if he were no longer battling Mr. Biden for the soul of the party.

"President Biden understands that, like Roosevelt, he has entered office at a time of extraordinary crises and that he is prepared to think big and not small in order to address the many, many problems facing working families," Mr. Sanders said in an interview. "There is an understanding that if we're going to address the crises facing this country, we're all in it together."

After a 15-month primary contest that highlighted deep divides within the party, Mr. Biden and his fractious Democratic coalition are largely holding together. United by a moment of national crisis and the lingering influence of his predecessor, the new president is enjoying an early honeymoon from the political vise of a progressive wing that spent months preparing to squeeze the new administration.

Democrats have remained resolute about pushing through Mr. Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue plan over near-unanimous dissent from Republicans, and they are determined to hold Trump accountable for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol violence in the impeachment trial that starts Tuesday.

Liberal standard-bearers like Mr. Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts are holding their fire. The progressive "Squad" in the House — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and her allies — have focused their rage on the Republicans who inspired the siege of the Capitol.

And activists who have built careers out of orchestrating public pressure campaigns have been disarmed by the open line to the White House they enjoy, and by the encouragement they receive from its highest levels — a signal that the administration is tending to the Democratic base in a way that wasn't done during the Obama or Clinton years.

The moment of unity could be fragile: Sharp differences remain between Mr. Biden and his left flank over issues like health care, college costs, expanding the Supreme Court and tackling income equality. A battle looms over whether to prioritize a $15 per hour minimum wage in the administration's first piece of legislation; the debate flared anew on Monday when a report from the Congressional Budget Office said the $15 level would significantly reduce poverty but cost hundreds of thousands of jobs.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/02/08/minimum-wage-hike-15-an-hour-by-2025-would-result-14-million-unemployed-nonpartisan-congressional-budget-office-says/

Yet in the embryonic stage of the Biden administration, Democrats appear to be largely coexisting under their big tent.

Even Mr. Biden's decision to hold his first high-profile White House meeting with Republican senators, and not Democrats, didn't faze progressives who urged him to stand firm in the face of efforts to whittle down his $1.9 trillion stimulus package.

"Biden said he would reach out to Republicans," Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, one of the chamber's most progressive members, said in an interview. "He had to give it a shot."

The harmony reflects how far Mr. Biden and his party shifted to the left during the Trump administration. During the campaign, Republicans accused Mr. Biden of being a "Trojan horse" for liberal interests. But the administration hasn't tried to smuggle in progressive proposals; it has simply rebranded them as its own.

Elements of the Green New Deal, economic proposals and initiatives on racial equity and immigration are appearing in the executive orders and legislative plans the administration has issued.

Even party moderates like Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia now believe that Democrats must adopt a more aggressive approach to passing their agenda than they used a dozen years ago, when they last held full control of the federal government and spent months negotiating with Republicans.

Last week, by contrast, Democrats moved toward passing their expansive coronavirus relief package through reconciliation, a fast-track budgetary process that allows the party to muscle through parts of its agenda with a simple majority vote.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/us/politics/budget-reconciliation-coronavirus-stimulus.html

Within the Democratic caucus, Mr. Biden's team has avoided other pitfalls he witnessed during the Obama administration, when White House spokesmen dismissed activists as "the professional left" and banished intraparty critics from the administration's circles of influence. Instead, Mr. Biden's White House has welcomed many such critics to virtual meetings, and the chief of staff, Ron Klain, has encouraged progressive criticism on his Twitter feed.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/us/politics/some-liberals-say-obama-squandered-his-tax-leverage.html
https://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/white-house-faces-rising-grassroots-heat-on-immigration-103714
https://twitter.com/whcos/status/1356442978978586625

Melissa Byrne, a progressive activist, discovered as much when she wanted to prod Mr. Biden to focus on forgiving student loan debt. To complement her steady stream of tweets, Ms. Byrne bought full-page ads in The News Journal, a newspaper that was delivered to Mr. Biden's Delaware house daily during the presidential transition.

https://twitter.com/mcbyrne/status/1341476178281041921

Ms. Byrne expected some bristling from Mr. Biden's team over her public protests. Instead, her efforts were encouraged. Mr. Klain told her to keep up the pressure, inviting her to more Zoom meetings with the transition team.

"We just kept being able to have people at the table," she said. "That showed me that we could do cool things like sit-ins and banner drops, but we could also be warm and fuzzy."

The singular focus on the pandemic has enabled Mr. Biden to align the central promise of his campaign — a more effective government response — with the priorities of party officials in battleground states, who say that voters expect Mr. Biden to deliver a competent vaccine distribution along with direct economic relief. Already, there is widespread agreement within the party that Democrats will be judged in the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential contest by their handling of the twin crises.

"Needles and checks — that's got to be the focus," said Thomas Nelson, the executive of Wisconsin's Outagamie County. Mr. Nelson was a Sanders delegate in 2020 and is running in the 2022 election for the seat held by Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican. "People in my county, we need those checks."

Mr. Biden has also paid attention to other policy matters. He has signed about 45 executive orders, memorandums or proclamations enacting or at least initiating major shifts on issues including racial justice, immigration, climate change and transgender rights.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/us/politics/biden-immigration-executive-orders-trump.html

While his inner circle is largely composed of long-serving aides, he has placed progressives in influential administrative posts. He has also avoided selecting figures reviled by the left, like former Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago — who was Mr. Obama's chief of staff in 2009 — for high-profile positions.

"None of the people we were afraid of got into this cabinet," said Larry Cohen, the chairman of Our Revolution, the political group that formed out of the 2016 Sanders campaign. "It's fine and well for Rahm Emanuel to be an ambassador someplace."

For the first time in his decades in Washington, Mr. Sanders is an influential inside player in governance. He is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and speaks frequently with administration officials including Mr. Klain. He has had a number of conversations with Mr. Biden, whom he considers a friend, and said his calls to the White House were returned "very shortly."

"He sees the progressive movement as a strong part of his coalition," Mr. Sanders said of Mr. Biden. "He is reaching out to us and is adopting some of the ideas that we have put forth that make sense in terms of today's crises."

There's plenty of overlap between Mr. Biden's agenda and his left flank and some of the praise stems from the new president's taking steps he had already promised during his campaign, including rejoining the Paris climate accord.

Republicans have complained that Mr. Biden is a moderate being led astray by liberals in Congress and the White House. But as Democratic ideology shifted during his decades in Washington, Mr. Biden always recalibrated his positions to remain at the middle of his party. After four years of the Trump administration, that center has shifted decidedly to the left.

While Mr. Biden took pains to separate himself from the progressive left during the campaign — "I beat the socialist," Mr. Biden was fond of saying after he bested Mr. Sanders — he forged a rapprochement last summer when his campaign agreed to policy task forces with members appointed by Mr. Sanders.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/us/politics/bidens-response-to-voters-concerned-about-socialism-i-beat-the-socialist.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/us/politics/biden-sanders-task-force.html

For his part, Mr. Biden has reinterpreted his campaign promise to bring the country together into the loosest definition of the term. His aides have begun portraying it as finding broad support for their plans among voters — regardless of whether they garner the votes of any congressional Republicans.

"If you pass a piece of legislation that breaks down on party lines, but it gets passed, it doesn't mean there wasn't unity," Mr. Biden said recently. "It just means it wasn't bipartisan."

Still, reconciliation is subject to strict limits, so fights over what policies should be pursued and how to overcome Republican opposition are likely to be unavoidable.

Battle lines are already being drawn over whether to eliminate the filibuster, which would allow the party to pass measures with a simple majority. Mr. Biden and moderate Democrats remain committed to keeping the tactic, a decision liberals say could block a robust policy portfolio.

"Everyone is trying to make the argument that their priority can move through reconciliation," said Adam Jentleson, a former Senate aide who recently founded a new organization to help progressive groups push their agenda in Washington. "As people start to see that their thing is not going to get done that way, there will be more pressure."

Mr. Biden's honeymoon may be short on other issues as well. Advocates working near the Mexican border would like to see Mr. Biden flex his executive power to stop all deportations, going further than his promised 100-day moratorium, which was blocked in court.

"The feeling is really, 'Why did we come up with all this work to come up with this plan only for you to come up with an executive order to say you're still reviewing it?'" said Erika Pinheiro, the policy and litigation director at Al Otro Lado, a legal aid service for migrants and deportees.

Not everyone is quite as impatient. Ms. Byrne, the activist, said Mr. Biden's executive order extending a pause on federal student loan payments until September served as a sufficient first step.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/biden-executive-orders.html

"As long as they keep doing good stuff, we will be happy," Ms. Byrne said. "You give them a moment to operate in good faith, and you keep the cycle going."

Lisa Lerer is a reporter based in Washington, covering campaigns, elections and political power. Before joining The Times she reported on national politics and the 2016 presidential race for The Associated Press. @llerer

Reid J. Epstein covers campaigns and elections from Washington. Before joining The Times in 2019, he worked at The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Newsday and The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
_________________________________

The Constitution doesn't shield Trump from accountability. It demands it.

Biden's Civilian Climate Corps comes straight out of the New Deal
https://grist.org/politics/bidens-civilian-climate-corps-comes-straight-out-of-the-new-deal/

70 Percent of Republicans Would Join or Consider Joining Trump Party
https://www.newsweek.com/70-percent-republicans-would-join-consider-joining-trump-party-poll-1567912

GOOD: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said that President Biden "sees the progressive movement as a strong part of his coalition," even as recent debates over the federal minimum wage and coronavirus relief have revealed some divisions between liberal and more centrist Democrats.

YEP: The three lessons from 2009 are:
1. Dont spend months chasing Republican votes that will never come
2. Dont listen to Rahm on how much to prioritize judges
3. Dont listen to Larry Summers on the size of your stimulus package
https://twitter.com/brianefallon/status/1357690068362817541

Biden administration to send Covid vaccine doses directly to community health sites
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/biden-covid-vaccine-latest-b1799884.html

The U.S. Postal Service, struggling with slow delivery following disruptive changes by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, selected a Democrat as its board chairman.

Democrat Ron Bloom voted to USPS board of governors
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-09/democrat-named-postal-board-chair-amid-call-to-fire-postmaster

Joe Biden is the president, he's not a pundit, @PressSec says when asked about President Trump's impeachment defense strategy

The Senate impeachment trial of former President Trump begins with arguments and a vote on the constitutionality of the trial. Opening arguments from the House impeachment managers and the former president's defense team are expected to follow. Former President Trump was formally impeached by the House of Representatives with a vote on H.RES. 24: Article of Impeachment with a charge of Incitement of Insurrection, following the events at the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021. Final vote tally was 232 YEA, 197 NAY, 4 NV.
House Impeachment Managers H.RES. 40:
Congressman Jamie Raskin (D MD-8), Lead Manager
Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D CO-1)
Congressman David Cicilline (D RI-1)
Congressman Joaquin Castro (D TX-20)
Congressman Eric Swalwell (D CA-15)
Congressman Ted Lieu (D CA-33)
Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (D USVI)
Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (D PA-4)
Congressman Joe Neguse (D CO-2)
https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/11221-0

Rules and Procedures of Impeachment, as introduced by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (NY-D), allow for:
    2/9/2021: Four hours of equally divided debate on the question of whether Donald John Trump is subject to the jurisdiction of a court of impeachment for acts committed while President of the United States, notwithstanding the expiration of his term in that office
    2/10/2021-2/11/2021: House Impeachment Managers make their presentation in support of the Article of Impeachment for a period of time not to exceed 16 hours, over 2 session days.
    2/12/2021-2/TBD/2021: The former President Trump's legal team shall make his presentation for a period not to exceed 16 hours, over 2 session days.
    Upon the conclusion of the period allotted for presentations by the parties as provided under section 4, Senators may question the parties for a period of time not to exceed 4 hours over not more than 1 session day (time/day tbd)
    Upon conclusion of the period allotted for Senators' questions as provided under section 6, there shall be 2 hours of argument, equally divided between the parties. Additional documents may be requested or witnesses called by subpoena (time/day tbd)
    Final arguments, which shall not exceed 4 hours, equally divided between the parties (time/day tbd)
    Final vote on the Article of Impeachment (time/day tbd)
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20475147/senate_resolution.pdf

SEC. 2. When, pursuant to Senate Resolution 16, the Senate convenes as a Court of Impeachment on Tuesday, February 9, 2021, there shall immediately be 4 hours of argument by the parties, equally divided, on the question whether Donald John Trump is subject to the jurisdiction of a court of impeachment for acts committed while President of the United States, notwithstanding the expiration of his term in that office. Each side may determine the number of persons to present argument on the foregoing question. The Senate, without any intervening action, motion, or amendment, except for deliberation by the Senate, if so ordered under the Rules of Procedure and Practice in the Senate When Sitting on Impeachment Trials (referred to in this resolution as the ''Rules of Impeachment''), shall then decide the foregoing question by the yeas and nays. If a majority of Senators voting, a quorum being present, shall vote in the negative, the Senate shall order that the article of impeachment be immediately dismissed and the Secretary shall notify the House of Representatives of the order of dismissal. If a majority of Senators voting, a quorum being present, shall vote in the affirmative, the Senate shall proceed as provided in this resolution
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20475147/senate_resolution.pdf

Live Impeachment: https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1359200450009038853

Biden and Yellen are meeting with leading CEOs including JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon and Walmart's Doug McMillon to boost support for the administration's go-big virus rescue plan
https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-09/biden-hosts-jpmorgan-s-dimon-walmart-s-mcmillon-in-oval-office

Demonstrator and bodycam video from George Floyd actions in late May and early June show aggressive, "vengeful" police treatment of protesters in Worcester and Boston.
https://theappeal.org/videos-show-massachusetts-cops-brutalizing-george-floyd-protesters/

If the defence is that there was no premeditation, then that's simply not true. For MONTHS Trump was tweeting that Jan 6th 2021 would be a day to remember and that everyone had to come to DC and fight.

Bruce Castor had a 10,000 word essay due and he's writing it right now.

And it is the responsibility of the steward of these people to NOT INCITE THEM. This argument is pathetic. Mob mentality is not a new thing. That's part of why he's fucking guilty!

Ancient Greece was a collection of city-states, none of which had a "Senate," a word that comes from Latin because Romans invented it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Carrière
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shlomo_Hillel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shūichirō_Moriyama
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michał_Szewczyk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Wilson_(singer)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moufida_Tlatli

Trump supporter arrested after threatening Mitch McConnell's grandkids on Parler
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/americas/trump-supporter-mitch-mcconnell-parler-b1799962.html

Bruce Castor admitted he just BS this entire thing. He admitted he made the entire thing up. He's also admitting that they were unprepared.

"We changed what we were going to do because we thought the house manager's presentation was well done."

United Arab Emirates spacecraft enters orbit around Mars in historic flight
https://apnews.com/article/uae-spacecraft-mars-historic-flight-d6d933c488c0a30987f86f91ce89fb8b
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/09/mars-probe-uae-attempts-to-become-first-arab-country-to-reach-mars-with-hope-probe.html

Pentagon sends two carrier groups into South China Sea amid tensions with Beijing
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/537946-pentagon-sends-two-carrier-groups-into-south-china-sea-amid-beijing-tensions

North Korean hackers stole $316 million to fund its nuclear weapons program last year
https://news.yahoo.com/north-korean-hackers-stole-316-112635288.html

Schoen threatened the Senate with Civil War if the impeachment trial continued, arrest him FFS. Schoen says the impeachment will not lead to unity: "This trial will tear this country apart, perhaps like we have only seen once before in American history."

Schoen: "It's a radical constitutional theory that insurrection and treason are bad."

Our standing around the world is already broken because of your client dipshit. Schoen argues that to hold Trump accountable for the insurrection he incited would damage America's image in the world. What does he believe Trump's actions and the deadly ransacking of the U.S. Capitol that resulted did for America's image in the world?

I am unsure why Schoen is so angry.

Castor was not correct in his suggestion that the Constitution's phrase "high crimes" means criminal felonies and "misdemeanors" means criminal misdemeanors. We dealt with this bad argument last impeachment too. (And in many previous impeachments. https://theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/what-does-high-crimes-and-misdemeanors-actually-mean/600343/)

Mitch would have whipped his members to vote on convicting within 24 hours if Trump was a Democrat

"Without evidence". We have 6 hours of video evidence. Just because YOU DONT watch it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Nothing, nothing, requires due process in the impeachment process. Impeachment process is not a criminal trial.

Schoen is arguing both that this is a "snap impeachment" and also that Pelosi waited too long to transmit articles of impeachment. Keep in mind, McConnell, then Senate Majority Leader, refused to take up impeachment as quickly as was procedurally possible.

What's with Trump and his people not being able to drink water like a normal person?

He's referencing this due process timeline because he was just brought onto the caseabecause Trump's previous lawyers quit, so yes, technically YOU'VE had no time to prepare

How the fuck does a lawyer not know that a judge presides, not provides.

While the House impeachment managers showed the chilling video of Trump inciting the mob, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) looked down at a pad of lined paper in his lap, where he had already begun doodling with a pencil.
https://twitter.com/jameshohmann/status/1359248783348035587

Castor's argument:
-Undercuts what Trump's lawyers said in their brief that Trump's speech on Jan. 6 was justified because Trump thought the election was "suspect."
-Undercuts the logic behind Trump's attempts to overturn the election, aka how we got here

Bruce Castor explicitly recognized President Biden won the election fairly by saying, "the American people just spoke, and they just changed administrations" and that Americans are "smart enough to pick a new administration if they don't like the old one"

The Fed's Main Street Lending Program, designed to provide emergency support mid-size companies lent out a total $17.5 billion -- or just 3% of its potential capacity. It closed a month ago, final data out today.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-09/fed-s-main-street-program-ends-with-just-17-5-billion-in-loans

Schoen repeatedly attacking the impeachment of a "private citizen" as "an unconstitutional act" as he knows that is how enough Republicans senators will rationalize their decisions to acquit Trump without dealing with his actions leading up to the siege.

Today's Senate Session of the Impeachment Trial has now concluded. The Senate voted 56-44 to confirm the constitutionality of Impeachment and will reconvene tomorrow. The 6 Republicans who voted with Dems:
• Bill Cassidy
• Mitt Romney
• Ben Sasse
• Susan Collins
• Lisa Murkowski
• Pat Toomey

Cassidy calls Trump's team "disorganized" and says it was "almost like they were embarrassed" of their arguments

How one attendee at today's White House meeting on the economy characterized the difference between CEO meetings in the prior administration, and this one: "[Pres. Biden] didn't ask for anything in return."
https://twitter.com/kaylatausche/status/1359267368715882496

Trump once suggested impeaching Obama after he was out of office. On February 10, 2020, Trump said Obama should be impeached for saying Americans could keep their doctors under the PPACA

I think they're — as I've said before — you've heard me say it to labor groups and others as well — that the American people are hurting. There's a lot of people who are in real, real trouble. A lot of people going to bed at night, staring at the ceiling wondering whether they're going to be in that apartment the next day, or if they're going to be evicted, or if they're going to keep their mortgage payment up, if they're going to have any health insurance. We got millions of people unemployed. As Secretary Yellen has pointed out, we have a scarring effect that may be going on and can get worse. We have kids not in school. There's a whole range of issues, but I think they're all soluble. I think they're all within our capacity.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/02/09/remarks-by-president-biden-before-a-business-leaders-meeting-on-the-american-rescue-plan/

Q    Will you watch the trial? Are you going to watch the trial?
THE PRESIDENT: I am not. Look, I told you before: I have a job. My job is to keep people — we've already lost over 450,000 people. We're going to lose a whole lot more if we don't act, and act decisively and quickly. A lot of people, as I said, are going — a lot of children are going to be hungry. A lot of families are food insecure. They're in trouble. That's my job. The Senate has their job; they're about to begin it. I'm sure they're going to conduct themselves well. And that's all I'm going to have to say about impeachment. So, thank you very, very much. Appreciate it.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/02/09/remarks-by-president-biden-before-a-business-leaders-meeting-on-the-american-rescue-plan/

Q    Do you want to comment on the Democrats' proposal last night, President Biden, about the $75,000 cap? Do you agree with that?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q    Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks, everybody.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/02/09/remarks-by-president-biden-before-a-business-leaders-meeting-on-the-american-rescue-plan/

US deploying B-1 bombers to Norway to send a message to Russia
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/08/politics/us-b-1-bombers-norway/index.html

I still can't believe the Saints tried the "pair an aging HoF QB with one of the best rosters in the league" approach four times straight and failed each time just to see the division rival Bucs do exactly the same and succeed in the first year

CBSNewsPoll: Large majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents, as well as Americans of all income levels, would approve of a new COVID19 relief package.
https://twitter.com/edokeefe/status/1359275578998816769

Percentage who say they'd take the vaccine if eligible is up from last month in cbsnewspoll. The number waiting and seeing what happens before getting one has dropped. But 22% of Americans still have no intention of getting vaccinated, and that percentage remains unmoved.

Mountain West Indigenous Leaders Back Haaland As Republican Terrorists Oppose Confirmation
https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/mountain-west-indigenous-leaders-back-haaland-gop-lawmakers-oppose-confirmation

Paul George out at least two more games for LA Clippers
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30869123/paul-george-least-two-more-games-la-clippers

Mean tweets about Ted Cruz, you say?
https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1359160412260995079

This NYT story on the cat debacle is a masterpiece
https://nytimes.com/2021/02/09/style/cat-lawyer-zoom.html

Louisiana Republican state party rebukes Cassidy for his vote supporting the constitutionality of the impeachment
https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1359281289241767940
https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1359281289241767940/photo/1

Sadly this is the closest we are likely to get to any punishment for Trump: Multiple people tell me Trump was basically screaming as Castor made a meandering opening argument that struggled to get at the heart of the defense team's argument.

After showing the timeline of events & terror during the Capitol siege mixed with Trump's messaging on January 6th the lead impeachment manager @RepRaskin said this: "If that's not and impeachable offense then there is no such thing." #ImpeachmentTrial
https://twitter.com/i/status/1359285719554953216
https://twitter.com/sarasidnerCNN/status/1359285719554953216

I disagree with the pundit notion that nothing has changed. 10 House Republicans voted to impeach Trump. 11 House Republicans voted to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments. A large majority of House Republicans gave Cheney a pass on her impeachment vote. Now 6 Republicans Senators voted to try Trump. Small but not insignificant moves.

Karl-Anthony Towns is again "doubtful" to play on Wednesday against the Clippers. Still listed as in "Health and Safety protocols". But that's not what it is, according to Ryan Saunders — who said yesterday that KAT's lung capacity needs to improve before again playing.
https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1359286092634144769

Republican US Rep. Kinzinger, an outspoken Trump opponent, says he doesn't intend to seek statewide office in 2022
https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-adam-kinzinger-illinois-governor-will-not-run-2022-20210209-qude7qkmazeebh6qdei4cfwqey-story.html

John Fetterman, Senate Candidate, Revisits Gun Incident Targeting Black Jogger. As a mayor in 2013, Mr. Fetterman, a Democrat, used a gun to detain Christopher Miyares, a Black man jogging nearby, after saying he heard gunshots. The police found no weapons on Mr. Miyares and released him.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/us/politics/john-fetterman-gun-black-jogger.html

Merrick Garland's nomination hearing is set for Feb. 22 and Feb 23, per Sen. Dick Durbin's shop. The committee will vote on March 1 to send Garland's nomination as US atty general to the full Senate.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/09/senate-merrick-garland-confirmation-hearing-468218

This issue threatens to make Mar-a-Lago into a permanent beacon for his more rabid, lawless supporters," Philip C. Johnston, a lawyer for the group called Preserve Palm Beach, said, referring to Mr. Trump.
https://nytimes.com/2021/02/09/us/trump-palm-beach-mar-a-lago.html

Good: Biden administration plans to continue to seek extradition of WikiLeaks' Assange
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-justice-assange-idUSKBN2A92T4

12-Yr-Old Girl Gangraped, Murdered In Bihar, India; Cop Asks Accused To Cremate Body Secretly. The exact same thing happened in Hathras just a few months ago
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/12-yr-old-girl-allegedly-gangraped-killed-in-bihar-cop-asks-accused-to-cremate-body-secretly/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Hathras_gang_rape_and_murder

'I'm Not a Cat,' Says Lawyer Having Zoom Difficulties. The video was immediately shared widely and brought joy to many. The lawyer, Rod Ponton, said he was happy people got a much-needed laugh.
https://twitter.com/lawrencehurley/status/1359207169091108864
https://twitter.com/i/status/1359207169091108864
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/style/cat-lawyer-zoom.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxlPGPupdd8

In the last 35 days or so, a number of right-wing figures have suddenly discovered that, regardless of their prior statements, they fervently oppose impeachment trials for former presidents.
https://twitter.com/mmfa/status/1359310648098881537

List of Republicans rebuked by party for Trump-related apostasy
Censured by state party:
-Ducey
-Cheney
-Tom Rice
-Jaime Herrera Beutler
-Dan Newhouse
Likely:
-Sasse
Censured by county Republicans:
-Kinzinger
-Upton
Rebuked by state party:
-Cassidy

On the first day of the second impeachment trial of former President Trump, TV viewers didn't see it all. The cameras are controlled by the Senate and present a selective view. Artist Bill Hennessy captured scenes that the cameras didn't show.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/09/politics/sketches-senate-trial/index.html

Rupert Murdoch was vaccinated in Britain on Dec. 18, 2020, by a clinic that extended hours to accommodate him. The Queen and Prince Philip were vaccinated three weeks later, Jan. 9, 2021. Fox News is going on the rampage against COVID vaccines now.
https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1359315791674548225

44 Republicans today: "The Trump lawyers failed to make the case that the impeachment was unconstitutional, they were an absolute disaster, especially Castor, who endorsed the House Democrats' argument that impeachment was constitutional. The House Democrat Managers proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the impeachment was constitutional. I voted against the constitutionality of the impeachment anyway because Democrats kill babies and want to take my guns to gun me down and stole the election and are attacking Trump to remove him from his office so they can stay in power forever and Democrats are letting illegals and terrorists flood the country and they've turned America into a bloodsport and by impeaching Trump they're inflicting a civil war on the country....."

As the U.S. surpasses 26 million COVID-19 infections, President Biden is taking additional steps today to speed up vaccinations across the country. The President announced the launch of the Federally Qualified Health Center program that will provide more vaccines for Community Health Centers that are reaching our underserved and most vulnerable communities. And, the administration will increase the vaccine supply to states, Tribes, and territories by 5% over last week, for a total of a 28% increase since President Biden came into office three weeks ago.
These new steps will help meet the President's goal of administering 100 million shots in 100 days and ensure that vaccines are administered equitably.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/09/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-community-health-centers-vaccination-program-to-launch-next-week-and-another-increase-in-states-tribes-territories-vaccine-supply/

Launching First Phase of the Federally Qualified Health Center Program for COVID-19 Vaccination: As part of the Biden-Harris Administration's efforts to ensure that the nation's hardest hit populations are receiving the vaccine, starting the week of February 15, Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQHCs) will begin directly receiving vaccine supply. Many people know these as Community Health Centers. Community Health Centers provide primary care services in underserved communities across the country. There are more than 1,300 Community Health Centers serving almost 30 million people across the country. Two-thirds of the population that these centers serve are living at or below the federal poverty line and 60% are racial and/or ethnic minorities. The program will be phased in, with the first centers able to start ordering vaccines as early as the week of February 15. The initial phase will include at least one Community Health Center in each state, expanding to 250 centers in the coming weeks.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/09/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-community-health-centers-vaccination-program-to-launch-next-week-and-another-increase-in-states-tribes-territories-vaccine-supply/

This program is part of a broader effort to ensure all communities are being reached in the national push to get people vaccinated. Community Vaccination Centers in underserved areas, the retail pharmacy program, mobile clinics, and efforts to increase vaccine confidence are also key tools to help states and communities vaccinate their most vulnerable populations. More information on this program is available at www.hrsa.gov/coronavirus/health-center-program.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/09/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-community-health-centers-vaccination-program-to-launch-next-week-and-another-increase-in-states-tribes-territories-vaccine-supply/

Expanding Vaccine Supply: Building on last week's announcement, the Biden-Harris Administration will increase overall, weekly vaccine supply to states, Tribes, and territories to 11 million doses nationwide beginning this week. This is a 28% increase since taking office on January 20. The Administration is committing to maintaining this as the minimum supply level for the next three weeks, and we will continue to work with manufacturers in their efforts to ramp up supply.
www.hrsa.gov/coronavirus/health-center-program.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/09/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-community-health-centers-vaccination-program-to-launch-next-week-and-another-increase-in-states-tribes-territories-vaccine-supply/

Mason Plumlee with the monster skyhook over DeAndre Jordan
https://streamable.com/a0ynvk

Zion gets the steal and feeds Kira Lewis Jr for the slam
https://streamable.com/1r3r2c

Rose with the no-look dime to Toppin for the dunk + a foul
https://streamable.com/fgle6v

James Harden has some words for DeAndre Jordan about some defensive issues
https://streamable.com/tashcj

Since President Biden took office, the number of doses being sent to states has increased by 28% to 11 million doses a week.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-administration-boosting-vaccine-supply-states-community-health-centers-n1257154

Jerami Grant was fantastic for the Pistons tonight in the win against the Nets, tying his career high of 32 points. Grant now has five 30-point games in his career, and all five have come since Jan. 1.

The Detroit Pistons (6-18) defeat the Brooklyn Nets (14-12) 122-111 behind 32 points from Jerami grant

Curry with the acrobatic reverse lay up.
https://streamable.com/oiya0z

Curry goes behind the back into the Euro step
https://streamable.com/865rh9

Steve Kerr on reinserting Curry/Draymond up 19 in the middle of the fourth quarter tonight: "I had heard so much from our fanbase the last couple days, I figured I should put them back in the game to keep them happy."
https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1359354124949626880

This should happen everywhere. If you think the anthem needs to be played before sporting events, then play it before every movie, concert, church service and the start of every work day at every business. What good reason is there to play the anthem before a game: Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, said he had instructed the basketball team to stop playing the national anthem before its home games this season.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/sports/basketball/dallas-mavericks-national-anthem.html

The Philadelphia 76ers (18-7) end the winning streak of the Sacramento Kings (12-12) with a hard-fought 119-111 victory

The New Orleans Pelicans (11-12) defeat the Houston Rockets (11-13), 130 - 101 behind Josh Hart's 20 points and 17 rebounds

Oubre blows kisses to the Spurs bench after a made 3
https://streamable.com/p6thr7

The Brooklyn Nets are now 7-6 since the Harden trade, despite playing 10/13 games against <.500WR opponents.

Carmelo Anthony tonight: 23 points on 7/16 shooting, 5/9 from three, and 3 blocks as he moves to 12th on the all time scoring list.

Michigan state Senate Majority Leader Republican Mike Shirkey caught on video calling Capitol attack a hoax
https://www.businessinsider.com/michigan-senate-majority-leader-calls-capitol-attack-hoax-2021-2

10 people charged in the Capitol siege are blaming Trump for their involvement in the attack
https://www.businessinsider.com/10-charged-in-capitol-siege-blame-trump-for-their-involvement

Trump's own impeachment lawyer called him a "fucking crook"
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-impeachment-trial-lawyer-crook-b1800139.html

B.C.'s old-growth forest nearly eliminated, new provincewide mapping reveals
https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-forests-old-growth-impacts-map/

Biden now has access to all of the phone conversations with Putin that Trump went to great lengths to conceal
https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-has-access-all-trump-putin-call-memos-previously-hidden2021-2

Reminder, GO VEGAN: Arsenic, toxic metals found in baby food including Walmart, Gerber, Beech-Nut brands, according to new report
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2021/02/04/baby-food-toxic-heavy-metals-fda-congressional-report/4379474001/

If the rest of the trial looks like today, and it will, the Republican terrorists who vote "no" on conviction are going to have to come up with their own reasons for exoneration because the defense isn't going to

Significant winter storm to slam 1,500-mile stretch of US
https://www.accuweather.com/en/winter-weather/significant-winter-storm-to-slam-1500-mile-stretch-of-us/896929

TikTok Sale to Oracle, Walmart Is Shelved as Biden Reviews Security. Trump-driven deal had languished as video-sharing app’s Chinese owner mounted successful legal challenges
https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-sale-to-oracle-walmart-is-shelved-as-biden-reviews-security-11612958401

House Democrats are going full steam ahead on Covid19 relief, with 5 different House committees at work today.
- Ways and Means | 10:00am | Stimulus payments, child care credits, etc
- Transportation | 11:00am | Aid for airports, mass transit, AMTRAK, FEMA
- Financial Services | 12:00pm | $15 billion in aid for airlines
- Agriculture | 2:00pm | Plan includes $3.6 billion in PPE for food workers
- Small Business | 5:00pm | Aid makes changes to PPP, small business loans

Prosecutors in Fulton County have initiated a criminal investigation into Trump's attempts to overturn Georgia's election results, including a phone call he made to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump pressured him to "find" enough votes to help him reverse his loss. On Wednesday, Fani Willis, the recently elected Democratic prosecutor in Fulton County, sent a letter to numerous officials in state government, including Mr. Raffensperger, requesting that they preserve documents related to "an investigation into attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 Georgia General Election." While the letter does not mention Trump by name, it is related to his intervention in Georgia's election, according to a state official with knowledge of the matter. A copy of the letter was obtained by The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/politics/trump-georgia-investigation.html

Trump's political operation paid more than $3.5 million to Jan. 6 organizers
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/02/jan-6-protests-trump-operation-paid-3p5mil/

Agreed: Source close to Mark Cuban says decision to not play Anthem before Mavs games isn't because they don't love U.S., but because many feel anthem doesn't represent them, and they want to continue discussion of how to represent people from all communities when honoring U.S. at game.
https://twitter.com/shamscharania/status/1359534694166110208

Bojan Bogdanovic is averaging 16 points and 42% from the 3 point line, Bam Adebayo is averaging 20 PPG and 9 RPG, and Andre Drummond is leading the league in rebounds with 14 per game AND 18.5 PPG

Navajo woman and Stanford grad appointed to seat in Arizona House of Representatives | Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren, Diné, will serve as a state representative for Arizona's district seven, filling a pivotal vacant seat in the state's Legislature.

