“Trump’s taxes and underlying tax documents are in the hands of the Manhattan District Attorney. The records include millions of pages of documents” reports MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin.

Daily Beast: “Earlier this week, Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL) spoke in Congress about why passing the Equality Act – which would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation – is very personal to her, as it would offer protections to her transgender daughter. ‘I’m voting yes on the Equality Act for Evie Newman, my daughter and the strongest, bravest person I know,’ she told the House floor. But Newman’s support for her daughter has clearly enraged QAnon-supporting Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who posted a video of herself hanging up an anti-trans poster outside of her office, across the hall from Newman’s. It reads: ‘There are TWO genders MALE & FEMALE. ‘Trust the science!’’ Greene also personally attacked Newman’s daughter, writing: ‘Your biological son does NOT belong in my daughters’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams.’”

Have senators Schumer or Gillibrand of New York weighed in on the terrible accusations regarding NY Gov Andrew Cuomo and the apparent sexual-harassment as well as cover-up of the death of thousands of elderly COVID patients in New York?

If not why has the media not pressed this?

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 25, 2021

Politico: “At least eight 2024 hopefuls will speak at CPAC, the conservative movement’s premier conference this weekend in Florida, giving Republicans their clearest look yet at who’s competing in the traditional GOP presidential lanes. But there’s only one lane that really matters: the one currently occupied by former President Donald Trump. Trump, the keynote speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference, is the party’s undisputed leader at the moment, and for the foreseeable future. And whether he chooses to run again in 2024 or not, his outsized presence is likely to determine the shape of the primary.”

“‘There isn’t a Trump lane. There’s a Trump Turnpike with multiple lanes and multiple people,’ said Chris LaCivita, a veteran GOP strategist who most recently headed the anti-Biden super PAC Preserve America. Conversations with more than a dozen Republican consultants, strategists and officials depict a party over which Trump exerts an irresistible gravitational pull, pointing to his continued strength in polls and the megawatt energy he generates among the GOP grassroots. Trump’s grip on the Republican base and his effect on the minds of White House hopefuls is so total, they say, that the path to the GOP nomination is best defined by the degree of loyalty to Trump – to the point where party operatives reach for elaborate metaphors to best convey the extent of his influence.”

“President Biden called Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on her iPhone hours after she toured the site of a tornado that killed a 14-year-old boy in her state. Biden almost instantly signed disaster declarations sought by Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma. He invited Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to the White House to discuss the coronavirus pandemic. All are Republicans. None are from states Biden came close to winning.”

“In his first five weeks in office, Biden is spending as much time – if not more – courting Republican governors as he is wooing the senators he needs to pass legislation. It is part of a strategy that lays the groundwork to make something of an end-run around Republicans in Congress, who may be resistant to his ideas, as he looks for outside-the-Beltway allies who might help him make good on his promises of bipartisanship. In some cases, Biden and his administration have leaned on state Republican officials to support his policies, including a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that includes $350 billion in funding for cities and states. In other instances, he has opened a more general dialogue, picking up the phone to offer help after a disaster or to engage longtime friends. Governors may be more pragmatic than senators, the White House believes, their desire for funding and other help from Washington making them more open to cooperation” – Washington Post.

AP: “Republicans rallied solidly against Democrats’ proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill as lawmakers awaited a decision by the Senate’s parliamentarian that could bolster or potentially kill a pivotal provision hiking the federal minimum wage. Despite their paper-thin congressional majorities, Democratic leaders were poised to push the sweeping package through the House on Friday. They were hoping the Senate, where changes seem likely, would follow quickly enough to have legislation on President Joe Biden’s desk by mid-March. By late Wednesday, not one Republican in either chamber had publicly said he or she would back the legislation. GOP leaders were honing attacks on the package as a job killer that does too little to reopen schools or businesses shuttered for the pandemic and that was not only wasteful but also even unscrupulous.”

“‘I haven’t seen a Republican yet that’s found something in there that they agree with,’ said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. ‘I think all Republicans believe in three simple things: They want a bill that puts us back to work, back to school and back to health. This bill is too costly, too corrupt and too liberal.’ The hardening opposition suggested that Biden’s first major legislative initiative could encounter unanimous GOP opposition. That was a counterpoint to the new president’s refrain during his campaign about bringing the country together and a replay of the Republican wall that new President Barack Obama encountered in 2009 and most of his administration. Democrats showed no signs of backing down, citing the assistance the measure would spread to people, businesses and state and local governments. ‘If congressional Republicans want to oppose all that, my response is: Good luck,’ Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor.”

