The Charleston Post & Courier reports: Gov. Henry McMaster is lifting his mask mandate for state buildings and restaurants and telling state employees still working from home to come back to their office. McMaster’s March 5 update means the Republican governor is no longer requiring face coverings to be worn in state buildings, by restaurant employees or by diners, who …

“It turns out QAnon didn’t invade Washington because neo-liberal cable news anchors successfully defended our country. “Have you ever noticed how all like the scary internet conspiracy theorist radical QAnon people and you actually see them on camera or in jail cells — as a lot of them now are — maybe they’re kind of confused, maybe they’ve got the …

“Again, it’s not about COVID. If it was, they would want our border closed down. Because they need you silenced, ostracized, demoralized, as they import new voters to offset and eventually replace all you — you old people, you traditionalists, all of you guys who know your history still. “They want you replaced and they want cheap labor. And so …

The New York Times reports: A member of the far-right nationalist Proud Boys was in communication with a person associated with the White House in the days just before the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. Location, cellular and call record data revealed a call tying a Proud Boys member …

Rolling Stone reports: The inspiration for Brooke Eden’s new song “Sunroof” actually came to her in a perfectly unlikely place: the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant. While she waited for her girlfriend to pick up their takeout order, Eden felt the sun beaming in through the windows and cracked the sunroof for the first time all year. “It was …

The Colorado Times Recorder reports: Writing for Glenn Beck’s far-right website The Blaze, Boebert attacked Congressional Democrats’ proposed update to federal voting laws, called the For The People Act (H.R. 1), which among other reforms would implement many of Colorado’s “gold standard” election laws across the country. Despite having handily won an election conducted under these laws, Boebert accuses Democrats …

Law & Crime reports: The Utah House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would require cell phones and tablets sold in the Beehive State to contain filters to block pornographic material from reaching a user’s eyes. The bill had previously been approved by the state senate. The measure, HB72, applies to “smart phones activated in the state on …

Reuters reports: NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance has taken its first, short drive on the surface of the red planet, two weeks after the robot science lab’s picture-perfect touchdown on the floor of a massive crater, mission managers said on Friday. The six-wheeled, car-sized astrobiology probe put a total of 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) on its odometer on Thursday during a …

The Washington Post reports: Prosecutors said they were seeking to jail him pending trial on grounds that he is charged with assaulting an officer. Federal Defender Shelli Peterson said Klein was retaining private counsel who would oppose that request, arguing that Klein’s charges do not amount to a crime of violence barring his release under appropriate conditions to ensure public …

Raw Story reports: In a video posted to Facebook five days before the Capitol attack, Yvonne St Cyr says that she heard that then-Vice President Mike Pence had resigned. “If Pence resigned, what if JFK Jr. is gonna be sworn in as the vice president on [Jan. 6], and I will be there to see it and you can all …

The Daily Beast reports: Former Birthday Party presidential contender Kanye West has not yet terminated his campaign, but he has disabled donations and removed merch from his website after receiving a notice from the Federal Election Commission and numerous complaints about extended shipping delays from some of his zoomer donors hopeful that their federal contribution would return a black-market payday. …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Former Vice President Mike Pence is coming to TV, or at least streaming. Pence will narrate a four-part limited series for Fox News Media’s streaming service Fox Nation. The series, Age of Rush, will look at the career of radio host Rush Limbaugh, who died last month at age 70. The series will include interviews with …

Mediaite reports: “I just got suspended by Twitter, so I’m part of the censored group because I did a tweet saying that having illegal immigrants come in without any controls is a public health issue in the time of Covid,” said Gingrich. “So I just want to report, I’m part of the same effort by Twitter to censor the country …

The Wisconsin State Journal reports: U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, who has taken center stage this week in the U.S. Senate debate over a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 bill, said he hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll run for his seat in 2022, although he said keeping to his pledge to not seek a third term is “probably my preference now.” “That pledge …

Krebs On Security reports: At least 30,000 organizations across the United States — including a significant number of small businesses, towns, cities and local governments — have over the past few days been hacked by an unusually aggressive Chinese cyber espionage unit that’s focused on stealing email from victim organizations, multiple sources tell KrebsOnSecurity. The espionage group is exploiting four …

The Texas Tribune reports: Decrying “a dangerous movement” to “silence conservative ideas [and] religious beliefs,” Gov. Greg Abbott touted a bill Friday that aims to crack down on the perceived censorship of conservative voices by social media companies. “They are controlling the flow of information — and sometimes denying the flow of information,” the Republican governor said at a press …

The Washington Post reports: Former House speaker Paul D. Ryan plans to host a fundraiser for Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), signaling where he stands in the intraparty battle over whether Cheney should keep her leadership position in the wake of her vote to impeach President Donald Trump. The virtual event is scheduled for March 25 in Alexandria, Va., according to …

Politico Playbook reports: Trump is tightening his grip on the use of his name to fundraise. According to a Trump adviser, McCarthy’s NRCC recently asked about selling Trump merch like T-shirts, but team Trump said no. As we reported this morning, Trump advisers said he’s felt burned by leaders of the GOP who have been using his name to fundraise, …

The Arizona Republic reports: The only thing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema wants to give Arizonans and the nation is “cake.” Forget the $15-an-hour wage or clearing the way for immigration and election reform. Sinema apparently just wants the little people to eat cake. She literally carried a cake to the Senate when she voted against Sen. Bernie Sanders’ proposal to keep …

“Everybody’s gonna know about this, in spite of the media. We’re bringing it up, we got the case, it’s almost ready, and when we bring it in five, six weeks before the Supreme Court; now let me tell you, by the time it gets there, everyone’s gonna see, everyone’s gonna know it, including all nine of them justices. “This time …