The selection was made at a special meeting Tuesday where the Apache County Board of Supervisors filled the vacancy left by former state Rep. Arlando Teller, Diné, who resigned last month to accept a position in the Biden administration. Blackwater-Nygren, 25, received her law degree from Arizona State University and passed the Arizona bar exam last year. She is also a graduate of Stanford University. | Arizona's 7th district spans a large portion of the state and includes the Navajo Nation, Hopi and the White Mountain Apache Tribes. The district is made up of Apache, Coconino and Navajo counties-- two of which voted in large part for President Joe Biden, ultimately flipping the state blue and securing his presidential victory. Leaders praised the selection including the chair of the Apache County Democrats Priscilla Weaver, Diné.
https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/din%C3%A9-woman-appointed-to-vacant-seat-in-arizona-legislature-Tpy-vYsXSEWyuC4zqYzqoA
https://roselawgroupreporter.com/2021/02/navajo-woman-and-stanford-grad-appointed-to-seat-in-arizona-house/
https://www.instagram.com/jasmineblackwaternygren/

The House Education and Labor Committee advanced its portion of the Democratic coronavirus relief proposal, which includes a $15 per hour minimum wage. The plan would gradually hike the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates it will both lift Americans out of poverty and cost jobs.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/10/15-minimum-wage-house-advances-part-of-covid-relief-bill.html

A federal judge on Tuesday agreed to push back a hearing about whether the Dakota Access oil pipeline should be allowed to continue operating without a key permit while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts an environmental review on the project. The Corps filed a motion Monday to postpone the Wednesday hearing in order to allow Biden administration officials more time to familiarize themselves with the case, including the 2016 lawsuit filed by the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in an attempt to stop construction. The pipeline illegally and unconstitutionally began operating in 2017 after Donald Trump took office. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg reset the hearing for April 9. Neither the tribes nor Texas-based Energy Transfer, which owns the pipeline, objected to the delay. Boasberg said he wants the Corps to explain how it "expects to proceed" without a federal permit granting easement for the $3.8 billion pipeline to cross beneath Lake Oahe, a reservoir along the Missouri River that is maintained by the Corps. Boasberg in April 2020 ordered further environmental study after determining the Corps had not adequately considered how an oil spill under the Missouri River might affect Standing Rock's fishing and hunting rights, or whether it might disproportionately affect the tribal community.
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-technology-dakota-access-pipeline-c43ce45370da624addda5ad21b24b1f6

Significant winter storm to slam 1,500-mile stretch of US
https://www.accuweather.com/en/winter-weather/significant-winter-storm-to-slam-1500-mile-stretch-of-us/896929

TikTok Sale to Oracle, Walmart Is Shelved as Biden Reviews Security. Trump-driven deal had languished as video-sharing app's Chinese owner mounted successful legal challenges
https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-sale-to-oracle-walmart-is-shelved-as-biden-reviews-security-11612958401

Biden withdraws Trump rule on schools disclosing ties to Chinese state-run Confucius Institutes
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/news/biden-trump-rule-schools-disclosing-chinese-state-run-confucius-institutes

Today, House Managers will begin their 16 hours of presentations, which are expected to include more videos from the events on January 6th, including clips that have not been seen or released to the public yet. It should be a very interesting day. The House's presentation will be a Two Step process, with arguments beginning today, and concluding tomorrow. Per Senate Majority Leader Schumer, there will be two ten minute breaks today and a 45 minute dinner break at appx 6pm

Everybody in the US and billions across the globe witnessed the events of January 6th trumps lawyers will need to do much better to show he NEVER intended for the riot to happen. So far tho I don't think they have presented a great starting argument for him.

The COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force will provide recommendations for addressing health inequities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and for preventing such inequities in the future | The twelve Task Force members represent a diversity of backgrounds and expertise, a range of racial and ethnic groups, and a number of important populations, including: children and youth; educators and students; health care providers, immigrants; individuals with disabilities; LGBTQ+ individuals; public health experts; rural communities; state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments; and unions.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

As Chair, Dr. Nunez-Smith will also ask six additional Federal agencies to be represented on the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force as federal members. This includes the United States Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, and Department of Labor. The Task Force is charged with issuing a range of recommendations to help inform the COVID-19 response and recovery. This includes recommendations on equitable allocation of COVID-19 resources and relief funds, effective outreach and communication to underserved and minority populations, and improving cultural proficiency within the Federal Government. Additional recommendations include efforts to improve data collection and use, as well as a long-term plan to address data shortfalls regarding communities of color and other underserved populations. The Task Force's work will conclude after issuing a final report to the COVID-19 Response Coordinator describing the drivers of observed COVID-19 inequities, the potential for ongoing disparities faced by COVID-19 survivors, and actions to ensure that future pandemic responses do not ignore or exacerbate health inequities.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

Mayra Alvarez, MPH
Mayra E. Alvarez, MHA is President of The Children's Partnership, a California advocacy organization working to advance child health equity. Previously, she served in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Obama-Biden administration, including at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Office of Minority Health, and the Office of Health Reform. She has also served as a Legislative Assistant in the US Senate and House of Representatives. A native of California, she graduated from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of California at Berkeley.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

James Hildreth, PhD, MD
James Hildreth is president and chief executive officer of Meharry Medical College, the nation's largest private, independent historically black academic health sciences center. Dr. Hildreth served previously as dean of the College of Biological Sciences at University of California, Davis and as a professor and associate dean at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Hildreth is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and an internationally acclaimed immunologist whose work has focused on several human viruses including HIV. He currently serves on the advisory council for the NIH director and as a member of the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. Dr. Hildreth has led Meharry's efforts to ensure that disadvantaged communities have access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines. He graduated from Harvard University as a Rhodes Scholar, from Oxford University with a PhD in immunology, and obtained an MD from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

Andrew Imparato, JD
Andy Imparato is a disability rights lawyer and the Executive Director of Disability Rights California, where he has spearheaded advocacy on crisis standards of care and vaccine prioritization in the last year. Imparato joined DRC after a 26-year career in Washington, DC, where he served as the chief executive of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities and the American Association of People with Disabilities. From 2010-2013, Imparato served as Chairman Tom Harkin's Disability Policy Director on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Imparato's perspective is informed by his lived experience with bipolar disorder.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

Victor Joseph
Victor Joseph was elected by the 42 member tribes to the position of Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) Chief/Chairman in March of 2014 and served through October of 2020. As the Chief Chairman he was the principal executive officer for the corporation and presided over all corporate meetings of the member tribes. Prior to being elected TCC's Chief Chairman Victor was employed as TCC's Health Director from 2007 to 2014. He worked for TCC a total of 28 years in a variety of leadership position. He has also served as Alaska Representative on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary's Tribal Advisory Committee and on the Indian Health Services Budget Formulation Committee. Joseph is a tribal member of the Native Village of Tanana. He has extensive experience building strong working relationships with tribal leaders, colleagues, staff, funding agencies and corporate beneficiaries.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

Joneigh Khaldun, MD, MPH
Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun is the Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan and the Chief Deputy Director for Health in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). She is the lead strategist for Michigan's COVID-19 response. Prior to her role in Michigan she was the Director of the Detroit Health Department, where she established a comprehensive reproductive health network and led Detroit's response to the Hepatitis A outbreak. Dr. Khaldun has held former roles as the Baltimore City Health Department's Chief Medical Officer and Fellow in the Obama-Biden Administration's Office of Health Reform in the US Department of Health and Human Services. She obtained her BS from the University of Michigan, MD from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and MPH in health policy from George Washington University. She practices emergency medicine part-time at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

Octavio Martinez, MD, MBA, MPH
Octavio N. Martinez, Jr. is the Executive Director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at The University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, Martinez is a Senior Associate Vice President within the university's Division of Diversity and Community Engagement; clinical professor in the university's School of Social Work; and professor at Dell Medical School's Department of Psychiatry. A native Texan, Martinez has an MPH from Harvard University's School of Public Health, an MD from Baylor College of Medicine, and an MBA and BBA in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

Tim Putnam, DHA, EMS
Tim Putnam is President and CEO of Margaret Mary Health, a community hospital in Batesville, Indiana and has over 30 years of healthcare experience. He received his Doctorate in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina where his dissertation was focused on acute stroke care in rural hospitals. He is a past president of the Indiana Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Association. In 2015 he was appointed by the Governor to the newly created Indiana Board of Graduate Medical Education and has chaired the Board since its inception. Dr. Putnam is also a certified Emergency Medical Technician.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

Vincent Toranzo
Vincent C. Toranzo is an active student from Broward County, Florida. Mr. Toranzo has experience with the inner workings of municipality functions. He serves as the State Secretary of the Florida Association of Student Councils advocating for the inclusion of student voices in their community, such as assistance to foster children and the assurance of students' safety amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Toranzo was awarded the U.S. President's Award for Educational Excellence and a Citizenship Award for School and Public Service from his local U.S. congresswoman.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

Mary Turner, RN
Mary Turner is an ICU nurse at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale and in her sixth year as President of the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) union—the Minnesota affiliate of National Nurses United. She previously worked at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis for 10 years. Turner has been on the National Nurses United's Joint Nursing Commission since 2011. She serves as the Chair of the Board for Isuroon, which provides empowerment, culturally sensitive health education, and advocacy for Somali women.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

Homer Venters, MD
Homer Venters is a physician and epidemiologist working at the intersection of incarceration, health and human rights. Dr. Venters is currently focused on addressing COVID-19 responses in jails, prisons and immigration detention facilities. Dr. Venters is the former Chief Medical Officer of the NYC Correctional Health Services and author of Life and Death in Rikers Island. Dr. Venters has also worked in the nonprofit sector as the Director of Programs of Physicians for Human Rights and President of Community Oriented Correctional Health Service. Dr. Venters is a Clinical Associate Professor of the New York University College of Global Public Health.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

Bobby Watts, MPH, MS
G. Robert ("Bobby") Watts is CEO of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, which supports 300 Health Care for the Homeless FQHCs and 100 Medical Respite programs with training, research, and advocacy to end homelessness. Watts has 25 years' experience in administration, direct service, and implementation of homeless health and shelter services. Watts served as Executive Director of Care for the Homeless in New York City for twelve years. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health from which he holds an MPH in health administration and an MS in epidemiology.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

Haeyoung Yoon, JD
Haeyoung Yoon is Senior Policy Director at the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Over the course of her career, Yoon has worked on low-wage and immigrant workers rights issues. Prior to National Domestic Workers Alliance, Yoon was a Distinguished Taconic Fellow at Community Change. Yoon also has extensive litigation experience and taught at the New York University School of Law and Brooklyn Law School. She recently testified before the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship regarding Immigrants as Essential Workers during COVID-19. Yoon received her JD from CUNY School of Law, her MA from Harvard University, and her BA from Barnard College.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-members-of-the-biden-harris-administration-covid-19-health-equity-task-force/

President Biden Announces Additional Members of His Energy and Jobs Team | Today, President Joe Biden announced two additional members of his energy and jobs team: David Turk, Deputy Secretary of Energy and Julie Su, Deputy Secretary of Labor. These tested and experienced leaders will support the work of Secretary of Energy Nominee Jennifer Granholm and Secretary of Labor Nominee Marty Walsh in their efforts to address the worst energy and jobs crisis in nearly a century. Turk and Su will help advance President Biden's Build Back Better agenda by rebuilding America's middle class and creating an equitable clean energy future we can depend on. They will be partners to the President in building a stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive economy that delivers every American a fair return for their work and an equal chance to get ahead.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-additional-members-of-his-energy-and-jobs-team/

Dave Turk is currently the Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Throughout his tenure at the IEA, Turk has focused on helping countries around the world on their clean energy transitions. He has also directed analysis focused on digitalization and energy, hydrogen, and tracking progress on a wide range of clean energy technologies. Turk also served as the Deputy on the Energy Agency Review Team during the transition to the Biden-Harris Administration, which provided recommendations across the full range of Department of Energy (DOE) issues and offices. During the Obama-Biden Administration, Turk worked in DOE coordinating international technology and clean energy efforts. During this time, he helped spearhead the launch of Mission Innovation, a global effort to enhance clean energy innovation. Turk has also served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director at the U.S. National Security Council, where he coordinated interagency legislative affairs efforts by the full range of national security Agencies and provided legislative advice to National Security Council decision-making. He also previously worked at the U.S. Department of State, including as Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change and helping to coordinate New Start Treaty ratification efforts in the U.S. Senate. Earlier in his career, Turk worked in both the U.S. Senate, primarily on national security issues, and as the Staff Director of the National Security Subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee. Turk was born in Quito, Ecuador, and grew up in a small Midwestern town. He is married to Emily Turk, a registered architect and sustainability professional, and they have three children.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-additional-members-of-his-energy-and-jobs-team/

Julie A. Su is currently the Secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Su in January of 2019 to serve as his cabinet advisor on labor issues and employment programs for workers and businesses throughout California. Secretary Su oversees the state departments and boards that enforce labor laws, including minimum wage and occupational safety standards, provide state disability and unemployment insurance benefits, fund workforce training and apprenticeship programs, combat wage theft, protect injured workers, and arbitrate public sector contract disputes. Su is a nationally recognized expert on workers' rights and civil rights who has dedicated her distinguished legal career to advancing justice on behalf of poor and disenfranchised communities, and is a past recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "Genius" grant. As California Labor Commissioner from 2011 through 2018, Su enforced the state's labor laws to ensure a fair and just workplace for both employees and employers. A report on her tenure released in May 2013 found that her leadership has resulted in a renaissance in enforcement activity and record-setting results. In 2014, she launched the first "Wage Theft is a Crime" multi-media, multilingual statewide campaign to reach out to low-wage workers and their employers to help them understand their rights and feel safe speaking up about labor law abuses. Prior to her appointment as California Labor Commissioner, Su was the Litigation Director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles, the nation's largest non-profit civil rights organization devoted to issues affecting the Asian American community. In her 17 years as a civil rights lawyer, Su brought landmark lawsuits resulting in millions of dollars for low-wage workers and policy changes in California and the United States protecting immigrant victims of crime and human trafficking. In 1995, she was the lead attorney for Thai garment workers who were trafficked into the United States and forced to sew behind barbed wire and under armed guard in an apartment complex in El Monte, California. Su is known for pioneering a multi-strategy approach that combines successful impact litigation with multiracial organizing, community education, policy reform, coalition building, and media work. Su has taught at UCLA Law School and Northeastern Law School. She is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School and began her career with a Skadden Fellowship. Su is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and speaks Mandarin and Spanish.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/10/president-biden-announces-additional-members-of-his-energy-and-jobs-team/

The company guilty of a massive Arctic oil spill fined €1.6bn
https://www.euronews.com/living/2021/02/10/the-company-guilty-of-massive-arctic-oil-spill-fined-1-6bn

KEEP VACCINATING: Global Covid-19 cases declined 17% worldwide last week, WHO says
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/10/health/who-covid-global-cases-decline-intl/index.html

NO, REALLY? Fossil fuel pollution causes one in five premature deaths globally - Parts of China, India, Europe and the northeastern United States are among the hardest-hit areas
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-pollution-fossil/fossil-fuel-pollution-causes-one-in-five-premature-deaths-globally-study-idUSKBN2A90UB

Cuomo says arenas can re-open on Feb. 23. Barclays Center has been approved for holding a Nets-Kings game Capacity limited to 10%, negative PCR test must be recorded within 72 hours
https://twitter.com/nickreisman/status/1359556109669916673

Deux 2019
Sniegu juz Nigdy nie Bedzie

Rep. Castro goes through months of Trump tweets and sound bites saying the election will be rigged: "This is clearly a man who refuses to accept the possibility or the reality in our democracy of losing an election."
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1359563811095777283

The Washington Football Team has agreed to terms on a 2-year extension for QB Taylor Heinicke, sources say, worth $8.75M. There are also incentives depending on how many games he starts. Real security for their resilient QB who started and impressed in the playoff game.
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1359509677579583490

Brandon Marshall says Russell Wilson is trying to figure out 'a classy way' to leave the Seahawks
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/brandon-marshall-says-russell-wilson-is-trying-to-figure-out-a-classy-way-to-leave-the-seahawks/

Cheerleaders exposed in lewd videos made from swimsuit calendar outtakes settle with Washington Football Team, as program's future is in doubt.
https://twitter.com/bethreinhard/status/1359522974571913220

Any Trump supporters lurking here: If you support this President and what he did, we don't want to unify with you until you come back to reality. Until then you are a skid mark on our republic.

"STOP THE COUNT!/COUNT THE VOTES!"
"YOU IMPEACHED HIM TOO QUICKLY!/YOU WAITED TOO LONG TO IMPEACH!"

Was that mild mannered Alex Jones I just heard screaming, the Germany Ooops America Rising Hitler speech? Alex Jones makes a cameo in an impeachment trial. I hate this timeline

Rep. Castro: "And there it is" - pretty good line.

On #PodSaveTheWorld, @tvietor08 & @brhodes discuss why Rihanna Cares about the farmers' protests in India and you should too. http://go.crooked.com/Pe4hyK
https://twitter.com/crookedmedia/status/1359560020745211913

The Biden administration will "redouble our efforts at international engagement" to confront cyber challenges like AI and 5G, Neuberger said. "If we're going to tackle these kinds of issues, we've got to do so with our allies and partners abroad."
https://twitter.com/ericgeller/status/1359567160344006657

Michigan state Senate leader Mike Shirkey apologizes for calling Capitol riot a hoax
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/09/politics/capitol-riot-hoax-michigan-state-senate-leader-apologize/index.html

Neuberger says the Biden admin is developing a new National Cyber Strategy that will incorporate several NSTAC recommendations, including "promoting software and supply chain assurance" and creating a "whole-of-nation" approach to emerging technology challenges.
https://twitter.com/ericgeller/status/1359566236934434817

Interestingly, Castro is not pointing out that many in the Republican Party - including many senators - tacitly or explicitly supported Trump's lie that the election was stolen.

Swalwell cited a Trump tweet claiming "DEAD PEOPLE VOTED," saying no evidence to that effect was offered. The tweet did link to a Tucker Carlson report alleging that dead people voted — which Carlson later had to correct when several of those voters were found alive and well.

Biden confirms admin is putting sanctions on Myanmar coup leaders. "The military must relinquish power it seized," he says.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-10/biden-administration-plans-to-sanction-myanmar-leaders-over-coup

Trump refused to sign a letter of intent guaranteeing they would be paid

Warren, Barragán, Booker Reintroduce Legislation to Require Vaccine Distribution, Weekly COVID-19 Testing, Data Collection, and Robust COVID-19 Prevention Standards in Federal Prisons
https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-barragn-booker-reintroduce-legislation-to-require-vaccine-distribution-weekly-covid-19-testing-data-collection-and-robust-covid-19-prevention-standards-in-federal-prisons

"Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!" Show more tweets and video of Trump insulting Mitch and other Republican Senators please. Even if it doesn't convince them, it's highly entertaining to know they're having to sit there and take it while they support this traitor.

If Senate Republicans fail to convict Donald Trump, it won't be because the facts were with him or his lawyers mounted a competent defense. It will be because the jury includes his co-conspirators.
https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/1359524284469817349

I love how 90% of this is just his deranged tweets. He never actually did any work or was engaged with the press, he just cowardly typed away on the toilet for half his presidency. What a loser.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and emphasized continued U.S. support for the civilian-led transitional government (CLTG).  Secretary Blinken applauded Sudan's efforts to deliver peace, justice, and freedom for the Sudanese people. They also discussed ways to promote economic reform and development, while also implementing recent peace agreements and addressing the root causes of violence in Darfur.
https://www.state.gov/secretary-blinkens-call-with-sudanese-pm-hamdok/

The United States is deeply concerned about the escalating crackdown by the Government of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. The regime's actions under the so-called "Foreign Agents Law" forced the closure last week of two bastions of free expression: the Nicaragua chapter of PEN International and the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation. These developments further suffocate Nicaraguan civil society and take the country further away from free and fair elections in November. Ortega is driving Nicaragua toward dictatorship. This will further isolate his regime from the global community. The Biden Administration is committed to supporting the Nicaraguan people and their demand for democracy. We are focused on empowering civil society and improving respect for human rights. We urge President Ortega to change course now.
https://www.state.gov/nicaraguas-foreign-agents-law-drives-nicaragua-toward-dictatorship-silencing-independent-voices/

.@RepJoeNeguse quotes charging affidavit of one of the leaders of Proud Boys: "We broke into the Capitol. We got inside. We did our part. We were looking for Nancy Pelosi to shoot her in the friggin' brain, but we didn't find her."
https://twitter.com/i/status/1359575087846932482
https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1359575087846932482

__________________________________

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/epa-morale-trump-biden

Trump Led An "All-Out Assault" On The EPA. Now Biden Has To Rebuild It.

Under Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency knelt to the country's biggest polluters and lost more than 800 employees. Staffers say they want accountability.

Zahra Hirji BuzzFeed News Reporter

Posted on February 10, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. ET

After four years at the wheel, the Trump administration came closer to taking down the Environmental Protection Agency than many employees thought was possible.

On the campaign trail in 2016, Donald Trump said he wanted to dismantle the agency — responsible for reining in pollution in the US for the last 50 years — into "little tidbits." As president, he boasted about gutting dozens of the EPA's "job-killing" environmental rules governing clean air, climate, water, and toxic waste. His political appointees sidelined EPA scientists and took marching orders from big polluters. Climate change, once an agency priority, was erased from its website.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/us/politics/transcript-of-the-republican-presidential-debate-in-detroit.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-energy/trump-signs-order-dismantling-obama-era-climate-policies-idUSKBN16Z1L6
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/climate-change-censored-online-under-trump

"I had never experienced an attack like that," Gary Morton, who worked at the EPA for 26 years before retiring in October 2019, told BuzzFeed News. "We're supposed to protect human health and the environment. But, through his dismantling the existing framework of environmental protection, we were no longer doing that."

Now, President Joe Biden is aiming to tackle the climate crisis and environmental justice with the most ambitious plan ever enacted in the US. To do that, he'll need the EPA.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/biden-executive-orders-fossil-fuels

But the sobering reality is that the EPA in 2021 is an agency in crisis, according to interviews with activists, academics, and more than a dozen current and former employees. More than 800 staffers left the agency under Trump, many of whom felt that they could no longer do their jobs holding polluters accountable and protecting public health. Morale among those who stayed is at a record low, with many staffers exhausted after four years of being Trump's punching bag. And distrust is rampant as employees are forced to continue working alongside managers who caved to the Trump administration's flagrant disregard of science.

As much as employees are excited to jump on Biden's to-do list and are rooting for his EPA chief nominee, Michael Regan, they say they can't move at the breakneck pace the new administration wants unless there is accountability for the past four years.

"How do you build trust with people who basically have been traumatized?" said Joyce Howell, an EPA attorney and union leader in Philadelphia. "I think it's going to be really difficult."

"It was an all-out assault."

Trump visited the EPA headquarters, located across the street from his Washington, DC, hotel, only once as president.

On the afternoon of March 28, 2017, he took a seat in front of a row of coal miners flanked by EPA head Scott Pruitt, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The president then signed an executive order aimed at unraveling Obama's climate legacy, including undoing the Clean Power Plan. Robert Murray, then the CEO of the coal giant Murray Energy, had a front-row seat.

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-03-31/pdf/2017-06576.pdf

"You know what it says, right?" Trump asked the coal miners. "You're going back to work."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/trump-signs-order-at-the-epa-to-dismantle-environmental-protections/2017/03/28/3ec30240-13e2-11e7-ada0-1489b735b3a3_story.html

What Trump didn't mention was how the rule for curbing power plant pollution was crafted with public health in mind. According to the EPA's own analysis, the rule would have prevented 3,600 premature deaths, 1,700 heart attacks, and 90,000 asthma attacks every year it was in effect.

https://archive.epa.gov/epa/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/fs-cpp-overview.pdf

EPA staffers had only just learned of the event, after receiving an email from Pruitt's chief of staff with the subject line: "Our Big Day Today."

https://www.businessinsider.com/scott-pruitt-epa100-days-2017-4

"All of us watched it on closed-circuit TV," Elizabeth Southerland, EPA's former water chief, told BuzzFeed News. "It was basically just a slap in the face."

This was the Trump playbook for the EPA on display for the first time. It soon became commonplace for Pruitt and his successor, Andrew Wheeler, to make sweeping changes favoring polluters — framed as increasing efficiency, transparency, or boosting the economy — that shut out and undercut staff experts, many of whom had worked at the agency for decades.

When Pruitt first proposed a "Red Team/Blue Team" public debate on climate change, his staff hid the involvement of prominent science deniers from the press. And between spring 2016 and spring 2018, the EPA quietly deleted at least 1,304 references to climate change (about 61% of references tracked) across the agency website, according to monitoring by a research group called the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/epa-climate-debate-press-release
https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20475824-red-team_1
https://envirodatagov.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/New_Digital_Landscape_EDGI_July_2019.pdf

"I was part of a climate change work group, and they just stopped scheduling meetings," Howell told BuzzFeed News. "Nobody said anything. It just — poof — went into the air. It just didn't exist anymore."

And while Pruitt's moves on climate change got the most attention, he also hampered other parts of the agency that were working on public health.

Southerland's team had finalized the first national permit limits on toxic metals and other harmful pollutants in wastewater coming from coal-fired power plants. Pruitt announced he was reconsidering the rule in a press release before telling her. After 33 years at the EPA, Southerland left in August 2017.

https://archive.epa.gov/epa/newsreleases/epa-reconsider-elg-rule.html
https://www.peer.org/wp-content/uploads/attachments/8_1_17_Betsy_farewell_message.pdf

"It wasn't just climate change these guys went after," she said. "It was an all-out assault, across the board, on all statutes."

The crackdown on the agency's own experts, often in favor of corporate and political interests, was unnerving. Pruitt met with industry representatives 25 times as often as he did with environmentalists during his first seven months in office, according to a Reuters review of his calendar. He encouraged oil executives to apply for top positions at the EPA and illegally changed who could serve as the agency's science advisers, stacking committees with scientists who had ties to the fossil fuel and chemical industries.

https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-epa-pruitt-industry/embattled-epa-chiefs-calendar-shows-industry-had-his-ear-idUKL5N1RJ41X
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/scott-pruitt-recruited-oil-executives-trump-hotel
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/trump-epas-constraints-on-science-advisers-unlawful-court-says
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/01/epa-science-advisory-board-includes-more-industry-friendly-voices/660237002/

Political appointees "came in and created an atmosphere of intimidation and fear over the employees," said Morton, who worked as an enforcement officer.

Perhaps Pruitt's most blatant attack on science occurred at an event on April 24, 2018, that was closed to the press. That's when he shared a proposal to stop the EPA from relying on what he called "secret science," effectively blocking the use of many public health studies, based on a plan first designed by tobacco industry consultants in the 1990s.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/secret-science-epa-pruitt
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/04/climate/trump-epa-science.html

The rule's point of contact was listed as Tom Sinks, then the director of the Office of the Science Advisor. But he knew nothing about it.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4446252-Strenthening-Transparency-in-Regulatory-Science.html

"I had never seen a draft of the rule until it was released to the public," Sinks, who left the agency in 2020, told BuzzFeed News. Sinks and others within the agency saw Pruitt's move as a clear attempt to block science-based decisions while encouraging conspiracies among deniers.

"The only secret about the 'secret science' rule was that the rule was drafted behind closed doors by individuals who were never named," Sinks said.

Pruitt didn't stay at the EPA long, resigning in July 2018 amid a flurry of ethics scandals. His deputy, Andrew Wheeler, a former lobbyist, took over for the duration of Trump's presidency.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/scott-pruitt-resigned-donald-trump-epa
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/scott-pruitt-epa-controversies
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/andrew-wheeler-coal-lobbyist-epa

Staffers told BuzzFeed News that while Wheeler more often flew under the radar, many of the changes that were most damaging to the agency were implemented under his watch.

In one of his early actions, Pruitt seized authority from regional offices working on toxic waste cleanup at Superfund sites. Any decisions about sites with cleanup costs estimated at $50 million or more had to be approved by the agency chief.

https://www.epa.gov/superfund/revised-delegation-authority-prioritize-superfund-remedial-decisions-estimated-cost-50

But it was only after Wheeler began sidelining career experts that Jim Woolford, then the director of EPA's Superfund remedial program, said he really felt "marginalized by the political leadership and truly disrespected."

"I was told on two to three different occasions that my input was not welcome," said Woolford, who retired in 2020 after spending 34 years at the agency. "I reached the decision that it was too stressful for me to stay, and I just decided to retire."

Similarly, enforcement officers were told they needed permission from the administrator office to issue certain information requests to companies, a critical tool for prying data loose from polluters.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4324892-EPA-Clean-Air-Act-and-Its-Power-to-Request.html

The EPA policies previously focused on "protection and prevention," according to Morton. But under Trump, officials removed the prevention measure, Morton explained. "So now companies no longer had to take preventive measures to ensure a spill didn't occur; they just had to worry about cleaning it up afterwards."

EPA staffers agreed the biggest damage Wheeler did to the agency was pushing through drastic changes thwarting its oversight of pollution. When the pandemic first hit, he took the controversial step of effectively pausing enforcement. Some states followed suit, and pollution increased in the months afterwards. And his staff finalized dozens of rollbacks first set into motion by Pruitt's team, including replacing the Clean Power Plan and lowering fuel efficiency targets for cars. Even after Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Wheeler continued to push new rules that would obstruct the agency's ability to curb air and climate emissions.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/warren-epa-coronavirus-letter-polluters
https://apnews.com/article/3bf753f9036e7d88f4746b1a36c1ddc4
https://grist.org/justice/the-epa-cut-back-enforcement-during-covid-these-researchers-are-assessing-the-damage/
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/coal-plants-climate-pollution
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danvergano/epa-mileage-fight-california
https://projects.propublica.org/trump-midnight-regulations/

"We still have an administration doing everything in its power before the 20th to get rules like the ['secret science' rule] across the finish line," a senior Biden transition official told reporters on Jan. 5. "And they are not doing it for any other reason than to make it more difficult for the next administration."

"The agency has been decimated."

To press the reset button on the EPA, the Biden administration has already identified 48 Trump-era regulations to review and possibly undo, recruiting agency veterans to drive an aggressive climate agenda.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/

And he's tapped Regan, who has a proven record on environmental justice, to lead the agency. If confirmed, Regan, an EPA alum who most recently served as secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, would be the EPA's first Black administrator.

https://grist.org/politics/michael-regan-epa-north-carolina-environmental-justice/

"This administration's priorities for environmental protection are clear," Regan said in the opening remarks of his confirmation hearing before Congress last week. "We will restore the roles of science and transparency at EPA and support the talented, dedicated career officials. We will move with a sense of urgency on climate change. We will stand up for environmental justice and equity."

https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=D825A7BE-3D52-4651-9664-A373EB3699A5

But staffers and members of Congress are skeptical he can do that without first surveying and addressing the wreckage at the agency.

"You will be coming into an agency that in my view is more or less captured by the fossil fuel industry," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said at the hearing.

"It left a trail of damage to the institution," Whitehouse continued. "It left a trail of conflicts of interest, particularly on the scientific advisory groups. It left a trail of rulemakings thrown out for pretty patent violations of administrative law. It left a trail of FOIA failures and [information requests] unanswered. And I suspect you'll find a good deal more as people come forward and are prepared to describe things that took place in the previous administration and maybe even some who couldn't bear it and left and might very well come back with some stories."

One big hurdle will be staffing. Even before Trump took office, the agency had struggled to maintain its workforce. Between January 2017 and January 2021, the agency lost 816 employees, according to the EPA.

"There have been a lot of long term problems at EPA — it was underfunded, under-resourced, and [had] staffing issues," said Marianne Sullivan, an associate professor at William Paterson University and a volunteer researcher tracking the EPA for EDGI. "The Trump administration exacerbated a lot of preexisting problems."

"Job number one" needs to be hiring, Woolford said. "They really have their job cut out for them because the agency has been decimated just by the loss of career staff, loss of institutional knowledge, the loss of programmatic knowledge."

Another challenge will be boosting morale. People are "rattled" and "shocked" about "what they could not do or say under the past administration," said Undine Kipka, an environmental engineer with the EPA and a union representative. "It's going to take a lot to get back from that, but we just have to. We don't have another choice if we want to fulfill the mission of the agency."