“In a South Florida war room, occupied most days by a party of one, a former President of the United States is plotting his return – and his revenge. He typically spends mornings on his nearby golf course, making and taking calls from a golf cart that doubles as his mobile, and self-driven, office. The multiple trips to the links in the last few weeks have served to accomplish a long-promised goal, says someone who spent time with him recently: Donald Trump claims he has increased his drive by 20 yards, a new favorite brag to golfing partners, or anyone who will listen. Eighteen holes later, he leaves his Trump International Golf Club and returns to Mar-a-Lago, where he retreats within his quarters to his own private living space, separate from that of his wife, and ponders two main questions: Who is with him? And who is against him?”

“According to multiple people familiar with Trump’s current habits, who requested anonymity to speak freely to CNN about the former President’s day-to-day focus, his stated goal – barring impact from ongoing criminal investigation – is to run for president again, in 2024. Of course, he has no incentive to rule it out right now – keeping himself in the mix helps sustain his kingmaker role. Looking to flex on 2022, he hopes to prove to both critics and supporters that he is the GOP’s most effective puppeteer. With the tech wizardry of 2021 and Shutterfly’s easy-to-use interface, you can give a gift that’s totally unique to the both of you. His short-term goal includes watching his son Donald Trump Jr., the MAGA base’s fervent mouthpiece, barnstorm his way across the country on behalf of Trump loyalists and supporters for midterms” – CNN.

Washington Post: “Standing on the Capitol steps on Jan. 6, Richard Michetti allegedly took a break from the rioting to argue with his ex-girlfriend over text message. After sending photos and videos of the mob and boasting how he had avoided tear gas, Michetti parroted President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud. ‘If you can’t see the election was stolen you’re a moron,’ Michetti wrote in a text to the woman, according to court documents.”

“The next day, the woman he had insulted promptly told the FBI that her ex was at the Capitol, handing over to law enforcement the string of incriminating texts, photos and videos he sent to her. Michetti, who lives in Ridley Park, Pa., has now been charged with knowingly entering a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and obstruction of Congress. If convicted, Michetti, who was arraigned on Tuesday in federal court in Philadelphia, faces up to 20 years in prison.”

A new variant of the coronavirus, discovered in New York City, worries researchers because it’s been found to have a mutation that can reduce the effectiveness of available vaccines, the New York Times reports.

The variant, called called B.1.526, was discovered in November and it’s become the most identified variant among people who have tested positive for the virus, infecting one in four cases.  The strain was the subject of two studies, one by CalTech and the other by Columbia.

Patients invested with the NYC variant tend to be about six years older than average, according to the Columbia study.  They also become more likely to be hospitalized.  The vaccine, which would normally fight off the multiplication of the virus, seem to let the B.1.526 grow in the patients, but not to a critical level.

Bellingcat: “On January 6, 2021, Riley June Williams, a 22-year-old home care worker from Pennsylvania, was one of roughly 800 rioters who breached the US Capitol building in Washington D.C. While many engaged in property damage and violence that day, Williams’ case stands out given her ex-partner has alleged to the FBI that she stole a laptop from Nancy Pelosi’s office. This former boyfriend also alleges that her goal was to sell the laptop to a Russian intelligence agency, a claim January court documents say ‘remains under investigation,’ but which has been denied by Williams’ lawyer who accuses the former partner of seeking revenge. In an interview with ITV on January 16, Williams’ mother described her daughter as getting caught up in the moment. She noted that Riley had been radicalized on far-right message boards but described her daughter’s main political goal as, ‘…wanting America to get the correct information’.”

“However, Bellingcat has since received information that suggests that Williams was more than just a Trump supporter caught up in the maelstrom. She is somebody who posted racist and Anti-Semitic content as well as filmed a video that appears openly pro-Nazi and promotes accelerationism (speeding up the collapse of society) as a pathway towards establishing a genocidal white supremacist state. Several days after Williams was charged in mid-January, an antifascist activist reached out to Bellingcat with a video they believed showed her pledging allegiance to Adolf Hitler. Bellingcat has since shared the footage and findings of its investigation with NBC News. The 36-second video opens with a young woman dancing in a dress while wearing a hat, glasses and a mask decorated with a skull. These skullmasks were adopted as a symbol by Atomwaffen and similar accelerationist Nazi terrorist groups back in 2017.”

