How 'Cancun' Cruz could have helped Texas

Night owls, your work may be suffering. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

By Holly Thomas

TOP STORIES ‌ Wednesday, February 24 ‌ TEXAS GOP CHOSE NONSENSE OVER THE GRID Days before a winter storm plunged Texas into a prolonged freeze, bursting water pipes and cutting off electricity, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced a new legislative priority: All publicly funded events in the state would have to play the national anthem. This comes as five board members of Texas' power grid operator are due to resign following last week's grid collapse. [HuffPost] ‌ TIGER WOODS FACES TOUGH RECOVERY AFTER CRASH In a career filled with remarkable comebacks, Tiger Woods faces his toughest recovery of all following a one-vehicle crash in Los Angeles yesterday in which his SUV hit a tree and flipped, pinning him in the wreckage. The crash caused “significant” injuries all down his right leg repaired with rods, pins and screws during what was described as a “long surgical procedure” at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. [AP] ‌ MCCONNELL TO BACK GARLAND FOR AG Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would back the nomination of Merrick Garland to be the next U.S. attorney general, even though he refused to allow a hearing on his nomination to the Supreme Court five years ago. “I do” support Garland for the post, McConnell told Politico. He declined to elaborate. [HuffPost]

What's the best time to eat lunch when working from home? Six subtle but serious signs you have a cardiovascular disorder. The seven conflict styles of people you argue with at work. Your anti-racism reading list isn't complete without fiction about Black people. It's normal to want both more and less lockdown at the same time. Night owls, your sleep habits may be affecting your work. Children's books with characters of diverse body types.

Get the latest coronavirus updates on our dedicated page

TRUDEAU MAKES SUBTLE 'LEADERSHIP' DIG AT TRUMP Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held his first virtual bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden and dissed Donald Trump without mentioning the ex-president’s name. Trudeau thanked Biden for last month reentering the U.S. into the Paris climate accords, saying “U.S. leadership has been sorely missed over the past years.” [HuffPost] ‌ NO CHARGES AGAINST OFFICERS IN PRUDE'S DEATH Police officers shown on body camera video holding Daniel Prude down naked and handcuffed on a city street last winter until he stopped breathing will not face criminal charges, according to a grand jury decision. The 41-year-old Black man’s March death sparked nightly protests in Rochester, New York, after the video was released nearly six months later, with demonstrators demanding a reckoning for police and city officials. [AP] ‌ TRUMP CAN'T FUNNEL GOP MONEY, BUT SUPPLICANTS WILL Trump can't funnel Republican donor money into his own pockets anymore, but he has found GOP candidates willing to do it for him. Utah Sen. Mike Lee had a $5,300-per-person fundraiser set for last Saturday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has scheduled a $4,000-per-guest one for March 5. [HuffPost] ‌ HERE'S WHAT CRUZ WASN'T DOING WHEN DISASTER STRUCK Sen. Ted Cruz, who jetted off on a Cancun family vacation when storms plunged Texas into a frozen power crisis, skipped out on doing his job -- reassuring residents and providing a link to government resources. "You have a prominent position you can use to do things," said Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said of a U.S. senator's role in natural disasters. [HuffPost]

WHAT'S BREWING ‌ BIDEN: STANDARDIZED TESTING MUST CONTINUE The U.S. Department of Education said schools will still be required to administer standardized tests for the 2020-2021 school year despite months of upheaval in which many students failed to step foot inside a school building. The decision was made without the leadership of Miguel Cardona, Biden’s nominee for education secretary. [HuffPost] ‌ BIDEN'S NOMINEES OF COLOR FACE OUTSIZE OPPOSITION A number of Biden’s nominees of color are facing opposition in the Senate, and their frustrated supporters are mobilizing against the harsher scrutiny they have faced versus their white counterparts. This week, Sen. Joe Manchin threw Neera Tanden's confirmation into doubt when he said he would oppose her to lead the Office of Management and Budget, arguing her history of caustic tweets made her “toxic.” [HuffPost] ‌ HAALAND FENDS OFF GOP ATTACKS Rep. Deb Haaland, Biden’s pick to lead the Interior Department, kicked off her confirmation hearing Tuesday by acknowledging the “historic nature” of the moment, as she stands to become the nation’s first-ever Indigenous Cabinet member. But she also tried to head off opposition from Republicans who have painted her as an “extreme,” “radical” threat to fossil fuel production and the American “way of life.” [HuffPost] ‌ U.S. COULD PREVENT 19 MILLION UNSAFE ABORTIONS ABROAD  Congress could prevent 19 million unsafe abortions around the world every year if it rescinded the Helms Amendment, a 1973 law that prevents American foreign aid from being used to pay for abortions, according to a new report. The report found that the overall number of maternal deaths due to unsafe abortions would decline by 98% in the 33 countries that the Helms Amendment affects. [HuffPost] ‌ TUCKER CARLSON SUGGESTS QANON DOESN'T EXIST Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who last month tacitly defended supporters of QAnon, declared Tuesday that there’s no evidence the conspiracy theory actually exists and suggested coverage of its damaging influence is actually part of a left-wing disinformation campaign. “We spent all day trying to locate the famous QAnon, which, in the end, we learned is not even a website,” Carlson said. “If it’s out there, we could not find it.” [HuffPost]

THE BEST OF THE REST

Feed your moths and hide your trousers: the expert guide to making clothes last forever. "Talk to the plant, say how you feel": Bad Bunny knows we’re hitting a pandemic wall. The growing evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines can reduce transmission, explained. How screwed is the Trump Hotel D.C.? Mariame Kaba wants us to imagine a future without prisons. China court orders man to pay wife for housework in landmark case.

BEFORE YOU GO

Trevor Noah mocks Republicans' "evil" plan to restrict voting.  The parachute on the Mars rover contains a secret message. Daniel Kaluuya says he wasn't invited to the "Get Out" premiere. We're married, but we never moved in together. Here's why it works for us. John Mayer: "Framing Britney Spears" made me realize my male privilege. What is serum foundation, and should you try it? Mandy Moore gives birth to a baby boy. Vanessa Bryant calls Meek Mills' lyric about Kobe "insensitive and disrespectful." Here's why August is becoming such a popular baby name. Martha Stewart reinvents herself again in latest Harper's Bazaar. Chrissy Teigen hilariously begs Joe Biden to unfollow her on Twitter. Kimmel trolls the state of New Jersey with loving tribute to legal weed.

We've made changes to HuffPost comments. Find out more here.

HuffPost is a part of Verizon Media Group. On May 25, 2018 we introduced a new Privacy Policy which will explain how your data is used and shared. Learn more. ‌ Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? - Subscribe here!   ©2021 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you signed up for updates from HuffPost ‌ Feedback | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe

You may have seen the exciting news that HuffPost is joining the BuzzFeed family. We plan to keep sending you the great content you’ve come to love about this newsletter, we’ll just be doing it with a different parent company. Your HuffPost email newsletter subscriptions will soon automatically transfer to BuzzFeed, and the terms governing the use of the HuffPost website and app will change to BuzzFeed’s terms of service and will be subject to BuzzFeed’s privacy and cookie policies. You’ll be getting a welcome communication from BuzzFeed with further information shortly. If you’d like to unsubscribe from our newsletters, just click the unsubscribe from all link here.