Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
February 12, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Donald Trump Impeachment Trial Day Four: Defense to Set Out Case . . . Mr. Trump’s lawyers are also expected to criticize Democrats’ handling of the impeachment process in the House, arguing that they deprived him of due process, including representation during those proceedings. His defense team has argued that it is unconstitutional to try a former president in the Senate, an argument that all Republican senators but six agreed with in a
vote earlier this week. The defense team is likely to air footage of Democrats using fiery political language as it focuses on its First Amendment defense, a person familiar with the strategy said. The legal team representing the former president intends to keep the defense presentation to one day and brief. Wall Street Journal
Impeachment managers seek to make GOP think twice about Trump acquittal . . . Democratic impeachment managers wrapped up their impeachment case against former President Trump on Thursday, seeking to make it as difficult and uncomfortable as possible for GOP senators to vote for his acquittal. In two days of arguments on the Senate floor, the nine House Democrats prosecuting the case portrayed the ex-president as the primary driver of a
deadly pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 to block the vote certifying President Biden's victory in the presidential election. The long and haunting narrative was designed to sway public opinion and the history books as much as the Senate jurors. The Hill
Dems may use 14th Amendment to bar Trump from running if impeachment fails . . . Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Thursday did not rule out bringing legislation to bar former President Donald Trump from office if he is not convicted at the ongoing Senate impeachment trial. Democratic senators have discussed in recent weeks that if they cannot secure the 67 votes needed to convict Trump that they might invoke the 14th Amendment of the
Constitution to do the same. White House Dossier
To convict on impeachment, they need 67 votes. This would need only 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
‘U Turn’: Once Dismissive, Now WHO Says Lab Leak Hypothesis Still In Play . . . World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said Thursday that all theories into the origin of COVID-19, including the lab leak hypothesis, merit further investigation. Tedros’s statement came two days after a joint WHO-China panel investigating the origins of the pandemic in Wuhan said the lab leak theory was “extremely
unlikely” and not worth exploring any further. The panel instead recommended that further research be conducted into China-favored theories such as the possibility that the virus could have been imported into Wuhan from other countries. Daily Caller
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The Memo: Punish Trump or risk a repeat, warn Democrats . . . Democrats closed their case against former President Trump Thursday by pleading with their Republican colleagues to convict him or risk more political violence in the future. Lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) argued that “any president could provoke insurrectionary violence again” if Trump were to be acquitted. His colleague Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) asked,
“who’s to say it won’t happen again?” if firm action is not taken now. The Democratic argument is, in essence, that the Senate needs to redraw the norms of American political life that Trump so repeatedly transgressed. The Hill
Bipartisan anger over Biden firing prosecutor probing fraud among Illinois Dems . . . President Biden triggered outcries from Illinois lawmakers on both sides of the aisle after he fired a prosecutor overseeing corruption probes of Democrats in the state. Democrat senators, House GOP lawmakers and the Illinois Republican Party all condemned the move to fire Chicago-based U.S. Attorney John Lausch. White House Dossier
Group Founded by Billionaire Biden Donor Pushes WH for $2.9 Billion Investment . . . A Florida environmental group founded by a hedge fund billionaire who contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Joe Biden's presidential campaign is now lobbying the Biden administration to commit $2.9 billion toward its cause. The Everglades Foundation, founded by billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones, launched a campaign this week pressuring the Biden
administration to commit $725 million in each of the next four years toward restoring the Florida national park, according to a Thursday report by E&E News. The lofty demand comes just months after Jones forked over $50,000 to the Biden Victory Fund, the joint fundraising committee supporting the Biden campaign and the Democratic Party. Washington Free Beacon
Lawyer warns Black workers would be harmed by Democrats' immigration plan . . . Hiking the minimum wage at the same time Congress is pondering granting legal status to 11 million undocumented immigrants would create a vortex of misfortune for Black workers, and particularly Black men, a member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission told Congress on Thursday. Peter Kirsanow, who also is a labor lawyer and former member of the National Labor
Relations Board, said the education levels of undocumented immigrants put them in direct competition with Black men who are disproportionately represented in the low-skilled labor market, and particularly areas like construction and hospitality that are also attractive to the unauthorized population. Washington
Times
Biden passive toward Chinese attempt to 're-educate' students in US schools . . . The Department of Homeland Security has dropped plans for a federal rule that would have required American schools and universities to disclose agreements with Chinese government-funded Confucius Institutes on their campuses. A Federal Register notice said the rule, first proposed Dec. 31 at the end of the Trump administration, was withdrawn Jan. 26 without
comment. Confucius Institutes and Confucius Schools operate as education centers that ostensibly teach Chinese culture and language. Federal authorities, however, say the institutes are stalking horses for covert Chinese government influence efforts. White House Dossier
Letting Chicoms run an influence op on American schools.
