The US Capitol Police requested that the National Guard extend its deployment of troops to protect the Capitol grounds for an additional 60 days to provide additional security against threats, the Associated Press reports.

The request becomes public on the day when QAnon conspiracy theorists believe Donald Trump will return to the presidency through a debunked move related to the city of London, England and an 130-year treaty that, they believe, voided the Constitution after the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant.  Now, those same conspiracy theorists are floating the idea that the coup will happen March 20th.

Law enforcement agencies have reported of a “potential plot” to attack the Capitol Thursday which, according to the QAnon conspiracy, will be led by secret members of the military and will begin a period of mass executions of those they deem insufficiently loyal to the Constitutions, starting with Democratic members of Congress.

“US Capitol defendant Richard Barnett – man accused of putting feet on Pelosi’s desk – is *screaming* at attorneys and judge during his court hearing right now. Upset he’s been locked up ‘for a whole month’… ‘it’s not fair’ Judge just recessed hearing for ‘5 mins'” – NBC’s Scott MacFarlane.

The Independent: “Trump’s refusal to acknowledge reality, combined with the increasingly intricate nature of Republican conspiracy mythology – theories that are becoming more intertwined with the flavor of evangelical Christianity that dominates the GOP – that have extremism experts and former Republicans warning the violent movement centered on the 45th president is not going away. In fact, they say, it will most likely become more violent. Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at The Soufan Center who studies extremist violence, said the upheaval wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, the recent presidential election, and the continued prosecution of several overseas wars has created a confluence of circumstances that scholars would consider a perfect incubator for belief in conspiracy theories and apocalyptic mass delusions. ‘It’s not going to get better anytime soon, unfortunately… Conspiratorial thinking is very closely associated with high-anxiety situations and endless wars, elections and national tragedies,’ he said.”

“Moreover, Clarke said there has been a ‘crossover’ between the QAnon systems and evangelical Christianity that is going to imbue right-wing extremism with the sort of violent fanaticism more associated with al-Qaeda or ISIS. ‘Religious terrorism tends to be more lethal, because people believe they’re serving a higher purpose by committing acts of violence, as opposed to secular groups or ethno-nationalists who are fighting over territory or land,’ he explained. ‘You can’t negotiate with these people, and you especially can’t negotiate with QAnon, because how do you assuage grievances that don’t exist?’ Clarke also posited that synergies between QAnon and the American anti-abortion movement – another religiously inspired faction that dominates the GOP – could spark extremist violence in the mould of the string of bombings carried out by Eric Robert Rudolph between 1996 and 1998. Another prominent researcher of extremist movements and disinformation, former GOP Representative Denver Riggleman, said the connections between QAnon and white evangelical Christianity have ‘metastasized’ into something else that is both ‘messianic’ and ‘apocalyptic’.”

“As the election returns rolled in showing President Donald J. Trump winning strong support from blue-collar voters in November while suffering historic losses in suburbs across the country, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, a Republican, declared on Twitter: ‘We are a working class party now. That’s the future.’ And with further results revealing that Mr. Trump had carried 40 percent of union households and made unexpected inroads with Latinos, other Republican leaders, including Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, trumpeted a political realignment. Republicans, they said, were accelerating their transformation into the party of Sam’s Club rather than the country club. But since then, Republicans have offered very little to advance the economic interests of blue-collar workers. Two major opportunities for party leaders to showcase their priorities have unfolded recently without a nod to working Americans. In Washington, as Democrats advance a nearly $2 trillion economic stimulus bill, they are facing universal opposition from congressional Republicans to the package, which is chock-full of measures to benefit struggling workers a full year into the coronavirus pandemic.”

“And at a high-profile, high-decibel gathering of conservatives in Florida last weekend, potential 2024 presidential candidates, including Mr. Hawley and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, scarcely mentioned a blue-collar agenda. They used their turns in the national spotlight to fan grievances about ‘cancel culture,’ to bash the tech industry and to reinforce Mr. Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. Inside and outside the party, critics see a familiar pattern: Republican officials, following Mr. Trump’s own example, are exploiting the cultural anger and racial resentment of a sizable segment of the white working class, but have not made a concerted effort to help these Americans economically. ‘This is the identity conundrum that Republicans have,’ said Carlos Curbelo, a Republican former congressman from Florida, pointing to the universal opposition by House Republicans to the stimulus bill drawn up by President Biden and congressional Democrats. “This is a package that Donald Trump would have very likely supported as president” – New York Times.