A landmark in the city of New Orleans now has a new name after the city council stripped the name of Confederate Robert E. Lee and removed a statue of the secessionist general, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

The traffic circle and its park will now be known as Égalité Circle,  a name by the French and Haitian revolutions chosen to reflect the city’s unique heritage and to honor the civil rights movement in New Orleans and throughout the United States.

“Nothing that we do is an attempt to rewrite history. This is, however, us exercising the authority to honor who we choose to honor,” Councilman Jay Banks said at the start of Wednesday’s New Orleans City Council Street Renaming Commission meeting. “No one can rewrite history, but this city has the authority and the ability and the responsibility to pay respect to the people who we deem are necessary.”

Federal drunk driving and reckless driving charges were dropped against Bruce Springsteen after he was arrested at a national park last November, charges that were first made public in February after a Jeep commercial featuring Springsteen debuted during the Super Bowl.

According to the Washington Post, the charges were dropped after federal prosecutors told the court that Springsteen’s blood alcohol content did not warrant the more serious charges.  Springsteen instead pleaded guilty to drinking alcohol in an enclosed area on federal grounds; he was fined $540.

The charge stems from an incident at Gateway National Recreation Area November 14th where an officer saw Springsteen consume two shots of tequila and then start his motorcycle.  Springsteen completed several field sobriety tests but refused to take a breathalyzer test.

“Republican Party committee members in Pennsylvania were meeting remotely Wednesday night, possibly for hours, in what is expected to include a discussion of whether to censure U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey. ‘Going to be a while,” said one person on the call” reports Marc Levy of the AP.

Politico: “President Joe Biden on Wednesday revoked a Trump-era ban on legal immigration for family members of U.S. citizens and residents, as well as diversity visa lottery recipients. In a statement, Biden said former President Donald Trump’s order blocking green card applicants and temporary foreign workers ‘does not advance the interests of the United States.’ ‘To the contrary, it harms the United States, including by preventing certain family members of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents from joining their families here,’ Biden’s statement said. ‘It also harms industries in the United States that utilize talent from around the world. And it harms individuals who were selected to receive the opportunity to apply for, and those who have likewise received, immigrant visas through the Fiscal Year 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery.'”

“The Trump administration had justified the ban as necessary to protect American workers and the U.S. labor market given the coronavirus pandemic. Business groups, including the technology industry, and immigrant advocates have expressed concern in recent weeks that the Biden administration was not speaking up on any plans to remove the ban, which was put in place in April and then expanded in June. This proclamation lifts parts of the Trump-era ban, but the ban on work visas remains, though that is set to expire at the end of March. Programs like the diversity visa lottery offers 50,000 visas to people from nations with a low rate of immigration to the U.S.”

The parents of more than 500 children separated from their families at the border during the Trump Administration are still missing despite efforts by the Biden Administration to reunite them, Jacob Soboroff of NBC News reports.

Since taking office, the Biden Administration has been able to reunite 105 children with their families.  The parents of 322 children are believed to have been deported by Trump, and 168 children’s parents are thought to be in the United States.  Whereabouts of parents for 16 are unknown.  The Trump Administration did not collect contact information for any of them.

Between 4,300 and 5,500 children were taken from their parents a the border between April 2018 and June 2018 as part of the Trump Administration’s “zero tolerance” on illegal border crossings.  Many reports allege the program continued into 2019 on a limited basis although it was ruled unconstitutional by courts.

“The two private jets used by a Saudi Arabian assassination squad that killed and allegedly dismembered journalist Jamal Khashoggi were owned by a company that less than a year prior had been seized by the Kingdom’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, according to recently filed court documents seen by CNN. The documents, filed as part of a Canadian civil lawsuit earlier this year, are labeled ‘Top Secret’ and signed by a Saudi minister who relayed the orders of the crown prince, the young de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia” CNN reports.

