Two members of the Iowa State crew club are dead after the boat they were rowing capsized during practice, plunging the five team members into frigid waters Sunday night, USA Today reports.

The team was practicing on Little Wall Lake, a 239-acre lake with a depth generally around 6 to 9 feet, but as deep as 13 feet in some areas.  The weather at the lake on Sunday was windy, with average windspeed at 20-25 m.p.h.  The water was choppy with a reported temperature of 37 degrees Fahrenheit.

Two members of the crew were able to swim to the shores of the lake, while a third was picked up by a kayaker.  Rescuers found the body of the fourth Sunday night, while the body of the second victim was not discovered until Monday.  The three surviving rowers had been treated at a local hospital and released. 

Washington Post: “On Sunday evening, CNN aired a special featuring interviews with the senior officials involved in the early coronavirus pandemic response under president Donald Trump. No longer operating under the Trump political umbrella, they offered assessments of the past year that lacked any soothing veneer. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House response under Trump, expressed her belief that the deaths that occurred after the first wave of infections last spring were largely preventable. It’s a sentiment that matches recent research but was at odds with the sanitization practices of the Trump White House to which Birx had so often adhered. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top epidemiologist, suggested it was government experts, not Trump, who had decided to push forward quickly on a vaccine to combat the virus in January 2020. That was months before the administration rolled out Operation Warp Speed, its push for vaccine development.”

“The former president got his say this weekend, too. He spoke for several minutes on Saturday night, excoriating the administration of President Biden in defense of his own. The venue? A wedding at his private club in Florida. It is always the case that presidents want to shape their legacies. No president wants to be Warren G. Harding, pilloried by history when he’s remembered at all. Much better to be a Franklin D. Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan, legacies sitting on real foundations that have been carefully tended over time. One has to assume that for Trump, always so keenly attuned to public perceptions of him, the drive to be remembered in a specific light is even stronger. Yet Trump is perhaps uniquely poorly positioned to frame his own legacy.”

In a move to help develop wind power as a sustainable energy source, the Biden Administration has designated an offshore area from New York’s Long Island to the New Jersey coast a “priority wind zone,” allowing wind turbines to be constructed there, the New York Times reports.

The construction in the area, known as the New York Bight, will be part of the $3 trillion economic recovery plan and will help strengthen the nation’s power grid, weenning a key economic region off fossil fuels.  The administration also announced $3 billion in loan guarantees to boost wind power.

The Biden Administration also will announce a goal of having 30,000 megawatts of electricity generated by offshore wind turbines in the United States by 2030, a process it says will create 75,000 jobs.  It will come as part of a plan to strengthen US port developments and improvements and waterway travel.

“The documentary last night seems to be a bunch of people trying to settle scores against President Trump…not one time did the president ever say, your recommendation, I’m not going to go with it. That didn’t happen…Dr. Birx needs to walk back her comments” – Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows via Politico White House correspondent Meredith McGraw.

Republican Kelly Tshibaka, the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Administration, has resigned her government position and announced her plans to run for the US Senate seat currently held by Republican Lisa Murkowski, the Associated Press reports.

Murkowski, a Senator since 2002 when her father appointed her to finish out his term when he resigned his seat to become Alaska governor, irked many in the GOP by voting to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial.  Voting to convict Trump earned her a censure from the Alaska Republican Party.

Tshibaka said in a statement she is running for the Senate she is running “for the Alaskans who believe government is of the people, by the people and for the people. The D.C. insiders need to be held accountable to us.”

L. Lin Wood, the attorney working with Sidney “The Kraken” Powell to undermine the 2020 election, has announced plans to run for the chairmanship of the South Carolina Republican Party, the Washington Post reports.

Himself embroiled in a voter fraud allegation for voting in Georgia when he resided in South Carolina, Wood rankled many in Republican circles for urging voters not to vote in the January Georgia Senate runoffs because, he falsely claimed, the outcome of the election was already determined through fraud.

