Stimulus poverty fix - Capitol riots media analysis - Russian opposition protests

1. Top from last 48 hrs
   Chaos of Trump's last days in office reverberates with fresh 'plot' report.
   The Guardian (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 81% • 5 min read
   

   Then-President Donald Trump considered replacing acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen in January with Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark, who was willing to help Trump push his claims of widespread voter fraud in order to overturn the election results, according to a Justice Department official. Trump's unsuccessful efforts to use the Justice Department to stay in office were first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by NBC News.
   ...
   Clark denied that he had devised a plan with Trump, saying in a statement provided to The New York Times: "There was a candid discussion of options and pros and cons with the president. It is unfortunate that those who were part of a privileged legal conversation would comment in public about such internal deliberations, while also distorting any discussions." Trump ultimately decided against firing Rosen out of fear that it would lead to mass resignations from Justice Department staff, which he worried could undermine his goal of staying in power.
   ...
   When asked for comment, an advisor to Trump said: "President Trump has consistently argued that our justice system should be investigating the broader, rampant election fraud that has plagued our system for years. Any assertion to the contrary is false and being driven by those who wish to keep the system broken."

1. Top from different political viewpoint
   Trump and DOJ lawyer devised plan to oust the acting attorney general.
   Washington Examiner (Moderate Right) • Credibility Grade 71% • 2 min read

1. Top long-read
   How Joe Biden and his new attorney general can repair the Justice Department's reputation.
   Time (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 74% • 6 min read

1. Phil Meylan, MSc. Comparative Politics

   The words the media uses to describe events play a large role in shaping public perception of those events. As January 6 unfolded on Capitol Hill, there was a rapid shift in language, from “protesters,” “supporters,” and “rally” to “siege,” “rioters,” and “insurrection.” These choices — on the day of the attack and in its aftermath — matched the descent of a seemingly peaceful protest into a violent and dangerous attack on the seat of the U.S. federal government.
   
   Using 5,057 article titles about the Capitol Riot from 398 sources across the political spectrum, The Factual examined how the events and aftermath of January 6 are most commonly described in U.S. and global media. This includes the differences in language between left- and right-leaning publications, as well as how the terminology used compares to our analysis of coverage of the George Floyd protests this summer.

2. Read: How does media coverage of the Capitol riots compare with BLM protests?

1. Top from last 48 hrs
   Biden claims his $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan will cut child poverty in half — here’s how.
   CNBC (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 75% • 4 min read
   

   The poverty rate spiked 2.4 points between June and November last year, to 11.7%, after families spent stimulus checks and their extra unemployment relief lapsed, according to research co-authored by [James Sullivan, an economics professor at the University of Notre-Dame]. That was more than double any year-to-year rise in poverty since measurements began in the 1960s, he said, pushing 8 million people into the ranks of the poor.
   ...
   “The rise in poverty since June is larger for children than it is for adults or the elderly,” Sullivan said. “They are paying a bigger price.” The positive effects of Biden’s plan would be largest for children due to the targeted measures — the most important being stimulus checks and the expanded child tax credit, according to economists who support the proposals.
   ...
   Families would get an extra $1,400 stimulus payment per child. The child tax credit is also aimed directly at families with kids. The president wants to increase the child tax credit to $3,000 for qualifying children aged 17 and under. Kids under age 6 would be eligible for a $3,600 credit. (Families can currently claim up to $2,000 per child under age 17.)

1. Top from different political viewpoint
   Don’t hold your breath for Biden’s big stimulus plan—Here’s why some of it might be delayed.
   Forbes (Moderate Right) • Credibility Grade 61% • 2 min read

1. Top long-read
   U.S. politics is failing children.
   Boston Review (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 73% • 18 min read

1. Top from last 48 hrs
   Thousands of Russians were arrested in protests supporting Putin critic Alexei Navalny.
   Vox (Left) • Credibility Grade 77% • 6 min read
   

   Massive protests took place across Russia on Saturday in support of Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader. Navalny was arrested last Sunday after returning to Moscow from Germany, where he was treated for a poisoning allegedly linked to the Kremlin five months earlier. According to Reuters, about 40,000 people took part in the Moscow demonstrations, although police called that number incorrect, estimating the crowd at 4,000.
   ...
   The number of those arrested in protests in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and about 70 other towns and cities swelled to at least 3,000, according to reports from the human rights monitoring group OVD-Info. That includes about 1,100 people in Moscow alone, as of 11:30 pm Moscow time on Saturday.
   ...
   While many of the protesters were Navalny’s supporters, others said they came out more because they want to see a sweeping end to Putin’s authoritarian rule. Regardless of their motivation, in many places, protesters were met with swift and aggressive police force. As night fell, police unleashed smoke grenades on downtown Moscow, and protesters responded with snowballs, according to reporter Alec Luhn.

1. Top local viewpoint
   Protests for jailed Kremlin critic Navalny sweep Russia.
   Moscow Times (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 71% • 4 min read

1. Top long-read
   In Aleksei Navalny protests, Russia faces biggest dissent in years.
   New York Times (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 80% • 14 min read

1. Top from last 48 hrs
   Doctors call for shorter gap between Pfizer Covid vaccine doses in UK.
   The Guardian (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 80% • 4 min read
   

   Currently patients wait about three months to get their second dose [in the U.K.]. Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, said this was a “public health decision” to get the first jab to more people across the country. However, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the council of the British Medical Association (BMA), said the gap could reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine.
   ...
   While there is some evidence from trials of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine that a late second dose up to 12 weeks does not interfere with the efficacy of the vaccine, Pfizer has said there is no evidence from its trials. Nagpaul pointed to analysis from the World Health Organization that said second doses of the Pfizer vaccine should only be delayed “in exceptional circumstances” and recommended a gap of four weeks between doses.
   ...
   The BMA has written privately to Whitty to express its concern over the gap between doses. The letter, seen by the BBC, said the policy was “difficult to justify”. “The absence of any international support for the UK’s approach is a cause of deep concern and risks undermining public and the profession’s trust in the vaccination programme,” it said. The letter also expressed concern that one dose of the Pfizer vaccine “does not produce sufficient neutralising antibodies and the potential to reduce transmission”.

1. Top from different political viewpoint
   UK doctors seek review of 12-week gap between vaccine doses.
   Washington Times (Moderate Right) • Credibility Grade 69% • 3 min read

1. Top long-read
   Britain takes a gamble with Covid-19 vaccines, upping the stakes for the rest of us.
   STAT News (Center) • Credibility Grade 72% • 6 min read

• Thousands of National Guard troops will remain in D.C. through mid-March.
  CBS News (Moderate Left) • Grade 83% • 3 min read
• Covid: 'More deadly' UK variant claim played down by scientists.
  BBC (Moderate Left) • Grade 75% • 4 min read
• Man who stormed U.S. Capitol charged with threatening to assassinate Rep. Ocasio-Cortez.
  CNBC (Moderate Left) • Grade 79% • 3 min read
• Anti-Biden conspiracy claims US escalating role in Syria.
  Jerusalem Post (Moderate Right) • Grade 50% • 3 min read

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