CBS News: “Speaking for the first time from jail, the man known as the ‘QAnon Shaman’ told 60 Minutes+ correspondent Laurie Segall he doesn’t think his actions during the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol were an attack on the nation. ‘No, they were not, ma’am. My actions were not an attack on this country. That is incorrect. That is inaccurate, entirely,’ Jacob Chansley said in an excerpt from the interview that aired on ‘CBS This Morning.’ Video allegedly showed Chansley on the Senate floor during the insurrection, bare-chested and wearing a fur helmet with horns.”

“He was arrested shortly after and now faces up to 20 years behind bars. A judge will hear arguments Friday on whether he should be released from jail before trial. Describing his actions on January 6, Chansley said, ‘Well, I sang a song. And that’s a part of shamanism. It’s about- creating positive vibrations in a sacred chamber. I also stopped people from stealing and vandalizing that sacred space, the Senate. Okay? I actually stopped somebody from stealing muffins out of the- out of the break room. And I also said a prayer in that sacred chamber. Because it was my intention to bring divinity, and to bring God back into the Senate.’ ‘But Jake, legally, you were not allowed to be in what you’re calling the sacred chamber,’ Segall said to Chansley.”

RNZ reports the 7.2 magnitude quake was centered on the easter coast of the North Island, southeast of the Capital city Auckland and struck at 2:27 AM local time.

“A number of former Trump political appointees have still not received their lump-sum vacation payouts and required forms that are necessary to file for unemployment benefits as they face a tough job market in a Democratic Washington. While HR headaches are to be expected during a government transition, some former political appointees say they were not warned there would be significant delays. And the problems faced by the seven former appointees POLITICO interviewed appear more acute than during past recent transitions. It’s not clear, however, whether the delays are related to the rocky Trump-Biden transition or a slow federal government bureaucracy that is still working mostly from home” Politico reports.

“Political appointees who stay to the very end of an administration often face a gap between Jan. 20 and when they land their next job, given the time it takes to network, get job interviews and then get a formal offer. Trump appointees face the added problem of job hunting in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot, which made some companies reluctant to hire former Trump appointees, in part because of fear of a backlash. ‘I’m sitting here going, how do I pay my rent? How do I pay my cellphone bill?’ one former Commerce appointee said in an interview. Another former Trump Commerce official said: ‘I have enough money to make it a month, but when rent’s due next month, what happens then? Rent in D.C. isn’t cheap.’ Besides the vacation payouts, at least three former Commerce appointees haven’t gotten their separation packets that contain a document called the SF-50, which allows them to apply for unemployment benefits, according to another former Commerce appointee, who only just received his packet. A Commerce Department spokesperson said in a statement: ‘Commerce’s HR Department is available to past appointees and more than happy to help them finish any outstanding paperwork.'”

Axios: “As small robots proliferate on sidewalks and city streets, so does legislation that grants them generous access rights and even classifies them, in the case of Pennsylvania, as ‘pedestrians.’ Fears of a dystopian urban world where people dodge heavy, fast-moving droids are colliding with the aims of robot developers – including Amazon and FedEx – to deploy delivery fleets.”

“‘The sidewalk is the new hot debated space that the aerial drones were maybe three or five years ago,’ says Greg Lynn, CEO of Piaggio Fast Forward, which makes a suitcase-sized $3,250 robot called gita that follows its owner around. ‘There’s also a lot of people trying to deploy robots on bike lanes’ where the bots can go faster than on sidewalks, he said. States like Pennsylvania, Virginia, Idaho, Florida and Wisconsin have passed what are considered to be liberal rules permitting robots to operate on sidewalks – prompting pushback from cities like Pittsburgh that fear mishaps.”

“Republicans have a message for Donald Trump: stay out of our primary races. As Trump ramps up his revenge tour against the House Republicans who voted to impeach him, GOP lawmakers are sounding the alarm that his attempts to meddle in primaries could hurt the party’s efforts to win back the House next year, especially in critical swing districts in New York, Michigan and California. With just five seats between the GOP and the majority, any one race could determine the balance.”

“The loudest warning shot came Wednesday from Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, who told POLITICO Playbook he planned to urge the former president to refrain from playing in primaries. ‘That’s not going to be helpful,’ he said. ‘It’s probably better for us that we keep these people.’ That’s not to say Republicans don’t see Trump still playing a role in the future of the party. But an increasing number of them from across the conference are echoing Emmer, pleading with Trump to back off even as they simultaneously acknowledge the former commander in chief is a private citizen and can do whatever he wants. ‘We don’t need anything that exacerbates divisions,’ said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), adding that he would ‘prefer’ if Trump doesn’t try to unseat incumbents. ‘We ought to be united and be focused on retaking the majority, and I think settling scores gets in the way of that'” – Politico.