Sarasota Herald Tribune: “An Englewood man belonging to the Florida Chapter of the Oath Keepers organization who was charged with storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 says he is struggling to cope with jail and has asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling that would keep him there until the start of his trial. Graydon Young, 54, has been in jail following his arrest on Feb. 15. Young ‘had been duped by an organization he didn’t fully understand,’ defense attorney Robert Foley argued in court. In a motion filed earlier this week, Young’s attorney said his client should be released because of his ‘strong character’ and the ‘psychological burdens’ he has endured since being jailed. Young is described by his attorney as a ‘family man’ who has never been jailed before. ‘The psychological burdens of being detained pending trial are very real for Mr. Young,’ defense attorney Robert Foley wrote in his motion. ‘Since he has no previous experience with the criminal justice system, being detained is taking an extremely high toll on his mental well-being.'”

“On Jan. 6, Young and nine other members of the Florida Chapter of the Oath Keepers, a large but loosely organized far-right militia, ‘planned with each other, and with others known and unknown, to forcibly enter the Capitol,’ according to an indictment filed in the U.S. District Court. The effort was meant to ‘stop, delay and hinder the Congressional proceedings occurring that day.’ The group, which includes his sister Laura Steele, ‘prepared themselves for battle before heading to the Capitol by equipping themselves with communication devices and donning reinforced vests, helmets and goggles,’ prosecutors said. All nine face charges for conspiring to obstruct the U.S. Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential election results by storming the Capitol building on Jan. 6. Young, who served seven years in the U.S. Navy Reserve, is also being charged with destroying evidence. He deleted his social media accounts – where he posted photos and videos of the siege – in the days following the Capitol riot.”

“After more than five hours of public testimony, largely in opposition, a Texas Senate committee advanced a wide-ranging elections bill Friday night that would further tighten the state’s already restrictive voting rules and clamp down on local efforts to make it easier to vote. Senate Bill 7 – one of Texas Republicans’ priority elections bills – would limit extended early voting hours, prohibit drive-thru voting and allow partisan poll watchers to record voters who receive help filling out their ballots. It would also forbid local election officials from encouraging voters to fill out applications to vote by mail, even if they qualify. They also would not be able to proactively send out applications to voters who do not request them – a practice that is commonly used by political parties. Some Texans would also have to provide proof of disability to qualify for mail-in voting. SB 7, which was offered under the banner of ‘election integrity,’ sailed out of the GOP-dominated Senate State Affairs Committee on a party-line vote and now heads to the full Senate.”

“The bill is a significant piece in a broader legislative effort by Texas Republicans this year to enact sweeping changes to elections in the state that would scale up already restrictive election rules. In presenting the bill to the committee Friday, Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes described the legislation as an effort to strike a balance between ‘maintaining fair and honest elections with the opportunity to exercise one’s right to vote.’ But the bill was met with a chorus of opposition. Advocates for people with disabilities and voting rights advocates tagged the proof-of-disability requirement as harmful and potentially unlawful. The bill was also widely panned as detrimental to local efforts that would widen access to voting, particularly extended early voting hours and drive-thru voting offered in Harris County in November” – Texas Tribune.

CNBC: “The Ever Given, the massive container ship that became wedged in the Suez Canal and cut off traffic in the vital waterway for almost a week, has been refloated, authorities said Monday. The ship is currently on its way to Great Bitter Lake, according to Leth Agencies, which is a transit agent at the Suez Canal. Once there, it will undergo a technical inspection. Earlier on Monday the Suez Canal Authority said the ship had ‘responded to the pulling and towing maneuvers’ and had corrected its course by 80%.”

“CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has signed an extension to the eviction moratorium further preventing the eviction of tenants who are unable to make rental payments. The moratorium that was scheduled to expire on March 31, 2021 is now extended through June 30, 2021.The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation’s public health.Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings – like homeless shelters – by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19” – CDC statement via ABC News.

