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Houston, we are T-minus 3 hours and 25 minutes from landing: |
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© Getty Images Via CNN’s Ashley Strickland, NASA’s rover “Perseverance” is expected to land on Mars today. https://cnn.it/2OED3Fx What time: 3:55 p.m. EST Can we watch the landing?: Unfortunately, no. The technology is not there yet. But what we can follow: NASA is livestreaming coverage, commentary and a countdown to the rover’s landing. Tune in live — here's the livestream of the NASA rover landing coverage: It begins at 2:15 p.m. EST. https://go.nasa.gov/3k8gCV6 NASA’S Perseverance Mars Rover had a Twitter account: Follow the live updates: https://bit.ly/3qyTu4v |
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| FOR CONTEXT — THE TIME AND DISTANCE THIS ROVER HAS TRAVELED: |
| “The rover has been traveling through space since launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at the end of July. When it reaches Mars, Perseverance will have traveled 292.5 million miles on its journey from Earth.” https://cnn.it/2OED3Fx ASSUMING ALL GOES TO PLAN, WHEN WILL WE HAVE FOOTAGE FROM MARS?:
“If everything goes according to plan, the rover will send back an image tomorrow that will show the view looking down on Perseverance from above. By Monday, the team hopes to release video from the same view.” More from National Geographic: https://on.natgeo.com/2NiJcab |
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Thanks for the update, Pers! — yeah, I’m calling it Pers for short ;) |
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© Twitter ^ Keep in mind: Perseverance tweeted this yesterday. |
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| IF YOU’RE NEAR A KRISPY KREME TODAY: |
| Krispy Kreme has created a special Mars doughnut that is only sold today. The doughnut: “A Chocolate Kreme-filled doughnut dipped in caramel icing with a red planet swirl and sprinkled with chocolate cookie crumbs.” Photo — it’s beauuutiful: https://bit.ly/2Zv2Cek |
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| It’s Thursday! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook. Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill's 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: http://bit.ly/2kjMNnn |
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Losing the optics game this morning: let me present the senator from Texas: |
| Fox News’s Tyler Olson and Paul Steinhauser confirmed social media reports that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) flew to Cancun, Mexico, with his family amid the energy crisis in his state that has left at least 20 people dead and millions without power. https://fxn.ws/3pAksaq The Associated Press confirmed it, too: https://bit.ly/3qshnKV Here’s the photo circulating of Cruz on the flight to Cancun: https://bit.ly/3k0Qmf6 More photos: https://bit.ly/3pxcOxE Cruz is now facing backlash: https://bit.ly/37nddMQ |
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| WHAT TED CRUZ TWEETED ABOUT THE CRISIS IN HIS STATE: |
| Cruz tweeted on Tuesday evening: “I got no defense … A blizzard strikes Texas & our state shuts down. Not good. Stay safe!” https://bit.ly/3ben6xG |
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| THIS A.M.: |
| A source told The Associated Press that Cruz is returning immediately: “The high-profile Republican lawmaker went with his family for a long-planned trip to Cancun and was expected to return immediately, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private conversations.” https://bit.ly/3qshnKV |
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| LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS | |
What’s the deal with the COVID vaccines and the new variants?: |
| Via The Wall Street Journal’s Jared S. Hopkins, The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is effective in protecting against the South African COVID variant, according to new research from the New England Journal of Medicine. https://on.wsj.com/2NEm8SW Yes, but: “The results suggest the vaccine generated a slightly lower immune response against the variant's mutations than the original strain circulating in the U.S., but was still effective at neutralizing the variant virus, according to the research. The finding is consistent with earlier research of Pfizer’s vaccine against emerging variants.” The full story: https://on.wsj.com/2NEm8SW |
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| CASE NUMBERS: |
| Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 27,829,771 U.S. death toll: 490,775 Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y |
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| VACCINATION NUMBERS: |
| Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 57.4 million shots have been given. Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 1.61 million doses For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million. Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH |
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Just announced — Stay strong, senator!: |
| Former senator and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole announced this morning that he has been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. https://bit.ly/3awBke8 On his treatment: “My first treatment will begin on Monday. While I certainly have some hurdles ahead, I also know that I join millions of Americans who face significant health challenges of their own.” Read Dole’s announcement on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2M0SQ0s |
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It’s Donald Trump’s new life mission to make Mitch McConnell’s life miserable: |
| Via The Hill’s Jonathan Easley and Juliegrace Brufke, “Allies of former President Trump say he’s determined to make life miserable for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) https://bit.ly/3s5YT3j It wasn’t McConnell’s floor speech that put Trump over the edge: “Trump was prepared to give McConnell a pass, sources in his orbit stated, after he gave a blistering post-impeachment floor speech saying the former president was ‘practically and morally’ responsible for the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.” It was McConnell’s op-ed: “McConnell’s follow-up op-ed knocking Trump in The Wall Street Journal was the final straw, provoking a blistering response in which the former president insulted McConnell and his family and threatened to back primary challengers against GOP incumbents.” How this could play out — it could get ugly!: https://bit.ly/3s5YT3j |
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| TIDBIT — CAPITOL POLICE RECOMMENDS LEAVING PROTECTIVE FENCING UNTIL SEPTEMBER: |
| Via The Associated Press’s Michael Balsamo: https://bit.ly/3dq8Vbp |
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This is really sad: |
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© Twitter Reaction from The Washington Post’s Dave Weigel: “Ah, that's too bad. One of the fun things about DC protests that marched down Pennsylvania Avenue was hearing people cheer when they saw the Godzilla-sized First Amendment text.” https://bit.ly/2NG5aDH |
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| The House and Senate are out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. 9:45 a.m. EST: President Biden and Vice President Harris received the President’s Daily Brief. 10:30 a.m. EST: President Biden and Vice President Harris received a COVID-19 briefing. 11:15 a.m. EST: Vice President Harris met with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) to discuss the COVID-19 relief package and women. |
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| 10:45 a.m. EST: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) held her weekly press conference. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3qBp0yA Noon: Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and Reddit Co-Founder Steve Huffman testify before the House Financial Services Committee on the GameStop stock surge. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3qzknVJ 12:30 p.m. EST: White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3k48i8S Feb. 25: Jill Biden gives her first solo broadcast interview as first lady on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” |
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| NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...: | |
| Today is National Drink Wine Day! |
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Buh-bye, Gate 35X! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!: |
| Via Washingtonian’s Jessica Sidman, the dreaded Gate 35X at Reagan National Airport is closing and the new 14-gate concourse is set to open on April 20. Details and a video tour of the new concourse: https://bit.ly/3ubXoT6 |
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I didn’t mean for this section to become aviation-themed, but alas: |
| Via Tom Demerly of The Aviationist, National Geographic released a new documentary with a behind-the-scenes look of Air Force One and what is required to maintain the 30-year-old plane. https://bit.ly/3dqyrgv Because it’s so old: A crew chief said that maintaining the old aircraft is "essentially like a classic car." The instruments are still analog: “Flight crews for the present VC-25A also showcase the analog instruments of the aircraft and the challenges in sourcing maintenance parts for the plane.” The full story in Business Insider: https://bit.ly/3dqyrgv |
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| And because you made it this far, here’s an orangutan watching a magic trick: https://bit.ly/2ZsQjPQ 
© Twitter |
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