To do that, the EPA's new leadership needs to recommit to the agency's central mission to protect clean air and water. According to an analysis by the watchdog Environmental Integrity Project, EPA inspections and evaluations dropped every year Trump was in office, and they were all below the levels previously reported over the past 20 years. The Trump administration also closed fewer civil cases and opened fewer new ones; it also charged fewer polluters in criminal cases, compared to each term of the Obama administration.

But holding oil and gas companies, power plants, and industrial farms accountable for their actions isn't enough, staffers say. They want the agency to hold itself accountable for the past four years too.

"There's not a lot of trust in the middle management group that has colluded with the old administration," Nicole Cantello, an EPA lawyer and union leader in Chicago, told BuzzFeed News. "I think that a real issue [is] where or not the Biden administration is going to be able to break through this group of folks who implemented the Trump administration's agenda pretty successfully and muzzled the rank and file."

To build trust with staffers, the EPA may need to follow in the footsteps of Biden's defense secretary and clean house of "those that are true Trump loyalists who don't want to do anything that is really going to promote climate change," said Christine Todd Whitman, EPA chief during the Bush administration.

https://www.voanews.com/usa/pentagon-chief-purges-defense-boards-trump-loyalists-out

The EPA did not respond directly to questions from BuzzFeed News about hiring plans, morale, and trust issues. "EPA has a workforce second to none in terms of commitment, experience, expertise and technical ability across a range of disciplines," agency spokesperson Nick Conger told BuzzFeed News in an email. "The agency's new leadership is committed to supporting a diverse and talented EPA as we move forward to fulfill the Biden-Harris Administration's priorities."

Conger also mentioned that officials at the agency were reviewing a sweep of Trump-era rules and policies and "will consider modifying or revoking those that are not consistent with President Biden's goals." Most, if not all, of the previous administration's rules are tied up in litigation, and the courts have rejected some of the environmental rules passed under Trump.

On Jan. 19, Trump's last full day in office, the DC Circuit Court struck down the power plant replacement rule, leaving a clear route for Biden's EPA to craft a new rule to cut climate emissions from power plants. Then, on Feb. 1, the Montana District Court struck down Trump's "secret science" rule after multiple environmental groups filed lawsuits.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/02/01/trump-secret-science/

For the rest of the Trump rules still hanging in litigation, agency officials have other options to blunt their effects, said Michael Burger, executive director of Columbia's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. But if and when more Trump-era rules are scrapped, it will likely take the agency years to pass new ones.

Speaking before Congress, Regan pledged to do a damage assessment of the last four years once he was confirmed.

"There are lots of staff at EPA right now doing a reevaluation of a ton of rules and activities that may or may not have been done in a transparent manner or leveraged science in the way that we'd like. So we're going to correct that," Regan said.

But he also said his biggest challenge was time.

"We're going to have to walk and chew gum at the same time," he added. As of Wednesday, there was no date for Regan's confirmation vote. ●
__________________________________

https://grist.org/politics/michael-regan-epa-north-carolina-environmental-justice/

EPA nom Michael Regan welcomed activists – and industry

By Adam Mahoney on Feb 3, 2021

Joe Biden has said that he wants to put America "back in the business of leading the world on climate change." On the campaign trail last year, he touted a $2 trillion clean energy recovery plan, and during his first days in office he debuted a slew of environmental executive actions. Biden has also indicated that he believes "leading the world on climate change" involves centering environmental justice — the disproportionate burden that pollution and climate change present to low-income communities and people of color.

https://grist.org/climate/everything-that-happened-on-the-first-ever-climate-day-environmental-justice-national-security/

Many of the administration's environmental justice efforts will likely pass through Michael Regan, Biden's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. Regan, who is currently secretary of North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ, will face questions before the Senate on Wednesday, in advance of his confirmation vote.

Regan, who is also a former EPA official for the Clinton and Bush administrations, is poised to become the first Black man to run the EPA. He'll have his work cut out for him, inheriting an agency whose authority has been diminished by the Trump administration's relentless regulatory rollbacks and an exodus of career staffers due to a decline in agency morale.

https://grist.org/donald-trump-environmental-and-climate-rollbacks/
https://archive.thinkprogress.org/epa-employee-morale-trump-pruitt-wheeler-ff197297efd0/

Regan outlasted Mary Nichols, the previous frontrunner to lead Biden's EPA, primarily because he received more support from progressive leaders and environmental justice advocates. This support rested largely on Regan's record at North Carolina's DEQ, where he created the state's first Environmental Justice and Equity Board, a community advisory body intended to give underrepresented state residents a voice in environmental law enforcement.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/14/climate/mary-nichols-epa.html
https://progressives.house.gov/2020/12/congressional-progressive-caucus-applauds-selection-of-michael-regan-to-lead-epa
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063721111

Advocates who worked with Regan around that effort told Grist that he changed the state's culture around environmental justice by opening his doors to ordinary North Carolinians, regularly holding conversations with residents of communities near toxic sites, and prioritizing economic and environmental rejuvenation for areas facing high levels of pollution. For some advocates, however, Regan's positive work was sometimes overshadowed by his apparent deference to high-polluting industries that North Carolina political leaders saw as key pillars of the state's economy.

This balancing act is captured in a new analysis from the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, or EDGI, a nongovernmental organization that advocates for the transparent provision of federal environmental data. EDGI's analysis of the North Carolina DEQ's enforcement actions, monetary penalties, and facility inspections found that Regan's DEQ completed double the amount of inspections and levied hundreds of thousands of dollars more in penalties than his Republican predecessor. However, the number of enforcement actions, in which the department writes formal notices and administrative orders intended to actually remedy violations, remained about the same during both administrations.

https://envirodatagov.org/epa-administrator-pick-michael-regans-enforcement-track-record-is-promising/

"[DEQ] started doing a lot more inspections, which is really important because it's a key way in which violations of protection laws like the Clean Water and Clean Air Act are found. But we didn't see huge turnaround with enforcement," said Eric Nost, an EDGI researcher and assistant professor at the University of Guelph in Canada.

Nevertheless, environmental advocates in North Carolina told Grist that Regan has been a coalition-builder who's made participation in the state's regulatory process more democratic.

"The first thing I have to say is that, prior to Secretary Reagan becoming the head of the Department of Environmental Quality, there was no relationship between the agency and communities in North Carolina," said Naeema Muhammed, one of 16 inaugural members of the Environmental Justice and Equity Board that Regan started. "We didn't get a real voice until he came into office."

Regan, whose own interest in environmental justice began after an asthma diagnosis as a child, used this community-centered approach while leading the DEQ in negotiations that resulted in the cleanup of the Cape Fear River, which had been contaminated with dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (the so-called "forever chemicals" known by the acronym PFAS). He used a similar tack to reach a settlement with the utility Duke Energy that led to the largest coal ash cleanup in the United States.

https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/local/2020/08/13/deal-reached-for-chemours-to-stop-remaining-genx-chemical-pollution-of-cape-fear-river/113355154/
https://www.wunc.org/post/duke-energy-and-nc-reach-settlement-over-nearly-80-million-tons-coal-ash

President Biden hopes to mimic Regan's equity work on a national level by creating an environmental and climate justice division within the Justice Department to "hold corporate executives personally accountable" for exposing workers and communities to pollution. He also plans to elevate the EPA's Environmental Justice Advisory Council, which provides advice and recommendations to the head of the EPA, to a White House entity reporting to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. That would give the council, which is composed of dozens of stakeholders from various industries, schools, and community groups, a direct relationship with the President.

https://joebiden.com/environmental-justice-plan/

Despite the DEQ's community-centered outreach, however, Regan's work in North Carolina also raised red flags for some advocates who claim that he sometimes favored industry over public health.

Lisa Ramsden, a Greenpeace senior climate campaigner in North Carolina, said that Regan developed a "mixed record on environmental justice issues" by failing to protect communities from the health impacts of living near hog farms, which are major polluters in the state. She also cited his approval of many operating permits for carbon-intensive wood pellet mills, which can emit harmful pollutants like particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. One 2018 study found that every wood pellet mill in North and South Carolina was located in a low-income community of color; in North Carolina the facilities are concentrated in the rural northeastern corner of the state.

https://scalawagmagazine.org/2020/10/wood-pellet-environmental-racism-part-one/
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/env.2017.0025

"Going forward, Regan and the rest of the Biden-Harris administration need to pair their lofty rhetoric on environmental justice with consistent action," said Ramsden. (The Biden-Harris administration did not respond to Grist's requests for comment.)

Elizabeth Haddix, a managing attorney at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, concurred with Ramsden. She faulted Regan for renewing permits allowing hog farms to use older manure management systems that often lead to liquefied manure flowing over into nearby waterways.

Haddix was a lead attorney in a lawsuit against Regan's DEQ, alleging that the state's general permitting process for hog farms disproportionately burdened communities of color, which are more likely to be concentrated around the farms. The settlement required that the DEQ implement at least one year of ambient air quality and surface water monitoring in and around Duplin County, the region most heavily affected by pollution from swine waste. It also mandated that the DEQ publish an annual report with data from hog farm activity about the number of community complaints, DEQ investigations, and resolutions or fines levied.

http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2018/05/03/environmental-justice-groups-reach-settlement-with-deq-over-federal-complaint-hog-farms/#sthash.Chw5tfPE.dpbs

The day after the lawsuit was settled, Regan announced the formation of the Environmental Justice and Equity Board, marking the start of a more community-centered approach to the agency's work, in some advocates' eyes. Nevertheless, the permits allowing hog farmers to continue using older and more polluting waste management systems continued.

"When we asked his agency to deny permits to facilities using this system, which were located in communities that are predominantly people of color, he told us that he couldn't," Haddix told Grist.

Instead of canceling permits, Regan has fined several farms for hundreds of thousands of dollars cumulatively for pollution in the year since the lawsuit concluded. Though he recently dropped a $90,000 fine on a polluting hog farm — the biggest fine for a North Carolina hog farm since 2012 — hog industry representatives publicly applauded Regan's nomination to head the EPA and thanked him for supporting the industry.

"We look forward to working with him on issues of importance to U.S. pork producers, as we continue to produce the highest-quality, most affordable, and nutritious protein in the world," said National Pork Producers Council President Howard Roth in a public statement.

https://nppc.org/nppc-applauds-regan-nomination-to-head-epa/

Muhammed agreed, and she emphasized that the fight for environmental justice in North Carolina began before Regan and will continue after he's gone.

"We're still having meetings with [DEQ] about permits where they are not considering the cumulative impact, as well as the disproportionate impact on environmental justice communities," she said. "We just have to get them to understand that enough is enough. If somebody already owns five toxic sites, why do they need a sixth?"

Overall, Muhammed is pleased with Regan's transformation of the DEQ and is excited to see equity and justice being valued by national leaders.

"There's got to be some teeth to the leadership and changemakers over at the EPA for them to be able to make the decisions that we'll need to protect the people and environment in this country," she added. "[Regan] is well-able to do the job, and we in North Carolina are excited for him."
__________________________________

From us to 45:
Paw prints It’s always nice to keep in touch
Paw prints And it’s nice to send your way
Paw prints This little wish that means so much
Paw prints Happy 2nd #Impeachment First Day!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EtzqBAyXAAIwn4y?format=jpg&name=small
https://twitter.com/TheOvalPawffice/status/1359218495158894594

YIKES: The NBA just announced that "all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy"
https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/1359576635247267846

Paw prints Breaking meows: after a thorough purrsonal incatstigation, I Winston Biden First Cat, have discovered that my fellow felines have indeed taken over Zoom, where a pawdorable kitty tried to pass as a lawyer yesterday. "I'm not a cat" is exactly what a cat would meow. #ElAvogato
https://twitter.com/TheOvalPawffice/status/1359527889142751232

🐾 Awooof! Let's give a round of apaws for these pawbulous @scarlysquad artists, they are so talented! If YOU love to draw - no matter your age or skill- and want to support animal #welfare and #rescue- please join #DrawForPaws, they are a pawsome organization. #ArtistsForPaws
https://twitter.com/TheOvalPawffice/status/1359324697897402377

From us to 45:
Paw prints It's always nice to keep in touch
Paw prints And it's nice to send your way
Paw prints This little wish that means so much
Paw prints Happy 2nd #Impeachment First Day!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EtzqBAyXAAIwn4y?format=jpg&name=small
https://twitter.com/TheOvalPawffice/status/1359218495158894594

Dominic Pezzola, a member of the Proud Boys charged in the Capitol attack, told a federal judge that he participated in the insurrection because "he was responding to the entreaties" of then-President Trump. This is in line with what House Dems are arguing now
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1359589855001530371

'Zip-Tie Guy' Cites Impeachment Managers' Trial Memo in a 'Prologue' to Get Out of Jail: Trump's Lies Led to the Insurrection
https://lawandcrime.com/u-s-capitol-siege/zip-tie-guy-cites-impeachment-managers-trial-memo-in-a-prologue-to-get-out-of-jail-trumps-lies-led-to-the-insurrection/

Harris to start 'regular' lunches with Blinken in bid to beef up foreign policy chops
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/10/politics/kamala-harris-antony-blinken-lunches/index.html

I love how this portion of her presentation is basically only addressing the empty suits across the aisle:
"They were coming for you. He wound 'em up and pointed them at you."

Draymond Green on Dončić: "I think he made a statement where he said 'It's easier for me to score in the NBA than it was for me to score in Europe' and everybody went crazy, like 'how disrespectful is he'. He's shown that it's true."
https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/1167827/draymond-green-doncic-showed-its-easier-for-him-to-score-in-the-nba-than-in-europe/

Even at the time it was clear the statement is true. It doesn't say anything about the quality of play, but rather the rules and the style of play in Europe as opposed to the NBA. People took it as a slight then but NBA courts are bigger and thus allow for more space, combine that with the defensive 3 second rule and you have a lot more open space inside the 3pt line where players can operate.

Del. Stacey Plaskett says a permit to march from the Ellipse to the Capitol was not initially authorized for the January 6th rally until Trump and his team got involved in the planning process.

Two hours after apologizing for calling the pro-Trump terrorist attack on the Capitol a "hoax," Mike Shirkey was recorded on a hot mic repeating the lie that the terrorist act was a hoax
https://freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/02/10/mike-shirkey-garlin-gilchrist-hoax-capitol/6703829002/

Refugee advocate to lead task force to reunite separated families: Michelle Brané's refugee organization is part of the committee tasked by a judge with finding, reuniting more than 600 migrant children with their parents.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/biden-admin-name-refugee-advocate-director-task-force-reunite-separated-n1257255

First, we continue to take steps to increase the vaccine supply and get it out the door as fast as the manufacturers can make it. Yesterday we announced another increase in the weekly allocations of vaccine doses to states, tribes, and territories. We have achieved a 28 percent increase in the first three weeks of the administration. We're helping states administer the supply more efficiently and equitably by providing them with visibility into the supply they will receive over the coming three weeks. Second, we're mobilizing teams to get shots in arms. At the President's direction, we're moving quickly to get more vaccinators on the ground, including retired doctors and nurses. We've deployed hundreds of personnel across the federal government, from FEMA to USDA to HHS and other federal agencies, to support vaccination operations nationwide. And we have plans to deploy thousands more. Third, we're creating more places where Americans can get vaccinated. To do so, we've expedited financial support to bolster community vaccination centers nationwide, with over $3 billion in federal funding across 35 states, tribes, and territories. We're putting equity front and center, partnering with states to increase vaccinations in the hardest-hit and hardest-to-reach communities. We've launched efforts to get more vaccines to pharmacies and community health centers. And we're building new vaccination centers from the ground up, in stadiums, community centers, school gyms, and parking lots across the country. And the data show that these efforts are working. As you can see in our vaccination progress report, our seven-day average daily doses administered is now 1.5 million shots per day, up from 1.1 million only two weeks ago. But let me be very clear: We have much more work to do. This is just the start. First, we are building new vaccination sites. Last week, we announced new mass vaccination centers in California. And today I'm pleased to announce that we'll partner with the state of Texas to build three new major community vaccination centers in Dallas, Arlington, and Houston — communities hit hard by the pandemic. In Houston, we're building a major site at NRG Stadium; in South Dallas, a new site at Fair Park; and in Arlington, a site at AT&T Stadium. Together, these sites will be capable of administering more than 10,000 shots in arms a day. We are deploying federal teams immediately to work hand in hand with the state and local jurisdiction.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/press-briefing-by-white-house-covid-19-response-team-and-public-health-officials-3/

Fourteenth Amendment
Section 3
No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Amdt14.S3.1 Disqualification from Holding Office
Amdt14.S3.1.1 Disqualification Clause
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/section-3/

The managers are doing a thorough job debunking the idea that former President Trump's version of "fighting" was somehow metaphorical. They're categorically outlining his support for/turning a blind eye to, actual violence to meet his political needs. TX Bus, MAGA marches, etc

Biden announces that Austin is standing up a new DOD-wide China task force to review US force posture and strategy toward Beijing. "That's how we will meet the China challenge and ensure the American people win the competition in the future."

The great legal untangling continues: DOJ officially changes positions in the SCOTUS PPACA fight, saying (unsurprisingly) that the Biden administration's position is the law is constitutional, and if the court disagrees, the section at issue can be severed
https://supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/19/19-840/168649/20210210151147983_19-840%2019-1019%20CA%20v%20TX.pdf

Everyone should have access to free community college.
https://twitter.com/FLOTUS/status/1359601608607346695

The Democrats allowed a delegate from a USA territory to give a testimony, to do something historically important in congress

Imagine if Trump+Republicans had devoted as much energy and forethought to overturning covid19 as they plainly did to overturning the election.

Florida water hack was "very likely" the work of "a disgruntled employee" @C_C_Krebs says at a House Homeland Security hearing
https://twitter.com/nakashimae/status/1359606369268232203

Once again pressed by reporters on Biden's refusal to offer commentary on impeachment, Jen Psaki notes, "The American people should read it as his commitment to delivering on exactly what they elected him to do. Which is not to be a commentator on the daily developments."
https://twitter.com/i/status/1359561417951739910
https://twitter.com/AmerIndependent/status/1359561417951739910

The Press continues to be confounded by Biden's refusal to be a tv pundit/loudmouth at the end of the bar like his predecessor

Del. Stacey Plaskett may have just dropped the most damning evidence of the impeachment trial yet: "It was not till after President Trump and his team became involved in the planning that the march from the Ellipse to the Capitol came about."
https://twitter.com/i/status/1359606322610622473
https://twitter.com/MotherJones/status/1359606322610622473

Key nugget today: Trump reviewed the permit for the rally at the Ellipse, which originally did not include marching to the US Capitol - and had it revised to allow that.
https://twitter.com/amy_siskind/status/1359608047560253448

🐾Major just visited @MegHays46 again and heard that flurries will be starting soon in 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, so we decided we'll most pawbably stay inside today, ON the furniture, and enjoy the comforts of being #DOTUS: innumerable naps and countless yummy nom noms. #Flurries
https://twitter.com/TheOvalPawffice/status/1359607227821264897

Stacey Plaskett, who represents the US Virgin Islands' at-large congressional district, is the first delegate in the nation's history to serve on a team of impeachment managers
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1359601301479432195

An emotional Rep. Madeleine Dean: "This attack never would have happened but for Donald Trump."
https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1359607601433104384

"If Mr. Trump were to be convicted of a state crime in New York or Georgia, a federal pardon would not be applicable. In Georgia, Mr. Trump cannot look to Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, for a state pardon, and not just because the two have a fractured relationship. In Georgia, pardons are granted only by the state board of pardons and paroles."
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/politics/trump-georgia-investigation.html

Trump: "You should want to have an accurate election, and you're a Republican,"
Raffensperger: "We believe we have an accurate election,"
Raffensperger: "Well, Mr. President... the data that you have is wrong,"
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/fulton-county-da-asks-ga-secretary-state-preserve-evidence-explosive-call-with-trump/P63PPBICKJCKPGDK5SVDR7E76M/

The group of Senators (all Republicans) that suppoted the insurrection (so far) should be recused:
Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
Mike Braun of Indiana
Ted Cruz of Texas
Steve Daines of Montana
Bill Hagerty of Tennessee
Josh Hawley of Missouri
Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
John Kennedy of Louisiana
James Lankford of Oklahoma
Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming
Roger Marshall of Kansas
Rick Scott of Florida
Tommy Tuberville of Alabama
All who fail to convict the impeached insurrectionist TRump should also be charged/removed for supporting this coup attempt.
Lol of course it's mostly the southern states. Maybe it's time to cut off their federal aid until they fix their shit.

It's so hot out here the sun got me seeing things 😂😂😂😂 I thought JPP had all his fingers just now
https://twitter.com/_fournette/status/1359581932170919939

"He actually scored. The Chiefs didn't. He scored. They should definitely sign him."
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLHaGvpnqPY/

Broncos are releasing CB A.J. Bouye per source. #9sports
https://twitter.com/MikeKlis/status/1359572647139450881

My dawg JPP was sacking they ass with 7 fingers he is different Face with tears of joy Face with tears of joy Face with tears of joy Face with tears of joy Face with tears of joy
https://twitter.com/_fournette/status/1359556564965818371
__________________________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/02/10/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-administrations-response-to-the-coup-in-burma/

Remarks by President Biden on the Administration's Response to the Coup in Burma
February 10, 2021 • Speeches and Remarks

South Court Auditorium
Eisenhower Executive Office Building

1:22 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for being here on short notice. I'm going to be very brief, but I — because the Vice President and I are heading over the Pentagon for an extensive briefing and to make some comments, as we did at the State Department. So I'm going to be going from here to there, and you'll get me there as well.

I want to say good afternoon, everyone. I wanted to give you an update on the latest regarding our response to the military coup in Burma.

As you know, the assault on Burma's transition to democracy remains an issue of deep bipartisan concern. We've consulted at length, for example, with Senator McConnell, who's had a very keen interest in this, and his team. And we welcomed their helpful insights.

We've also been in close contact with our allies and partners around the world, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, driving vigorous diplomatic outreach to help coordinate an international response to what happened.

A strong and unified message emerging from the United States has been essential, in our view, to encouraging other countries to join us in pressing for an immediate return to democracy.

Last week, the United States helped bring together the U.N. Security Council, which issued a strong statement in support of Burmese democracy. And this week, we will use our renewed engagement on the Human Rights Council to strengthen the world's commitment to human rights in Burma.

Today, I again call on the Burmese military to immediately release the democratic political leaders and activists and — that they're now detaining, including Aung San Suu Kyi. And she is — and also Win Myint, the President.

The military must relinquish the power it seized and demonstrate respect for the will of the people of Burma as expressed in their November 8th election.

So today, I'm announcing a series — a series of actions that we're taking to begin imposing consequences on the leaders of the coup. The U.S. government is taking steps to prevent the generals from improperly having access to the $1 billion in Burmese government funds held in the United States.

And today, I've approved a new executive order — (coughs) — excuse me — a new executive order enabling us to immediately sanction the military leaders who directed the coup, their business interests, as well as close family members.

We will identify a first round of targets this week. And we're also going to impose strong export controls. And we're freezing U.S. assets that benefit the Burmese government, while maintaining our support for healthcare, civil society groups, and other areas that benefit the people of Burma directly.

And, finally, as protests grow, violence against those asserting their democratic rights is unacceptable, and we're going to keep calling it out. The people of Burma are making their voices heard. And the world is watching.

We'll be ready to impose additional measures, and we'll continue to work with our international partners to urge other nations to join us in these efforts.

So I thank you all. I wanted to have that statement before I got in the vehicle to go out to the Pentagon. And I'm sure I'll see some of you at the Pentagon. Thanks for coming over on such short notice. Thank you.

END 1:26 P.M. EST
__________________________________

A couple of other updates for all of you: The President, the Vice President, and the Secretary of Treasury had a productive and substantive conversation yesterday with the business leaders about the need to urgently pass the American Rescue Plan. The group discussed the importance of getting direct assistance to families who are suffering, and there was consensus that getting immediate help to the American people is paramount. The President also raised his priority to increase wages and ensure no one who makes minimum wage is living below the poverty line. The business leaders shared the experiences of their own workforces and discovered — discussed, sorry — discussed the challenges their employees and customer base face to overcome the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-february-10-2021/

Another scheduling update for all of you: This Friday, President Biden will continue his engagement around the American Rescue Plan by meeting with a bipartisan group of mayors and governors here at the White House to discuss the vital need to get more support to their communities and to those on the frontlines of this fight. He has proposed $350 billion in support for state and local government. That means keeping cops, firefighters, public health workers, teachers, and other public servants on the job in the fight against the virus. And that means getting help to cities, counties, and states to get vaccines in arms faster, something many governors and mayors have spoken about. Mayors in particular are on the frontlines of this, and we've seen widespread bipartisan support from them. We're hoping to even bring some of them to the briefing here to talk — briefing room here to talk with all of you on Friday.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-february-10-2021/

In New York, sites in Brooklyn and Queens will open the same week and will together have a capacity for 6,000 shots a day. This follows two sites announced last week and other ongoing efforts to accelerate equitable vaccination efforts, including by increasing weekly state vaccine supply by 25 percent since entering office; deploying federal personnel to support vaccination efforts nationwide; and over $3.15 billion in funding to states, tribes, and territories.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-february-10-2021/

But we certainly hope to build from that, even at 100 days. And from there, our objective — the President's objectives is for all schools to reopen, to stay open, to be open five days a week, for kids to be learning. That's what our focus is on. This is simply a goal for 100 days.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/10/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-february-10-2021/

Donald Trump really is banned from Twitter forever (even if he runs in and wins 2024 presidential election)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/02/10/trump-twitter-suspension-permanent-2024-presidential-election/6709090002/

Mike Pence's narrow escape thanks to Capitol officer Eugene Goodman revealed in new video
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mike-pence-eugene-goodman-capitol-video-impeachment-trial-b1800649.html

Trump used the word 'peacefully' once during pre-Capitol riot speech. He said 'fight' 20 times, impeachment manager notes.
https://theweek.com/speedreads/966165/trump-used-word-peacefully-once-during-precapitol-riot-speech-said-fight-20-times-impeachment-manager-notes

Pennsylvania man assaulted police officer, stole another's bodycam during Capitol riot
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/10/us/capitol-riot-police-officer-assaulted-bodycam-stole-trnd/index.html

Earlier, Rep. Swalwell showed security footage showing @SenSchumer's "near miss" with the mob.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1359629032787238914

Fox is no longer airing the impeachment trial.

While the mob ransacked Capitol, lawmakers and allies were PLEADING for Trump do something, to say something, to stop it. Pence was trying to coordinate response. Trump didn't call. Lindsey Graham told us Trump saw group as "allies in his journey."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-mob-failure/2021/01/11/36a46e2e-542e-11eb-a817-e5e7f8a406d6_story.html

It is sheer desperation in the voice of the officer calling for immediate backup: Never-before-heard radio communications from the Metropolitan Police Department: Officer realizes that insurrectionists have overtaken the police line: Officer screams: "Cruiser 50. We lost the line. We've lost the line. All MPD, pull back. All MPD, pull back to the upper deck."

What an absolutely terrifying day. We knew it at the time, but some of this security footage just underscores the reality of how close members and staff were from being confronted by the mob in the chambers..

Okay, here's the other thing that's getting me right now - we went back to work like it was normal! We hunkered down for five hours and then we went back to work. I was in the Capitol until 4am. We were shaken, but we still went back to work. We just didn't know how bad it was.
https://twitter.com/Grace_Segers/status/1359628156081229827

Julie Su, who was nominated to be deputy labor secretary by President Biden, made a name for herself in the 1990s, fighting for more than 70 Thai garment workers who had been enslaved in a sweatshop in El Monte, near Los Angeles. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/deputy-secretary-labor-got-her-start-fighting-enslaved-thai-garment-n1257293

Most of the new footage from the Trump impeachment trial was not seen by viewers of FoxNews, where commentators were discussing the trial rather than showing it.

Sen. Romney says it was his first time seeing the video footage of Officer Goodman directing him to safety and looks forward to thanking him. Said it was very troubling to see the violence in the Capitol.
https://twitter.com/KFaulders/status/1359632093224054795

Former president is on trial for insurrection against the United States, but meanwhile Fox is focusing on the really big stuff (Mark Cuban and National Anthem)
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Et5gzuCWgAMHu_Y?format=jpg&name=small

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) cites Hawley: "That mob would not have given a damn if they caught any senator and asked them -- with maybe the exception of some of the ones who gave them a fist salute -- but I don't think they would have given a damn about what party you belong to."
https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1359634479288049664

No thinking person can watch these videos and think this attack, by Trump flag-waving, hang-Pence-screaming rioters happens without Trump.

New security footage shows Officer Goodman provoking the rioters to draw them from the door of the Senate chamber and toward the other officers. "The rioter seen carrying a baseball bat in this video is the same one we saw moments ago breaching the window," Plaskett noted.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1359633293818408960

Democrats push for state Medicaid expansions that could benefit roughly 4 million Americans
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/10/relief-bill-incentivizes-state-medicaid-expansions-that-could-aid-4-million-americans.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Rotunno
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Flynt

____________________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/02/10/remarks-by-president-biden-to-department-of-defense-personnel/

Remarks by President Biden to Department of Defense Personnel
February 10, 2021 • Speeches and Remarks

The Pentagon

Arlington, Virginia

3:20 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Mr. Secretary, thank you. And good afternoon to everyone. I want to thank Secretary Austin for welcoming the Vice President and me to the Pentagon today. It's good to be back.

Before I begin, I have some welcome news that the Saudi government has released a prominent human rights activist, Loujain al-Hathlou — -loul — excuse me, l-o-u-l — from prison. She's a powerful advocate women's rights, and releasing her was the right thing to do.

It's been a busy day. Earlier, I announced steps we've taken to impose costs on those responsible for the military coup in Burma. And I've just concluded a briefing with the civilian and military leadership where I laid out my national security priorities. And I want to share the message directly with the Department of Defense staff all around the world. Because each of you — each of you — whether you're newly enlisted, a career officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a civilian policy expert, you're essential to how we project our strength around the world, defend America's interests, and advance American leadership in the world.

So often, our Armed Forces and the Department of Defense staff are how the rest of the world encounters America. And you all know as well as anyone that our country is safer and stronger when we lead not just with the example of our power, but with the power of our example.

As your Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to use force to defend the vital interests of the American people and our allies around the world when necessary. The central, indispensable mission of the Department of Defense is to deter aggression from our enemies and, if required, to fight and win wars to keep America safe.

But I believe force should be a tool of last resort, not first. I understand the full weight of what it means to ask young, proud Americans to stand in the breach. As was referenced by the Secretary, my son Beau served in Iraq for a year. I'm the first President in 40 years, I'm told, who had a son or daughter who served in a warzone.

So I know what it's like. Being Commander-in-Chief is an enormous responsibility and one that I will never take lightly or easily.

I will work with Secretary Austin and leaders around the world to bring a responsible end — a responsible end to wars that have dragged on for far too long, while continuing to ensure that terrorist threats cannot endanger the security of the American people.

I also know that you are essential to the work of our diplomacy — not only as the ultimate guarantor of our security, but as diplomats yourselves.

I got to know Secretary Austin when he was serving as commander of U.S. Forces in Iraq. It wasn't just his excellent military leadership the many times I met him there, and his strategy; he was a consummate diplomat as well. He worked closely with our ambassador to build relationships with both civilian and military leaders of our coalition partners. Because we are better able to project our power when we're amplifying our strength through our alliances, it was so important.

There is no aspect of our agenda of the 21st century leadership where the women and men of the Defense Department do not have a role — whether it's helping curb the pandemic here at home and around the world; or addressing the real threats of climate change that already is costing us billions in impacts on our bases, on our national security; or being part of an ongoing fight for racial justice.

You are essential to how we must rethink and reprioritize our security to meet the challenges of this century, not the last.

We need to take on the dangers and opportunities of emerging technologies, enhance our capabilities in cyberspace, ensure that we are positioned to lead in a new era of competition, from deep sea to outer space. And we need to meet
the growing challenges posed by China to keep the peace and defend our interests in the Indo-Pacific and globally.

Today, I was briefed on a new DOD-wide China task force that Secretary Austin is standing up to look at our strategy and operational concepts, technology, and force posture, and so much more.

The task force will work quickly, drawing on civilian and
military experts across the Department, to provide, within the next few months, recommendations to Senator [Secretary] Austin on key priorities and decision points so that we can chart a strong path forward on China-related matters. It will require a whole-of-government effort, bipartisan cooperation in Congress, and strong alliances and partnerships.

That's how we'll meet the China challenge and ensure the American people win the competition of the future.

You know, to the incredible individuals who serve in our Armed Forces: You are unquestionably part of the finest fighting force in the history of the world. You're warriors. The work you do each and every day is vital to ensuring the American people — your families, friends, and loved ones — are able to live in peace and security and growing prosperity.

And for those of you who raise your hands and sign up to wear the uniform of the United States: We owe you an incredible debt.

I've said for many years, less than one percent of Americans do what you do: put yourself on the line for the rest of the 99 percent of the Americans you represent. The 99 percent of us owe you. We owe it to you to keep the faith with our sacred obligation to properly prepare and equip you when we send you into harm's way, and to care for you and your families, both while you are deployed and after you return home.

You're incredible heroes and incredible patriots. I will never, ever dishonest you — dishonor you. I will never disrespect you. I will never politicize the work you do. That goes for our civilian professionals as well as the career military.

