“Jeff Zucker resigned on Wednesday as the president of CNN and the chairman of WarnerMedia’s news and sports division, writing in a memo that he had failed to disclose to the company a romantic relationship with another senior executive at CNN,” the New York Times reports.
Democrats Are Losing the Vaccine Culture War
A.B. Stoddard: “A pandemic Republicans have eagerly prolonged has pummeled Joe Biden’s presidency and he can no longer fight depravity with good will. There are no more marginal vaccine holdouts to be wooed. No more lives of people who just don’t know any better to be saved.”
“It’s time for Democrats to stop worrying about alienating the unvaccinated and start explaining to the rest of the country how the unvaccinated—and the Republicans who coddle and truckle to them—have screwed the rest of us.”
“To win this culture war, Biden and the Democrats have to actually fight it. Otherwise, the Republican Covid radicals are going to clobber them.”
Recreational Weed Sales Soar In Montana
Montana’s recreational cannabis market topped $12.8 million in sales its first month, putting the state on pace to meet the state’s projections of $130 million in sales in 2022, the Helena Independent Record reports.
Key Impeachment Witness Sues Donald Trump
“Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman has sued Donald Trump and several of his allies, including his son Don Jr., over what he describes as a conspiracy to shut him up ahead of his testimony in the former president’s first impeachment trial,” the Daily Beast reports.
The lawsuit describes Trump’s actions as an “intentional, concerted campaign of unlawful intimidation and retaliation against a sitting Director of the National Security Council and decorated military officer.”
Vindman explains his lawsuit in a USA Today op-ed.
Dean Heller Says He Thinks Biden Is Illegitimate
Former Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), who is running for Nevada governor, told the Las Vegas Review Journal that most Nevadans think Joe Biden is an illegitimate president and that he agrees with them.
His campaign later clarified that he meant to say most Republicans in the state think Biden is an illegitimate president.
But Heller wouldn’t say what he discussed when he met with Donald Trump a few weeks ago: “That’s personal. I don’t kiss and tell when it comes to Trump.”
Fourth Kansas Lawmaker Arrested for DUI
Kansas state Rep. Suzi Carlson (R) was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and briefly booked into jail, the Wichita Eagle reports.
She is the fourth state legislator arrested on the charge in the past year.
Stacey Abrams Sets Blistering Fundraising Pace
Stacey Abrams (D) raised more than $9.2 million since entering the race for Georgia governor in December, setting a blistering fundraising pace that eclipsed Gov. Brian Kemp (R), the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Vladimir Putin Moves Closer to War
Axios: “A month of diplomatic talks has achieved nothing. Russia’s alarming military buildup keeps growing. And in his first public comments about the spiraling tensions in over a month, Putin on Tuesday accused the West of goading Russia into a conflict over Ukraine.”
“Between 100,000 and 130,000 Russian troops are now estimated to be stationed on the border with Ukraine, a presence that continues to grow.”
Hawley Wants to Drop U.S. Support for Ukraine in NATO
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) “is calling on the Biden administration to drop longstanding U.S. support for Ukraine’s eventual membership in NATO, arguing that a binding commitment to defend the country would undermine efforts to counter China,” Axios reports.
“Hawley is staking out a position increasingly supported by the Republican base but historically at odds with the mainstream GOP consensus still backed by his Senate colleagues.”
GOP Lawmaker Falsely Said Trudeau Has Fled to America
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) “has twice in the past three days promoted a fictional online rumor that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fled to the United States because of a protest in Ottawa by a group of truck drivers and others opposed to vaccine mandates, Covid-19 restrictions and Trudeau himself,” CNN reports.
“Roy even called for Trudeau, who was not in the US, to be deported.”
Trump Slams Lindsey Graham as a ‘RINO’
Former President Donald Trump ripped Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of his staunchest supporters, telling Newsmax that the senator is a “RINO” for saying that pardoning the Capitol rioters would be “inappropriate.”
Said Trump: “Lindsey’s a nice guy, but he’s a RINO. Lindsey’s wrong… Lindsey Graham doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.”
Biden Orders 3,000 Troops to Bolster European Allies
“President Biden is directing the Pentagon to deploy more than 3,000 American troops to bolster the defense of European allies in the first major movement of U.S. forces in Russia’s military standoff with Ukraine,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Washington Post: “The deployments of U.S. troops from Germany and Fort Bragg, N.C., are temporary moves intended to reassure NATO allies.”
Media Barred From Talk by Justice Gorsuch
“Justice Neil Gorsuch is speaking this weekend to the conservative legal group that boosted his Supreme Court candidacy, in a session at a Florida resort that is closed to news coverage,” the AP reports.
Cable News Has a Serious Ratings Problem
Cable news viewership fell off a cliff in 2021, Fast Company reports.
“So, what’s to blame for the declining viewership numbers? Burnout could have a lot to do with it. There’s only so much unrelenting negative news people can take. Especially when things don’t seem to be getting much better, it’s sometimes just easier to tune out.”
Macron Highly Likely to Be Re-Elected In France
The Economist’s new election forecast suggests that French President Emmanuel Macron’s chance of re-election is 79%.
Historically Black Colleges Targeted by Bomb Threats
“At least 16 historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S. said they received bomb threats Tuesday, disrupting classes or causing them to be canceled,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“So far, no bombs have been found.”
Democrats Make Their Biggest Redistricting Move
Cook Political Report: “The biggest redistricting weapon of 2022 has always been the Empire State, and Democrats are poised to finally use it. On Sunday, New York Democrats unveiled a gerrymander that could expand their lead in the delegation from 19D-8R to 22D-4R — the largest single-state shift in the country.”
“Gov. Kathy Hochul has already said she supports using the redistricting process to give her party more seats.”
Trump-Backed Candidates Struggle to Raise Money
“Former President Trump has been a prolific fundraiser for himself. But in a sign of his diminishing influence within the Republican Party, Trump isn’t seeing his endorsements translate into campaign cash for his most high-profile allies on the campaign trail. It’s becoming clear Donald Trump’s popularity isn’t easily transferable to candidates who aren’t named Trump,” National Journal reports.
“That was the most consequential finding from the fourth-quarter congressional fundraising reports filed Monday, covering the final three months of the 2021 calendar year. In the contested Senate primaries pitting a Trump-endorsed candidate against more-establishment contenders, not a single one of Trump’s picks hit the million-dollar mark this quarter. And several of his highly touted congressional candidates performed dismally among donors in the quarter, with most getting outraised badly against more-mainstream alternatives.”