“‘According to the instruction of His Highness the Crown Prince,’ the minister wrote according to a translation, ‘immediately approve the completion of the necessary procedures for this.’ The filing lays out how ownership of Sky Prime Aviation was ordered to be transferred into the country’s $400 billion sovereign wealth fund in late 2017. The company’s planes were later used in the October 2018 killing of Khashoggi. The Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, is controlled by the Saudi crown and is chaired by the crown prince, who is known as MBS. The documents establishing the link between the planes and the prince were filed by a group of Saudi-state owned companies as part of an embezzlement suit they opened last month in Canada against a former top Saudi intelligence official, Saad Aljabri.”

Amy Walter, Cook Political Report: “The degree to which folks continue to view American politics through the Trump prism is both understandable and frustrating. On the one hand, despite losing the election, the former president has remained an omnipresent figure in our daily lives. He spent almost every day from November 3rd until January 20th attacking the integrity of the election, browbeating state officials and tweeting out various conspiracy theories. January began with an attack on the U.S. Capitol and ended with Trump’s impeachment. Early February was occupied with the Senate trial. As Katie Rogers wrote in the New York Times, this past weekend was the first in more than four years where Donald Trump wasn’t the story.”

“However, that weekend reprieve was short-lived as Trump will take the stage on Sunday in Orlando at the annual CPAC conference. And, once again, the political conversation will revolve around GOP infighting and the challenge for Republican leaders like Mitch McConnell to put Trump in the rearview mirror. In an attempt to pre-but that narrative, NRSC Chairman Rick Scott sent out a memo on Tuesday declaring that while ‘a parade of pundits and even Republican voices suggesting we should have a GOP civil war…This does not need to be true, should not be true, and will not be true.’ Of course, just because the leader of the campaign arm of the GOP Senate committee declared that ‘the Republican Civil War is now canceled’ does not make it so. However, before we declare that the GOP is in free-fall, it’s important to remember we are only ONE MONTH into Biden’s first term. We are more than 20 months away from the midterm elections. Trump’s role in 2022 could be a definitive issue in the next election. Or, it may not be. I don’t mean to sound snarky. But, honestly, we need some perspective here.”

“We live in a world of nothing but pure propaganda, lies, conspiracy theories, agenda driven opinion that is cloaked as news. It’s not news! It is lies and propaganda and conspiracy theories. And we are the ones they attack and want off the air!” – Sean Hannity via Angelo Carusone of Media Matters

Our neighbor, @RepMTG, tried to block the Equality Act because she believes prohibiting discrimination against trans Americans is “disgusting, immoral, and evil.”

Thought we’d put up our Transgender flag so she can look at it every time she opens her door 😉🏳️‍⚧️ pic.twitter.com/dV8FatQFnx

— CEO, Former Congresswoman, Author, Entrepreneur (@RepMarieNewman) February 24, 2021

CNN: “A close ally of Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took part in the January 6 mob at the Capitol and said he was among those who eventually made their way into the building. Greene, a freshman congresswoman with a history of promoting dangerous and violent conspiracies and comments, encouraged the big lie that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump by voting to object to the election certification and fanned the flames of the insurrection by telling her supporters to ‘fight for Trump.’ In tweets after the Capitol insurrection, Greene falsely suggested that those who had broken into the Capitol were not Republicans and instead falsely implied so-called ‘Antifa’ dressed as Trump supporters were to blame.”

“In fact, Anthony Aguero, a conservative livestreamer, activist and associate of Greene, said on video following the January 6 assault on the Capitol that he had been among those who entered and attacked those who falsely claimed it was done by ‘Antifa.’ ‘We were all there. It was not Antifa and it was not BLM. It was Trump supporters that did that yesterday. I’m the first to admit it, being one myself,’ said Aguero in a video posted on January 7. ‘I walked amongst all those people,’ he added, later defending entering the Capitol. Greene and Aguero have worked closely together over the years on causes such as immigration and the border wall and have attended pro-Trump rallies together. In many since-deleted videos saved by CNN’s KFile, Greene repeatedly calls Aguero ‘amazing’ and a ‘friend.’ On social media, Aguero has called Greene ‘one of my closest friends.’ ‘A message was sent,’ Aguero said in the video streamed live on January 6 while walking away from the Capitol on Pennsylvania Avenue following the riot. ‘These politicians are not going to continue to get away with the abuse as they’ve been doing. We will continue to press on these individuals.'”