Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
February 8, 2021
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Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Brady leads Buccaneers to Super Bowl win on home field . . .
Tom Brady threw three touchdowns as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers thumped the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 to win the Super Bowl on Sunday, giving the evergreen 43-year-old quarterback a record-extending seventh championship ring. Brady’s age-defying performance, which earned him the Most Valuable Player award, brought the curtain down on what was perhaps the most challenging season the NFL has had to navigate because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reuters
Referee Sarah Thomas becomes first woman to officiate Super Bowl . . . Sarah Thomas became the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl on Sunday. “History made,” the NFL tweeted ahead of the Super Bowl LV. Thomas previously made history in 2015 after becoming the league’s first full-time female official. She also became the first woman to officiate an NFL playoff game in 2019 when the Los Angeles Chargers faced off against the New
England Patriots. The Hill
Fans Party on Tampa streets after Buccaneers’ Super Bowl 55 win . . . Fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers flouted COVID-19 restrictions and flooded city streets Sunday night in a raucous celebration of the team’s Super Bowl LV victory. The crowd blocked traffic, turning at least one intersection into a dance floor after the hometown Buccaneers’ 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, according to footage posted to Twitter by Fox 13
reporter Gloria Gomez. Other rowdy fans hopped atop cars and even a public bus amid the impromptu victory party, according to a photo tweeted by another Fox 13 reporter, Jennifer Holton. The revelers mainly avoided social distancing and face masks, according to numerous videos posted online. New York Post
CVS, Walgreens step up ‘bot’ defense ahead of COVID vaccine appointment rush . . . As the nation gears up for expanded access to COVID-19 vaccines, pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens are stepping up security efforts against so-called “scalper bots” eagerly waiting to stockpile vaccine appointment slots. Following the Biden administration’s recent announcement that it will soon begin distributing about 1 million
vaccine doses each week to some 6,500 pharmacies across the nation, security companies have warned retailers such as CVS and Walgreens, which are assisting in these distribution efforts, to be wary that these scalper bots could hoard vaccine appointments as soon as they are made available. Security companies urged retailers to step up their defenses to ward off such scalper attacks. Fox Business
China reports no new local COVID infection in nearly two months . . . China reported no new locally transmitted mainland COVID-19 case for the first time in nearly two months, official data showed on Monday, adding to signs that it has managed to stamp out the latest wave of the disease. The total number of COVID-19 cases rose slightly to 14 on Feb. 7 from 12 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said in a statement, but all
were imported infections from overseas. Seven of the cases were in Shanghai, the rest in the southeastern Guangdong province. Reuters
South Africa halts rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine . . . South Africa has moved to halt its rollout of the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine after preliminary and limited evidence showed it failed to protect against mild and moderate forms of disease caused by a coronavirus variant first detected in the country. Distribution of the AstraZeneca jab, scheduled to begin this month, would be put on hold to study its effects including on
severe cases in more detail “until the scientists give us clear indications as to what we need to do”, Zweli Mkhize, South Africa’s health minister, said on Sunday. Financial Times
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Senate eyes speedy second impeachment trial for Trump . . . Senators say a historic second impeachment trial for former President Trump could last just a matter of days in what is shaping up to be a speedy process. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are still trying to get a deal on the organization of the trial, which is scheduled to start on Tuesday. But senators are
signaling they want to get it over with quickly, suggesting it could last roughly a week. Democrats, while arguing Trump’s trial is necessary, are also focusing their political energy on passing coronavirus relief. The Hill
Dems and GOP agree on Trump - both parties want to be rid of him . . . Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial in has Democrats and Republicans in rare agreement: Most senators want the former president to go away. Democrats see the best way to achieve that goal as voting to convict Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection and barring him from ever holding office again. Republicans don’t want to hold a trial
for a former president in the first place, arguing it’s not a constitutional exercise of the Senate’s authority. But they see the outcome of the trial, which begins on Tuesday, as a reflection of Trump’s viability and influence in the GOP moving forward. And they believe a conviction, which would require the support of at least 17 Republican senators, would simply embolden Trump and enrage his base in a way that hurts the party in 2022 and 2024. Politico