As I've said, this is personal for me. The Biden family is a military family. We learned firsthand some of what your loved ones experienced when Beau was deployed to Iraq for a year with his unit in the Delaware National Guard. We dealt with the stress of his absence and the daily joys — from the daily joys of life. And we worried constantly about his safe return. We felt overwhelming pride in his courage and his patriotism.

You are all the best our country has to offer. You live by a creed of selfless sacrifice. And for many of you, the journey to service has not been easy.

February is Black History Month, as the Vice President pointed out. Before we leave today, Vice President Harris and I are going to visit the hall honoring the long history of black Americans fighting for this country, even when their contributions were not always recognized or honored appropriately.

But those contributions have nevertheless helped push our country toward greater equality. From the bravery of the free and enslaved descendants of Africans who fought with the colonial forces in our revolution; to the black regiments that joined to fight for the Union and for their own freedom in the Civil War; to the Buffalo soldiers, including Henry O. Flipper, the first African American graduate of West Point; and Cathay Williams, the first African American woman — Cathay — who enlisted in the United States Army.

Imagine the incredible love it must have taken for the proud Tuskegee Airmen to fly more than 15,000 sorties in battle, when their own freedom was not fully realized in their own country.

Imagine the determination of Roscoe Robinson, who started at West Point one year before Harry Truman issued the order to officially desegregate the Armed Forces, and who rose to become the first African American four-star general.

Imagine the bravery of the 22 African Americans awarded the Medal of Honor for their service in the Vietnam War while struggling for civil rights at home was continuing.

It's all part of a long history of barrier-breaking service.

Right now, more than 40 percent of our active-duty forces are people of color. And it's long past time that the full diversity and full strength of our force is reflected at every level of this Department, including our Secretary of Defense.

This organization thrives and succeeds because of our people. So the final point I'd like to make today is to give you my personal commitment that this administration — from myself and the Vice President Harris to Secretary Austin on down — is dedicated to ensuring that every single person is treated with dignity and respect.

That's why we moved so quickly to overturn the discriminary — discriminatory ban on transgender service, and why General Austin's first memo was a directive to take sexual assault in the military seriously.

Every single person, no matter their gender identity, sexual orientation, race, or religious background, deserves to feel safe in the ranks and to have their contributions valued.

It's on all of us to stand up, to speak out when you see someone being abused. This is an organization that's defined American — excuse me, defeated American enemies on land, sea, and air, and been defined by the way we treat others.

So I know this is not beyond us, not if each of us makes this a priority as well.

So, thank you for welcoming us, Secretary Austin. It's good to be back in the Pentagon. I wish I could meet more of you in person today, but I look forward to spending more time with you in all the places you serve around the world.

I know this is the honor of my lifetime. The honor of my lifetime is to serve as your Commander-in-Chief.

Thank you for what you do for this country. May G-d bless you and protect you, and may G-d protect our troops deployed around the world, every single one of you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

END 3:31 P.M. EST
____________________________

.@StateDeptSpox Price: We condemn the Houthi attack today that damaged a civilian airliner at the Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia. The attack coincides with U.S. Special Envoy Lenderking's first trip to the region and his efforts to bring a lasting peace to Yemen.
https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/1359595634597244928

The U.S. Embassy condemns the Houthi attack on the #AbhaAirport earlier today. These unacceptable attacks on civilians only serve to prolong the conflict. We urge the Houthis to cease these acts of aggression and work toward a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
https://twitter.com/USAinKSA/status/1359578430086516736

Tens of thousands of suspected foreign terrorist fighters remain in conflict zones. Women and children languish in camps in dire conditions. The global threat from ISIS will grow if the international community does not repatriate their citizens.
https://usun.usmission.gov/remarks-at-a-un-security-council-briefing-on-threats-to-international-peace-and-security-caused-by-terrorist-acts-via-vtc/

.@POTUS has directed all U.S. government agencies engaged abroad to ensure that United States diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons. Read the full memorandum at
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/02/04/memorandum-advancing-the-human-rights-of-lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-queer-and-intersex-persons-around-the-world/

The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS remains focused on eradicating ISIS through four main, non-military lines of effort: counter financing; counter messaging; detention, repatriation, and accountability for crimes and abuses of foreign terrorist fighters; and stabilization of areas liberated from ISIS. We continue to monitor the alarming situation of tens of thousands of suspected foreign terrorist fighters remaining in conflict zones. We watch with concern as women and children languish in camps in dire conditions with little access to education, increasing the potential for their radicalization. The global threat from ISIS will grow if the international community does not repatriate their citizens. We encourage the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, CTED, and the 1267 Monitoring Team to closely monitor this threat and to continue to guide the UN Office of Counterterrorism's prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration initiative. Beyond being the best option from a security standpoint, repatriation is also simply the right thing to do. It is estimated that 90 percent of children in the camps are under 12 and 50 percent under five. They have limited access to food, medical care, clean water, and other basic services. Education is almost nonexistent. They cannot possibly live up to their potential under these conditions. Beyond conflict zones, there is a surge in the threat posed by ISIS affiliates around the world, especially on the African continent. It is alarming, but not unexpected, to see these affiliates across Africa working together. This poses a danger to us all. We look forward to working with our partners in the 1267 Committee to continue tackling this changing threat. The Committee has already designated six ISIS affiliates operating in Africa, the Middle East, and Central and East Asia. We hope to see further affiliates, including more African affiliates, designated in the coming months. While the world rallies to respond to the serious challenges posed by COVID-19, terrorists are exploiting the pandemic to disseminate disinformation to garner support for their causes and advance their agendas. Terror groups like ISIS are adapting their messages to undermine confidence in government, threaten legitimate governance, and provoke violence. We must continue to work together to fight against these threats and defeat ISIS, and its affiliates, once and for all.
https://usun.usmission.gov/remarks-at-a-un-security-council-briefing-on-threats-to-international-peace-and-security-caused-by-terrorist-acts-via-vtc/

Something more people need to appreciate - every Rep &Sen has a staff of people. All there to do their jobs just like we all do. Without security or special pins to give them special access. All of them traumatized & they returned to that same building to work that very night into the early morning: Members of SpeakerPelosi's staff, who were barricaded in a conference room terrified for their lives during the January 6 attack on the capitol, watch video from that day during the Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill on February 10.
https://twitter.com/erinschaff/status/1359636713593860101

Before Hawley said he was going to object to the electors (based on lies and conspiracy theories), Leader McConnell thought no one in the Senate would object, so January 6 would be a non-event. Lots of Republicans on the Hill hold Hawley at least partly responsible for what happened: Romney burning a hole through the back of Hawley's head \
https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1347006557989576704
https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1359639215454244865

Democrats know they are almost certainly not going to get a conviction. They're creating a public record that will live through history, live with every senator who votes on this, and live with House members who amplified and cheerleaded and continue to cheerleed Trump's lies.

Guess that's how he feels about the Capitol Police officers who risked their lives, were injured and died to protect people like him, huh: Sen. Rick Scott told reporters after viewing explicit videos of the attack on the Capitol that the Senate impeachment trial is a "complete waste of time."
https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1359635279758438406

House managers replaying the video of the Trump rally from January 6th when the former President says "I'll be there with you"

Notable that Rep. Cicilline is listing off people who were around Trump on Jan. 6 as the riot was unfolding, including Mark Meadows, who was on Capitol Hill yesterday for the start of the trial. None of them have been called as witnesses.

Thinking about the timeline. That first "officer down" call was 6 hours before Trump tweeted "these are the things that happen." 6 hours. His twitter attack on Pence happened after these pro-Trump terrorists used a stolen police shield to breach the Capitol. Trump knew it had all happened.

As Emmanuel Macron knows, French collaboration with a genocidal regime is not without precedent....: French President Macron: EU shouldn't gang up on China for genociding Uighur
https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-eu-shouldnt-gang-up-on-china-with-u-s/

Feel free to send him a thank you card.
Officer Goodman
c/o United States Capitol Police
119 D Street, NE
Washington, DC 20510

Cicilline is pulling out the trial lawyer card

The evidence connecting the attack to Trump's actions is indisputable. Any Senator with a conscience should vote to convict Donald Trump - and those who pushed his lies should resign.

Trump did something unprecedented in American history—he refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power. The attack on the Capitol did not come from one speech. It was not by accident. A mob was provoked by Trump over many months.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1359584277537714177
https://twitter.com/JoaquinCastrotx/status/1359584277537714177

This monologue by Cicilline is so damning and clear cut that a 5 year old would feel embarrassed to acquit Trump

"They rifled through your desks". Cicilline says. This speech is perhaps the most direct appeal yet to his colleagues, lawmaker to lawmaker.

For background: Cicilline is talking about this episode when Trump tried to call Sen. Tommy Tuberville, but mistakenly calling Sen. Mike Lee.
https://www.ksl.com/article/50083600/how-president-trump-misdialed-utah-sen-mike-lee-while-the-capitol-was-under-siege

Playing Rudy Giuliani voicemail that he intended to send to Senator Tuberville on the night of the Jan. 6 insurrection, Rep. Cicilline notes that pressuring senators to delay the certification and stop the transfer of power was Trump's sole focus that day.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1359651523358191620
https://twitter.com/KlasfeldReports/status/1359651523358191620

This Giuliani voicemail is so inculpatory. After the pro-Trump terrorists storms the capitol to stop the electoral college certification, Giuliani called Tuberville to ask him to pick up where the terrorists left off and pressure the Republicans to keep delaying.

What these scenes from the Capitol reinforce is something that many Republicans politicians for the past four years have been unwilling to acknowledge: that when Trump spoke, voters listened, and many took him at his word.

Meanwhile the Republican Senators who would acquit Trump are beating up Biden's OMB nominee for mean tweets

"House prosecutors displayed gripping scenes of how close the rioters were to the country's leaders, roaming the halls chanting "Hang Mike Pence," some equipped with combat gear and members of extremist groups among the first inside"

Eugene Goodman saved Mitt Romney's life. We did not know that until today.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-impeachment-trial-update-2-10-2021-4f49705a5f92bd4129941ec409642ecd

Paw prints We weren't here when Khrushchev said "We will take America without firing a shot. We will destroy you from within." We are now & we suggest a TOTAL reform of the education system. Because no despot like Putin & his Trojan pony 45 can manipulate an educated populace to this 🌡.
https://twitter.com/TheOvalPawffice/status/1359653287650349057

Pawddendum: we do not mean to pupset the real ponies, we love ponies, ponies are pawsome! We pawpologize for the unfortunate analogy. We decree that all ponies shall receive compensatory fruit and hay, unlimited quantities. Awooof!
https://twitter.com/TheOvalPawffice/status/1359653899326681088

Disagree with Mike Pence being a patriot but I realize you're trying to sway a specific audience so go on.

Of all Trump's defenses, this 1 is tough to explain: "Law Enforcement Had Reports Of A Potential Attack On The Capitol Several Days Before President Trump's Speech". Trump's response was to speak before these people &and tell them to "fight like hell" etc
https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000177-82b6-dc90-a7f7-f6bf558c0000

Rep. Castro plays video of rioters reading Trump's tweet attacking Mike Pence as they're just outside of the Capitol. One of the rioters has a bullhorn.
Castro: "The insurgents amplified Trump's tweet."

Whether Trump knew Pence had been evacuated or not at the time of this tweet, Trump's supporters were already assaulting the Capitol. His first instinct wasn't the safety of his vice president, but rather, attacking his own loyal VP while Pence's life was in danger.

Never-before-seen security footage from Jan. 6 shows officer Eugene Goodman leading Sen. Mitt Romney away from the violent mob:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1359618131422048259
https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1359618131422048259

Senior Trump Justice Dept. officials repeatedly and illegally and unconstitutionally sought to block federal prosecutors from taking a crucial step in their investigation into Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine, delaying a search warrant for some of Giuliani's electronic records.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/nyregion/giuliani-trump-subpoena.html

The fact that Republicans were REPEATEDLY trying to call TRUMP and REPEATEDLY BEGGINING TRUMP TO TELL HIS BASE THE ELECTION WAS OVER AND GO HOME is some of the best evidence that even Republicans knew whose fault this is.

Ted Cruz: Actually, It Is Constitutional to Impeach and Convict a Former President
https://nationalreview.com/corner/cruz-actually-it-is-constitutional-to-impeach-and-convict-a-former-president/

"On January 6th Donald Trump left everyone in the Capitol for dead" - stark attack from Joaquin Castro

Stacey Plaskett, a House delegate who couldn't vote to impeach Trump, is using her prosecutorial background to try to convict him
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/10/stacey-plaskett-house-delegate-who-couldnt-vote-impeach-trump-is-using-her-prosecutorial-background-try-convict-him/

Republican-Controlled Mississippi Senate Illegally And Unconstitutionally OKs Faster Purge Of Voter Rolls
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/mississippi/articles/2021-02-10/gop-led-mississippi-senate-oks-faster-purge-of-voter-rolls

"I suspect you recognize that man" (clown shaman) - Understatement of the year

Unclear which statements Mike Lee is disputing. Lee's office confirmed at the time that he received calls from Trump and Giuliani intended for Tuberville... and the managers played the voicemail from Giuliani.

Mike Lee's own spokesman confirmed the call Lee is now denying. The call was PLAYED ON THE SENATE FLOOR TONIGHT. THE CALL WAS MADE. EVERYBODY HEARD IT. HE ACTUALLY DENIED THE CALL HAPPENED.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/08/politics/mike-lee-tommy-tuberville-trump-misdialed-capitol-riot/index.html

Mike Lee is objecting to something the managers did not say. Cicilline said Mike Lee told a reporter that he received a call from Trump meant for Sen Tuberville, and Cicilline went on to say that the call was reportedly about Tuberville continuing to object to the electoral college votes. Cicilline did not say that it was Lee who confirmed the content of the call, only that Lee confirmed the call happened.

Instagram has taken down the account of @RobertKennedyJr. Too little, too late. The damage is done, and others will continue to carry his disinformation in his stead. Kennedy is the most vocal anti-Vaxxer in the US. He had 800k followers on IG. I can't begin to tell you how dangerous this man is with respect to public health. He has spread a huge amount of misinformation re vaccines.

I was the first to report Mike Lee's phone mix up with Trump and Tuberville on January 6. The story was picked up by other outlets after I published it in my newsletter.
Here's the original report #utpol
https://mailchi.mp/sltrib/the-rundown-an-upsetting-day-in-america

Trae with a logo 3 with 20 seconds left on the shot clock
https://streamable.com/b3h9wf

Karl-Anthony Towns is officially back in the Timberwolves lineup tonight.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1359661026090844162

B.C. allows logging in nine 'protected' old-growth areas: The BC government has consistently stated it placed protections on 353,000 hectares of old-growth forest, yet a recently unearthed document shows logging will continue in more than 150,000 hectares of these ostensibly protected areas.
https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-forests-logging-nine-protected-areas/

Saudi Arabia, seeking to build ties with the new Biden administration after its cozy relationship with Trump, releases a prominent women's rights activist who spent nearly three years in prison after advocating that women be allowed to drive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/world/middleeast/saudi-loujain-al-hathloul-freed.html

Yet will never, ever, ever vote to convict: Republican Tom Cotton believed the situation at the Capitol was so dangerous on Jan. 6 that he asked one of his staffers to bring his gun to the undisclosed location where senators were being hidden from rioters, and that he was prepared to use it.
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1359673539469561861
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-impeachment-trial-02-10-2021/h_e0966d75fe12e31b5943f90953bbacc1

Ten doses of the Covid-19 vaccine would expire within hours, so a Houston doctor gave it to people with medical conditions, including his wife. What followed was "the lowest moment in my life," Dr. Hasan Gokal said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/houston-doctor-fired-covid-vaccine.html

Confirms Trump knew Pence was in real danger: Tuberville is stating publicly that he told Trump directly Pence was being evacuated and under threat: Tuberville is stating publicly that he told Trump directly Pence was being evacuated and under threat: Tuberville on his call with Trump on Jan. 6: "You know President Trump, you don't get many words in. But he didn't get a chance to say a whole lot because, I said, "Mr. President, they just took the vice president out, I've got to go.' That's what it was.'"
https://twitter.com/burgessev/status/1359671852566732801

Seems significant that a senator is acknowledging telling Trump *directly* that Pence was under threat, and Trump still didn't say anything publicly about it.

"He's with us. He's with us." — Insurrectionist on video telling "colleagues" invading Senate chamber that Ted Cruz was okay because he was objecting to the certification.

______________________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/10/readout-of-the-white-houses-meeting-with-gun-violence-prevention-advocacy-groups-2/

Readout of the White House's Meeting with Gun Violence Prevention Advocacy Groups
February 10, 2021 • Statements and Releases

Today, Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice and White House Public Engagement Director and Senior Advisor Cedric Richmond hosted a virtual discussion with leaders of gun violence prevention advocacy groups – Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, Giffords, and Brady. They discussed the ongoing public health crisis of gun violence in America, the historic increase in homicides across American cities last year, and commonsense steps that can be taken to make our communities safer such as closing background check loopholes, stopping the proliferation of unregulated and untraceable "ghost" guns, and expanding community-based violence intervention programs.

Ambassador Rice and Congressman Richmond expressed gratitude for the leaders' ideas, persistent advocacy efforts over the years, and commitment to working together to tackle the gun violence epidemic. Ambassador Rice and Congressman Richmond also underscored President Biden's longstanding record of fighting for families impacted by gun violence, his full support for taking commonsense actions to reduce gun violence, and his unwavering commitment to pushing ahead further steps to make our communities safer.
______________________________

White House names SolarWinds response leader amid criticism. The White House announced Wednesday that a senior national security official had been leading the effort since the first day of the Biden administration. Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emergency technology, was in charge of remediating the hack, identifying issues with the federal government's response and launching a study aimed at preventing similar incidents, the White House said. | "In the first weeks of the Biden administration DNSA Neuberger has held a series of consultations with both Democratic and Republican members of Congress on our approach to SolarWinds specifically and our cybersecurity strategy broadly," said Emily Horne, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council. "We look forward to continuing to work with Congress on these issues." Officials said lawmakers were mistaken to suggest no one was in charge of the federal response. Anne Neuberger, appointed to a newly created post of deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology by President Biden, is overseeing the response to what has become known as the SolarWinds breach, said Emily J. Horne, the National Security Council spokeswoman. "Since Day 1, she has been running an interagency process on SolarWinds," Ms. Horne said. Until last month, Ms. Neuberger had served in a variety of key posts at the National Security Agency, and ran the Russia Small Group that devised responses to Moscow's interference in the 2016 presidential election. She is widely regarded as an experienced and tough veteran of the low-level, constant conflict between Russia and the United States.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/politics/biden-russia-solarwinds-hacking.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/us/politics/biden-homeland-security-cybersecurity.html

President Biden has spoken with Chinese President Xi for the first time since taking office, raising "fundamental concerns" about Beijing's economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, and human rights abuses, the White House says.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-raises-concerns-chinese-president-first-official-phone-call-n1257405

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Xi Jinping of China. The President shared his greetings and well wishes with the Chinese people on the occasion of Lunar New Year. President Biden affirmed his priorities of protecting the American people's security, prosperity, health, and way of life, and preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific. President Biden underscored his fundamental concerns about Beijing's coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan. The two leaders also exchanged views on countering the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shared challenges of global health security, climate change, and preventing weapons proliferation. President Biden committed to pursuing practical, results-oriented engagements when it advances the interests of the American people and those of our allies.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/10/readout-of-president-joseph-r-biden-jr-call-with-president-xi-jinping-of-china/

Kyle Anderson Tonight: 27/2/3 on 10/14 shooting, 6/8 from three and 1/2 from the line

Kyrie Irving Tonight: 35/4/8 on 8/17 shooting, 2/6 from Three and 17/17 from the line

Bryn Forbes has accumulated a 17/0/0 stat line, on 6-7 from the field and 5-6 from three at the half

Al Horford tonight: 25 points, 8 rebounds (2 OREB), 8 assists (1 TO), 4 steals, 1 block, on 11 of 18 shooting.

Lonzo Ball's shooting pct splits in 6 February games: FG/3pt/FT = 48/51/91. He has only missed 2 free throws in 2021.

Kawhi Leonard Tonight: 36/8/5 on 13/26 shooting, 5/6 from Three and 5/7 from the line

Bulls out score Pelicans 40-14 in the third quarter

The Chicago Bulls break the franchise record for made 3s with 25; Zach LaVine & Coby White become first starting backcourt duo in NBA history with at least 8 made threes a piece in a game

Trae gets knocked down on the final play and Gallo can't get the game-winner to fall
https://streamable.com/pszr5t

The Phoenix Suns started the season out 6-2. Over the next 8 games, they went 2-6. The 8 games following that, they have gone 7-1

Chris Paul tonight: 28/3/7/2 steals in a 1 point win over the bucks

Zach LaVine Tonight: 46/7/4 on 17/25 Shooting, 9/14 from Three and 3/3 from the line

R.J. Hampton mashes it on Cedi Osman

Al Horford Rejects Kyle Kuzma at the rim
https://streamable.com/karf0a

Chris Paul in his last 9 games: 22/5/7 and 2 steals on 52/38/97 shooting splits

Issac Okoro with the silver lining slam on Jokic
https://streamable.com/hmu6z2

The Sacramento Kings are 12-12 and are the 10th seed in the West, if they had that exact record in East they would be the 5th Seed.

In tonight's loss to Brooklyn, Myles Turner finishes with 3/3/0/0/1 on 1/4 shooting in 25 minutes

I am outraged at reports & videos of peaceful protesters attacked by police in Myanmar. I issued a warning from Geneva today: We are watching and you will be held accountable for your actions. "I was only following orders" is no excuse & no defense.
https://twitter.com/RapporteurUn/status/1359733002662776835

Chicagoans gear up amid punishing stretch of subfreezing cold
https://www.accuweather.com/en/winter-weather/chicagoans-gear-up-amid-punishing-stretch-of-subfreezing-cold/897717

Six months after the derecho carved a path of devastation across Iowa, the city of Cedar Rapids is advancing a plan to regrow its urban forest. It will take years to restore the trees that were leveled by the hurricane-force winds.
https://www.iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/2021-02-10/six-months-after-derecho-cedar-rapids-advances-a-plan-to-restore-tree-canopy

Cotton's communications director wasn't there. The aides who were with Cotton confirmed he wanted his gun to defend both himself and the people with him.

Biden terminates national emergency declaration on the US-Mexico border
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/11/biden-trump-national-emergency-border-468603

Justice Department says an Oath Keepers leader waited for Trump's direction before Capitol attack
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/11/politics/oath-keeper-justice-trump-capitol/index.html
http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2021/images/02/11/04518323725.pdf

Maxine Cheshire, Who Chronicled Beltway Scandals, Dies at 90
https://nytimes.com/2021/02/08/business/media/maxine-cheshire-dead.html
______________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/02/11/executive-order-on-blocking-property-with-respect-to-the-situation-in-burma/

(see also https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/11/a-letter-to-the-speaker-of-the-house-of-representatives-and-the-president-of-the-senate/)

Executive Order on Blocking Property with Respect to the Situation in Burma
February 11, 2021    • Presidential Actions

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, find that the situation in and in relation to Burma, and in particular the February 1, 2021, coup, in which the military overthrew the democratically elected civilian government of Burma and unjustly arrested and detained government leaders, politicians, human rights defenders, journalists, and religious leaders, thereby rejecting the will of the people of Burma as expressed in elections held in November 2020 and undermining the country's democratic transition and rule of law, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.

Accordingly, I hereby order:

Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any foreign person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:

(i)    to operate in the defense sector of the Burmese economy or any other sector of the Burmese economy as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State;

(ii)   to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, any of the following:

(A) actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Burma;

(B) actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Burma;

(C) actions or policies that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or assembly by people in Burma, or that limit access to print, online, or broadcast media in Burma; or

(D) the arbitrary detention or torture of any person in Burma or other serious human rights abuse in Burma;

(iii) to be or have been a leader or official of:

(A) the military or security forces of Burma, or any successor entity to any of the foregoing;

(B) the Government of Burma on or after February 2, 2021;

(C) an entity that has, or whose members have, engaged in any activity described in subsection (a)(ii) of this section relating to the leader's or official's tenure; or

(D) an entity whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order as a result of activities related to the leader's or official's tenure;

(iv)   to be a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Burma;

(v)    to be a spouse or adult child of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order;

(vi)   to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or

(vii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the military or security forces of Burma or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the date of this order.

Sec. 2. The prohibitions in section 1 of this order include:

(a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and

(b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

Sec. 3. (a) The unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of noncitizens determined to meet one or more of the criteria in section 1(a) of this order would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and the entry of such persons into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, is hereby suspended, except where the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, determines that the person's entry would not be contrary to the interests of the United States, including when the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, so determines, based on a recommendation of the Attorney General, that the person's entry would further important United States law enforcement objectives.

(b) The Secretary of State shall implement this authority as it applies to visas pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may establish.

(c) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall implement this order as it applies to the entry of noncitizens pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may establish.

(d) Such persons shall be treated by this section in the same manner as persons covered by section 1 of Proclamation 8693 of July 24, 2011 (Suspension of Entry of Aliens Subject to United Nations Security Council Travel Bans and International Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions).

Sec. 4. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

Sec. 5. I hereby determine that the making of donations of the types of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to section 1 of this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in this order, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 1 of this order.

Sec. 6. For the purposes of this order:

(a) the term "entity" means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization;

(b) the term "Government of Burma" means the Government of Burma, any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the Central Bank of Myanmar, and any person owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, the Government of Burma;

(c) the term "noncitizen" means any person who is not a citizen or noncitizen national of the United States;

(d) the term "person" means an individual or entity; and

(e) the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.

Sec. 7. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render those measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in this order, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1 of this order.

Sec. 8. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate any of these functions within the Department of the Treasury. All departments and agencies of the United States shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order.

Sec. 9. Nothing in this order is intended to affect the continued effectiveness of any action taken pursuant to Executive Order 13742 of October 7, 2016 (Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Actions and Policies of the Government of Burma).

Sec. 10. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to submit recurring and final reports to the Congress on the national emergency declared in this order, consistent with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641(c)) and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1703(c)).

Sec. 11. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

                             JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
______________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/11/a-letter-to-the-speaker-of-the-house-and-president-of-the-senate-regarding-the-termination-of-the-national-emergency-concerning-the-southern-border/

A Letter to the Speaker Of The House And President Of The Senate Regarding the Termination of the National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border
February 11, 2021    • Statements and Releases

February 10, 2021

Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Madam President:)

Consistent with section 202(a) of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1622, I hereby report that I have issued a proclamation that terminates the national emergency first declared in Proclamation 9844 of February 15, 2019 (Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States).

I have determined that the declaration of a national emergency at our southern border was unwarranted. I have also announced that it shall be the policy of my Administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall, and that I am directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to that end.

I hereby report to the Congress that the national emergency declared by Proclamation 9844, and continued on February 13, 2020, and January 15, 2021, is terminated and that the authorities invoked in that proclamation will no longer be used to construct a wall at the southern border.

I am enclosing a copy of the proclamation I have issued.

Sincerely,

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
______________________

I find it very coincidental that her bar owes $20k in liens and taxes, and she filed for $22k in mileage reimbursement.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lauren-boebert-mileage-reimbursement-fec-complaint_n_6022beddc5b6c56a89a4cb25

Steph Curry beyond the boxscore: 14 examples of Steph creating open looks from Tuesday's game
https://streamable.com/cezf76

Democratic leaders dig in on minimum wage amid Senate resistance: Speaker Nancy Pelosi affirmed Thursday that the House's package will include the minimum wage hike when it is delivered to the Senate.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/11/democrats-minimum-wage-senate-468658

Republicans' Health Care Policies Killed Hundreds of Thousands of Americans
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/02/a-new-study-says-trumps-health-care-policies-killed-hundreds-of-thousands-of-americans/

Gosh, I wonder what Adam Schiff is thinking: "What did I tell you 13 months ago?"

Global salmon farming harming marine life and costing billions in damage
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/11/global-salmon-farming-harming-marine-life-and-costing-billions-in-damage

During his opening presentation for the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the lead House impeachment manager, dubbed the former president the "inciter-in-chief." That came across as a clever phrase, and it certainly fit the known and basic facts: For two months, Trump inflamed his supporters with conspiracy theories and lies claiming the election had been robbed from him by a nefarious cabal; he called his followers to Washington, DC, on January 6 for a "wild" day; and that day he delivered a fiery speech to a crowd full of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, QAnon-ers, and Christian insurrectionists, urging them to head to the Capitol and "fight like hell" to "stop the steal." But as Raskin and his team have detailed all of this - showing graphic and disturbing video of the murderous attack on Congress - they have also presented chilling evidence that makes the case that Trump directly incited the seditious marauders even stronger. That is, the story is worse than was already known. A shocking instance of this involves Mike Pence. As part of the presentation on Wednesday, impeachment manager Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) laid out the chronology related to a tweet Trump sent during the riot. Throughout the day, Trump had pressured Vice President Pence to block the electoral vote count that was to take place in Congress - a move that would be unconstitutional and that Pence had no authority to take. At the pre-attack rally near the White House, Trump declared before the riled-up crowd, "Mike Pence, I hope you're gonna stand up for the good of our Constitution and for the good of our country. And if you're not, I'm going to be very disappointed in you." He added, "I'm not hearing good stories." He was setting Pence up to be a fall guy - and a target. As Trump was speaking, Pence released a statement saying he did not possess the power to block the congressional certification of the vote. "Four years ago, surrounded by my family, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution, which ended with the words, 'So help me G-d.' Today I want to assure the American people that I will keep the oath I made to them and I will keep the oath I made to Almighty G-d." Pence, in this instance, would not serve Trump over G-d. With these words, Pence became an enemy of Trump's mob, many of whom were at this time heading to the Capitol, where Pence was presiding over the certification ceremony. As Trump's terrorists assaulted police officers and ran amok through the halls of Congress, some directed their rage at Pence and were searching for him. Some chanted, "Hang Pence!" On the grounds of the Capitol, others built a gallows. As Castro noted, at 2:24 p.m. ET, about 30 minutes into the mayhem, Trump zapped out a tweet. It did not condemn the rioters. (Trump would not do so at any time on January 6.) The tweet did not ask his followers to end the violence and withdraw. Instead, Trump blasted his own vice president: "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and out Constitution…USA demands the truth!" At this point, Trump was certainly aware of the mayhem being caused by his supporters in the citadel of American democracy. Minutes earlier, Pence and his family had been evacuated from the House floor for their safety. And Trump had been informed of this prior to his tweet. (https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1359700870334722051) Yet with violent extremists roaming the Capitol and on the hunt for Pence (and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi), Trump further fueled their rage and placed Pence in even greater danger. Castro played video showing a Trump rioter using a bullhorn to read Trump's tweet condemning Pence to the crowd on Capitol Hill. The message was clear: Pence was a traitor. As the riot was intensifying, Trump had explicitly directed its wrath against Pence. This is incitement. At this point, Trump was certainly aware of the mayhem being caused by his supporters in the citadel of American democracy. Minutes earlier, Pence and his family had been evacuated from the House floor for their safety. And there is good indication that Trump had been informed of this prior to his tweet. Yet with violent extremists roaming the Capitol and on the hunt for Pence (and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi), Trump further fueled their rage and placed Pence in even greater danger. Castro played video showing a Trump rioter using a bullhorn to read Trump's tweet condemning Pence to the crowd on Capitol Hill. The message was clear: Pence was a traitor. As the riot was intensifying, Trump had explicitly directed its wrath against Pence. This is incitement.

During her presentation, impeachment manager Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) noted another way in which Trump encouraged the violence that happened at the Capitol. In October, a pickup truck caravan of Trump supporters surrounded a Biden campaign bus on a Texas highway and nearly drove it off the road. Afterward, as Plaskett noted, Trump tweeted: "These patriots did nothing wrong." Keith Lee, the Trump loyalist who was one of the organizers of that caravan, she said, was at the Capitol on January 6. He cased entrances to the Capitol that morning (https://lawandcrime.com/impeachment/impeachment-manager-links-trumps-response-to-biden-harris-bus-incident-and-capitol-violence-on-jan-6/), and when the mob arrived he used a bullhorn to encourage rioters to break into the building. Two months earlier, Trump had given his blessing to Lee and his extremist methods. Plaskett also pointed out that Trump's political operation routinely monitored the activity of Trump supporters - including extremists - on social media and chat sites, and it would have been aware of the references to possible violent action on January 6 that had appeared in these quarters. Consequently, Trump and his team knew that he would be playing with fire when he called on the assembled to march on Congress and fight for him.

Trump's unimpressive attorneys are expected to argue that he had no direct role in driving his supporters to attack the Capitol. Fight like hell? That's common politics-speak. He didn't mean it literally, not "fight" as in physically assault police officers, ransack Congress, and pursue elected officials for possible assassination. But the impeachment managers have served up a compelling case that Trump encouraged the violence and once it was underway did nothing to stop it, and, in fact, he purposefully made the situation worse and further jeopardized the life of his vice president. (Trump later in the day told the rioters, "We love you. You're very special.") Of course, there is a load of evidence showing that Trump's brownshirts believed they were there on Trump's behalf and at his urging. And when a mob of extremists say they were incited, perhaps they should be believed. But that aside, the impeachment managers have demonstrated that Trump's culpability for the brutal and bloody domestic terrorism committed by his loyalists in his name is immense and beyond question.