Washington Post: “The balloting in the high-stakes, high-profile union election at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama ends Monday, but the final tally may take days, or even weeks or months, to determine. More than 5,800 workers at the e-commerce giant’s Bessemer, Ala., warehouse are choosing whether to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The union drive has mushroomed into one of the most important labor battles in recent history, even drawing the attention of President Biden, who tweeted a video late last month saying workers should be able to make their decision in union elections without pressure from the company. But it won’t be decided quickly. The first step is to count the votes, and there are several opportunities in that process for both Amazon and the union to contest results. They could challenge whether a ballot was properly signed, whether it’s real or even if the worker who cast it is legitimate.”

“‘That’s not the end of the story, though,’ said Alexander Colvin, dean of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. After the counting is done, the losing side could challenge the results through the National Labor Relations Board or in court, which could delay the outcome for weeks if not longer. (Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) The vote is Amazon’s first in the United States since 2014. A victory by the union could spark organizing campaigns at Amazon facilities around the world and has already led to more than 1,000 of Amazon’s U.S. workers contacting the RWDSU to see what it might take to start an organizing drive at their facilities. ‘The size of this facility and the fact that it’s Amazon makes this stand out,’ said Rebecca Givan, a labor studies professor at Rutgers University.The tallying of worker ballots begins at the NLRB’s Birmingham, Ala., office at 10 a.m. local time Tuesday, and will be conducted virtually, with Amazon and the RWDU allowed four observers each to tune into the count.”

“Republicans, especially men, are among the most reluctant to receive a COVID vaccine, Iowa and national polls show. That runs counter to the dominant narrative that minority groups are the most hesitant, as explored last week in a New York Times podcast. Individuals who aren’t vaccinated face increased health risks, but the reluctance also affects the wider goal to reach herd immunity. As Iowa opens vaccine eligibility to all adults next week, the state is quickly approaching a point where it’ll soon shift its vaccination focus to those who have declined earlier opportunities. 41% of Iowa Republicans don’t plan to be vaccinated compared with 8% of Democrats and 30% of independents, according to an Iowa Poll published by the Des Moines Register.”

“Among those groups, men lead in reluctancy. Polk County Republican Party Chairwoman Gloria Mazza, who recovered from COVID and had a friend who died from it, doesn’t plan to push for vaccinations among her group, arguing that peoples’ concerns about potential unknown consequences must be respected. ‘I’m not a rebel by any means. I know this stuff is real. I’ve lived it, but I also believe strongly in personal choice'” – Axios.

Reuters: “Chinese officials on Monday said Sweden’s H&M and other foreign companies should not make rash moves or step into politics after the companies raised concerns about forced labour in Xinjiang, sparking a furious online backlash and boycotts. H&M, Burberry, Nike, Adidas and other Western brands have been hit by consumer boycotts in China since last week over comments about their sourcing of cotton in Xinjiang. The growing rift comes as the United States and other Western governments increase pressure on China over suspected human rights abuses in the region.”

“‘I don’t think a company should politicize its economic behaviour,’ said Xu Guixiang, a Xinjiang government spokesman, at a news conference on Monday morning. ‘Can H&M continue to make money in the Chinese market? Not anymore.’ ‘To rush into this decision and get involved in the sanctions is not reasonable. It’s like lifting a stone to drop it on one’s own feet,’ he said.”

The mega-container ship, the Ever Given, a ship the size of a skyscraper, has been partially refloated from the canal bank and floor, raising the possibility that the Suez Canal could be clear soon to allow general traffic, the Associated Press reports, even as the ominous inevitability of high tide receding looms.

The Ever Given became lodge in the canal, reportedly after it lost power and drifted sideways in the waterway, lodging itself across the width of the canal and blocking shipping traffic.  Approximately 300 ships are awaiting the ship’s clearance so they can transit the canal.  Dozens more had already set off the round the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

Using a combination of dredgers to vacuum up soil under the ship and tugboats to maneuver the cargo ship, engineers were able to get enough clearance to partially refloat the ship.  They may still need to remove some of the ship’s 20,000 containers to safely refloat the boat and get it back safely in the water.

