USA Today reports: The Senate confirmed Miguel Cardona as President Joe Biden’s education secretary Monday. Cardona, confirmed in a 64-33 vote, will oversee an Education Department that employs thousands and has an annual budget of more than $60 billion. He would also oversee the agency’s $1.5 trillion student loan portfolio. He takes the helm of American schooling at a fraught …

Law & Crime reports: Federal authorities investigating individuals involved in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol received an assist from an unlikely source this week, with employees of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder helping investigators identify a woman accused of entering the Capitol Complex unlawfully. Danielle Nicole Doyle — who was previously employed by the Thunder — this …

From CPAC’s letter to the CEO of Hyatt Hotels: Contrary to Hyatt’s own mission statement of inclusivity, your company just attacked its own customer by caving into the pressures of the politically motivated social media agitators who seek to destroy CPAC. Hyatt made a decision to issue additional statements late last night after the conference ended that disparaged and defamed …

The Texas Tribune reports: The chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the agency that regulates the state’s electric, telecommunication, and water and sewer utilities, resigned Monday, according to a resignation letter provided to the Texas Tribune. Lawmakers began to call on the commissioners to resign Thursday after hearing testimony from DeAnn Walker, who took little responsibility for the …

The Washington Post reports: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) formally referred allegations of sexual harassment against him to the state’s attorney general on Monday, a move that initiates an investigation of the veteran politician, who has come under fire after disclosures by two former aides who alleged misconduct. The requisite referral letter was sent to the office of New York …

The New York Times reports: One of the country’s largest adoption and foster care agencies, Bethany Christian Services, announced Monday that it will begin providing services to L.G.B.T.Q. parents nationwide effective immediately, a major inflection point in the fraught battle over many faith-based agencies’ longstanding opposition to working with same-sex couples. The Michigan-based evangelical organization announced the change in an …

The Christian Post reports: Mike Nawrocki, VeggieTales co-creator and voice of Larry the Cucumber, is teaming up with renowned Disney animator Tom Bancroft and legendary producer and artist Steve Taylor to bring to life the new animated series “The Dead Sea Squirrels” now that the team has secured potential investors. Nawrocki said his prayer is that the stories in the …

The Hill reports: Former President Trump and former first lady Melania Trump both received coronavirus vaccines in January, an adviser confirmed to The Hill on Monday. The two got their first dose while in the White House and have since received their second dose, the adviser said. The Trumps both contracted the coronavirus in late September, with the former president …

The Detroit Free Press reports: A Ferris State University professor has been fired after posting racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic comments on Twitter. Physical sciences professor Thomas Brennan announced the firing on Twitter Saturday His posts included the N-word regarding Neil deGrasse Tyson, a homophobic slur, COVID-19 denial, and comments about a “Jewish mafia” and COVID-19 being a “(J)ewish revolution,” according …

Orlando’s Fox News affiliate reports: A Delta Air Lines passenger is facing a $27,500 fine for allegedly assaulting a flight attendant amid a dispute over the flight attendant’s instructions and the airline’s mask policy, officials said. The FAA said the unnamed passenger was traveling with another person who refused to wear his mask, fasten his seat belt or put up …

The San Jose Mercury News reports: Anti-mask protesters returned to the Trader Joe’s in downtown Santa Cruz on Sunday but did not gain access to the store this time. Signs the protesters were wielding made references to loving one’s neighbor, breathing air freely, and stated, “Maskless Lives Matter.” One sign showed symbols of a circle-slash over a swastika. The choice …

NBC Washington reports: Virginia lawmakers passed a bill that will ban the use of a person’s perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity as a defense in court for the assault or murder of an LGBTQ person. “It’s done: We’re banning the gay/trans panic defense in Virginia,” Del. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, said in a Twitter post. Roem introduced House …

CNBC reports: The Judiciary Committee on Monday advanced federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination to be attorney general to the full Senate, paving the way for his confirmation to head the Department of Justice. The bipartisan vote was 15-7. A full Senate vote has not been scheduled but could come early this week. Garland’s hearings before the committee last …

Axios reports: CDC director Rochelle Walensky warned states on Monday that “now is not the time” to lift public health restrictions, as the recent dramatic declines in coronavirus cases and deaths “appear to be stalling.” While the average of 70,000 new infections and 2,000 daily deaths is nowhere near the extremely high levels recorded at the start of 2021, the …

The AV Club reports: This year’s CPAC decided to really round everything off with one of the most astonishingly incompetent performances of the national anthem to date. A video from the event shows this exceptional version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” being belted out by a singer who’s decided that she’s been held back by traditional musicality for too long. Her …

Mashable reports: Instagram is introducing a new feature today that will allow users to run joint live streams with three other people, letting you broadcast the group video chat for the world to see. Called Live Rooms, the feature ups the number of accounts that can join an IG Live from two to four. So it’s kind of like Zoom, …

Media Matters has the transcript: STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): Pete, that’s what they wanted to hear. They wanted to hear that there’s going to be a Republican in the big chair at the White House in four years. PETE HEGSETH (FOX & FRIENDS WEEKEND CO-HOST): Yeah. He went on to say, I think right after that, “we may just have to …

Law & Crime reports: It wasn’t an earth-shattering Monday morning when it came to Supreme Court orders, but court watchers may have noticed that the justices, without comment or explanation, jettisoned more lingering 2020 election challenges. It happened one week after SCOTUS cleared out several similar cases and the morning after Donald Trump repeated the “stolen” election lie to his …

“Right now I declare (TAP TAP TAP) and I call forth our president to take his rightful place. Trump, to come forth RIGHT now, step into your destiny that God gave you, called you, appointed you, and anointed you for this time. To declare over America. To help America. “This is HIS choice and we call you forth right now …

Axios reports: Florida lawmakers unveiled a suite of bills at USF’s St. Petersburg campus on Friday aimed at preparing the state for flooding caused by climate change-induced sea-level rise. A study released by the First Street Foundation last week found that Florida accounts for the nation’s heaviest concentration of expected economic loss due to residential flood risk, at nearly $8 …