Anti-Trump Republicans face major challenge in launching third party . . . A group of former GOP officials considering a new center-right political party to counter former President Trump’s influence would face steep challenges in shaking up a U.S. political system that has favored two-party rule throughout its history. More than 120 Republicans met virtually on Feb. 5 to discuss forming a third party or a new center-right
faction. Two of the most prominent anti-Trump Republicans in Congress - Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois - rejected the idea of a breakaway party in statements to Reuters on Thursday. Other Republican critics of Trump expressed similar skepticism - arguing a third party would accomplish little beyond splitting the votes of conservatives and helping Democrats get elected. The resistance to a third party among some of Trump’s toughest Republican critics
underscores the extreme difficulty of such a political revolt. Reuters
Mark Meadows: Trump 'plans to stay in the arena' . . . Former President Donald Trump "plans to stay in the arena," according to one of his top White House aides. Mark Meadows, who was Trump's final chief of staff, spoke about plans for the future Thursday in a radio interview with host Sebastian Gorka, who himself is a former White House adviser. He offered rare insight into what Trump is up to these days, more than three weeks
removed from the White House and now facing a Senate impeachment trial. Meadows, who said he spoke to Trump on Wednesday and Thursday, said Trump "continues to put America first, but he also plans to stay in the arena." Washington Examiner
Pelosi Banned Congresswoman’s Military Officer Son From Attending Her Swearing-In . . . Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi would not allow Republican New York Rep. Claudia Tenney to have her son present in the gallery for her swearing-in Thursday, Tenney told the Daily Caller. Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer sent out a tweet Thursday morning with the news that Pelosi denied Tenney’s request to let her son, a graduate of the
U.S. Naval Academy, watch her get sworn in from above the floor in the gallery. The Daily Caller contacted Tenney about the news, to which she confirmed it was true. “I guess he’s considered a risk,” Tenney told the Caller. Daily Caller
South Carolina to Pass Heartbeat Bill . . . South Carolina is on the verge of passing a bill banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, making it the latest state to move forward with pro-life legislation. The state legislature's House Judiciary Committee approved the "heartbeat" bill by a nearly 2-1 margin Tuesday, teeing up the legislation for a vote on the House floor. The state senate passed the bill by a 30-13 margin with
one Republican voting against the bill and one Democrat voting for it. The legislation would effectively ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, around the point at which a fetal heartbeat is detected, with an exception for cases of rape, incest, and the health of the mother. Pro-abortion advocates criticized the legislation for its extreme nature and alleged it would force women to give birth. Washington Free Beacon
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Militarization of Crimea heightens threat to NATO’s southeastern flank . . . As Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mulls over European force posture changes, the United States and NATO are already bolstering land, sea, and air exercises in addition to heavy military investment in the Black Sea region, where Russia is threatening NATO partners with hybrid warfare and a growing military presence in Crimea. NATO partner Romania is vying to be a
hub for that effort and win an increased U.S. troop presence, spending $10 billion on military infrastructure, including rail, road, airstrip, and base upgrades aimed at creating "strategic flexibility" for the U.S. on NATO's southeastern flank. Washington Examiner
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BBC barred in mainland China . . . China barred Britain’s BBC World News from its television networks on Friday and Hong Kong’s public broadcaster said it would stop relaying BBC World Service radio, a week after Britain revoked Chinese state television’s broadcast licence. China’s National Radio and Television Administration said BBC World News’ reports on China had “seriously violated” a requirement to be “truthful and fair”,
harmed China’s interests and undermined national unity. Reuters
India warns US social media companies to follow its constitution amid Twitter dispute . . . The Indian government is warning US social media companies to comply with its laws following a dispute with Twitter over accounts it wanted suspended.
Indian technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad named Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp in remarks to the nation's Parliament on Thursday. "You will have to follow the Constitution of India, you will have to abide by the laws of India," he said.