Washington Post: “Any truly democratic system should make it as easy as possible to exercise one’s right to vote while maintaining the system’s integrity. H.R. 1 understands that we’ve succeeded remarkably well on the latter count, and focuses instead on the former, by reducing restrictions that have no practical effect except making it more difficult for some Americans to vote. The question is whether there are 50 members of the Senate Democratic caucus who recognize the importance of this remedy. Most otherwise pro-filibuster senators, such as Angus King (I-Maine), realize that ‘all-out opposition to reasonable voting rights protections cannot be enabled by the filibuster.’ But Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) continues to insist that he’ll need bipartisan support before he will back the whole bill, leaving it one vote short.”

“In the short term, other Democrats can still indulge Manchin’s naivete and expand voting rights. While H.R. 1 is up in the air, the Senate is also considering House-passed legislation to restore the Voting Rights Act, which was renewed numerous times on a bipartisan basis until a conservative Supreme Court gutted it in 2013. If, as one suspects, Republicans now declare the Voting Rights Act a partisan horror, perhaps the scales will fall from the West Virginian’s eyes. But in the longer term, Democrats must, perversely, take heart from the size of the GOP’s distortions. That Republicans’ excuses for inaction are (even by GOP standards) so thin shows the scale of the problem; that they are so panicked about H.R. 1 bodes well for its effectiveness when finally passed. The battle for voting rights is long, but it is well worth winning.”

“A suspect is in custody after firing at park rangers in Florida’s Everglades National Park on Sunday, officials said. The Everglades National Park reported an active shooter at the park who shot at park rangers ‘unprovoked.’ The tweet identifies the suspect as a 33-year-old white man. The national park called on visitors and residents in Flamingo, Fla., to shelter in place, noting the main park road was closed ‘for public safety.’ Federal, state and local law enforcement are searching for the suspect. The national park said there were no injuries to report as 8:40 pm” reports The Hill.

Since the suspect has already been identified as Caucasian, it rules out a Black gang member, but there’s still a chance he could be an Antifa socialist, so we’re going with that in the headline. Or if the MAGA kids are lucky, he’s a Muslim convert who swore allegiance to ISIS. But it’s Antifa for now. Even in the likely event that we find out he’s a right winger, he’ll still be an Antifa fifth columnist staging a false flag attack to make Trump voters look bad.

This right here is how we’re going to attract more Conservative readership at National Zero, by jumping to conclusions about the political motivations of a crazed gunman in absence of information – and when we’re right we win. When we’re wrong, we still win because we’ll always leave ample room for some Soros conspiracy theory to explain it. And if the evidence is really overwhelming that this attack was inspired by Trumpist rhetoric, we’ll just blame it on mental illness or violent video games or whatever. But no matter what happens, the MAGA-friendly headlines like this appearing here will just sucker the Pepe trolls in, and only those that read to the bottom fully will realize that we’re just fucking with them with obnoxious clickbait.

Screenshot of “hot” topic on QAnon fan site GreatAwakening.win, posted Sunday morning.

Otter Globe and Intelligencer: “I’m sure that anyone who took the trouble to seek out this article is already aware that in the months following the 2020 Presidential election, Republican controlled state legislatures across the country began passing a dizzying array of laws designed to limit voter turnout in elections. The methods employed by these bills to limit access to voting are varied, but there is one theme that recurs in many of these laws: an effort to ‘weaponize voting lines’, by eliminating alternatives to voting on election day such as early voting, absentee ballots and the use of ballot drop boxes. Extended wait times to vote in majority-minority voting districts has been an on-going issue in former Confederate states such as Georgia for some time.”

“The situation is most glaring in major American cities such as Atlanta, where although the city’s population has increased by almost 2 million people since 2013, the number of polling places in the city’s greater metro area has been cut by 10%, with majority-Black city neighborhoods seeing the sharpest cuts. In this article I will enumerate the harms associated with extended wait times for voting, describe how vast disparities in wait times between polling locations within the same metro area constitute a violation of the 14th, 15th and 24th Amendments, and describe a five factor test for determining when there is potential for successful litigation.”