RNC Strategy for Handling Trump’s Impeachment Trial . . . The Republican National Committee (RNC) has a list of plans for pushing back on former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial when it begins Tuesday, according to information obtained by the Daily Caller. The RNC will use social media, their media affairs team, and their communications team to reach out to voters to explain why they believe trying to impeach Trump is
unconstitutional. The RNC’s rapid response team will focus on sending out fact checks throughout the impeachment trial. The RNC’s media affairs team will book legal experts and members of Congress for TV appearances to put pressure on Democrats in battleground states. The social media team will share their message through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Daily Caller
Maxine Waters tries walking back violent rhetoric against Trump . . . Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., has publicly denied encouraging supporters to confront and harass members of the Trump administration. The California Democrat was asked whether she ever "glorified or encouraged" violence against Republicans in a Sunday interview with MSNBC's Ali Velshi. "As a matter of fact, if you look at the words that I used, the strongest thing I
said was tell them they're not welcome," Watters claimed. ". . . I didn't say anybody was going to have any violence." Watters came under fire in 2018 for telling the same network that she had "no sympathy" for administration officials who defended Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy, and urged her supporters to "absolutely harass them" when appearing in public. Fox News
Trump Impeachment Trial Has ‘Zero’ Chance of Conviction: Rand Paul . . . Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that the looming impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump has virtually no chance of success. “If we’re going to criminalize speech, and somehow impeach everybody who says, ‘Go fight to hear your voices heard,’ I mean really we ought to impeach Chuck Schumer then,” Paul told Fox News on Sunday. Forty-five Republican senators
voted against holding the trial, strongly suggesting the former president will not be convicted. The Senate requires at least 67 votes to convict a president during an impeachment trial, while the House only needs a simple majority. Meanwhile, any GOP senator who joins Democrats in voting to convict will likely face intense blowback from their constituents and local Republican Party chapters. Epoch Times
Trump Won Two-Thirds of Election Lawsuits Where Merits Considered . . . The claim often repeated by the mainstream media, social-media content moderators, and fact-checkers that lawsuits filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign and Republicans were universally dismissed by the courts is untrue, according to a new analysis. The findings do not necessarily suggest that if the lawsuits had all been decided before Joe Biden was certified as
the official winner of the presidential election by Congress on Jan. 7 that former President Trump would have won the hotly contested election. Nor would they necessarily have affected many of the Electoral College votes won by Biden in the disputed battleground states. Epoch Times
Trump 'Stop the Steal' election claims rebutted point by point by state officials . . . Republican and Democratic state elections officials are rebutting former President Donald Trump’s fraud claims in his Jan. 6 rally speech, which is now the centerpiece of his Senate impeachment trial beginning Tuesday. Mr. Trump pumped up the crowd by saying he was robbed of the presidency by nearly 40 instances of fraud among thousands of ballots in six
battleground states. He told the “Stop the Steal” rally that 66,000 underage voters cast ballots in Georgia. The state asserted to Congress that a subsequent audit showed not a single underage vote. Washington Times
Facebook weighs pivotal decision on Trump ban . . . Facebook finds itself confronted with one of its most consequential content moderation decisions — whether to let former President Trump back on the platform or keep him permanently banned.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has left the decision in the hands of Facebook’s fairly new independent oversight body, and the 20-member board’s impending verdict may have effects beyond the fate of Trump’s potential return. The Oversight Board, which functionally launched in the fall, has the power to recommend that Facebook overturn content moderation decisions, as well as to make related policy recommendations. The Hill
Trump could soon make return to social media and even create his own platform: senior adviser . . . An adviser to former President Donald Trump said the 45th president would be back on social media soon and could have a plan in the works to launch his own social media platform. “I would expect that we will see the president reemerge on social media,” senior adviser Jason Miller said during a Saturday radio interview. “Whether
that’s joining an existing platform or creating his new platform, there are a number of different options and a number of different meetings that they’ve been having on that front. Nothing is imminent on that.” Washington Times
Biden DOJ Pick Opposed Enforcing Civil Rights Laws Against Blacks . . . The incoming Justice Department civil rights chief has a history of opposing civil rights prosecutions of black defendants, arguing against bringing a complaint against an African-American Democratic leader who discriminated against white voters.