CNN: “Even for a volcanic island accustomed to the occasional tremor, this has been an unusual week for Iceland. According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, around 17,000 earthquakes have hit the southwestern region of Reykjanes over the past week. The largest quake, a magnitude 5.6 on the Richter scale, occurred on the morning of February 24. It was the loudest in a swarm that continues to rattle residents in the nearby capital city of Reykjavík and the municipalities around it, where two-thirds of the Icelandic population lives. Two larger earthquakes – over magnitude 5.0 – also hit on February 27 and March 1. The quakes have caused little damage so far, though Iceland’s Road and Coastal Administration has reported small cracks in roads in the area and rockfalls on steep slopes near the epicenter of the swarm. ‘I have experienced earthquakes before but never so many in a row,’ Reykjavik resident Auður Ólafsdóttir told CNN. ‘It is very unusual to feel the Earth shake 24 hours a day for a whole week. It makes you feel very small and powerless against nature.'”

After these first 43 days, I’m starting to see why no one let Biden do anything meaningful for 47 years.

— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) March 4, 2021

KTVB: “It’s five words that many have likely heard their children or someone arguing in social media comments say; ‘I have done some research.’ That’s also what Representative Karey Hanks (R- St. Anthony) said on Tuesday while speaking in support of a bill that would ban any sort of face mask mandate issued by local governments in Idaho. Republican Gov. Brad Little has never issued a statewide mask mandate, but nine counties and 10 cities have such orders in place. ‘So we live in a republic and we the people should have a voice and a choice about our own health,’ the first-term representative said. ‘I have done some research and would like to share with you the physical and emotional and even mental injuries to our bodies and possibly even our souls as healthy individuals are required to wear face masks.’ Rep. Hanks defended her bill by saying she had done some research and claimed that people forgot other safety precautions when wearing a face mask, like physical distancing and washing hands.”

HR 1, known as the For the People Act, a landmark voting right bill designed to ensure eligible individuals have the ability to vote by barring Republican state efforts to suppress voter turnout, passed the House by a 220-210 vote, mainly along party lines, the New York Times reports.

Widely opposed by Republicans, HR 1 aims at protecting voter rights at a time when Republicans have introduced more than 250 bills in 43 states designed to make it harder for Americans to cast a ballot.

The bill aims to restrict partisan gerrymandering of Congressional districts, ensure people have ample time for early voting, guarantee the opportunity to vote via mail-in ballot, and impose new transparency on dark money used to finance campaigns.

Health system administrators and medical professionals around Texas expressed dismay about a decision by Republican Governor Greg Abbott to reopen the state without any restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus, NBC News reports.

Health care professionals worry about the toll a potential new wave of hospital admissions could have on the already-exhausted staffs of facilities.  Within the past three weeks, the levels of infection in Texas are at the lowest they have been since October, but they’ve seen a spike in the last ten days.

“We have the capacity to take care of more patients,” Dr. James McDeavitt of the Baylor College of Medicine told NBC News. “We have an ample supply of PPE. That means a lot. The more difficult problem is that while many people in Texas experienced the pandemic in waves, there’s been no respite for front-line health care providers. The biggest issue now is morale. Many health care providers fear this could extend the pandemic.”

CBS Dallas-Fort Worth: “ERCOT CEO Bill Magness is being replaced. The Board of Directors for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas voted 6-1 Wednesday night, March 3, to give the CEO 60 days notice per his contract. An executive search firm will be hired to find a replacement. Magness joined ERCOT in 2010, and became ERCOT’s president and chief executive officer in January 2016, according to ERCOT’s web page. Before becoming CEO, Magness served as ERCOT’s general counsel. Magness’ ouster is fallout from the Texas power grid failure during winter storms and historically frigid temperatures two weeks ago”

“The House has passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act by a vote of 220 to 212” reports NBC News political correspondent Geoff Bennett.

The golden idol of Donald Trump that came to exemplify this year’s CPAC conference, held last weekend in Florida, was made in China and imported into the United States, the artist admitted, the Independent UK reports.

Tommy Zegan, the artist behind the graven image of a false god, originally said the statue was made in Mexico, but a business partner of his said the various parts of the statue were made in China and then shipped to Mexico, where it was assembled.

For the record, the statue is made of fiberglass covered in gold-tinted chrome.  Weighing in at 200 pounds, the statue is approximately 100 pounds lighter than the person it depicts.