___________________________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/11/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-actions-in-response-to-the-coup-in-burma/

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Actions in Response to the Coup in Burma
February 11, 2021    • Statements and Releases

Today, President Biden is taking significant steps in response to the military coup in Burma, and the unjust detention of President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials, as well as human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society leaders.

Together with allies, partners, and international organizations, we will stand with the people of Burma as they reaffirm their support for democracy through peaceful protest.

Today, President Biden is taking concrete actions to hold those responsible for the February 1 coup to account, and to reaffirm the United States' support for the democratic aspirations of the people of Burma.

In a democracy, force should never overrule the will of the people or erase the outcome of a credible election. For almost a decade, the people of Burma have been steadily working to establish credible elections, civilian governance, and the peaceful transfer of power. That progress must be respected.

Today's sanctions need not be permanent. Burma's military should immediately restore power to the democratically elected government, end the state of emergency, release all those unjustly detained, and ensure peaceful protestors are not met with violence. The results of Burma's November 8, 2021 elections must be respected, and Parliament should be convened at the earliest opportunity.

The United States will continue to work with our allies, partners, and international organizations as we condemn the actions of the Burmese military, and call for the immediate restoration of democracy. We view this coup as a direct assault on the country's transition to democracy.

Today, and in the coming days, President Biden will issue directives and sign actions:

Holding Those Involved in the Coup to Account
Immediately after reports of the coup surfaced, the Administration made clear that the United States opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of Burma's recent elections or impede the country's democratic transition, and that there will be consequences for those who fail to stand with the people of Burma at this critical time.

Imposing new sanctions on military individuals and entities: Today, President Biden launched a new sanctions regime targeting the Burmese military and its leaders, as well as their business interests. The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated 10 individuals and three entities for their association with the military apparatus responsible for the coup. Among these individuals are six members of the National Defense and Security Council, including Commander-in-Chief of the Burmese military forces Min Aung Hlaing and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Burmese military forces Soe Win, as well as four members of the State Administration Council. Under the new Executive order signed by President Biden, Treasury can also target the spouses and adult children of these individuals.

Three entities, including Myanmar Ruby Enterprise and Myanmar Imperial Jade Co., LTD. which are wholly owned subsidiaries of a conglomerate owned or controlled by the Burmese military, have also been designated.

Imposing immediate export restrictions: Also today, the Department of Commerce is taking immediate action to limit exports of sensitive goods to the Burmese military and other entities associated with the recent coup. A series of immediate export restrictions is being imposed on Burma's Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Home Affairs, armed forces, and security services in response to their recent activities. We will continue to assess and develop additional regulatory amendments to impose further export restrictions on the Burmese military to ensure that entities involved in the dismantling of democratic norms and institutions do not have access to U.S. technologies.

Restricting U.S. based assets: As the President announced yesterday, the U.S. government is taking steps to prevent the generals from improperly accessing more than $1 billion in Burmese government funds held in the United States.
While the United States removed sanctions on Burma over the past decade based on Burma's progress toward democracy, today's sanction actions provide punitive measures against those who seek to thwart the will of the Burmese people towards democracy.

Working with Allies, Partners and Like-Minded Institutions

Building international support: The United States will continue to work with our partners throughout the region and the world to support the restoration of democracy and the rule of law, as well as to hold accountable those responsible for overturning Burma's democratic transition.

The United States' close coordination with allies, partners, and like-minded institutions at every level has resulted in consistent and strong messages on the coup as an affront to the Burmese people. Last week, the United States helped bring together the UN Security Council, which issued a strong statement of support for Burmese democracy. On February 12, we will join a session of the UN Human Rights Council to highlight the need for the military to end human rights abuses. And President Biden has also spoken about Burma directly with leaders in the region, including Prime Minister Modi and President Xi. We remain in close contact with like-minded nations, and welcome statements from the G7, ASEAN and several of Burma's neighbors that have strongly condemned the actions of the Burmese military.

Prioritizing the People of Burma

Ensuring U.S. assistance directly supports the people of Burma: In addition, as the President said, through U.S. development and foreign assistance agencies, we are freezing U.S. assistance that benefits the Burmese government. We will, however, maintain our support for healthcare, civil society groups, and other areas that benefit the Burmese people directly. We will also continue our support for Rohingya and other vulnerable populations.

As part of today's actions, USAID will redirect $42.4 million of assistance away from work that benefits the Government of Burma, including support for reforming economic policy, to programs that support and strengthen civil society and the private sector.

USAID will continue its support to the people of Burma with approximately $69 million in bilateral programs that provide direct benefits to sustain and improve the health of the people of Burma, including efforts to maintain democratic space, foster food security, support independent media, and promote peace and reconciliation in conflict-affected regions.
___________________________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/11/readout-of-president-biden-vice-president-harris-and-secretary-buttigiegs-meeting-with-senators-on-infrastructure/

Readout of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary Buttigieg's Meeting with Senators on Infrastructure
February 11, 2021    • Statements and Releases

Today, President Biden and Vice President Harris met in the Oval Office with a bipartisan group of Senators from the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined virtually, to discuss the critical need for investing in modern and sustainable American infrastructure. The meeting is one of several the Administration plans to conduct on infrastructure with Members of Congress and stakeholders.

The President, Vice President, Secretary, and Senators established the mutual understanding that America needs to build new infrastructure across urban and rural areas and create millions of good-paying jobs in the process to support the country's economic recovery in the months and years ahead. They had a productive conversation and exchanged constructive ideas to further inform President Biden's economic recovery plans to build back our country better for working families. They also expressed a deep commitment to working across the aisle to deliver infrastructure and jobs to American communities.

The President, Vice President, and Secretary also shared the Administration's vision for building sustainable infrastructure that will withstand the impacts of climate change and fuel an American clean energy revolution. They also reiterated their commitment to making sure no workers are left behind, underscoring how the Administration will bring construction, manufacturing, engineering, and skilled-trades jobs — with the choice to join a union — directly to the communities that are too often left behind.
___________________________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/02/11/remarks-by-president-biden-before-meeting-with-senators-on-the-critical-need-to-invest-in-modern-and-sustainable-american-infrastrucutre/

Remarks by President Biden Before Meeting with Senators on the Critical Need to Invest in Modern and Sustainable American Infrastrucutre
February 11, 2021    • Speeches and Remarks

Oval Office

10:23 A.M. EST

              THE PRESIDENT: Folks, thanks for coming in. I'm going to be very brief. We're going to get to it.

We want to talk about infrastructure, and this committee is central to everything that's going to happen. I've been around long enough — and Tom and Jim and all of us — that — it used to be that infrastructure wasn't a Democrat or Republican issue. There are not many Republican or Democratic roads and bridges, and so on.

So we're going to talk about infrastructure. And I want to hear what's on the minds of my colleagues here, and we're going to see what we can put together. There's a number of things that are out there that the American people are looking at us to step up.

Again, it's not — I really, honest to G-d, never have thought of the — of infrastructure as being a partisan issue. It's about — I mean, a lot of bridges in West Virginia, a lot of — a lot of dangerous spots along Route 9, in terms of Cancer Alley. A lot of places where we're having problems all across the country.

SENATOR CARPER: The highest point of land in Delaware is a bridge, for the record.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's true. That's true. And it's named after Bill Roth.

SENATOR CARPER: My first bill.

THE PRESIDENT: That's right. And I'll tell you what — and Tom climbs up all the time.

But all kidding aside, there's — there's a lot we have to do. And I could think of no better group of people to start off with to try to see if we can come to some kind of generic consensus about how to begin. They have a lot of jurisdiction over a significant portion of infrastructure.

Last night, I was on the phone for two straight hours with Xi Jinping. And you all know as well as I do, these folks — and it was a good conversation. I know him well. We spent a lot of time together over the years I was Vice President. And — but, you know, they're going to — if we don't get moving, they're going to eat our lunch. They have major, major new initiatives on rail. And they already have rail that goes 225 miles an hour with ease. They're working — they're working very hard to do what I think we're going to have to do.

And I think the automobile industry is already there and so is labor. They're going to — they're working very hard to try to move in a position where they end up being the source of a — of a new way in which to power automobiles, which would — they're going to invest a lot of money. They're investing billions of dollars and dealing with a whole range of issues that relate to transportation, the environment, and a whole range of other things. So we just have to step up.

And so what I'd like to — I'm going to talk to these folks about, which is the key committee, is how we begin this. I've laid out what I think I have to do — we should be doing. And they have a plan, as well, within their jurisdiction. But they're also very, very competent senators who know a lot more than beyond their jurisdiction about the things they need. So I'm looking for a wholesome conversation or a fulsome conversation.

So thank you all for coming in.

Q    Mr. President, did you see the video yesterday on Capitol Hill? And what was your reaction to it?

THE PRESIDENT: I did not — I'm sorry, what did you say?

Q    Did you see the video yesterday during the impeachment trial? And what was your reaction, Mr. President?

THE PRESIDENT: I told you, what I'm — I'm focused on — my job is to deal with the promises I made. And we all know we have to move on. Today, it's about jobs and infrastructure.

I, like other Americans, watched the news. I didn't watch any of the hearing live because I was going straight through, last night, until a little after nine. But I watched some this morning. I think the Senate has a very important job to complete. And I think — my guess is some minds may have been changed, but I don't know.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

                                   END            10:28 A.M. EST
___________________________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/11/readout-of-the-first-national-climate-task-force-meeting/

Readout of the First National Climate Task Force Meeting
February 11, 2021    • Statements and Releases

Today, National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy convened the first-ever National Climate Task Force meeting as outlined by President Biden's January 27 executive order on tackling the climate crisis. The Task Force is chaired by the National Climate Advisor and includes Cabinet-level leaders from 21 federal agencies and senior White House officials to kickstart the Biden-Harris Administration's implementation of a whole-of-government approach to tackling climate change, creating good-paying, union jobs, and achieving environmental justice.

During the virtual inaugural convening of the Task Force, representatives from more than 20 federal agencies and offices underscored the shared commitment of every agency in collaborating and coordinating across the federal government to ensure the United States leads the world in a clean energy revolution that creates American jobs with the chance to join a union and builds back an inclusive, equitable economy.

Additionally, Vice President Harris dropped by the Task Force meeting to greet participants and underscore her and President Biden's commitment to overseeing an unprecedented approach to tackling climate change at home and abroad, making sure that every agency plays a role and has the White House's support in working together. A longtime fighter for environmental justice, the Vice President discussed the need to focus on those communities that are most vulnerable to climate change.

Agency leadership and senior White House officials also discussed the National Climate Task Force Charter, early actions, near-term priorities and key milestones, and the role of the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy. Additionally, participants were invited to highlight the ways their agencies and staff are prioritizing climate throughout all of their decision making and how they plan to collaborate with additional agency partners.

As outlined in President Biden's January 27th executive order on tackling the climate crises, Task Force membership is comprised of the following government officials:

    National Climate Advisor (Chair)
    Secretary of the Treasury
    Secretary of Defense
    Attorney General
    Secretary of the Interior
    Secretary of Agriculture
    Secretary of Commerce
    Secretary of Education*
    Secretary of Labor
    Secretary of Health and Human Services
    Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
    Secretary of Transportation
    Secretary of Energy
    Secretary of Homeland Security
    Administrator of General Services
    Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality
    Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
    Director of the Office of Management and Budget
    Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
    Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
    Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
    Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
    Assistant to the President for Economic Policy

___________________________________

We can reduce suffering in this country, put people back to work, and gain control of this virus.
That's what the American Rescue Plan will do.
https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1359881972244508674

___________________________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/11/biden-harris-administration-launches-american-innovation-effort-to-create-jobs-and-tackle-the-climate-crisis/

Biden-Harris Administration Launches American Innovation Effort to Create Jobs and Tackle the Climate Crisis
February 11, 2021 • Statements and Releases

White House Forms Climate Innovation Working Group, Outlines Innovation Agenda

U.S. Department of Energy Announces $100 Million Climate Innovation Research Opportunity

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is initiating an ambitious innovation effort to create American jobs while tackling the climate crisis, which includes the launch of a new research working group, an outline of the Administration's innovation agenda, and a new $100 million funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Energy to support transformational low-carbon energy technologies. The announcements kickstart the Administration's undertaking to spur the creation of new jobs, technology, and tools that empower the United States to innovate and lead the world in addressing the climate crisis.

President Biden is fulfilling his promise to accelerate R&D investments, creating a new Climate Innovation Working Group as part of the National Climate Task Force to advance his commitment to launching an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Climate (ARPA-C). The working group will help coordinate and strengthen federal government-wide efforts to foster affordable, game-changing technologies that can help America achieve the President's goal of net zero economy-wide emissions by 2050 and can protect the American people from the impacts of droughts and flooding, bigger wildfires, and stronger hurricanes. The working group will be co-chaired by the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy, Office of Science of Technology and Policy, and Office of Management and Budget.

"We are tapping into the imagination, talent, and grit of America's innovators, scientists, and workers to spearhead a national effort that empowers the United States to lead the world in tackling the climate crisis," said Gina McCarthy, President Biden's National Climate Advisor. "At the same time, we are positioning America to create good-paying, union jobs in a just and equitable way in communities across the nation that will be at the forefront of new manufacturing for clean energy and new technology, tools, and infrastructure that will help us adapt to a changing climate."

As the opportunity for American leadership in climate innovation is vast, the Administration is outlining key planks of an agenda the Climate Innovation Working Group will help advance:

- zero net carbon buildings at zero net cost, including carbon-neutral construction materials;
- energy storage at one-tenth the cost of today's alternatives;
- advanced energy system management tools to plan for and operate a grid powered by zero carbon power plants;
- very low-cost zero carbon on-road vehicles and transit systems;
- new, sustainable fuels for aircraft and ships, as well as improvements in broader aircraft and ship efficiency and transportation management;
- affordable refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pumps made without refrigerants that warm the planet;
- carbon-free heat and industrial processes that capture emissions for making steel, concrete, chemicals, and other important industrial products;
- carbon-free hydrogen at a lower cost than hydrogen made from polluting alternatives;
- innovative soil management, plant biologies, and agricultural techniques to remove carbon dioxide from the air and store it in the ground;
- direct air capture systems and retrofits to existing industrial and power plant exhausts to capture carbon dioxide and use it to make alternative products or permanently sequester it deep underground.

As a first example of the widespread innovation effort, the U.S. Department of Energy is announcing $100 million in funding via the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to support transformational low-carbon energy technologies. The ARPA-E announcement invites experts across the country to submit proposals for funding to support early-stage research into potentially disruptive energy technologies, specifically encouraging inter-disciplinary approaches and collaboration across sectors.

"Today we are inviting scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs and creative thinkers across America to join us in developing the clean energy technologies we need to tackle the climate crisis and build a new more equitable clean energy economy," said DOE Chief of Staff Tarak Shah. "The Department of Energy is committed to empowering innovators to think boldly and create the cutting-edge technologies that will usher in our clean energy future and create millions of good-paying jobs."

In addition to supporting technologies that are near commercialization, the Climate Innovation Working Group will also emphasize research to bolster and build critical clean energy supply chains in the United States and strengthen American manufacturing. As it coordinates climate innovation across the federal government, it will focus on programs at land-grant universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and other minority-serving institutions.

"Today is an important day for tackling the climate crisis through cutting-edge science, technology, and innovation. The Office of Science and Technology Policy is ready to help turbocharge climate-related innovation, and we look forward to engaging with scientists, engineers, students, and innovators all across America to build a future in which not only jobs and economic benefits but also opportunities to participate in climate innovation are shared equitably by all Americans," said Kei Koizumi, Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
___________________________________

YEP: "Trump gave the Chinese government an opening to create a false equivalency between Hong Kongers protesting for democracy and violent insurrectionists trying to overthrow it."

U.S. Department of Energy Announces $100 Million for Transformative Clean Energy Solutions Supporting President Biden's Climate Innovation Agenda

Trump's legal team is eyeing shortening their Senate presentation to as little as three hours
https://twitter.com/cnn/status/1359963186083020805

Asked how worried he is about the Covid variants during tour of NIH, Biden asks Fauci to address the questions. Fauci repeats that UK variant could be dominant strain by end of March and existing vaccines "look pretty good." But the S Africa variant is "a little bit more problematic."

Rep. Neguse: "We can look at how people reacted. You saw them, and you saw the violence. It's pretty simple. He said it and they did it."

Raskin walks through the rest of the trial, saying the House managers have 5-6 hours of time leftover. He notes they'll have time to answer Senator question's and then make a closing argument -- no mention of witnesses in the works

With coronavirus variants posing a serious threat to President Joe Biden's efforts to contain the pandemic, a Biden official tells CNN that the administration is still simply "not where we want to be" on surveillance of mutations in the US -- and simultaneously worried that Americans will grow increasingly complacent about the virus. "We are not where we want to be in terms of genetic sequencing, although we are ramping up," the administration official said. "We are starting way behind on genetic sequencing."
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/11/politics/biden-administration-covid-variants/index.html

Biden, during tour of lab at NIH, told about trials of Covid-19 trials on mice. "What'd the mouse have to say?" Biden quipped.
https://twitter.com/Jordanfabian/status/1359975185588383744

If Mike Pence wasn't a coward, he'd publicly state the Republican senators should convict the man who incited insurrectionists to seek his assassination.

Biden and Jeff Zients said they expect to have 400 million doses on hand by June, which would be enough to vaccinate 200 million people
https://twitter.com/hunterw/status/1359982213073403904
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/02/11/vaccine-supply-biden/

This was hands down the best overall piece of congressional litigation I have seen. That he pulled it off this well following both the loss of his son and the stress of the attack itself says a great deal about his seriousness and professionalism.
https://twitter.com/benjaminwittes/status/1359981185900945415

An amended lawsuit filed by 4 whistleblowers claims Austin real estate developer Nate Paul helped Paxton remodel his house and gave a job to a woman with whom Paxton had an affair:
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/11/ken-paxton-whistleblowers-texas-bribe/

Can you just imagine if McCain, Lewis and Cummings had been around for the last six months. I'm almost glad they aren't here to see this. All they fought for THEIR ENTIRE LIVES just thrown away in 4 years by TERRORIST REPUBLICANS

U.S. health officials are now recommending that people who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus do NOT have to go into a 14-day quarantine after exposure to an infected person

Washington Wizards to rest scoring leader Bradley Beal for first time this season. The NBA's top scorer will get his first rest of the season as the Wizards will hold Bradley Beal out of Friday's game against the Knicks.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30882304/washington-wizards-rest-scoring-leader-bradley-beal-first-season

I wanted to take a moment, at the top of our briefing today, to note that on this day, 21 years ago, President Clinton announced the naming of the White House Briefing Room for former Press Secretary, James Brady. Brady, as many of you are probably aware, was severely wounded in a 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan and later became a prominent gun violence prevention advocate. During the campaign, President Biden laid out an ambitious plan to make our community safer. And that's why in part, yesterday, senior members of his team — Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice, White House Public Engagement Director Cedric Richmond — hosted a virtual discussion with leaders of gun violence prevention groups to discuss our shared goals. The very gun violence prevention organization named for James Brady was part of that discussion, along with Giffords, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Moms Demand Action. These organizations all have a critical role to play. Gun violence may not be in the headlines today or right now, but gun violence continues to fracture American communities and American families every single day. Last year, we saw a historic spike in homicides across America. And we know gun violence in our cities disproportionately affects black and brown individuals. Last month, we also saw a near record increase in the number of gun sales. We look forward to working with gun violence survivors and advocates and sharing more in the weeks and months ahead about our efforts to make our communities safer.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/11/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-february-11-2021/

Another scheduling note for all of you: We're also pleased to announce that the President will speak on the importance of our transatlantic ties and the needs for — the need for the United States and Europe to take on global challenges together at a virtual event hosted by the Munich Security Conference on February 19th. For more than 50 years, the Munich Security Conference has been a leading forum for discussing international security policy. Distinguished guests have included world leaders and personalities, international and non-governmental organizations, business, the media, academia, and civil society. President Biden led the U.S. delegation to the conference three times as Vice President, and most recently participated in the 2019 forum. We'll have more details in the days ahead.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/11/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-february-11-2021/

Q    On the domestic front — on schools: There's been some confusion as to just what the administration's goals are when it comes to reopening schools. Can you clear that up for us? And in particular, can you explain to American parents that just one day a week of in-person school — does that count as schools being open? Why should they be satisfied with that?
MS. PSAKI: They shouldn't be. I wouldn't be, as a parent. And I am a parent, I should say; I have two young kids. And I know many of you have kids as well. The President wants schools to open safely and in accord with science, and we are going to listen to science and medical experts. The CDC guidelines, we expect them to come out tomorrow. And we are eager to hear more about the clear, science-based guidelines for opening schools and how we can do that safely and how we can keep them open. The President will not rest until every school is open five days a week. That is our goal. That is what we want to achieve. But we are going to — we look forward to seeing and hearing the CDC guidelines to gain a better understanding of what steps that will entail or should entail. The President's role is, of course, to ensure that, across government, we are listening to those guidelines, we are leaning into science, we are letting the science and medical experts lead. And then his objective is to ensure there's the funding to deliver on that. That's in the American Rescue Plan. So I can assure any parent listening that his objective, his commitment is to ensuring schools are open five days a week. That's what he wants to achieve. And we are going to lead with science and the advice that they are giving us, and the first step is tomorrow — next step is tomorrow, I should say.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/11/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-february-11-2021/

Q    And I just wanted to quickly ask about the WHO team that recently left China. I know there were some reports that the outbreak may have erupted — of coronavirus — in October 2019, prior to what we previously thought. Does the Biden administration believe China notified the WHO in a timely fashion about the COVID outbreak a year ago?
MS. PSAKI: Well, the President, during his call, he certainly expressed a concern about the lack of transparency. That's something he's also talked about publicly. And as we've noted a couple of times, we are looking forward to receiving the data from the investigation and taking a look at that ourselves. But certainly there has been a concern about the lack of transparency, and there's more information that we need to ensure it doesn't happen again.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/11/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-february-11-2021/

Q    And on China: What did the President mean when he said, "They're going to eat our lunch"? What exactly should Americans be worrying about right now with regard to China?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I think it was a reflection on the fact that the President is clear-eyed about the challenge that we're facing, and that's the strategic competition with China. And that in order to get on our best footing in that competition, we need to take steps here at home, including making our own workforce more competitive, ensuring we are taking steps to protect our own technology, ensuring that, you know, we are working with our partners and allies to do that. And so it's a reflection of our strategy, which is that we are going to get our house in order, in order to come into that competition from a stronger footing — the strongest footing possible, I should say.
Q    And when will he outline his strategy to compete with China, including the trade policy that John was asking about? Will he retain at least some of the Trump administration's trade policy?
MS. PSAKI: Well, he has — of course, there's a review of our tariffs and, I think, trade policies in place that is ongoing from the national security team. But our strategy has played out over the last several weeks, which includes ensuring that we are strengthening our own approach at home, as we've been talking about — strengthening our economy, strengthening our workforce. That is how we can compete from a position of strength, working with our partners and allies. And in all of the conversations with Europeans, with allies in the region, China and the relationship with China has been a pivotal part of those conversations. So that's also part of our strategy. And then also, you saw some of it play out yesterday in the review he announced at the Pentagon. So it is currently playing out, but we are not in a rush. And we are three weeks in. And, you know, our team is taking a very strategic approach to our relationship.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/02/11/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-february-11-2021/

FDA puts off a meeting to approve Johnson & Johnson vaccine until Feb. 26.
https://nationalreview.com/corner/the-fda-will-meet-on-johnson-johnsons-vaccine-on-february-26/

Too little too late: Twitter permanently bans Project Veritas account
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/11/tech/twitter-project-veritas/index.html

CBC is upset about the deportation of "planes full of Black people" to Haiti. CHC chair RepRaulRuizMD tells me he "wants answers" on uptick of deportations before Mayorkas was confirmed. All with ICE a perhaps enduring problem for Biden. ICE is basically acting like Trump is still president and mentioned the case of Javier Castillo Maradiega, a 27-year-old New Yorker who has lived in the U.S. for 20 years and who is in ICE custody and at risk of deportation to Honduras.
Down pointing backhand index
https://newsweek.com/black-hispanic-caucuses-press-biden-admin-over-unjust-deportations-need-rein-ice-1568653

A procedural meeting between the defense lawyers and the jurors: I asked Trump lawyer David Schoen if it was appropriate to meet with senators who are jurors, and he said: "I think that's the practice of impeachment. There's nothing about this thing that has any semblance of due process whatsoever." These same Republicans say the impeachment is illegal and unconstitutional because Trump is not President and because Leahy is presiding over the trial in the role of judge while also voting. Note that many of the Senate Republicans were part of the Stop The Steal events and spoke at the Jan 6 Capitol rally. Republican jurors had a closed door meeting with the defense. A meeting between Trump's lawyers and GOP senators -- including Graham and Cruz -- just ended. Trump lawyer David Schoen said the meeting was about "procedure." Cruz said senators were talking about the legal "strategy for tomorrow" and where arguments are and where to go.
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1360002136088727555
https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1360001476588953601

Lincoln Project co-founder John Weaver used his power to get jobs for young men he allegedly harassed. His colleagues were warned.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/02/lincoln-project-accused-of-protecting-predator-john-weaver.html

Absolutely Fucking Outrageous (WE ALL WATCHED THE POLICE ATTACK HIM FFS): A Grand Jury chose not to charge two Buffalo police officers who pushed 75-year-old Martin Gugino to the ground (fracturing his skull) during a protest last June, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn announced
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/buffalo-activist-shoved-officers-charges-dropped-1.5911287

This is an incredible story. It's really easy to villainize & disregard QAnon believers; it's much harder to reckon with the intersection between cults and mental health, not to mention the effects conspiracies have on people's children and families.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/children-of-qanon-believers_n_601078e9c5b6c5586aa49077

I've closely studied every impeachment trial in our history. No impeachment has ever been as ably prosecuted in the Senate. In no prior impeachment has a conviction been as overwhelmingly justified. Now the Senate is on trial. To acquit itself, it must convict Donald J. Trump.
https://twitter.com/tribelaw/status/1359969018338230282

The Biden White House staff includes both the granddaughter of legendary labor leader Cezar Chávez (Julie Chávez Rodriguez) and the great-niece of longtime NAACP leader Roy Wilkins (Elizabeth Wilkins)

Ted Quz and Marco Qubio

Also, if Tuberville is really open to conviction, someone ought to tell his fundraising team. This went out this morning. ("I'm standing up and fighting to acquit former President Trump")
https://twitter.com/lyman_brian/status/1360019825859448833

Nearly half the Republicans who'll judge Trump in his Senate trial bolstered the lie that drove the Capitol riot. Two dozen Republican senators helped push Trump's lie that the election was stolen.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/10/nearly-half-republicans-who-will-judge-trump-bolstered-falsehood-that-drove-capitol-riot/

This morning, Congress honored Officer Brian D. Sicknick under the dome of the institution he swore to defend — and died defending. In the face of lawlessness, Officer Sicknick paid the ultimate price. His name will never be forgotten.
https://twitter.com/LeaderMcConnell/status/1357019355142381568

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https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/11/a-letter-to-the-speaker-of-the-house-of-representatives-and-the-president-of-the-senate-on-the-continuation-of-the-national-emergency-with-respect-to-libya/

A Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Libya
February 11, 2021    • Statements and Releases

Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Madam President:)

Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days before the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13566 of February 25, 2011, with respect to Libya is to continue in effect beyond February 25, 2021.

Libyans confront ongoing instability originating from actions Colonel Muammar Qadhafi, his government, and close associates took against the people of Libya in 2011. Civil conflict in Libya will continue until Libyans resolve their political divisions and foreign military intervention ends. Because many of these divisions relate to access to resources, a serious risk remains that, if not protected, Libyan state assets will be misappropriated by parties determined to undermine the ongoing United Nations' peace process, including former members of the Qadhafi government, members of the Qadhafi family, or Qadhafi's close associates. The diversion of these resources could prolong and deepen the current instability in Libya, which benefits ISIS and other terrorist groups that pose a serious threat to the national security of the United States and the security of regional partners. We run the risk of military escalation if sanctions do not remain in effect, particularly since those who reject dialogue and obstruct and undermine Libya's democratic transition remain interested in exploiting the wealth of the Libyan people to advance their narrow self-interest and perpetuate conflict in the country.

The situation in Libya continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and we need to protect against the diversion of assets or other abuse by persons hindering Libyan national reconciliation, including Qadhafi's family and associates.
Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13566 with respect to Libya.


     Sincerely,

                             JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
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Wisconsin judge refuses request to re-arrest fugitive on the run from the law murderer Kyle Rittenhouse
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-race-usa-wisconsin/wisconsin-judge-denies-request-to-re-arrest-kyle-rittenhouse-hike-bond-idUSKBN2AB1WP

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_Corea
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Berger

Rest In Peace Chick Corea. The legendary jazz pianist, keyboard virtuoso, and composer has died at age 79. He was incredibly prolific, with a career spanning 5 decades, 67 (!) Grammy nominations, and multiple styles including avant-garde, bebop, fusion & classical music.

An incredible 43-second sequence of ineptitude in the Raptors/Celtics game
https://streamable.com/h4gxih

The Warriors are the only team with 3 players in the top 10 of defenders by defended field goal percentage (min. 200 DFGA) with Andrew Wiggins (4th), Draymond Green (9th), and Kelly Oubre Jr. (10th)

FBI arrests Kentucky militia members connected with Boogaloo Bois
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/11/fbi-arrest-boogaloo-bois-468803

Democrats' coronavirus relief proposal includes major changes to the Affordable Care Act. The aim is to make health insurance more affordable for millions of people who have lost employer coverage during the pandemic.
https://www.axios.com/aca-coronavirus-democrats-health-affordability-795d2c6c-e2ea-4988-8db4-fc167778fb07.html

How this works: most of the pawceeds from the pawducts you purchase will go to an organization that helps protect, save and heal animals, domestic and wild. We pick organizations with diverse pawjects, so that your kindness reaches not only orphan shelter pets, but also abused farm animals or helps protect endangered species in North America. The rest of the pawceeds go into purchasing, designing and printing new/more pawducts to enable us to repeat the pawcess. In our first month, we have raised $1,270 for the Animal Welfare Institute, awionline.org. The donation receipt is posted on our social media. Since 1951, AWI has been devoted to the better treatment of animals everywhere - at home, in the wild, in the laboratory and on the farm. Follow AWI on Twitter and Instagram. This month we are hoping to offer as much help as possible to the Best Friends Animal Society, bestfriends.org - They built the largest animal sanctuary for animals with dispawbilities and they are committed to render kill shelters extinct in the US by 2025. Follow Best Friends on Twitter and Instagram
https://theovalpawffice.com/
http://awionline.org/
https://twitter.com/AWIOnline
https://www.instagram.com/awionline/
http://bestfriends.org/
https://twitter.com/bestfriends
https://www.instagram.com/bestfriendsanimalsociety/

Curry nonchalantly tosses in an underhand 3 after the game was over
https://streamable.com/yjjngd

Juan Toscano-Anderson finds an open Curry and immediately starts to celebrate as Steph drains the 3
https://streamable.com/72jwpi

Steph Curry Tonight: 40/8/5 on 14/26 Shooting, 10/19 from Three, 2/2 from the line and 4 Steals

Nine made 3s for Steph Curry through three quarters. Up to 130 made on the season. Nobody else in the NBA has reached 100 made 3s yet.

Curry gets bumped, loses his balance but hits the 3 anyways.