As an NAACP lawyer, Kristen Clarke lambasted the Justice Department for bringing a complaint against an African-American party boss in Mississippi who worked to suppress white votes, according to a federal probe. On a separate occasion, a federal oversight commission investigated claims that Clarke worked with allies at the Justice Department to quash the prosecution of the Black Panthers who menaced voters outside a Philadelphia precinct in 2008. Washington Free Beacon
Obama ethics chief torches Biden over Hunter memoir in disappearing tweets . . . Former President Barack Obama's ethics chief, Walter Shaub, ripped President Biden for publicly commenting on son Hunter's forthcoming memoir, likening it to a "book promotion tour." "It is not acceptable for the President of the United States to be part of the book promotion tour. No," tweeted Shaub, a U.S. Office of Government Ethics former director under
Obama. The tweet that was issued Sunday afternoon was deleted but not before the Washington Examiner viewed its contents. Washington Times
Biden’s DHS to cancel agreements made under Trump, memo shows . . . The Biden Homeland Security Department has concluded that at least eight agreements signed by the Trump administration giving states a stake in federal immigration enforcement are “void, not binding and unenforceable,” and is moving to cancel them as quickly as possible, according to a memo seen by The Washington Times. The Jan. 29 document from Joseph B. Maher,
acting general counsel at the department, also said the cancellations could help fight a lawsuit that has halted President Biden’s deportation pause. “Signing and sending letters to the countersigning jurisdictions prior to the deadline for DHS’s brief [in the court case] will allow DHS to refer to those letters in its briefing should DOJ wish to rely on them in connection with its defense strategy,” Mr. Maher wrote. Washington Times
Newly Introduced ‘OMAR Act’ Would Block Lawmakers from Paying Spouses . . . Newly introduced Republican legislation would prevent lawmakers from using campaign funds to enrich their spouses. The Oversight for Members And Relatives, or OMAR, Act was introduced Friday by Wisconsin Reps. Mike Gallagher (R.) and Tom Tiffany (R.), and specifically references the millions of dollars Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (D.) has sent from her campaign to
her husband's consulting firm. In the most recent cycle Omar's campaign sent $2.9 million to the firm, accounting for nearly 80 percent of its political business. "Loopholes that allow members of Congress to funnel campaign funds to their spouses are despicable and erode trust in our government," Gallagher said. Washington Free Beacon
President Biden commends son Hunter's 'honesty' about substance abuse in memoir . . . An emotional President Biden praised the “honesty” shown by son Hunter Biden in discussing his struggles with drug addiction as detailed in an upcoming memoir.
“The honesty with which he stepped forward and talked about the problem and the hope that — it gave me hope reading it,” Mr. Biden told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview slated to air Sunday ahead of the Super Bowl. Washington Times
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Iran, US at diplomatic stalemate over resurrection of nuclear deal . . . : U.S., Iran demand each other to make first move toward rejoining a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers, including the U.S. President Biden and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said in no uncertain terms Sunday that their respective nation will not make the first formal overture, dashing hopes among Democratic lawmakers,
pro-diplomacy advocates and some U.S. allies that the Biden administration would bring with it a rapid thawing of relations with Tehran and a permanent cooling of tensions that led the two countries to the brink of all-out war last year. Washington Times
Iran U.N. Inspectors Find Radioactive Traces, Raising Fresh Concerns . . . United Nations inspectors have found new evidence of undeclared nuclear activities in Iran, according to three diplomats briefed on the discovery, raising new questions about the scope of the country’s atomic ambitions. Samples taken from two sites during inspections in the fall by the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency contained traces of radioactive
material, the diplomats said, that could indicate Iran has undertaken work on nuclear weapons, based on where it was found. The diplomats said they didn’t know the exact nature of what was found. Wall Street Journal
UC Berkeley Advised Chinese Government on Critical Economic Decisions, Industry Sectors . . . U.C. Berkeley received millions of dollars from China to operate a big data research center that advised the Chinese government, as well as fund cutting-edge research into automated cars. The Guizhou Berkeley Big Data Innovation Research Center (GBIC)—which was jointly operated by Berkeley, the Chinese province of Guizhou's local
government, and the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology—helped "Guizhou’s government in making economic decisions and improving public services," according to a 2016 Chinese government press release. Meanwhile, the taxpayer-funded California school also enlisted help from Chinese tech companies Baidu and Huawei to bolster its Berkeley DeepDrive automated car program. Berkeley's overseas ties have allowed China to access U.S. expertise in two critical sectors: big data
and automated cars. Washington Free Beacon