India requested that Twitter crack down on about 1,100 accounts and posts. The South Asia country took particular issue with accounts using hashtags with the phrase "farmer genocide," a reference to what the government argues is misinformation about recent agricultural reforms some farmers have protested. Washington Examiner
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Gas hits highest price in 12 months as progressives pressure Biden to cancel more pipelines . . . The average price of gas in the United States has hit a 12-month high, according to new data Thursday from Gas Buddy. The average retail gas price in the United States is now $2.50 per gallon after soaring from an average price of $1.74 per gallon in April 2020. In February of last year, Gas Buddy's chart shows gas prices
were about $2.42 per gallon and proceeded to rise slightly before plummeting as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the country. Fox Business
UK Economy in Biggest Slump in 300 Years Amid Covid Lockdowns . . . The UK economy recorded its biggest contraction in more than three centuries in 2020, according to official estimates, highlighting the Covid-19 pandemic’s economic toll on a country that has also suffered one of the world’s deadliest outbreaks. Gross domestic product shrank 9.9% over the year as a whole, the largest decline among the Group of Seven
advanced economies. France’s economy shrank 8.3% and Italy’s contracted 8.8%, according to provisional estimates. German GDP declined 5%. The decline in U.K. GDP in 2020 was the largest in more than 300 years, according to Bank of England data. Wall Street Journal
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Read the column the New York Times didn’t want you to read . . . Last weekend, New York Times columnist Bret Stephens wrote a piece criticizing the rationale behind the forced ouster of Times reporter Donald G. McNeil Jr., but it was never published. Stephens told colleagues the column was killed by publisher A.G. Sulzberger. Since then, the piece has circulated among Times staffers and others — and it was from one of them, not Stephens
himself, that The Post obtained it. His spiked column is published in full here. New York Post
Mike Lindell: My Pillow dropped by 18 vendors . . . My Pillow has now been ditched by nearly 20 retailers after several vendors abruptly dropped the suddenly controversial bedding company last month, CEO Michael J. Lindell said Thursday. Several major sellers, including Kohl’s and Bed Bath & Beyond, previously confirmed they were cutting ties with My Pillow as its CEO faced scrutiny in the final days of the Trump administration.
Mr. Lindell said Dollar General notified him it was dropping My Pillow during a call Wednesday. Washington Times
I am ordering my special pillow today!
Instagram Bans Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Over Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation . . . Instagram removed the account of prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the highest-profile steps in parent company Facebook intensifying effort to combat, what it believes false and misleading information about Covid-19. An Instagram spokeswoman said Wednesday that the company permanently removed the account “for repeatedly sharing
debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines.” Mr. Kennedy had more than 800,000 followers on Instagram before the account was closed, according to the company. Wall Street Journal
Twitter permanently bans Project Veritas account . . . Twitter on Thursday yanked the account of conservative activist group Project Veritas over “repeated violations” of the company’s rules on sharing other people’s private information, after they posted leaked footage of communications between Facebook executives. A Twitter spokesperson said the @Project_Veritas account was permanently suspended for breaching its “private
information policy.” The ban came after the group had posted leaked clips on Wednesday from a meeting with Facebook executives where they discuss development of censorship tools. New York Post
Tucker Carlson says his show is targeted by groups funded by Ford Foundation, Soros, others . . . Tucker Carlson said during the Thursday night episode of his Fox News Channel primetime program "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that his show has been targeted for cancellation. The conservative television host said that "in the last several weeks and particularly in the last 24 hours the call to take this show off the air by groups funded, for
real, by the Ford Foundation, or by George Soros, by Michael Bloomberg, by Jeff Bezos, has become deafening, going after our advertisers, going after the companies that carry our signal into your home." Just the News
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North Carolina firefighters dispatched to restaurant discover it's not on fire, just making 10,000 wings . . . Where there’s smoke, there might not always be fire — but rather some fiery-hot Buffalo wings. Firefighters reporting to a call about a fire at a restaurant on Saturday night discovered that the smoke reported by a passerby wasn't the result of a fire, but rather 10,000 chicken wings the eatery’s
staff was preparing for Super Bowl orders the next day. The restaurant, which bills itself as "home of the Buffalo wings," thanked the firefighters who came out. "They made sure all was well, we fed them, and got a few laughs and a great picture," the restaurant wrote on social media. Before the game, the National Chicken Council predicted that Americans would eat a record 1.42 billion chicken wings on Feb. 7. Fox News
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