Kanter leaves the court bloodied after catching an elbow to the face from Covington
https://streamable.com/ztj3qg

Steph Curry shakes his head as James Ennis attempts to guard him
https://streamable.com/uajnzn

Jimmy Butler with a triple double in tonights Heat win against the Rockets: 27 pts, 10 rebs, 10 ast, 8/18 fg

Simmons with an incredible block on Simons in the fastbreak
https://streamable.com/h4kcdg

Curry with the casual floater from 30 feet out
https://streamable.com/tbj7g3

2Way Wiggins erases Vucevic's shot.
https://streamable.com/4pfl3p

Melo drills back to back threes in the 4th and the Blazer Bench loves it
https://streamable.com/6g1g1b

Raptors cannot contain Tacko Fall in the paint
https://streamable.com/w6xegd

Carmelo Anthony scores a vintage 24 points on 9/15 shooting- 17 points in the fourth

The Sixers/Blazers game is currently the pinnacle of the jersey pandemic in the NBA

Steph Curry starts the game with a hot hand, scores 12 points in the first quarter
https://streamable.com/absk9f

Joel Embiid hits two tough back to back shots to close the half
https://streamable.com/m79d37

Melo banks in the tough shot the beat the shot clock buzzer
https://streamable.com/s4fztk

Simmons throws it away with 1.4 left
https://streamable.com/nd8n6j

Perfect Warriors execution
https://streamable.com/nph4o5

Enes Kanter pump fakes Embiid from the 3 Point Line
https://streamable.com/07j7rn

Max Strus 21 Points, 5 Threes vs Rockets

Interior Announces Series of Tribal Consultations in Recognition of the Importance of Nation-to-Nation Relationship | The Department of the Interior announced today that it will host initial consultations with Tribal leaders next month. In addition to honoring and strengthening the nation-to-nation relationship, these steps will help ensure that future White House and Interior efforts at addressing the four converging crises of our time – COVID-19, economic security, racial justice and climate change – are inclusive of Tribal Nations' priorities and recommendations. Today's actions open a new chapter with Tribal governments following President Biden's January 26 memorandum, which noted that respect for Tribal sovereignty and self-governance, fulfilling Federal trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations, and regular, meaningful and robust consultation with Tribal officials are of the utmost priority for the Administration. Interior has invited federal agencies to send representatives to listen to the sessions to inform how they might facilitate their own agency-specific consultations. "Honoring our nation-to-nation relationship with Tribes and upholding the trust and treaty responsibilities to them are paramount to fulfilling Interior's mission. Meaningful consultations ensure we center Tribal voices as we address the health, economic, racial justice and climate crises — all of which disproportionately impact American Indians and Alaska Natives," said Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes, Interior's designated Tribal Governance Officer and Deputy Solicitor for Indian Affairs. Interior will notify all federally recognized Tribes of the consultation series today, and shared additional guidance to kickstart and facilitate a productive, meaningful process. Interior will hold four tribal consultation sessions in March to hear Tribal leaders' suggestions for federal policy and departmental actions, including identifying additional best practices to improve consultation and fortify Interior's relationship with Tribal governments. The sessions will be conducted by Indian Affairs' Office of Regulatory Affairs and Collaborative Action via teleconference with Tribes in each of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' 12 regions:
- Monday, March 8 (2:00-5:00 p.m. ET): Great Plains, Midwest and Rocky Mountain Regions
- Wednesday, March 10 (10:00 a.m.-1 p.m. ET): Eastern, Eastern Oklahoma and Southern Plains Regions
- Wednesday, March 10 (2:00-5:00 p.m. ET): Navajo, Southwest and Western Regions
- Friday, March 12 (2:00-5:00 p.m. ET): Alaska, Northwest and Pacific Regions
The deadline for written comments on the consultation series is 12 p.m. ET on March 19, 2021. Comments can be submitted at consultation@bia.gov.
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-announces-series-tribal-consultations-recognition-importance-nation-nation
https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/framing-paper-consultation-with-tribes.pdf
https://www.indianaffairs.gov/as-ia/raca

GOOD: US Congress to consider ban on kangaroo skin and meat
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2021-02-12/us-considers-ban-on-kangaroo-products/13148454

Texans have hired a domestic terrorist as a "character" coach to convert the team into a domestic terrorist group
https://twitter.com/riversmccown/status/1359943179664056321
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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/us/us-census-figures-delay.html

A New Delay for Census Numbers Could Scramble Congressional Elections

Census data needed for legislative districts won't be ready until September. Could that alter the balance of power in the House?

By Michael Wines and Emily Bazelon

Published Feb. 11, 2021Updated Feb. 12, 2021, 1:28 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON — The delivery date for the 2020 census data used in redistricting, delayed first by the coronavirus pandemic and then by the Trump administration's interference, now is so late that it threatens to scramble the 2022 elections, including races for Congress.

The Census Bureau has concluded that it cannot release the population figures needed for drawing new districts for state legislatures and the House of Representatives until late September, bureau officials and others said in recent interviews. That is several months beyond the usual April 1 deadline, and almost two months beyond the July 30 deadline that the agency announced last month. The bureau did not respond to a request for comment but is expected to announce the delay on Friday.

The holdup, which is already cause for consternation in some states, could influence the future of key districts. And with Democrats holding a slim 10-seat House majority, it even has the potential to change the balance of power in the House and some state legislatures, according to Michael Li, the senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. States need the figures this year to redraw district lines for the 435 seats in the House of Representatives and for thousands of seats in state legislatures.

The delay means there will be less time for the public hearings and outside comment required in many states, and less time once maps are drawn to contest new district lines in court, as often happens after redistricting.

"The concern in some of those states is that the legislators will simply use a special session to secretly pass maps with zero public scrutiny, and then count on a tight timetable to eke out at least one election cycle" before a court could require new maps to be drawn, said Kathay Feng, the redistricting and representation director at Common Cause.

The challenges extend beyond just drawing up districts. State and local election officials need time after new political maps are approved to redraw voting precincts and overhaul voter rolls to ensure that everyone is directed to the proper place to vote. And prospective candidates generally cannot file for office until they know whether they live within the new boundaries of the districts they are seeking to represent.

"States are literally sitting on their hands, asking, 'When will the data come?'" said Jeffrey M. Wice, an adjunct professor at New York Law School and a longtime expert on census and redistricting law.

The Census Bureau's delay stems mostly from problems the pandemic caused in last year's counts of certain places, including college dorms and housing for agricultural workers. College students, for example, should be counted in dormitories and apartments near their schools, but the pandemic sent most students home last spring just as the census was starting. Now experts must find and locate them properly — and also ensure they are not double-counted as living with their parents.

Such problems can be fixed, Census Bureau officials say, but doing so takes time. The location of millions of people is in play, and allotting or placing seats during reapportionment and redistricting can turn on the location of hundreds.

It remains unclear how serious the political repercussions of the delay will be, but early indications are that Democrats have more reason to worry.

By Mr. Li's calculation in a report issued on Thursday, Republicans will most likely draw the maps for 181 House seats and Democrats for 49 seats, possibly rising to 74 if the New York Legislature (which is controlled by Democrats) chooses to override the state's new independent redistricting commission.

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/redistricting-landscape-2021-22

The map for the rest of the seats in the House will be drawn either in states where power is split between the parties or in states with nonpartisan redistricting commissions, which have mostly proliferated in blue states like California and Virginia and purple states like Michigan.

https://www.ncsl.org/research/redistricting/redistricting-commissions-congressional-plans.aspx

That means Republicans, who have already shown an appetite for extreme gerrymandering in states like North Carolina and Wisconsin, could benefit disproportionately if too little time exists to contest maps drawn by legislatures for 2022 and the rest of the decade.

The biggest targets for increasing one party's share of Congress are the fast-growing Southern states of Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, where Republicans oversee the drawing of maps through control of both houses of the legislature.

In Texas, Mr. Li expects Republicans to draw maps that would ensure Republican control of three new House seats that the state is expected to add because of population growth, and two existing seats now held by Democrats. The delay in receiving census data "could be used in some states to game the redistricting process, by leaving less time for legal challenge," Mr. Li said.

"It used to be, for example, that Texas finished redistricting in June, which gave affected parties six months to litigate," he said. "Now a map might not be approved until November, which gives you less time to gather evidence and expert testimony."

Suits that challenge redistricting often involve complicated fact-finding about whether a state has engaged in racial gerrymandering (either packing Black and Latino voters into a small number of districts to limit the scope of their political power, or spreading them thinly so they cannot easily elect a candidate).

Democrats could try to squeeze out a few more seats in states they control through gerrymandering. But outside of New York, where the Democratic-controlled Legislature has the power to reject maps drawn by an independent commission, the party has slimmer pickings, Mr. Li said.

Some Democrats are more sanguine. Population shifts in fast-growing states like Texas are concentrated in Democratic-leaning cities and suburbs, making it harder to draw districts that dilute the party's power, said Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesman for the party's National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

In North Carolina and Pennsylvania — which both have elected Democratic governors — state supreme courts have ruled that the Republican gerrymanders of the last redistricting cycle violate state constitutions, raising a barrier to future distorted maps.

And in other big states that Republicans controlled and gerrymandered a decade ago — Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio among them — either Democratic governors or nonpartisan redistricting commissions place limits on overly skewed legislative maps.

For other reasons, the delay in census totals has the potential to upend map drawing in Illinois and Ohio.

Democrats control 13 of the 18 House seats in Illinois, in part because of gerrymandering. (The state's total number could drop to 17 after the House is reapportioned this year.) But if final maps cannot be approved by Sept. 1, the Illinois Constitution shifts mapmaking power from the Democratic-controlled Legislature to a panel of four Democrats, four Republicans and one person randomly chosen from the two parties. Giving Republicans a say in map drawing would probably increase the share of seats they are likely to win.

https://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/conent.htm

The same could be true in the State Senate, where Democrats now control 70 percent of the chamber's seats, and in the State House, where they hold 60 percent of them. The Legislature is aware of the Constitution's redistricting provision, and Democrats could try to address the issue, although how is unclear.

"Illinois is an example of where the Legislature is talking about using old data to produce maps that are largely the same as they currently have — and letting people sue," Ms. Feng, of Common Cause, said.

The reverse applies in Ohio, where a 2018 referendum amended the State Constitution to hand congressional and state legislative map duties to a bipartisan commission. The same amendment returns redistricting duties to the Republican-dominated Legislature if the commission fails to approve political maps by Oct. 31, barely a month after the Census Bureau's current estimate for finishing population calculations.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lmDthzKesAk6cNJ9BfUsIe012m0VHDqA/view

Some experts said legal challenges to redistricting based on the Census Bureau's delay seemed likely, from voters or candidates who would want to extend the period for drawing maps.

"If the necessary data aren't available at the time the law says the state redistricting must be done, then a court could relax the deadline," said Nathaniel Persily, a Stanford law professor and co-director of the Stanford-M.I.T. Healthy Elections Project. In some states, courts granted similar pandemic-related extensions for deadlines related to balloting procedures in the November election, like voting by mail.

The rationale is that "given extraordinary circumstances, we're doing something different this time," Mr. Persily said.

The delay in receiving the census data could also cause the completion of map drawing to bump up against candidates' filing deadlines in states like Virginia and New Jersey, which will hold elections for the State Legislature in November, as well as states with early 2022 filing deadlines for later primary elections.

In Virginia, officials said, the delay raises the prospect of holding state legislative elections three years in a row — using old maps in 2022 if the new ones are not finished, using new maps in 2023 and conducting scheduled legislative elections in 2024.

"Whenever this crazy process ends, election administrators have to deal with all these lines," said Kimball W. Brace, a Washington-based redistricting consultant who usually works with Democratic politicians. "Precincts, voter registration systems — all of that is now in a shorter timetable."

Come Election Day, he said, "Either you're ready, or you're not."

Michael Wines writes about voting and other election-related issues. Since joining The Times in 1988, he has covered the Justice Department, the White House, Congress, Russia, southern Africa, China and various other topics. @miwine

A version of this article appears in print on Feb. 12, 2021, Section A, Page 16 of the New York edition with the headline: Delay in Census Data Could Affect Elections For Congress in 2022. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe
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At least 400,000 Yemeni children under 5 could die of starvation this year without urgent intervention amid soaring rates of severe malnutrition driven by war and the coronavirus19 pandemic
https://www.reuters.com/article/yemen-security-malnutrition-int-idUSKBN2AC18V

On behalf of a grateful nation — and I don't say that lightly — on behalf of a grateful nation, I want to thank you and your families for your work and your sacrifice, for there is no doubt your families sacrificed a great deal for the endless hours you put in to save the rest of us. And I know it wasn't easy. The devastation of this pandemic — the loss of life and livelihoods — hasn't spared the scientific community: labs closed, research delayed, careers disrupted, especially for those in training. Yet with every moment of despair in this past year, you and all the heroes and heroines on the frontlines of the — and the frontiers of this pandemic remind us who we are. We are America. We never give up. We never give in. We give back, and we follow the science and find the answers. That's what all of you do here. That's what we've seen all across the country. The scientific community repurposed labs to work on COVID-19; developed therapeutics, new diagnostics technologies, and vaccines in record time. And you're highlighting lessons learned on the importance of pandemic preparedness, public-private partnerships, real-time data sharing, and most of all, speed and efficiency without compromising science and good conscience. Look, you're an incredible group of people. I've been out here many times trying to help — trying to help my son who passed away with cancer. You're an incredible, incredible group of people. And that's not hyperbole. We still — what we know is we still have a long way to go. It's no secret that the vaccination program was in much worse shape than my team and I anticipated. We were under the impression, I'm told, that we had a lot more resources than we did when we came into office. We've only been here three weeks, but we've learned a great deal in those three weeks. While scientists did their job in discovering vaccines in record time, my predecessor — I'll be very blunt about it — did not do his job in getting ready for the massive challenge of vaccinating hundreds of millions of Americans. He didn't order enough vaccines. He didn't mobilize enough people to administer the shots. He didn't set up federal vaccine centers where eligible people could go and get their shots. When I became President three weeks ago, America had no plan to vaccinate most of the country. It was a big mess.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/02/11/remarks-by-president-biden-to-national-institutes-of-health-staff/

That's why, in the first three weeks that I've been in office, we've increased the supply of weekly vaccine shipments
to the states by almost 30 percent. That means millions more Americans will get vaccinated in February than the previous administration was on track to do. But that's just the start. We bought more vaccines. Two weeks ago, I directed Jeff Zients, who's here with me — my COVID-19 Response Coordinator — to work with the Department of Health and Human Services to purchase more vaccines. Just this afternoon, we signed the final contracts for 100 million more Moderna and 100 million more Pfizer vaccines. And we're also able to move up the delivery dates with an additional 200 million vaccines to the end of July — faster than we expected. And in further good news, both companies agreed — and we're now contractually obligated — to expedite delivery of 100 million doses, that were promised by the end of June, to deliver them by the end of May. That's a month faster. That means lives will be saved. That means we're now on track to have enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July. It may not sound like the urgent progress we need, but let's be clear: When I took office, just three weeks ago, this country did not have a plan or enough vaccines, or people to vaccinate Americans — any — all Americans, at any time, in any point in 2021. Within three weeks, round-the-clock work with so many people — people standing behind me and in front of me — we've now purchased enough vaccine supply to vaccinate all Americans. And now we're working to get those vaccines into the arms of millions of people. In just three weeks, you deployed over 1,000 federal staff to vaccination sites around the country. We're helping give shots and set up and speed vaccination operations. To date, we've also provided $3 billion to 37 states and territories and tribes to bolster existing vaccination centers and create more of the centers to administer — where we administer the vaccine. For example, three days ago, Vice President Harris and I, we had a virtual tour of a federally supported vaccine center in a parking lot of the Arizona Cardinal Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It's open 24/7. Folks who are eligible can call by phone or sign up online for an appointment. They literally drive in, stay in their cars, get a shot, get a card, and schedule the next shot. On average, it's about 30 minutes from start to finish. In just three weeks, the site has administered 160,000 doses, now averaging 8,000 vaccinations through the day and night. Look, it's coordination between state and federal government, and the private sector partnership is essential.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/02/11/remarks-by-president-biden-to-national-institutes-of-health-staff/

We remain in the teeth of this pandemic. January of 2021 was the deadliest month we've had. We lost over 100,000 — 100,000 of our fellow citizens. We're on track to cross 500,000 dead Americans this next month. The new strains emerging create immense challenges, and masking is still the easiest thing to do to save lives. But we need everyone to mask up. And, by the way, I know it's a pain in the neck, but it's a patriotic responsibility. We're in the middle of a war with this virus. It's a patriotic responsibility — not only if you care about your family, if you care about your fellow Americans. Do you realize more people have died in the last 12 months — in the last 12 months than died in all four years in World War Two? All four years. That's why I asked what the full extent of my authority as President of the United States could be. I signed an executive order that required masking on all federal property, on modes of travel like planes, trains, and buses across interstate commerce. And I've been calling on governors — Republican and Democrat — and mayors — Republican and Democrat — and local officials to institute mask mandates within their jurisdictions. We need everyone to do their part for themselves, their loved ones, and yes, for their country. Mask up, America. Mask up. And to really get ahead of this pandemic instead of chasing it, we need Congress to pass my American Rescue Plan. And I'm grateful that the Senate and the House are moving quickly. And my hope is that we'll get Republicans, as well as Democrats, to support us. But we can't wait. People are dying every minute from this pandemic. And we're suffering a profound economic crisis that the pandemic has created. Every major economist in the country — left, right, and center — says we can't go big enough here. And if we want to get our economy back in shape, we've got to move quickly. How many of you out there don't have enough food to eat? How many of you out there are worried whether you can pay next month's rent or pay your mortgage? How many of you out there have a child at home because a school is not open and you have to make the difficult choice of staying home with your child or going to work if you have a job? This is not who we are. In the United States of America, we take care of our own. And job number one of the American Rescue Plan is fighting the pandemic. It puts $160 billion into our national COVID strategy, which includes more money for testing and tracing, manufacturing and distribution, and setting up vaccination sites: everything that's needed to get vaccines into people's arms. The American Rescue Plan also includes $4 billion to build new manufacturing plants. So we are ready to manufacture vaccines we don't — and we don't have to wait. You know, there's simply nothing more important than getting the resources we need to vaccinate people in this country as quickly as possible — as quickly as possible. We're not going to get our economy back in shape and millions of people back to work until we beat this virus.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/02/11/remarks-by-president-biden-to-national-institutes-of-health-staff/

We're in a national emergency. I want to close with this: We're in a national emergency. And this will be one of the most difficult operational challenges we have ever undertaken as a nation. It's going to take time. We're going to face setbacks along the way. And I promise you, when we do, I'll just own up to it and say what they are. But we have to stay vigilant. We have to stay focused. And for G-d's sakes, we have to remember who we are: We are the United States of America. We can do this. We have the resources. We just have to choose to use them. We have to do what all of you do here at NIH and across the scientific community: Keep the faith with purpose and vision. And with every dose of hope we have, folks, remember, like I said, this is America. We have never, never, never failed. We've decided to stand together and act together. That's who we are. That's not chauvinism; that's just a fact. We've never failed when we stood together. If there's ever a time we need to stand together, it's now. May G-d bless you all. And may G-d bless everyone here at NIH — all the doctors, scientists, and researchers fighting this pandemic and saving lives. And G-d protect our troops. Thank you very, very much. You're the best America has to offer here at NIH. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. (Applause.)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/02/11/remarks-by-president-biden-to-national-institutes-of-health-staff/

Juan Toscano-Anderson: "Playing with Steph, watching him hit big shots like that, then going on my phone and checking B/R and ESPN tweeting about it. Being coached by Steve Kerr. Being mentored by Draymond. All these things are super special to me. So I don't take any of it for granted."
https://streamable.com/sv8hnp

UN official confirms they have 'evidence' that Myanmar is using live ammunition against protestors
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/12/967291621/u-n-official-evidence-myanmar-using-live-ammunition-against-protesters

North Carolina Republican man charged with threatening to assassinate Biden. A man from North Carolina who has been charged with threatening to assassinate President Biden also allegedly threatened Secret Security agents and others in the White House. A federal criminal complaint unsealed Thursday shows Kyle Reeves of Gastonia is being charged with threatening the president, facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, a Justice Department press release states.
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/538596-north-carolina-man-charge-with-threatening-to-assassinate-biden

Biden administration launches review aimed at closing Guantanamo prison
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-guantanamo-idUSKBN2AC1Q4

Ammon Bundy, veteran of armed standoffs, builds militia network on COVID-19 backlash
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/nation-world/national/article249197415.html

Biden administration will move to rescind Medicaid work requirements
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2021-02-12/biden-administration-will-move-to-rescind-medicaid-work-requirements

Not enough, should be 100%: Biden administration to allow 25,000 asylum-seekers into US
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-san-diego-mexico-immigration-coronavirus-pandemic-782c8495f29d9d73f2ffc80d5b2a2aef
https://www.pressherald.com/2021/02/12/biden-administration-to-start-processing-asylum-seekers-in-california-forced-by-trump-to-remain-in-mexico/

Violent speech is not protected speech.
https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/what-does

NCAI Responds to Haaland Opposition, Urging Her 'Immediate Confirmation' as Interior Secretary | On Wednesday, the National Congress of American Indians convened an emergency meeting resulting in its public urging for the immediate confirmation of Congresswoman Deb Haaland to Secretary of the Department of the Interior, amid a growing chorus of pushback from Republican senators. "The U.S. Department of the Interior carries out a broad range of responsibilities, including the management of public lands, water resources, minerals, wildlife management, and cultural heritage preservation," the draft letter addressed to Senate Leadership reads. "Additionally, it is charged and entrusted with upholding the federal trust and treaty responsibilities to the 574 tribal nations and more than 5.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. As a result of these unique fiduciary and trust obligation to tribal nations, it is time that the ranks of Interior's leaders finally include a voice from the community whose day-to-day lives it impacts most." | "I'm very confident that Deb Haaland would look to the the best possible public policies in a way to manage our resources that honor public trust, that will heed the advice and recommendations of subject matter experts and make decisions that are objective, fair and ultimately designed (with) an eye to preserving our natural landscape for many generations to come," Sharp told Native News Online. The letter sites Haaland's bi-partisan record, including her co-sponsorship of more bipartisan bills than any other freshman legislator in 2019; her services on the House Native American Caucus, the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest and Public Lands, the Indigenous Peoples Subcommittee, and the House Armed Services Committee. "Her House leadership in shepherding a bipartisan public lands package in 2019 and the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020 illustrates her commitment to the stewardship of the nation's resources and directly correlates with the duties and responsibilities of the Secretary of Interior," the letter reads. Also on Wednesday, NCAI sent a letter to several members of the U.S. Senate and urged that they immediately take up the confirmation of Haaland as Interior secretary. "Right now, Interior has no Secretary nor Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs to direct its policy. This Administration's executive leadership is needed at Interior immediately to address these needs, and to begin implementing this Administration's plan for Tribal Nations – a large piece of which includes comprehensive coronavirus response policies. These urgent self-governance needs cannot wait," the letter said. In response to House member's critique that Haaland will eliminate jobs in her support of environmental legislation, an oil and gas moratorium and opposition toward the Keystone XL pipeline, Sharp said NCAI believes there is already an emerging economy in sustainable development. "If we work together toward a transition away from fossil fuels, to that new and emerging economy that can be done in a very strategic, inclusive way to ensure that not only are there jobs available, but jobs that are clean for the environment," she said. "And that's not going to be done by the government alone, that is going to be accomplished through public private partnerships."
https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/ncai-responds-to-haaland-opposition-urging-her-immediate-confirmation-as-interior-secretary
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8zIyanxGkeU1otAshMjTOYVuZS93Ax8JTahC0xQHmTCCv5w/viewform

Standing Rock Youth Run 93 Miles to Pressure Biden to End Dakota Access Pipeline
https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/standing-rock-youth-run-93-miles-to-pressure-biden-to-end-dakota-access-pipeline

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is rising on the House Foreign Affairs Committee as she steps into the role of vice chairwoman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over Africa and global human rights issues. Omar's office said her new position was being announced Thursday in Washington. The panel's full name is the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations. "Upholding basic human rights around the world is a core priority for me and the Fifth District of Minnesota," Omar, a Democrat, said in a prepared statement. "As someone who represents a large African diaspora community and is the first African-born immigrant to serve in Congress, I am particularly excited to play a leadership role in overseeing our international aid and foreign policy on the continent." The Twin Cities boasts the largest Somali community in the U.S. Omar was born in Somalia but her family left amid civil war when she was a child. Since joining Congress in 2019, Omar has sought to bring her unique background to bear on foreign policy legislation and advocacy of global human rights. She has called for an overhaul of the U.S. approach to foreign policy in a way that puts more importance on how it affects countries around the world. In her new role, Omar said she's particularly interested "in overseeing our international aid and foreign policy" in Africa. "Amidst a global pandemic that has devastated people's livelihoods everywhere, it is important to make sure that the most vulnerable in Minnesota and around the world are getting access to much-needed aid and medicine." Omar has retained her position on the House Foreign Affairs Committee despite past calls from some critics that she be removed following widely criticized remarks she made in 2019 about Israel's political influence in U.S. politics.
https://www.startribune.com/rep-ilhan-omar-takes-leadership-post-in-house-foreign-affairs/600021954/
https://www.startribune.com/rep-omar-describes-a-bruising-life-in-her-new-memoir/570596252/

Trump defense lawyers: zero defense. They keep referring to the pro-Trump terrorist as peaceful even though 140 officers were injured and 5 people died and two officers committed suicide in the aftermath.

Maybe the lawyer should read the law about free speech and incitement. Speech that insights violence, panic or hate speech is not constitutionally protected and criminally prosecuted
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_free_speech_exceptions#Incitement

White House press aide suspended for threatening Politico reporter
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/538629-white-house-press-aide-suspended-for-threatening-politico-reporter

On the final day of the impeachment trial of the former president, the threat of political violence on the Capitol is still so serious the entire Cannon-Capitol tunnel is filled with troops
https://twitter.com/jmartNYT/status/1360294548291878912

If it was Antifa and crisis actors who invaded the Capitol, why didn't Trump seize the opportunity to squash them? He would have been justified to employ over-the-top military force and he didn't. He ordered his people to block all law enforcement intervention.

Did an insurrection happen after all these calls to "fight" from Democrats?

Sad I missed Madonna's time as President of the United States. Castor's material was at least original. We're already in reruns (Trump laywers repeateding the same footage over and over and over and over and over and over again)

In Campaign Team Shake-up, Yang Hires a Woman Who Once Disparaged Him | "Wish I could say it was unbelievable," Sasha Neha Ahuja said of a gender discrimination claim lodged in 2019 against Andrew Yang.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/nyregion/andrew-yang-mayor-nyc.html

Democrats should have pointed out that many of the Senators in that room had played along with the idea that the election had been rigged or stolen for months, and spoke at Stop The Steal events, and refused to do so. COWARDS. As always. Meanwhile the Trump lawyers - aided by Senate Republicans - are strictly attacking Democrats for their defense. They are strictly attacking all the elected Democrats and the VP.

A reminder that Trump spent the two months between Election Day and Jan. 6 repeatedly lying that the election was stolen and urging his supporters to do something about it. His persistent repetition of lies created an alternate reality in which he won re-election. His terrorist rioters mimicked and amplified Trump's language during the assault on the Capitol. That doesn't even account for the pre-Election months he seeded the notion that IF he lost that it could only be due to fraud. He had been laying that groundwork for so long to ensure that his base wouldn't bat an eye at the accusations in Nov.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/09/us/trump-voter-fraud-election.html

Actual real Legal scholars (the three Trump lawyers aren't, and one is a personal injury litigator), including prominent conservatives, have dismissed the argument that it is unconstitutional to hold an impeachment trial for a former president.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/us/trump-defense-first-amendment.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/07/us/politics/charles-cooper-trump-impeachment.html

The Trump lawyers selectively edited his speech and still left in the part where he says overthrow America.....The more they show, the worse it looks. It looks worse in context. "He didn't start a riot. Now let me replay the speech that caused the riot." The footage also showed Trump attacking Republicans.

Note that Trump didn't say "please walk over to the capitol to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard" he said "I KNOW THAT you will walk over..." he was just assuming

"Selectively edited" is just "edited", that is the definition of edited. Michael van der Veen is arguing that House impeachment managers selectively edited videos of the president, after Trump's lawyers showed at least three videos of selectively edited words from Democrats.

99% of the "Democratic" protrests were peaceful. A study last year followed 7,305 of them. There were not 7,305 violent riots last year.
https://washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/16/this-summers-black-lives-matter-protesters-were-overwhelming-peaceful-our-research-finds/

Mitch McConnell's ability to walk long distances while completely ignoring questions from reporters walking right next to him is one of the more standout skills of any lawmaker in the last several decades.

Trump's/Republican's illegal and unconstitutional lifting of mining ban in 6 western states overturned by judge
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-mining-judge-sage-grouse/

The CDC's school reopening guidelines have been posted. They contain 4 color-coded "zones" for phased reopening, based on community transmission rates: Blue (low), Yellow (moderate), Orange (substantial), Red (high). Vaccinating teachers not a precondition but a priority.
https://cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/community/schools-childcare/K-12-Operational-Strategy-2021-2-12.pdf

His words were inflammatory and clear as a clear day. He empowered them with his speech.

Trump legal team is accusing House managers of trying to mislead senators. This is when it matters a lot that the senators themselves witnessed Jan. 6, heard the full speech and read the tweets, etc.

Open and shut case. Should be a slam dunk for the prosecution, but this isn't a normal jury so Chewbacca defense will win. I tried watching this but it's just the same word vomit back to back to back. I'm out. I hope they wrap this up soon. I want to hear the questions.

The Capitol assault resulted in one of the worst days of injuries for law enforcement in the U.S. since 9/11
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/us/politics/capitol-riot-police-officer-injuries.html

If Trump's speech was simply about asking supporters to primary Republican opponents, why did he give the speech on Jan. 6 (as Congress was set to certify the EC results), and why did he tell them they were all walking down to the Capitol?

The Trump "defense" just showed a clip of Trump saying this to a rally of people he told had the election and the country stolen from them: "if this happened to the democrats there'd be hell...you're stronger...your the real people that built this nation."

Trump defense lawyer: "I don't know if we're under oath here."

The pro-Trump terrorists wore military gear to run their "primary challenge" (Castor claiming the speech was about primarying Republicans). Rioters showed up in full armor. They didn't find that stuff lying around on the national mall on their way to the Capitol. They came ready for battle.

A key part of Trump's impeachment defense was already undercut by his own attorney. All politicians use "fighting" language, only Trump's supporters acted on it

While vaccinating teachers isn't a prerequisite for reopening schools, the CDC director reminded people today that the CDC says frontline workers should be prioritized for vaccination. That includes teachers.

Trump defense says there was "no insurrection," but the night of January 6th, even Mitch McConnell described the events that occurred as a "failed insurrection."

Trump lawyer Bruce Castor plays a video that 1) shows Biden accurately saying the vast majority of racial justice protests were peaceful; 2) throws in a random clip of a riot. Moments later, Castor accuses the Democrats of using "selective editing and manipulated visuals."

Hope rises in Matamoros, where more than 1,000 asylum-seekers live in tent camp and in apartments. Those waiting longest and considered most vulnerable will be first.
https://www.dallasnews.com/2021/02/12/some-asylum-seekers-stuck-in-squalid-camps-will-be-allowed-to-resume-crossings-into-us-under-biden-plan/

China unsurprisingly refuses to give WHO raw data on early COVID-19 cases
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-who-china/china-refuses-to-give-who-raw-data-on-early-covid-19-cases-wsj-idUSFWN2KI17H

He's making Trump look like a buffoon.

Most of the opposition to school re-openings come from Democratic parents, or from institutions that tend to be run by Democrats/liberals (school boards, unions). And a Democratic president probably can sway opinion among those groups.

Gabriel Sterling, GA election official, just called out Castor's lie on rejected ballots.

No DeAndre Jordan against the Warriors tomorrow. No centers for the Warriors either. Might get a decent dose of Durant v Draymond at the center spot.
https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1360291447732281344

Yay for Castro pointing out that Trump picked the date and the intention was to "stop the steal." But for Trump there is no rally there. But for Trump spending months claiming the election was illegitimate, years inciting and cheering violence, claiming fraud, saying the rules were off, screaming Stop the Steal, demanding they march to the Capitol and, yes, fight, this would not have happened.

Hope the Senators are taking to heart the prayer they just listened to and the pledge of allegiance they just recited. If so, they must vote to convict and disqualify this person who came so close to destroying our Republic.

"I pledge allegiance to the Trump... I mean to the flag of the Trump... I mean to the United States of Trumpism and to the republic for which he stands. One nation, fractured into trillions of pieces under Trump. Liberty & justice for Trump.. I mean all "

Thank you Rep Raskin for doing such a great job for Americans and Democracy

The Padres and Mark Melancon are in agreement on a deal, pending a physical, sources tell The Athletic.
https://twitter.com/dennistlin/status/1360309368864923650

Del. Plaskett, answering what Trump did once the Capitol was invaded: "The reason this question keeps coming up, is because the answer is nothing."

Sens. Romney and Collins ask both sides: "When President Trump sent the disparaging tweet at 2:24 p.m. regarding Vice President Pence, was he aware that the Vice President had been removed from the Senate by the Secret Service for his safety?"

Wait, is the answer "No"? or is it "We don't know"? "Trump didn't know about this so-called riot until Democrats impeached him!" He's rattled. It can't be both. So there's nothing on the record but he knows the answer. What a fucking disgrace. "WeLl tHe hoUS dEMONcrats..." SHUT THE FUCK UP.

Lying scumbags. It just makes me so fucking angry to hear them lie so shamelessly.

Tommy Tuberville has said on the record he alerted Trump to the fact that Pence was removed right after Pence was removed. This would have been roughly ten minutes before Trump sent the 2:24pm tweet disparaging Pence. Tuberville is on record to a reporter saying he told Trump that Pence had just been evacuated.
https://politico.com/news/2021/02/11/tuberville-pences-evacuation-trump-impeachment-468572

If the Trump lawyers can't get an answer to what Trump knew, how can his defense lawyers know what the framers of the constitution "would have known?"He's literally using the same argument that most legal experts use except coming to the wrong conclusion. The fact impeachment was a well understood process at the time that allowed former officials to be impeached is part of the reason why it's likely the founders intended things to work that way.

Asian moms have dropped out of the US workforce more than any other group | Asian working moms with school-age kids have suffered the most in the US labor force due to gendered expectations for care at home.
https://qz.com/1972049/asian-working-moms-hit-hardest-by-us-job-losses-due-to-covid-19/

This is also astonishing because this all happened on live television and we know Trump watched all this play out on TV. Everyone watching TV that day saw VP Pence abruptly disappear and the proceedings stop suddenly as the mob broke in.