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Australian Journalist Cheng Lei Formally Arrested in China . . . Australian journalist Cheng Lei was formally arrested in China on Feb. 5 on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas, after being detained for six months without charge. Cheng, 49, was a news anchor for CGTN, the international arm of the Chinese regime’s state broadcaster, CCTV, before being detained in Beijing in August 2020 amid testy
relations between Canberra and Beijing. Epoch Times
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Dems set to introduce bill that provides $3,600 per child for some families . . . Top Democrats are poised to introduce legislation that aims to provide $3,600 per year for millions of families that have children under the age of six as part of President Biden's nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, according to a report Sunday. The Washington Post reported that it obtained the 22-page bill set to be
introduced on Monday. The paper said that under the plan, families with children under six would receive $3,600 per child from the Internal Revenue Service; families with older children could receive $3,000. The amount depends on last year’s earnings. Fox News
Calls for Bank of America boycott grow after data of innocent people given to FBI . . . Customers are calling for a boycott of Bank of America, after a report that the bank handed over the account information of hundreds of innocent people in connection with the Jan. 6 deadly riots at the Capitol. At the request of the FBI, the country’s second-largest bank allegedly snooped through information of anyone making certain purchases in and
around Washington before and after the riots, and handed over the information of 211 people, according to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.
Only one of those 211 people was brought in for questioning, and none of them were arrested, according to Fox’s report. New York Post
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January was busiest gun background check month in U.S. history . . . Gun background checks in the United States shattered monthly records in January, blowing past the four million mark for the first time in U.S. history. Americans underwent nearly 4,318,000 checks for firearm purchases last month, handily defeating December's then-record of nearly 3,940,000 checks and recording over four million checks in one month for the first time in
the 23-year history of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The four-million-plus checks performed in January total nearly 11% of the roughly 39,700,000 checks performed in the entirety of 2020. Just the News
Relationships, related businesses blooming and booming amid pandemic . . . Romance is in the air, but with first dates and ceremonies stalled, many in the wedding business have struggled to stay afloat. On the flip side, those who work in the relationship-support niche have found the need for their services skyrocket. Here’s how biz-savvy folks in the heart-and-soul sector are flourishing. Since launching at the end of October,
personalized online florist Floracracy has seen its business explode. New York Post
Sen. Hawley’s Wife Files Criminal Complaint Over Protest Outside Their Home . . . The wife of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has filed a criminal complaint against the alleged organizer of a protest outside their Fairfax County, Virginia, home. Erin Hawley filed a complaint against Patrick Young, an activist who is part of the Black Lives Matter-affiliated group ShutDownDC. A police spokesperson told ABC News that “probable cause” was found to
issue a summons for Young. According to video footage, at least 20 people gathered at the Hawley home on Jan. 4—two days before the joint session of Congress—while Hawley’s wife and their newborn daughter were at home. The protest was ostensibly organized due to Hawley’s public statements that he would challenge the electoral votes for Pennsylvania. Epoch Times
Antifa, BLM march through DC disturbing diners, skirmishing with police, chanting 'burn it down' . . . Black Lives Matter protesters and antifa protesters marched through Washington, DC, on Saturday night threatening to burn down the city and intimidating people while they ate dinner. “Burn it down,” the protesters could be heard yelling as they marched through D.C. following an afternoon rally labeled the "DC Queer and Trans Black
History Month March and Rally.” At one point, Antifa members could be seen skirmishing with the police, who were attempting to keep them away from people eating outdoors at various restaurants. One video from the scene showed protesters shining bright lights at the police while verbally accosting them. Washington Times
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Mischievous Pup Keeps Ruining Fur Family Photos With Hilarious Pose . . . To many a parent’s dismay, not every kid takes family photographs as seriously as they should, while some more mischievous ones go out of their way to make silly faces whenever a camera goes off. But one dog in New Zealand has taken silly photographs to a whole new level. Kiko, a ginger Finnish spitz, has caught the internet’s attention
with a ridiculous pose from 'The Exorcist' that she seemingly insists on making whenever her owner takes a picture. Epoch Times
You have to see the pictures of this puppy.
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Rebekah Koffler
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