“The thunderclap of stories showing Fox News’ role in pushing 2020 election fraud conspiracies and aiding Donald Trump’s campaign has intensified calls among Democrats to black out the network,” Politico reports.
“For years, Democrats have been engaged in a debate over whether the party should shun the cable news giant or grudgingly use its airwaves to run counterprogramming. But in the midst of the latest saga, a newer type of reaction has emerged: that they should sever all ties, including any money spent advertising on the network.”
“I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.”— Donald Trump, in a speech at CPAC.
“Donald Trump has released a song with a choir of men imprisoned in connection to the January 6 Capitol riot,” Insider reports.
“Hundreds of schoolgirls were taken to hospitals across Iran on Saturday, state media reported, as suspected chemical attacks on the country’s girls schools continued,” Bloomberg reports.
“Saturday marked possibly the worst day so far in a wave of unexplained illnesses dating back to November: at least 300 girls in more than a dozen cities were treated for various symptoms of unknown origin, according to reports by state-run and semi-official news agencies.”
“Donald Trump has filed a motion asking a federal judge to prevent his former vice president, Mike Pence, from testifying to a grand jury about specific issues that Mr. Trump is claiming are protected by executive privilege,” the New York Times reports.
“The filing is unsurprising — Mr. Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly sought to assert executive privilege over former aides as a means of blocking testimony — but it underscores how much the Justice Department’s attempts to get Mr. Pence to testify in the investigation into Mr. Trump’s efforts to cling to power may be drawn out.”
“China on Sunday announced a 7.2% increase in its defense budget for the coming year, up slightly from last year’s 7.1% rate of increase,” the AP reports. “That marks the eighth consecutive year of single-digit percentage point increases in what is now the world’s second-largest military budget.”
“The shocking rise in murders that began in the summer of 2020 looks as if it may have played out,” Bloomberg reports. “In the nearly complete tally of 2022 homicide statistics from 93 US cities compiled by AH Datalytics, murder and non-negligent manslaughter was down 5% from the year before.”
“It finally happened. Median home sale prices are lower than they were a year ago for the first time since 2012,” Axios reports. “High mortgage rates have been clobbering the real estate market but prices haven’t budged much, as homeowners are reluctant to sell and give up the low rates they nabbed in an earlier era.”
Gallup: “Sixty-five percent of Americans prefer the U.S. to take the leading (20%) or a major role (45%) in world affairs. This is down from 69% in 2019 and 72% as recently as 2017.”
“The current figure is one percentage point below the prior low from 2011. In almost all years since Gallup first asked the question in 2001, more than seven in 10 Americans have favored a leading or major role for the U.S., including a high of 79% in February 2003.”
“Tensions in Turkey’s opposition coalition boiled over on Friday, just as the six parties were attempting to agree on a candidate to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the most hotly contested elections in his 20-year rule,” Politico reports. “Unless the parties can overcome their grievances in the coming days, the fissure in their camp is likely to play in favor of Erdoğan, who is seen as unusually vulnerable over double-digit inflation, and criticism over his response to devastating earthquakes last month that killed tens of thousands.”
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger’s political organization “is launching a nationwide campaign urging voters to reject extreme candidates on both sides of the aisle ahead of the 2024 election,” Politico reports.
“The centerpiece of the campaign is a nearly six-minute-long short film titled ‘Break Free,’ inspired by Apple’s ‘1984’ Super Bowl ad about escaping the conformity of non-Apple computers. In the political ad’s twist, people are forced to wear blue- and red-tinted goggles showing them divisive images and broadcasts from a ‘Big Brother’-type character until they take them off and escape. A monologue from Kinzinger urges Americans to reject political extremes.”
“President Biden has grown so close to his volunteer muse, Jon Meacham, that he tried to bring the presidential historian into the White House,” Axios reports. “Meacham is preparing to dive into the life of President Dwight Eisenhower for his next book. So a government gig doesn’t appear to be in the cards — but the overture reflects their warm relationship.”
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