From Del. Plaskett: "Every American has a right to vote...unless you live in a territory." Such good shade.
Clapping hands sign
Clapping hands sign
Clapping hands sign

Little tidbit. One of Trump's lawyers, David Schoen, has a long history of working on voting rights issues. In the past, he even worked for the ACLU, which has sued Trump hundreds of times, to prevent a significant change to the Voting Rights Act. https://brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legal-work/12-96%20bs%20Bobby%20Pierson%20et%20al..pdf

Trump's legal team agreed to the rules under which the Senate is operating during the trial, including when they would receive evidence and information from the House managers. They might not be happy with the amount of due process those rules gave to Trump, but they agreed to them

Here is one rioter's account of attending the Trump rally at the park and then storming the Capitol, something Trump's legal team said did not happen
https://justice.gov/usao-dc/case-multi-defendant/file/1367061/download

Pence's team does not agree with the Trump lawyer's assessment that Trump was concerned about Pence's safety. Trump didn't call him that day -- or for five days after that. No one else on Trump's team called as Pence was evacuated to one room & another, with screaming mob nearby.
https://twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1360358177179660289

Trump lawyer Van der Veen refused to ask Bernie Sanders' question about whether he believed Trump had won the election. Sanders shouted "Did Biden win?", only to then be admonished by Senator Leahy, presiding over the trial.

Two days ago I didn't know who Stacey Plaskett was and now she's my wallpaper. In my kitchen.

Trump was impeached by the House while he was still in office for an act he did while he was in office. That is why it's constitutional to impeach him. The Articles of Impeachment were sitting in the Senate because Republicans - mandated by the Constitution to immediately prosecute Articles of Impeachment from the House - refused to impeach Trump. The Republican-controlled House never impeached Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. So the Senate can't conduct an impeachment trial of her. Trump was impeached while he was still president. Hillary was never impeached to begin with.

Joining President Biden up at Camp David for his first trip to the presidential retreat this weekend are Bruce Reed (Deputy Chief of Staff), Annie Tomasini (Director of Oval Office Operations) and Jake Sullivan (National Security Advisor)
https://twitter.com/Kevinliptakcnn/status/1360367849982820352

Castro: "As a country and as a Congress, we cannot be numb to this conduct. If we are, and if we don't set a precedent against this, more presidents will do this again in the future. This will be a green light for them to engage in that kind of pressure and that kind of conduct."

The thing about the false equivalency is... Go ahead and impeach if they believe in it. Try and impeach Harris if they believe she incited a riot, nothing stopping them.

As she recalled the contents of the meeting and all the leaders and their asks of the administration, President Biden said they had "only been in office for three weeks." Lance Bottoms made it clear she has been pleased with the efforts of the Biden-Harris administration thus far, however, with the expectation and the hope that more will be done and is on the way. When it comes to issues of the meeting and the immediate needs from ARP, Mayor Lance Bottoms said, "We need vaccines, we need vaccines, we need vaccines. There's a lot of talk about distrust in the African-American community that is real. But Morehouse School of Medicine tells me they have 6,000 people on their waiting list alone. "So there are people throughout the community who want to receive a vaccine. They just can't get it. So the sooner we can ramp up production and get vaccines into our cities, to our communities, states, the better. And I know that President Biden hears that loud and clear." Specifics on vaccine data is needed to help the underserved and others in her jurisdiction. "One of the challenges that we have is that we don't have accurate or granular data tracking in our state. I can't tell you how many people in my city have been vaccinated," she added. Lance Bottoms also said she'd like to see "flexibility with who gets the vaccine," pointing out that in one county in Georgia was suspended from receiving vaccines after a group of school teachers had been vaccinated before they were supposed to based on the Department of Health guidelines. "So we all have very different wants and needs and any flexibility that we can have would be appreciated. Nobody knows our communities better than we do. We know what the needs are. But we also need to know where the needs are, which is why I asked for the data traffic," said Lance Bottoms. When it comes to the increased crime numbers across the nations, the Atlanta mayor said other mayors have shared their concerns. "It goes back to the mental health and emotional piece of it. We talk about the physical recovery, but, you know, suicides are up. We know that people are experiencing very difficult situations right now and many people don't have the skills needed to address those situations in a healthy way," she said. "It's playing out in our streets. So the sooner that we can get support to our communities, the sooner we can get vaccines in our communities, we can get our kids back in school, we can get people back to work, and we can begin the holistic recovery that a country needs." A priority for the Biden/Harris administration is the proposed $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that includes items like money for vaccines and an extension on unemployment benefits. The administration has continued outreach on the plan. Mayor Lance Bottoms said she recently was part of a teleconference with the vice president and mayors from the African American Mayors Association on the same issue.
https://thegrio.com/2021/02/12/atlanta-mayor-keisha-lance-bottoms-biden-harris-meeting/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Othman_Ibrahim_Idris
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadore_Singer

It was all a dream ... Senate adjourns until 10 a.m. Saturday for final day of Trump impeachment trial. There can be a motion to subpoena witnesses and evidence, and then final arguments by both sides. Then the Senate will vote. It could all be over by early afternoon

Inside the Lincoln Project's 'toxic' workplace: Interviews with nearly two dozen people with knowledge of the group's workings reveal a culture of infighting, sexist language and disparate treatment.
https://19thnews.org/2021/02/lincoln-project-toxic-workplace/

Tuberville speaks to reporters just now and stands by account he gave to @burgessev on Wednesday. "I said Mr President, they've taken the vice president out. They want me to get off the phone, I gotta go ... probably the only guy in the world hung up on pres United States"
https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1360372831868121091

It's pretty poetic that Trump was impeached by the House on January 13th and will likely be acquitted by the Senate on February 13th

_______________________

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/honduras-president-narcotrafficking-hernandez/2021/02/11/1fa96044-5f8c-11eb-ac8f-4ae05557196e_story.html

Honduran president, a Trump ally implicated in drug trafficking, tries to win over Biden

By
Kevin Sieff
Feb. 12, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. EST

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras — A week after another U.S. federal court filing implicated him in drug trafficking, the president of Honduras was in a helicopter zipping over a remote mountain range, scrolling through Twitter.

It was mid-January, and Juan Orlando Hernández was trying to calculate what Washington's political transition meant for his country — and for himself. He flicked past news of Donald Trump's impeachment, past a Nikki Haley tweet about "liberal elites," past a preview of Joe Biden's inauguration.

For four years, Hernández had built his governing program around the demands of the Trump administration, which in turn had stayed out of Honduran domestic affairs. Now that arrangement was ending. Hernández, like heads of state around the world, was preparing for an extreme change in American foreign policy — and trying to figure out how to refashion himself from a Trump ally into a Biden one.

The stakes are higher for Hernández than perhaps any other world leader. Not only are the political and economic fortunes of his country inextricably linked to the United States, but Hernández himself is one of few sitting presidents ever to be implicated in drug trafficking by the U.S. Justice Department.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/another-us-court-filing-ties-the-honduran-president-a-trump-ally-to-narcotrafficking/2020/04/30/e2a96406-8b05-11ea-80df-d24b35a568ae_story.html

He has not been charged, but prosecutors have described evidence against him in multiple indictments, including one against his brother, Tony, a former congressman in Honduras who was convicted in Manhattan federal court in 2019 of cocaine trafficking. In that case, the Justice Department said Tony Hernández had delivered a $1 million bribe from Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán to Juan Orlando Hernández in 2013. The president denies that allegation and any other alleged ties to drug trafficking.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-honduran-congressman-tony-hern-ndez-convicted-manhattan-federal-court-conspiring

Allegations from U.S. prosecutors in a 2019 news release. (Justice Department)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/43UMF5THDAI6XBDIEG6ER4D74U.jpg&w=691

If he were charged, he could face extradition when his term ends next year — or, if the U.S.-Honduras relationship sours, sooner. But Hernández, who describes Biden as an old colleague, is hopeful.

"We will have to sit down, talk and see the progress that has been made," in Honduras, he told The Washington Post. "I always felt that Biden was more pragmatic" than Trump, "and always very courteous."

In November, Hernández tweeted a photo of him with Biden in 2015, Biden's arm clutching Hernández's biceps. "I hope we can work together," he wrote, "like in the past."

Hernández and his aides have tried to charm Democratic lawmakers, fired their lobbying firm, welcomed a new U.N. office focusing on drugs and crime and revived talking points on climate change. The controversial asylum pact Hernández signed with Trump? Now he described Trump's approach as "aggressive." Hernández, by his own account, was ready to move on.

But in the middle of that effort, the Justice Department released a new indictment. In their case against alleged drug trafficker Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, prosecutors quoted Hernández as saying he "wanted to shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos" by using Fuentes's cocaine laboratory to increase production.

"Ridiculous," Hernández said. (Fuentes, arrested in Florida in March, has pleaded not guilty.)

A Justice Department court filing in its case against alleged drug trafficker Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez. (Justice Department)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/4GGRV6THDAI6XBDIEG6ER4D74U.jpg&w=691

It is now another issue to resolve with the new administration, one less likely to look the other way. Hondurans will be watching closely. Given the fragility of the country's judicial system, Hernández's many critics believe their only shot at justice is in the United States. "Fuera la narcodictadura" — "Get the narcodictatorship out" — has become a rallying cry.

"Hernández thinks he can get out of the Department of Justice noose," said one senior U.S. official. "So he's signaling every willingness to work with the new administration."

[Battered by back-to-back hurricanes, Honduras braces for a long recovery]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/hurricane-eta-iota-honduras-central-america/2020/11/25/8cd11e98-2e75-11eb-bae0-50bb17126614_story.html

Hernández, floating over the country's verdant countryside in the presidential helicopter, rattled off the connections between the two countries evident in the landscape below.

He pointed out a U.S. military base, the only one in Central America. A new Nike factory. Puerto Cortés, from which tankers loaded with Honduran products sail for the United States. In the distance lay San Pedro Sula, where at that moment a caravan of thousands of Honduran migrants was hours away from leaving for the U.S. border.

There is another connection: Every year, thousands of pounds of cocaine transit through Honduras on the way to the United States. According to the Justice Department, some of that cargo is trafficked by Honduran officials — an allegation the Trump administration mostly ignored while officials praised Hernández's counternarcotics and anti-migration efforts.

"It was all about migration for Trump. It was purely transactional, and Hernández knew how to give Trump what he wanted," said the senior U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the subject and commented on the condition of anonymity. "When we tried to push other issues, like anti-corruption issues, we didn't get any traction at the highest levels."

[Honduras is poor, violent and unstable. The Trump administration wants it to accept more asylum seekers]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/honduras-is-poor-violent-and-unstable--and-the-trump-administration-wants-it-to-accept-more-asylum-seekers/2019/09/12/7e7101f6-d340-11e9-8924-1db7dac797fb_story.html

Honduran officials quickly recognized that the Trump administration was not interested in pressing Hernández on the accusations.

"In my 30 meetings with various actors in Washington, the allegations against him never came up," Foreign Minister Lisandro Rosales said.

The Trump State Department said in a January statement that the United States uses its "diplomatic engagement with the Government of Honduras to support the rule of law and the fight against corruption and impunity."

"We take any allegations of criminal activity very seriously," the statement said. "Department officials engage with a wide variety of Honduran government officials, in all branches of government, political parties, civil society actors, and the private sector to achieve our objectives."

Trump's focus was on blocking Hondurans from getting to the U.S. border, or from applying for asylum once they arrived. But analysts say it is poor governance in Honduras — one of the most violent nations in Latin America, and one of the most corrupt in the world, according to Transparency International — that prompts migration to the United States.

Biden has outlined those issues in his Central America policy plan, a document read by Hernández's team with interest and concern. Elements include "revoking visas to the United States and freezing assets of corrupt individuals from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras."

https://joebiden.com/centralamerica/

In all three countries, Biden will inherit relationships transformed by the Trump administration. Trump praised El Salvador and Guatemala for their policies to slow migration but took no action when Guatemala dissolved its U.N.-backed anti-corruption agency or when critics accused El Salvador's president of encouraging excessive force to fight gang violence.

Whatever Biden does to restore accountability to U.S. foreign policy, it is likely Hernández who has the most to lose. For more than a decade, he has navigated changes in U.S. policy, shape-shifting as necessary to insulate himself. But it is the extradition treaty with the United States that he pushed to implement when he was president of the Honduran Congress that now might pose the biggest threat to him.

"President Hernández, like many foreign leaders, has been very skillful at telling people in Washington what they want to hear," said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.). "But the reality is that democracy and human rights are under assault in Honduras, and corruption permeates the government."

Hernández has studied U.S. politics since his stint in a master's program at the State University of New York at Albany. He grew up on a small coffee farm in the city of Gracias, near the Salvadoran border, one of 17 children. As he came of age politically, he came to believe that winning over the United States was a necessary survival skill.

In 2003, while a member of Congress, he loaned his office to State Department officials, who used it to rally Honduran lawmakers to support the Iraq War. U.S. diplomats presented him with a pair of George W. Bush cuff links, U.S. officials said. When Barack Obama was president, Hernández championed a program aimed at stemming migration by increasing security and employment.

With Trump in office, Hernández's administration agreed to block Central American migrants from seeking asylum in the United States. After the Trump administration moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Hernández announced Honduras would move its embassy there as well.

"Hernández has always known which U.S. priorities to support to maintain the relationship," said Adriana Beltrán of the Washington Office on Latin America.

Meanwhile, the allegations have piled up. They include the claim by U.S. prosecutors that the Mexican drug L-rd Guzmán had given Tony Hernández $1 million for his brother's presidential campaign. Tony Hernández's attorneys argued during his federal trial that there was no evidence to prove the claim. Prosecutors also claim Juan Orlando Hernández had agreed "to facilitate the use of Honduran armed forces personnel as security" for drug traffickers.

Hernández said he called his brother personally and told him, "If you did something wrong and they detain you, it's your responsibility." He told his mother he supported his brother's extradition. She was furious, he said.

"I have two roles," he said, "the role of a brother and the role as head of state."

Hernández calls the accusations against him absurd, arguing that they come from alleged criminals who are trying to reduce their prison sentences.

"It is a very strange situation," he said. "In other justice systems around the world, this would not be considered a valid testimony."

Trump backed Hernández when he won reelection, despite fraud allegations, in 2017. The United States did not stop Honduras from quashing an anti-corruption agency last year. Officials continued to work with Hernández, formalizing an agreement last year that allows the United States to send non-Honduran asylum seekers to Honduras to file their claims there.

"President Hernández is working with the United States very closely," Trump said in December 2019. "You know what's going on on our southern border. And we're winning after years and years of losing."

[Separated at the border, reunited, then separated again: For migrant families, another trauma]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/family-separations-biden-trump-honduras/2021/01/31/f6b815cc-6198-11eb-9430-e7c77b5b0297_story.html

Hernández's administration seized upon the recognition.

"These are really the words of a friend," Rosales, the foreign minister, said at the time.

Two days before Tony Hernández was convicted, the U.S. Embassy in Honduras tweeted that "our governments cooperate on a wide range of issues including migration, security, the fight against narcotics, and economic development."

U.S. diplomats and Honduran activists recoiled.

"We watched the Honduran government grow more corrupt, more abusive, and the only check on those problems — the United States — had vanished," said Gabriela Castellanos, the head of the National Anticorruption Council, which for years has received support from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The Trump State Department defended its role.

"Embassy officials meet regularly with the Honduran government to address specific human rights cases, advocate for improving human rights and anti-corruption efforts, and work to improve prosperity and security in Honduras," it said in January.

The coronavirus has gutted the price of coca. It could reshape the cocaine trade.

But since Biden's election, those in Hernández's inner circle have grown concerned. They worry that Democratic critics such as Leahy and Rep. Norma J. Torres (D-Calif.) will have a stronger role in crafting policy.

After the election, State Department officials created an internal policy of avoiding photos with Hernández, according to a U.S. official. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and a group of Democratic members of Congress refused to meet with him when they visited Honduras in 2019.

"I don't think he fully understands the change that is about to come," said Torres, who was on that trip. "My hope is that we will find a way to undo the great damage his government has done while the Trump administration looked away."

[Senior Honduran officials sent four requests to meet with Torres as they tried to endear themselves to a Democratic administration. She did not respond.]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/coronavirus-coca-crash-bolivia-colombia-peru-latin-america/2020/06/09/8c7da42c-a11f-11ea-be06-af5514ee0385_story.html

"From Rep. Torres's perspective, there is no point for a lawmaker to sit down with the representative of any foreign government, and particularly a narco state, ahead of the new administration," said her spokesman, Dan Lindner.

It is rare for the United States to indict a head of state. But Hernández's term ends next January. Analysts worry he will try to cling to power — he says he won't — or undo the country's extradition treaty before he steps down. Honduran officials say Hernández has no plans to change the extradition law, a process that would require approval by two consecutive legislatures.

For now, at least publicly, it appears his strategy is the same as it has always been: Win over a new U.S. president.

At the edge of Honduras's desolate Mosquito Coast, Luis Suazo, the country's ambassador to the United States, stood next to the wreckage of an airplane that had crash-landed, weighed down by thousands of pounds of cocaine. On the wing, someone had emblazoned a fake U.N. insignia, in an apparent attempt to fool the Honduran military.

Suazo, a former security minister, has been tasked with winning over the Biden administration. Now he was highlighting the country's progress against gangs and drug traffickers.

In 2011, Honduras was the largest cocaine transshipment country in the world, according to the State Department. By 2019, the department reported, only 4 percent of shipments that reached the United States made a first stop here.

[The Guatemalan rainforest: Lush jungle, Mayan ruins and narco jets full of cocaine]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/07/05/guatemala-cocaine-trafficking-laguna-del-tigre/

"I want to congratulate the Government of Honduras for its excellent work," Adm. Craig S. Faller, the head of the U.S. Southern Command, said when he visited Hernández in December.

It was praise that Hernández and his staff circulated widely: Why would a president involved in drug trafficking crack down on drug trafficking?

"It doesn't make any sense," Suazo said. "We've been willing partners in the fight against drug trafficking, and the numbers bear that out."

Behind him, a unit of Honduran soldiers buried dynamite near the decomposing plane. They were here to destroy the clandestine runway on which it had attempted to land — and had invited a Washington Post correspondent to watch. It was yet another part of Hernández's new messaging campaign.

Soldiers destroyed a makeshift runway in Gracias a Dios, Honduras, on Jan. 13, a day after a plane with thousands of pounds of cocaine crash-landed there. (Kevin Sieff/The Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/honduras-president-narcotrafficking-hernandez/2021/02/11/1fa96044-5f8c-11eb-ac8f-4ae05557196e_story.html

After Hernández was elected in 2014, he sponsored a "purification" of the country's police, backed and funded by the United States, which led to the dismissal of half the force. He helped legalize extradition from Honduras to the United States.

Current and former U.S. officials said there were rumors that Hernández was complicit in drug trafficking during the early years of his presidency, but there was never any explicit intelligence implicating him. The officials say they have been able to back counternarcotics efforts in a country known for institutional corruption by partnering with military and police units that have passed polygraph tests.

"The DEA works hand in hand with these vetted units through shared intel and bilateral investigations to support Honduran operations," the Drug Enforcement Administration said in a statement.

Biden has proposed spending $4 billion in Central America to improve security and develop the economy. It is unclear what role Hernández would have. When Biden led development efforts in Central America in 2015 aimed at deterring migration, Hernández toured Washington think tanks to promote the strategy, called the "Alliance for Prosperity." It seems unlikely that he will play a similar role this time. But he has already begun to try.

https://joebiden.com/centralamerica/

"It's vintage Juan Orlando," said a former U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing diplomatic affairs. "He's asking himself, 'What can I do today to show the Biden people that I'm a strong partner?' "

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/03/fact-sheet-support-alliance-prosperity-northern-triangle

Kevin Sieff
Kevin Sieff has been The Washington Post's Latin America correspondent since 2018. He served previously as the paper's Africa bureau chief and Afghanistan bureau chief. Follow
_______________________

Jake Tapper now reading live on air a text from an additional Republican House member corroborating the network's reporting on the call and Trump's lack of concern during the insurrection.
https://twitter.com/EliStokols/status/1360377602926665728

New details about Trump-McCarthy shouting match show Trump refused to call off the rioters
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/12/politics/trump-mccarthy-shouting-match-details/index.html

'Ecocide' proposal aiming to make environmental destruction an international crime
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-13/will-ecocide-become-an-international-crime/13136912

A group of Nigerian farmers and fishermen can sue Royal Dutch Shell PLC in English courts over pollution from decades of oil spills, Britain's highest court ruled. UK's Supreme Court said the Anglo-Dutch firm may owe a "duty of care'' to the claimants over the actions of its Nigerian subsidiary
https://www.dw.com/en/uk-court-nigerian-farmers-can-sue-shell-over-pollution/a-56551330

Ethiopia confirms widespread rape in conflict-hit north
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-ethiopia-conflict/ethiopia-confirms-widespread-rape-in-conflict-hit-north-idUSKBN2AC0WQ

Zion freezes Porzingis and takes it up for the dunk
https://streamable.com/d6qs9d

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson has suffered a fractured right hand.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1360407592397332481

_________________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/12/statement-of-president-joe-biden-on-safely-reopening-schools/

Statement of President Joe Biden on Safely Reopening Schools
February 12, 2021    • Statements and Releases

But we can do more. Shortly before taking office, I set an ambitious but achievable goal of opening most K-8 schools by the end of my first 100 days. I've said all along that this is a national imperative — one that can only be achieved if Congress provides states and communities with the resources they need to get it done safely through the American Rescue Plan.

It is also a goal we can meet if we follow the science. Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, has provided the best available scientific evidence on how to reopen schools safely.

These scientific guidelines tell us that our schools are safer when we have appropriate distancing in classrooms and on school buses, when masks are worn consistently and properly, when handwashing occurs regularly, and when we are able to effectively respond to cases through testing and contact tracing, and when we follow other recommended steps. To meet these guidelines, some schools will need more teachers and support staff to ensure smaller class sizes, more buses and bus drivers to transport our kids safely, more spaces to conduct in-person instruction, and more protective equipment, school cleaning services, and physical alterations to reduce the risk of spread of the virus.

These needs cost money. But the cost of keeping our children, families, and educators safe is nothing when compared with the cost of inaction. Today, an entire generation of young people is on the brink of being set back up to a year or more in their learning. We are already seeing rising mental health concerns due in part to isolation. Educational disparities that have always existed grow wider each day that our schools remain closed and remote learning isn't the same for every student. Our educators are frontline workers who are doing everything they can to protect and educate our students, despite a lack of resources and as districts face budget crises that risk education jobs. Moms — and dads — are exiting the workforce in astonishing numbers in order to care for and manage the school experience for their children at home, hindering their own opportunities and further undermining the health of our economy.

We have sacrificed so much in the last year. But science tells us that if we support our children, educators, and communities with the resources they need, we can get kids back to school safely in more parts of the country sooner.

When my Secretary of Education is confirmed, I will task him with working alongside school administrators, educators, and parents to safely accelerate the process of school reopenings. As many states continue to follow the CDC's recommendation to prioritize teachers for vaccination, I urge all states to follow suit.

And given the irreversible costs of inaction, Congress needs to pass the American Rescue Plan right away — for our children, our families, our community, and our country.

We know what we need to do.

We need to move fast.
_________________________

The Fulton County DA plans to scrutinize Lindsey Graham's phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger as part of her criminal investigation into whether Trump or his allies broke Georgia laws while trying to reverse his defeat.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lindsey-graham-georgia-investigation/2021/02/12/f12faa82-6d6b-11eb-9f80-3d7646ce1bc0_story.html

Late last year, Nikki Haley had a friend who was going through a hard time. He had lost his job and was being evicted from his house. He was getting bad advice from bad people who were filling his head with self-destructive fantasies. He seemed to be losing touch with reality. Out of concern, Haley called the man. "I want to make sure you're okay," she told him. "You're my president, but you're also my friend."
https://politico.com/interactives/2021/magazine-nikki-haleys-choice/

McCarthy wanted Liz Cheney to apologize to the caucus for voting to impeach this drooling psychopath: During the attack, McCarthy told Trump the rioters were his supporters. Trump replied, "Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are." McCarthy replied, "who the fuck do you think you are talking to?" It seems like Trump knew exactly who he was talking to, a coward Trump worshipper.
https://cnn.com/2021/02/12/politics/trump-mccarthy-shouting-match-details/index.html

"This is the most miserable experience I've had in Washington, D.C." van der Veen, who was not present on January 6, says.
https://twitter.com/Grace_Segers/status/1360348046232592387

There's only one thing I can think of that might have shifted a few Senate votes, and that's if Dems had appointed a few House Rs (Herrera Beutler? Kinzinger?) as managers to make the case.
______________________

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/01/16/sullivan-video-arrested/

Man who shot video of fatal Capitol shooting is arrested, remains focus of political storm

John Earle Sullivan joined the rampage through the Capitol, and some cited his past as evidence of liberal involvement in the siege

By Tom Jackman, Marissa J. Lang and Jon Swaine
Jan. 16, 2021 at 3:54 p.m. EST

He's a speedskater. He organizes protests, alienating activists on both ends of the political spectrum. He drove an Uber. And his 40-minute video following rioters through the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, capturing the fatal shooting of a Trump supporter, has placed John Earle Sullivan — "Activist John" — at the center of a conservative campaign to blame liberal groups for the Capitol siege.

The video also landed him in jail. Federal authorities tracking down Capitol trespassers watched Sullivan's video, interviewed him and then obtained warrants Thursday charging him with causing a civil disorder, trespassing and disorderly conduct. Sullivan repeatedly exhorted rioters to enter the building and overwhelm police, and seemed to convince Capitol Police officers to walk away from the glass door entry to the House Speaker's Lobby, his video shows. Moments later, with Sullivan screaming warnings about a gun, rioter Ashli Babbitt is shot and killed on the video by a Capitol Police officer.

Sullivan, 26, later claimed he was there to document — not participate — in the event.

His video attracted the attention of right-wing leaders, including President Trump's lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, who said it showed that antifa was the true organizer of the attack; and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who called Sullivan a "BLM & fascist #ANTIFA supporter arrested for role in Capitol assaults."

But Sullivan is hardly a darling of the left. He began organizing protests in Utah last year, and at one of the first, one of the protesters shot a motorist, said Lex Scott, a racial justice organizer who founded Black Lives Matter Utah more than seven years ago.

"He came in to chase clout and get those media headlines," Scott said of Sullivan. "Now, it's not my place to ever tell anyone how to be an activist or what their goals should be … but the fact is that Black Lives Matter Utah has never had one arrest in seven years. We've never caused any violence, any destruction of property, and this man comes in here and taints our reputation in a day."

Activists in Utah have spent months condemning Sullivan, who has at turns identified himself as a racial justice protester and leftist documentarian, and they have warned others to be leery of his motives and any events he sponsored.

"John Sullivan has exploited Black people, profited off of our pain and hurt the movement," said Tyeise Bellamy, the founder of the Black Lives for Humanity Movement, a Salt Lake City group that works with the homeless. "We've been telling people this for months. So now, to see him up there as this poster child for folks to say, 'Look, look, look, look, it was Black Lives Matter all along, or antifa all along' — we will not allow you to say he is part of our movement to justify the destruction, insecurity and racism of the right."

Sullivan, one of four sons of Jack and Lisa Sullivan, grew up in Stafford, Va., about 45 miles from Washington. A friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Sullivan's personal history, said the boys were adopted and raised in the Mormon faith and had an isolated, conservative upbringing. His brother James is a conservative activist. His parents, who now live in Utah, did not return calls Friday seeking comment.

The boys enjoyed inline skating, and John Sullivan and one of his brothers later switched to the ice and began speedskating. There is a 400-meter speedskating rink in Kearns, Utah, near Salt Lake City, where Olympic-caliber skaters train, and Sullivan moved there to train, then tried to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics. He did not make the U.S. team. He also began driving an Uber, and the company featured him in a blog post and television commercial.

https://www.uber.com/blog/meet-john-an-aspiring-speed-skater/

The first time racial justice activists in Utah heard of Sullivan, he was leading marches last year through the streets of Provo — the home city of Brigham Young University — which, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, has a Black population of less than 1 percent.

He organized rallies under a group he formed and dubbed Insurgence USA, which activists said Sullivan used to fundraise and solicit donations from individuals who felt compelled to support racial justice movements in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. His website sells "Rise Against the Norm" T-shirts, "Insurgence USA" face masks and other merchandise.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/george-floyd-america/systemic-racism/?itid=lk_inline_manual_21
https://www.insurgenceusa.com/

As near-daily protests exploded in cities around the country, Sullivan's demonstrations attracted large crowds despite his dubious history as an organizer, said Scott, of Black Lives Matter Utah.

He held rallies featuring Black organizers. But attendees said one demonstration also featured members of the Proud Boys, an all-male extremist group with ties to white nationalism. The Proud Boys who attended, organizers said, told the crowd they wished to make peace with Black activists.

In a different demonstration on June 29, Sullivan led crowds through the heavily trafficked streets of Provo. Authorities later said the group did not secure a permit, KSL-TV reported. Cars zipped past, some nearly hitting protesters who marched on the asphalt, said Bellamy, who was there.

https://www.ksl.com/article/50000127/organizer-of-provo-protest-arrested-accused-of-rioting-making-threats

As night fell, the crowd began to thin. Just after 8:30 p.m., a large, white SUV sped toward the group, knocking several protesters out of the way. Police said a man fired at the driver, who suffered non-life-threatening wounds and later drove himself to the hospital. The alleged shooter was arrested on charges of attempted aggravated murder, aggravated assault, rioting and threatening the use of a weapon in a fight; Sullivan was charged with rioting. The case is pending.

Black Lives Matter organizers say the fallout stemming from that protest has been broad and far-reaching, sullying the reputation of Black Lives Matter Utah, an organization that had previously held meetings with officials including Sen. Mitt Romney (R), Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) and Sen. Mike Lee (R) and conducted peaceful marches and vigils throughout the state. Racial justice protests in Salt Lake City, Provo and elsewhere in the state have since been dogged by armed counterdemonstrators who often show up in tactical gear.

Later in the summer, Sullivan helped organize a pro-gun-rights rally and marched with self-styled militia members at the Utah Capitol, KSL-TV reported, further infuriating Black activists.

https://ksltv.com/444431/protestors-march-to-state-capitol-armed-with-guns/?

Sullivan's reputation as an agitator and bad actor has followed him into other protest circles. In encrypted chats among left-leaning activists, organizers routinely flag posts by Sullivan to new members, saying, "Don't trust that guy" and, pointing to his past ties with the Proud Boys, "He's a double agent."

Sullivan, whose social media alias is Jayden X, visited Washington in December to observe his brother James speak at the Million MAGA march. At one point, Sullivan was surrounded and frisked by Proud Boys who suspected he was antifa, said his friend, who saw the incident. The friend said that episode led him to try to blend in with those around him on Jan 6. "I'm sure that that experience in a large way affected his behavior at the Capitol."

    Let's clear the air so that these right-wing MF, especially @RudyGiuliani and his band of #trumpets, are coming after me, a black man filming at the #uscapitol. I was there to document an event of @realDonaldTrump's so-called #stormthecapitol on Jan 6th. pic.twitter.com/xPC3D4N4Cp
    — Jayden X (@realjaydenx) January 10, 2021
https://twitter.com/realjaydenx/status/1348085415190867969

Sullivan's 40-minute video begins with him already on a terrace of the Capitol, looking out at the roiling mob. Then, he follows rioters as they confront police at various points and enter the Capitol, and can be heard shouting, "We accomplished this s---. We did this together. … We are all a part of this history" and "Let's burn this s--- down."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfiS8MsfSF4

Sullivan wanders the halls of the Capitol, always recording, refusing officers' commands to leave, the video shows. Eventually, he joins a group pressing up against the glass doors to the House Speaker's Lobby, and implores the officers there to leave for their own safety. "I don't want you to get hurt," Sullivan can be heard saying. "We will make a path." The officers then leave, and seconds later, Babbitt is shot as she tries to climb into the lobby.

Sullivan has called himself a "video journalist," but admitted to the FBI that he has no connections to any media outlet. Sullivan sold The Washington Post rights to use a portion of his video for a story on the shooting.

As conservative media outlets began pointing to Sullivan as evidence of liberal involvement in the riot, he posted a video on YouTube on Jan. 9 explaining his actions. "I was there just to document the events and to be a part of history," Sullivan said in the video. He said he was not a member of Black Lives Matter, but did support the Black community.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2021/01/07/utah-man-with-a-history-of-organizing-blm-protests-was-inside-the-capitol-n2582766
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLVU0sVhcL8

"I'm not here to assert myself or my beliefs on other people," Sullivan said. "I just want to give people the footage, the video."

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine on Monday, Sullivan explained his seemingly boisterous support of the rioters. He said he needed to blend in, since he was dressed in black with no red hat or MAGA gear. "I was worried about people recognizing me and thinking that I was antifa or, like, BLM or whatever," Sullivan said. "I had to relate to these people, and build trust in the short amount of time I had there to get where I need to go: To the front of the crowd to see the dynamic between the police and the protesters."

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ashli-babbitt-shooting-video-jayden-x-maga-riot-interview-1112949/

Sullivan was accompanied for some of his time in the Capitol by Jade Sacker, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who has been making a documentary about Sullivan and his brother James since last year.

Sacker, a freelancer who has worked for publications including Foreign Policy and Atlas Obscura, said that she did not witness the Babbitt shooting and that she had urged Sullivan at one point not to cause any damage.

"I was just there to document what was going on," said Sacker. "I don't think that John is violent. And I certainly don't think that it was ever his intention to hurt anyone."

