USA Today reports: The NAACP sent a blistering letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell asking the league not to allow Fox to use it as a bargaining tool during upcoming rights fees negotiations, and thus help fund Fox News, which the NAACP called “a uniquely destructive force” that “foments racism, undermines public health recovery from the pandemic, and repeatedly attacks …

The Arizona Mirror reports: Weeks after Republican Congressman Paul Gosar gave a speech to a gathering of white nationalists, he is scheduled to appear on Patriots’ Soapbox, a leading QAnon talk show. “He has taken a stand against the conservative establishment to support #AmericaFirst and he never wavered,” Radix Verum, host of a show called Digging Deeper on Patriots’ Soapbox, …

Politico reports: President Joe Biden is expected to nominate former Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida to lead NASA, settling on a longtime booster of the space program to lead the agency’s return to the moon, according to three people familiar with the decision. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that she had seen the reports, but did not …

The Miami Herald reports: Frank Artiles, the Republican political operative suspected of secretly arranging a sham candidate to run in a key 2020 state senate race, surrendered to a Miami-Dade County jail on Thursday to face felony campaign finance charges. Artiles, himself a former state senator, was seen arriving at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, along with his lawyer. …

“President Trump has never conceded, he never agreed to anything, he never stepped away, never conceded. He basically stepped aside momentarily while things are being sorted out. “He stepped aside, he never conceded, and the last defense is the military. Actually, the military is in control right now and they’ve already made their determination. “Now it’s about execution. Now it’s …

CNBC reports: In a fiery exchange during a Senate hearing examining the nation’s coronavirus response efforts, Paul told Fauci that Americans shouldn’t have to wear masks after getting vaccinated because there is “virtually 0% chance” they are going to get Covid-19. “Isn’t it just theater?” the Kentucky junior senator, an ophthalmologist, asked during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions …

Fox News has the transcript: It would destroy the Senate as we know it. Anything big like this, you should be able to get a few votes from the other side, right? If you want to federalize the elections and do away with redistricting by the states and turn it over to some commission that will fundamentally change how you …

NBC News reports: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Asian American community leaders during a scheduled visit to Georgia on Friday in the wake of the spa shootings in Atlanta that left eight people dead, six of whom were women of Asian descent. Biden and Harris’ visit to Atlanta, which will be their first joint …

CNN reports: The Senate narrowly confirmed Xavier Becerra to be the Health and Human Services secretary on Thursday, giving the former California attorney general a crucial role in fighting the pandemic. Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants, is the first Latino HHS secretary. The vote was 50 to 49. During the confirmation process, Becerra stressed his upbringing, his father’s recent …

The Daily Beast reports: Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) kicked off Thursday’s House hearing on violence and discrimination against Asian-Americans by railing against the Chinese Communist Party and extolling lynchings, saying he takes “justice very seriously.” “The case we are talking about here the tragedy we just saw occur in Atlanta, Georgia,” Roy declared. “I would also suggest that the victims …

The Hill reports: The FBI on Thursday released new footage of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, asking the public for help identifying rioters who assaulted police officers during the insurrection. The videos show assailants attacking officers with fists, clubs, unknown chemical sprays and even a device that resembles a baton stun gun or cattle prod. In one clip, …

ABC News reports: The Senate is poised to confirm Xavier Becerra as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Thursday despite nearly unanimous opposition from Republicans, who have tried to brand him as a radical and unqualified. Becerra, currently the attorney general of California, would be the first Latino to lead the department. If he is confirmed, Becerra …

Axios reports: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) introduced a resolution on Thursday to remove Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) from the House Intelligence Committee over his ties to a suspected Chinese spy. The resolution will likely not pass in the Democratic-controlled House. Democrats say they have no intention of removing Swalwell from the committee. Axios first reported in December that …

Politico Europe reports: Poland will close most public venues this Saturday for three weeks, as the rapidly growing number of new daily coronavirus cases threatens the country’s already overwhelmed health care services, Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said Wednesday. On the day of the announcement, the country noted 25,052 new infections, a 44 percent jump on the same day last week, …

The Associated Press reports: Attorneys general from 21 states on Wednesday sued to to overturn President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the contentious Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. Led by Ken Paxton of Texas and Austin Knudsen of Montana, the states said Biden had overstepped his authority when he revoked the permit for the Keystone pipeline on his first day …

Reuters reports: President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that it takes one to know one after the U.S. president said he thought Putin was a killer, adding that he wished Biden good health. Putin was speaking on television after Biden, in an ABC News interview that prompted Russia to recall its Washington ambassador for consultations on Wednesday, said “I do” …

From the editorial board of the Kansas City Star: It was bad enough that Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop was arrested just before 4 a.m. on Tuesday, after police stopped an SUV that they said had been speeding the wrong way on Interstate 70. But now, The Star has reported that the Kansas Highway Patrol had to attempt a …

Newsweek reports: Rep. Mo Brooks is planning to hold a rally with former President Donald Trump’s advisor Stephen Miller on Monday, as changes to his official campaign page have all but confirmed he will be running for the Senate. Following an update to the congressman’s campaign Facebook page, followers are told to contact “[email protected]” with queries. “Mo Brooks for U.S. …

NBC News reports: Russia has recalled its ambassador to the United States after President Joe Biden made comments criticizing Russian leader Vladimir Putin that were “very bad” and without precedent, the Kremlin said Thursday. “I won’t be wordy in reaction to this,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “I will only say that these are very bad statements by the …

CNN reports: The US may be on the cusp of another Covid-19 case surge, one expert says — a surge that health officials have repeatedly warned about as state leaders eased restrictions and several lifted mask mandates. The first warning sign came when case numbers, after weeks of steep declines, appeared to level off — with the country still averaging …