Good afternoon, Happy Ides of March, everyone. That's the famous day on the Roman calendar in which Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by a group of Roman senators. Perhaps Caesar wished, too late, that when he promulgated the famous Julian calendar, he had left out the month of Martius. After 2020, plenty of folks today wish he had, too. Here in Minnesota, the biggest political news over the weekend is U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber announcing he is "not going to be running for governor." Stauber, a Republican representing the 8th District in northeastern Minnesota, had been seen as a possible gubernatorial candidate, not least because of the possibility that the "8th District" won't exist any more after the coming round of redistricting, if Minnesota (as expected) loses a seat in Congress. DFL Gov. Tim Walz is up for reelection, and a host of Republicans are considering challenges. [ Read more from KSTP's Ricky Campbell] At the federal level, attention has turned to immigration and the southern border. Progressives are seeking a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and an immediate solution to unaccompanied minors being held in detention facilities, while conservatives (out of power in both chambers of Congress) are criticizing Biden for not doing more to "strongly discourage individuals from Mexico and Central America from ever making the dangerous journey to our southern border." [ Read more from NPR News' Barbara Sprunt] By the numbers: In a recent CBS News/YouGov poll, Biden had lower approval ratings for his handling of immigration than he did his handling of COVID-19 or the economy. [Read more]
The biggest political drama in the United States right now isn't in Minnesota or Washington, D.C. It's in Albany, where New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing mounting pressure to resign after numerous accusations of sexual misconduct. Cuomo currently insists he'll stay put, perhaps with an eye on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam surviving a scandal over wearing blackface, by refusing to resign and letting the storm die down. But Cuomo also faces another precedent: former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, another sharp-elbowed politician who took no prisoners on his rise to the top, but then found no one left to support him when hit by his own scandals. [ Read more from the New York Times' Shane Goldmacher] Another take: Perhaps the sharpest observation about Cuomo — and one with broader relevance for other politicians in our current media environment — came from The New Republic 's Alex Pareene: that in the public mind, there wasn't one Andrew Cuomo but two. "Andrew Cuomo the television character" was smooth and confident, radiating "experience and authority," reassuring people whenever disaster struck. But co-existing was "Andrew Cuomo the newspaper character"; newspaper readers could follow a dizzying array of minor Cuomo scandals, all incredibly complicated and largely impenetrable for casual readers. News junkies could read all sorts of bad things about Cuomo, "but hardly anyone in New York experiences Cuomo the same way studious news consumers or reporters do." Until, that is, Cuomo got hit by two TV-ready scandals, in his handling of COVID-19 infections in nursing homes and the sexual misconduct accusations. The broader lesson: different people consume news differently, and just because reporters cover a story doesn't mean it breaks through to public consciousness. [Read more] Something completely different: What does it take to land a jetliner in Antarctica? Workers at Troll Research Station maintain a "blue ice runway," basically using the same machines used to groom ski slopes — but in this case, letting jumbo jets land on top of a glacier. [Read more from Flightrader24's Ian Petchenik] Listen: What to do during the waiting period after getting your COVID-19 vaccine? Most of us would probably pull out our cell phones to pass the time. Then there's cello legend Yo-Yo Ma, who brought his cello to the clinic and performed an impromptu concert.