Sullivan was taken into custody in Tooele County, Utah, on Thursday after the FBI obtained a warrant for his arrest in Washington. He made his first appearance in federal court in Salt Lake City on Friday afternoon, and was ordered released pending a detention hearing next week. Sullivan's lawyer, Mary Corporon, said Friday evening that she had no comment. Sullivan did not respond to requests for comment Saturday.
______________________

Herrera Beutler Again Confirms Conversation With McCarthy Regarding January 6 Capitol Attack
https://twitter.com/HerreraBeutler/status/1360419828721401856

Kevin McCarthy Attended Son's Maskless Wedding on Same Day He Mocked Newsom's Rule-Breach
https://www.thedailybeast.com/kevin-mccarthy-attended-sons-maskless-wedding-on-same-day-he-mocked-newsoms-rule-breach

Luka Doncic with career high 46 points (17/30 FG) 8 rebounds 12 assists 1 steal 1 block in win vs Pelicans

The Utah Jazz (21-5) defeat the Milwaukee Bucks (16-10), 129 - 115

The Milwaukee Bucks have not beat the Jazz in Salt Lake City since 2001

Detroit Pistons' rookie Saddiq Bey scores 30 points and 12 rebounds on 10/12 FGs and 7/7 3 pointers as Pistons defeat the Celtics

Nikola Vucevic finishes with 42/9/4 on 77% shooting and 6 3's

Saddiq "Ay Bae" Bey with a career game: 30/12 on 10/12 FG, 7/7 3PT, and 3/3 FT

The San Antonio Spurs (15-11) defeat the Atlanta Hawks (11-14) 125-114 after leading by as much as 42 during the game

The Denver Nuggets (14-11) storm back from 13 down at halftime and defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder (10-15) 97-95

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_States#List_of_formal_impeachments

I said this the other day: We can't expect the American public to treat this as a real trial if senators don't treat this as a real trial. It's baffling that witnesses—WH aides, lawmakers, rally organizers—haven't been subpoenaed and lined up around the building to testify.

Additionally, Kellyanne Conway, who wasn't even working at the White House at the time, told a current aide that she had received calls from the D.C. mayor's office "asking for help in getting Trump to call up the National Guard," per the Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-mob-failure/2021/01/11/36a46e2e-542e-11eb-a817-e5e7f8a406d6_story.html

What people have failed to appreciate is that Trump isn't immoral, but amoral. He doesn't consider good and evil, but only what serves his interest and what doesn't. Beyond that nothing matters.

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.
https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/1360576584189624322

The House Managers should ask for witnesses to be called, including anyone who communicated with Donald Trump or have direct knowledge of his actions and state of mind while he was in the White House after the Capitol was breached and while the attempted coup was ongoing.

This is maddening. A key argument from Trump's defense team is that too much of the House impeachment managers' case is based on media reports. The reporting would just be dismissed anyway.

"We should close this case out TODAY," says Trump's lawyer, after days of complaining that it has been a rushed impeachment with no witnesses and insufficient investigation.

Rep. Raskin: "There's only one person the president's counsel really needs to interview, and that's their own client."

The fact that they are in the middle of a trial and just voted to bring in witnesses tells me that there has been no denial of due process.

Marjorie Taylor Greene threatened to have Herrera Beutler murdered if Herrera Beutler testified

The notion that witnesses will derail other Senate business is not backed up by the history of the Clinton trial. Then, the trial recessed for a week, allowing the Senate to resume normal business, while depositions were conducted. When the trial resumed, it only added one day.

And just minutes after Democrats backtrack and decide not to call witnesses, CNN reports on yet another official who might have offered new details in testimony: Pence aide Keith Kellogg, who was with Trump during the riot and in touch with the VP staff: Pence's national security advisor, Keith Kellogg, was w/ Trump during the riots, in Oval Office, Kellogg confirms. Pence's staff was communicating with Kellogg. "So of course they knew exactly what the circumstance was," a fmr Pence staffer said. https://cnn.com/2021/02/13/politics/mike-pence-marc-short-impeachment-trial/index.html

The political calculation for Democrats is that only the people who already think Trump is guilty would care about the witnesses, relatively few people are watching, they weren't getting a conviction anyway, and the best way to beat back Trump/Trumpism is via success on their agenda. What they don't count on are Democrats like me who will never vote again in any election, ever.

You have a REPUBLICAN CONGRESSWOMAN willing to testify that Trump refused to call off the mob when asked by the Republican minority leader. You have Republican Senate votes for witnesses. And you're refusing? Democrats FINALLY HAD THEIR MOMENT to take a shot at Trump.

Rep. Raskin: "I ask any of you, if you were charged with inciting violent insurrection against our country and you were falsely accused, would you come and testify? I know I would. I'd be there at 7 o'clock in the morning waiting for the doors to open."

Trump's a national emergency, Democrats have said at both impeachment trials, one during which the articles were slow-walked and the other during which there was a vote on witnesses and then Democrats walked away

Even if you're convinced no testimony will change the minds of 40 Republicans, leaving witnesses on the table is an incredible mistake. After impeachment managers presented a fantastic case, the decision to fold is what will be remembered.

Rep. Raskin just called out this discrepancy in the Senate session:
Castor (yesterday): "Clearly, there was no insurrection."
Van der Veen (today): "The question before us is not whether there was a violent insurrection of the capitol. On that point, everyone agrees."

The #Texans are releasing star JJ Watt
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1360238944009531399

This comment came one day after the Senate awarded Officer Goodman the Congressional Gold Medal yesterday. Goodman is now sitting in the press gallery providing protection on the final day of the trial: Rep. Raskin: "Are we going to defend the people who defend us? Not just honor them with medals, as you rightfully did yesterday, but actually back them up against savage, barbaric, insurrectionary violence?"

Republicans who voted GUILTY:
Burr
Cassidy
Collins
Murkowski
Romney
Sasse
Toomey

Burr statement: "The evidence is compelling that Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection against a coequal branch of government and that the charge rises to the level of high Crimes and Misdemeanors. Therefore, I have voted to convict."

Burr on his vote to convict: "By what he did and by what he did not do, President Trump violated his oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Republicans who admitted that Trump was responsible voted to acquit him.

If attempting to overthrow the government isn't enough to impeach someone, nothing is. The US government needs to be bombed to force the US out of the international community. The US has zero standing and is a shitstain terrorist nation.

The Senate is back to the REAL business: passing a resolution congratulating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The indelible die has been cast for all time and for all to see. @SenBillCassidy voted his conscience and put it simply: he voted to convict because Donald Trump is guilty. @SenJohnKennedy on the other hand is an embarrassment.
https://twitter.com/MitchLandrieu/status/1360716189815758854

History will render its verdict on Kennedy's votes to overturn the election and to acquit Trump. But it should not come as a surprise- Kennedy has always been a pandering politician. The case of Donald Trump's impeachment was open and shut. Trump abused the power of his office.
https://twitter.com/MitchLandrieu/status/1360716190985949191

And he incited an insurrection to stop the peaceful transfer of power. If this is not an impeachable offense, nothing is. The evidence was irrefutable. We cannot move forward unless and until there is accountability for the seditious violence of January 6.
https://twitter.com/MitchLandrieu/status/1360716192005165057

Suns keep rolling, top 76ers 120-111 for 5th straight win. — Devin Booker scored 36 points, Chris Paul added 18 points and 10 assists and the rising Phoenix Suns beat the Philadelphia 76ers 120-111 on Saturday for their fifth straight victory.
https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=401267566

Booker ices the game with a long-range dagger
https://streamable.com/bb1txg

Devin Booker Tonight: 36/5/4 on 14/23 shooting, 3/5 from three and 5/6 from the line

Chris Paul runs the floor after getting the steal and nails the midrange shot
https://streamable.com/naztt5

Chris Paul tonight: 18/8/10 assists on 8-13 shooting

Embiid spins and throws it down on Saric
https://streamable.com/24zmfq

LeBron James has received a warning for violating league's anti-flopping rule versus Memphis
https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1360731940895158272

Los Angeles Lakers' Kyle Kuzma received a warning for violating the league's anti-flopping rule Feb. 12 vs. Memphis.
https://streamable.com/l0svmu

White House Deputy Press Secretary TJ Ducklo has resigned
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/13/white-house-aide-resigns-threatened-reporter-468850

Colorado U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper says he is urging President Joe Biden's Interior secretary nominee to keep the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management in the Western Slope city of Grand Junction. Hickenlooper met Tuesday with Deb Haaland, a Democratic U.S. representative from New Mexico, and invited her to western Colorado to "hear from the community firsthand" about why the public lands agency headquarters should stay, his office said in a statement. The Democratic senator said that "I made the case that, done correctly, we can better protect and manage our public lands by having a BLM headquarters out west. I look forward to working with her when she's confirmed as Interior Secretary to make this a reality." Hickenlooper sits on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will hold a hearing on Haaland's nomination in the coming weeks. The meeting came a day after Hickenlooper, Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert and Gov. Jared Polis met remotely with local officials to discuss a lobbying effort aimed at Haaland. The Grand Junction Sentinel reported that Haaland has criticized the decision by the Donald Trump administration to move the public lands agency headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Grand Junction. Supporters of the move argued BLM headquarters staff should be closer to the lands they manage. Critics say the effort effectively weakened the agency. Interior Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz has said the department's new leadership will study the issue.
https://www.denverpost.com/2021/02/09/deb-haaland-interior-colorado-blm/

Kelly Oubre swats KD's lay up attempt
https://streamable.com/9na2wr

Curry drills the 3 in KD's face
https://streamable.com/v1loqs

Incredible ball movement from the Jazz leads to a Gobert dunkHighlight
https://streamable.com/8p8y1e

Klay on the sideline, dying not being able to help his team
https://streamable.com/nkqtyp

James Harden throwing dimes everywhere
https://streamable.com/0kshm3

Jazz defeat Heat 112-94 while shooting just 26% from 3

James Harden showcases his elite vision and Jeff Green with a savvy finish
https://streamable.com/ia8jf7

Dario Saric's post-covid19 return - 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals and a +18 in 20 minutes

Thousands march in Tokyo to protest Myanmar coup, biggest Japan demonstration so far
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-japan-protests-idUSKBN2AE087

Devin Booker hits the beautiful shot vs Philly and turns the head of their Assistant Coach
https://streamable.com/5mwrlp
_____________________

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/14/statement-by-the-president-three-years-after-the-parkland-shooting/

Statement by the President Three Years After the Parkland Shooting
February 14, 2021 • Statements and Releases

Three years ago today, a lone gunman took the lives of 14 students and three educators at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In seconds, the lives of dozens of families, and the life of an American community, were changed forever.

For three years now, the Parkland families have spent birthdays and holidays without their loved ones. They've missed out on the experience of sending their children off to college or seeing them on their first job after high school. Like far too many families, they've had to bury pieces of their soul deep within the Earth. Like far too many families — and, indeed, like our nation — they've been left to wonder whether things would ever be okay.

These families are not alone. In big cities and small towns. In schools and shopping malls. In churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples. In movie theaters and concert halls. On city street corners that will never get a mention on the evening news. All across our nation, parents, spouses, children, siblings, and friends have known the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence. And in this season of so much loss, last year's historic increase in homicides across America, including the gun violence disproportionately devastating Black and Brown individuals in our cities, has added to the number of empty seats at our kitchen tables. Today, as we mourn with the Parkland community, we mourn for all who have lost loved ones to gun violence.

Over these three years, the Parkland families have taught all of us something profound. Time and again, they have showed us how we can turn our grief into purpose – to march, organize, and build a strong, inclusive, and durable movement for change.

The Parkland students and so many other young people across the country who have experienced gun violence are carrying forward the history of the American journey. It is a history written by young people in each generation who challenged prevailing dogma to demand a simple truth: we can do better. And we will.

This Administration will not wait for the next mass shooting to heed that call. We will take action to end our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer. Today, I am calling on Congress to enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets. We owe it to all those we've lost and to all those left behind to grieve to make a change. The time to act is now.
_____________________

GOOD: This Administration will not wait for the next mass shooting to heed that call. We will take action to end our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer. Today, I am calling on Congress to enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets. We owe it to all those we've lost and to all those left behind to grieve to make a change. The time to act is now.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/14/statement-by-the-president-three-years-after-the-parkland-shooting/

Executive Order on the Establishment of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships | Section 1. Policy. Faith-based and other community-serving organizations are vital to our Nation's ability to address the needs of, and lift up, low-income and other underserved persons and communities, notably including persons of color. The American people are key drivers of fundamental change in our country, and few institutions are closer to the people than our faith-based and other community organizations. It is important that the Federal Government strengthen the ability of such organizations and other nonprofit providers in our communities to deliver services effectively in partnership with Federal, State, and local governments and with other private organizations, while preserving our fundamental constitutional commitments guaranteeing the equal protection of the laws and the free exercise of religion and forbidding the establishment of religion. The Federal Government can preserve these fundamental commitments while empowering faith-based and secular organizations to assist in the delivery of vital services in our neighborhoods. These partnerships are also vital for the success and effectiveness of the United States' diplomatic, international development, and humanitarian work around the world. Sec. 2. Establishment. There is established a White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (White House Partnerships Office) within the Executive Office of the President, supported by the Domestic Policy Council and the Office of Public Engagement, that will have lead responsibility in the executive branch for establishing policies, priorities, and objectives for the Federal Government's comprehensive effort to enlist, equip, enable, empower, and expand the work of community-serving organizations, both faith-based and secular, to the extent permitted by law.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/02/14/executive-order-on-the-establishment-of-the-white-house-office-of-faith-based-and-neighborhood-partnerships/
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/14/fact-sheet-president-biden-reestablishes-the-white-house-office-of-faith-based-and-neighborhood-partnerships/

FACT SHEET: President Biden Reestablishes the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
February 14, 2021 • Statements and Releases

Biden-Harris administration commits to promoting partnerships with faith-based and neighborhood organizations to help people in need; announces Melissa Rogers as Executive Director and Josh Dickson as Deputy Director

Today, President Biden is signing an executive order reestablishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, which will promote partnerships with religious and secular organizations to better serve people in need. As our country grapples with a global pandemic, a severe economic downturn, the scourge of systemic racism, an escalating climate crisis and profound polarization, President Biden knows that civil society partnerships are essential to meeting such challenges.

Twenty years ago, President George W. Bush established the first White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. As President Bush said, government cannot be replaced by the efforts of religious and other community organizations, but government "can and should welcome [such organizations] as partners." In 2009, the Obama-Biden administration continued this initiative, while also putting its own stamp on its name, practices, and policies. For example, this office helped prevent foreclosure amidst the housing crisis by sharing information with more than 50,000 faith-based and community stakeholders on mortgage refinancing and scam prevention; increase the number of summer meals served to kids for a total of more than 1.2 billion summer meals served; assist communities in responding to and recovering from disasters; and train diverse faith leaders on protecting their houses of worship.

At a time of great challenge and opportunity, the Biden-Harris administration is re-launching this bipartisan initiative. The Partnerships Office's initial work will include collaborating with civil society to: address the COVID-19 pandemic and boost economic recovery; combat systemic racism; increase opportunity and mobility for historically disadvantaged communities; and strengthen pluralism. The office will also support agency partnerships that advance the United States Government's diplomatic, international development, and humanitarian work around the world. All of this work will be done in ways that respect cherished constitutional guarantees.

Leading the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will be Melissa Rogers, who will serve as the office's Executive Director and as Senior Director for Faith and Public Policy in the White House Domestic Policy Council. Melissa has been a leader on these issues for decades, including serving from 2013-2017 as Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in the Obama-Biden Administration.

Josh Dickson, White House Senior Advisor for Public Engagement, will serve as the office's Deputy Director. He will be a key interlocutor with faith communities and other stakeholders. Josh previously served as National Faith Engagement Director for Biden for President, and was Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Commerce during the Obama-Biden Administration. Trey Baker, who previously served as the National Director of African American Engagement for Biden for President and is currently a White House Senior Advisor for Public Engagement, will serve as the office's liaison to Black communities, including Black faith communities. The Partnerships Office will work hand in hand with the wider White House Office of Public Engagement's constituency outreach initiatives to engage and partner with stakeholders of all backgrounds and beliefs in its efforts to serve individuals and communities in need. The team will also work with closely with staff in agency Centers for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to execute the objectives outlined in today's executive order.

"There are not Democrats or Republicans dying from this pandemic, or losing their jobs, going hungry and facing eviction in this economic crisis, or facing the sting of systemic racism or the brunt of the climate crisis," said President Biden. "They are fellow human beings. They are fellow Americans. And this is not a nation that can, or will, simply stand by and watch the suffering around us. That is not who we are. That is not what faith calls us to be. That is why I'm reestablishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to work with leaders of different faiths and backgrounds who are the frontlines of their communities in crisis and who can help us heal, unite, and rebuild. We still have many difficult nights to endure. But we will get through them together and with faith guiding us through the darkness and into the light."

The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will be an essential part of the Biden-Harris administration's plan to bring people of all backgrounds and beliefs together to meet our challenges, perfect our union, and restore the soul of our country. Specifically, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will work with civil society partners to:

Address the Covid-19 Pandemic and Boost Economic Recovery
By working with diverse civil society organizations, the Partnerships Office will help more Americans get facts about COVID-19 and vaccinations, and support economic recovery efforts. Faith and community leaders are frequently anchors of their neighborhoods due to the services they provide and the trust and respect they command, enabling them to effectively reach the most vulnerable.

Combat Systemic Racism
The Partnerships Office will work closely with organizations and community leaders to tackle systemic racism and other forms of bias. Whether it is health, education, economic opportunity, housing, or the criminal justice system, racial and other disparities abound, and it will take an all-hands-on-deck effort to fix these problems. The Partnerships Office is committed to making equity a top priority and working with stakeholders from all beliefs and backgrounds in pursuit of a more just and equitable society.

Increase Opportunity and Mobility for Historically Disadvantaged Communities
The Biden-Harris administration has made a firm commitment to serving vulnerable communities and people in need, and the Partnerships Office will play an important role in this work. From supporting immigrants and welcoming refugees to addressing childhood hunger to helping minority-owned and rural small businesses grow and thrive, the Partnerships Office will focus much of its programmatic efforts on these key administration priorities.

Advance International Development and Global Humanitarian Work
U.S. agencies' partnerships will also serve people around the world. Whether it is promoting child and maternal health or defusing conflicts, these partnerships are vital for the success and effectiveness of the United States' diplomatic, international development, and global humanitarian work.

Strengthen Pluralism and Respect Constitutional Guarantees
A key commitment of the Partnerships Office is embracing pluralism. At its best, the United States is not only a country with remarkable peace across our religious differences, it is a nation where people of diverse faiths and beliefs regularly make common cause. When Methodists and Muslims, Buddhists and Baptists, Sikhs and Secular Humanists serve together, we strengthen one another and we strengthen America. As part of this commitment, the Partnerships Office will work to protect the right to practice faith without fear, implementing promises President-elect Biden made about safeguarding faith communities that are at risk of discrimination, harassment, and hate-based acts of violence and vandalism.

Fundamental to these goals is respecting our cherished guarantees of church-state separation and freedom for people of all faiths and none, as the executive order notes. The Partnerships Office, for example, will not prefer one faith over another or favor religious over secular organizations. Instead, it will work with every willing partner to promote the common good, including those who have differences with the Administration. As President Biden has repeatedly said, he will be president for all Americans. In addition to advancing collaborative efforts to serve people in need, the White House Partnerships Office will develop and coordinate the Administration's policy agenda regarding faith-based and other community organizations.

###
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Murkowski's "come and take it" attitude toward potential primary challengers is such a stark contrast to the other members (and not only Republicans!) who operate as though getting primaried is a death sentence

In the U.S. more than 1.5 million doses of the vaccine are being administered a day, on average. About 34.7 million people have received at least one dose and about 11.2 million people have been fully vaccinated. See a state-by-state rollout, here:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/covid-19-vaccine-doses.html

The folks claiming that Republicans will now "move on" from Trump are smoking something. These folks are not speaking with Republican base voters. I speak with these voters. Every day. All day. For decades. They are devoted to Trump & Trumpism. All of them. Still. No matter what Mitch says.

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https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/murkowski-votes-to-convict-president-donald-j-trump

02.14.21

Murkowski Votes to Convict President Donald J. Trump

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) issued the following statement after voting to convict President Donald J. Trump on charges of "incitement of insurrection" over the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol:

"On January 13, when the U.S. House of Representatives impeached former President Donald J. Trump for a second time, I committed to upholding my oath as a U.S. Senator—to listen to each side impartially, review all the facts, and then decide how I would vote. I have done that and after listening to the trial this past week, I have reached the conclusion that President Trump's actions were an impeachable offense and his course of conduct amounts to incitement of insurrection as set out in the Article of Impeachment.

"The facts make clear that the violence and desecration of the Capitol that we saw on January 6 was not a spontaneous uprising. President Trump had set the stage months before the 2020 election by stating repeatedly that the election was rigged, casting doubt into the minds of the American people about the fairness of the election. After the election, when he lost by 7 million votes, he repeatedly claimed that the election was stolen and subjected to widespread fraud. At the same time, election challenges were filed in dozens of courts. Sixty-one different courts – including many judges nominated by President Trump himself – ruled against him.

"President Trump did everything in his power to stay in power. When the court challenges failed, he turned up the pressure on state officials and his own Department of Justice. And when these efforts failed, he turned to his supporters. He urged his supporters to come to Washington, D.C. on January 6 to 'Stop the Steal' of an election that had not been stolen. The speech he gave on that day was intended to stoke passions in a crowd that the President had been rallying for months. They were prepared to march on the Capitol and he gave them explicit instructions to do so.

"When President Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol, breached both chambers of Congress, and interrupted the certification of Electoral College votes, he took no action for hours. The evidence presented at the trial was clear: President Trump was watching events unfold live, just as the entire country was. Even after the violence had started, as protestors chanted 'Hang Mike Pence' inside the Capitol, President Trump, aware of what was happening, tweeted that the Vice President had failed the country. Vice President Pence was attempting to fulfill his oath and his constitutional duty with the certification of Electoral College votes.

"After the storm had calmed, the President endorsed the actions of the mob by tweeting, 'These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!' This message, in defense of only himself, came nearly four hours after the attack on the Capitol began. President Trump allowing the violence to go on for hours without any clear directive or demand for peace – his intentional silence – cost Americans their lives. President Trump was not concerned about the Vice President; he was not concerned about members of Congress; he was not concerned about the Capitol Police. He was concerned about his election and retaining power. While I supported subpoenaing witnesses to help elucidate for the American people President Trump's state of mind during the riot, both his actions and lack thereof establish that.

"If months of lies, organizing a rally of supporters in an effort to thwart the work of Congress, encouraging a crowd to march on the Capitol, and then taking no meaningful action to stop the violence once it began is not worthy of impeachment, conviction, and disqualification from holding office in the United States, I cannot imagine what is. By inciting the insurrection and violent events that culminated on January 6, President Trump's actions and words were not protected free speech. I honor our constitutional rights and consider the freedom of speech as one of the most paramount freedoms, but that right does not extend to the President of the United States inciting violence.

"Before someone assumes the office of the presidency, they are required to swear to faithfully execute the office of the President and to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. President Trump – the nation's elected leader, the Commander in Chief of our armed forces – swore an oath to defend America and all that we hold sacred. He failed to uphold that oath.

"One positive outcome of the horrible events on January 6, was that hours after the Capitol was secured, on January 7, at 4:00 a.m., Congress fulfilled our responsibility to the U.S. Constitution and certified the Electoral College results. We were able to do that because of brave men and women who fulfilled their oath to protect and defend Congress. I regret that Donald Trump was not one of them."
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YEP: "If months of lies, organizing a rally of supporters in an effort to thwart the work of Congress, encouraging a crowd to march on the Capitol, and then taking no meaningful action to stop the violence once it began is not worthy of impeachment, conviction, and disqualification from holding office in the United States, I cannot imagine what is. By inciting the insurrection and violent events that culminated on January 6, President Trump's actions and words were not protected free speech. I honor our constitutional rights and consider the freedom of speech as one of the most paramount freedoms, but that right does not extend to the President of the United States inciting violence.
https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/murkowski-votes-to-convict-president-donald-j-trump

_____________________

(terrible response, better for Biden to continue to remain silent on Trump)

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/13/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-the-senate-vote-in-the-trial-of-donald-trump/

Statement by President Joe Biden on the Senate Vote in the Trial of Donald Trump
February 13, 2021 • Statements and Releases

It was nearly two weeks ago that Jill and I paid our respects to Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who laid in honor in the Rotunda after losing his life protecting the Capitol from a riotous, violent mob on January 6, 2021.

Today, 57 Senators – including a record 7 Republicans – voted to find former President Trump guilty for inciting that deadly insurrection on our very democracy. The Senate vote followed the bipartisan vote to impeach him by the House of Representatives. While the final vote did not lead to a conviction, the substance of the charge is not in dispute. Even those opposed to the conviction, like Senate Minority Leader McConnell, believe Donald Trump was guilty of a "disgraceful dereliction of duty" and "practically and morally responsible for provoking" the violence unleashed on the Capitol.

Tonight, I am thinking about those who bravely stood guard that January day. I'm thinking about all those who lost their lives, all those whose lives were threatened, and all those who are still today living with terror they lived through that day. And I'm thinking of those who demonstrated the courage to protect the integrity of our democracy – Democrats and Republicans, election officials and judges, elected representatives and poll workers – before and after the election.

This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must be ever vigilant. That violence and extremism has no place in America. And that each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans, and especially as leaders, to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.

That is how we end this uncivil war and heal the very soul of our nation. That is the task ahead. And it's a task we must undertake together. As the United States of America.

###
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The Nazi party did the same thing after Hitler first failed coup and Hitler went to prison the Nazi party continued to grow as a party in the German government up until hitlers rise to power. It's the same concept just happening in America.

The LA GOP formally censured Sen. Bill Cassidy today. Interesting side note: When I was on the staff of US Senator Bennett Johnston, we asked the LA Republican Party to censure our opponent, David Duke, because he had literally been a self-professed Klansman. They refused.
https://twitter.com/DrRobertCollins/status/1360789994147901444

The NFL fined #Bucs CB Antoine Winfield Jr. $7,815 for mocking Tyreek Hill's signature peace sign after a late fourth-down stop in Tampa Bay's Super Bowl win.
https://twitter.com/TomPelissero/status/1360673685275889668

Westbrook is bewildered by his airballed free throw
https://streamable.com/nwgfo1

Mitch McConnell refused to take up the Articles of Impeachment even though the Constitution requires the Senate to immediately take up Articles of Impeachment, then oted to acquit on the grounds that Trump couldn't be tried after he left office. And then after aquitting, said he's guilty as fuck. Absolute terrorist. The guy who said that a president can't appoint a Supreme Court justice in the last year of their term, then confirmed a Supreme Court justice in last days of Republican president's term.

CREW: The Office of Special Counsel referred ex-Trump official Lynne Patton to the Merit Systems Protection Board for disciplinary action after she violated the Hatch Act by filming a video with NYC Housing Authority residents to air at the RNC and lying to the tenants about it.
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1361042527676030977

India government arrests 21 year old for sharing a Google doc tweeted by Greta Thunberg on farmers protests
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-56060232

500+ Scientists Demand Stop to Tree Burning as Climate Solution
https://www.ecowatch.com/scientists-demand-stop-burning-trees-2650534163.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1

Tanks on streets of Myanmar city prompt US embassy warning
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/14/tanks-on-streets-of-myanmar-city-prompt-us-embassy-warning

Guinea declares new Ebola outbreak
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-ebola-guinea/guinea-declares-new-ebola-outbreak-idUSKBN2AE08L

A top Guinea health official said Sunday that the country has plunged into an Ebola "epidemic situation" with seven cases confirmed in the West African nation, including three deaths
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210214-guinea-faces-ebola-epidemic-health-chief-says

Archaeologists Have Found the Roman Emperor Hadrian's Palatial Breakfast Chamber, Where He Dined Before Servants on a Marble Throne
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/hadrians-villa-breakfast-chamber-discovered-1943014

Dozens were killed in overnight clashes in Yemen as Iran-backed Houthi "rebels" intensified attacks to seize the government's last northern stronghold. Earlier this month, the Houthis resumed an offensive to seize oil-rich Marib, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of the capital Sanaa
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210214-dozens-killed-in-overnight-clashes-in-northern-yemen-govt-sources

Texas House Democrats launch climate, environment caucus with one goal: talk about climate change in the legislature
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/10/texas-democrats-climate-environment-caucus/

Anne Feeney, Fierce and Tireless Protest Singer, Dies at 69. She quit her legal career to play music full time, performing more than 4,000 shows over 30 years in union halls and punk bars and on picket lines.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/obituaries/anne-feeney-dead-coronavirus.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milford_Graves
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Clark
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mourid_Barghouti

The Biden admin plans to expand DHS grants to study and try to prevent domestic violent extremism, as part of a departmentwide effort to make combating the kind of violence seen at the Capitol "a top priority."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/biden-dhs-plans-expand-grants-studying-preventing-domestic-violent-extremism-n1257550

In a backlash to historic voter turnout in the 2020 general election...legislators have introduced well over four times the number of bills to restrict voting access as compared to roughly this time last year
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-2021-0

Is anyone else still a bit frustrated at how Justin Turner celebrated with teammates after testing positive for COVID-19 and got away with it? Turner just re-signed with the Dodgers for two years. While the initial backlash of the COVID-19 incident was heavy, it was surprising that the MLB didn't discipline him in any way and he was able to go on with life as normal. He put people's lives in danger and got away without even a slap on the wrist because no one actually died or tested positive for COVID-19. This is a terrible precedent from baseball and something that hopefully the public doesn't forget - both in terms of Turner's terrible decision and the way the league handled it.

Westbrook Tonight: 6/19 FG, 0/2 from 3, 1/3 from FT, 13 points

Mars, Nestlé and Hershey to face child slavery lawsuit in US
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/12/mars-nestle-and-hershey-to-face-landmark-child-slavery-lawsuit-in-us

Sawfish have disappeared from half of the world's coastal waters
http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/sawfish-have-disappeared-from-half-of-the-world-s-coastal-waters/article/585487

Rozier stymies Drew Eubanks with the hesi and lays it inHighlight

LaMelo behind the back to monk, who returns the favor
https://streamable.com/iqomfa

Kevin Durant will miss at least the next two games with a left hamstring strain
https://twitter.com/malika_andrews/status/1361114352435286017

Melo throws it down to beat the first quarter buzzer
https://streamable.com/ylx8vs

Spurs drop 47 points in the 2nd quarter after a 16 point deficit

Dame gets past Finney-Smith, then makes a high-arching layup over Porzingis' block attempt
https://streamable.com/hv558c

Kawhi Leonard (Left Lower Leg Contusion) has been ruled out tonight vs Cavs
https://twitter.com/notoriousohm/status/1361118553663971328

A scrum for the ball leads to a circus shot from Derrick WhiteHighlight
https://streamable.com/tebu9x

Anthony Edwards throws down the two-handed jam on Chris Boucher
https://streamable.com/08mo75

Mike Conley is out for tomorrow's game against the Sixers (right hamstring tightness).
https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/1361130951099568128

Luka makes his 3rd three pointer in a row
https://streamable.com/q4y2db

Lillard drills the 3 in Finney-Smith's face to give the Blazers the lead with 32.4 seconds left
https://streamable.com/51d1uc

Slo-mo replay of Facundo Campazzo's assist flying very close to Kyle Kuzma's face
https://streamable.com/guoj3u

Lakers All-Star Anthony Davis re-aggravated his right Achilles tendonosis and there's some swelling. He will get an MRI on Monday.
http://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1361175904110718976

Luka Doncic in tonights loss against the Trail Blazers: 44 pts, 7 Rebs, 9 Asts, 14-20 shooting, 5-8 from 3

The Denver Nuggets (15-11) defeat the Los Angeles Lakers (21-7), 122-103.

Chimezie Metu throws it down on Jonas Valanciunas, then rides on himHighlight
https://streamable.com/4exr5j

The Denver Nuggets are the First Team to Beat Both the Lakers and the Jazz

The Detroit Pistons dare Lonzo Ball to shoot the wide open 3
https://streamable.com/ab4oz9

Damian Lillard in tonights win against the Dallas Mavericks: 34 pts, 3 Rebs, 11 Asts, 12-26 fg and 5-11 from 3

Justin Jackson hits the deep 3 as the shot clock runs out to put the Thunder up 5 late
https://streamable.com/iynjdm

Nikola Jokic Tonight: 23/16/10 on 8/17 shooting, 1/5 from three and 6/6 from the line

Melo finds Jones Jr to put the Blazers up 3 with 6.9 left
https://streamable.com/jya1qe

Darius Bazley finds a seam through the Bucks' defense and gets a monster slam
https://streamable.com/7746l3

Devin Booker Tonight: 27/4/6 on 10/16 Shooting, 1/3 from Three and 6/7 from the line

Patrick Beverley shoots the 3 pointer and then turns to the Cavs bench before it goes in
https://streamable.com/a45vi2

Al Horford in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks tonight: 20 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists (0 TOs), on 8-16 shooting and a game high +10.

Jamal Murray using some crafty moves to get past AD
https://streamable.com/sd728t

Jaylen Brown loses the ball and Westbrook slams on the fastbreak
https://streamable.com/ggr201

Disjecta Membra

Monday, February 8, 2021

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