• The big lesson of Trump's first 2 weeks: resistance works [Vox] • House Republicans abandoned a plan to gut the Congressional Ethics Office. • The Trump administration abandoned a plan to cancel Affordable Care Act enrollment advertising. • The VA was granted an exemption from Trump’s hiring freeze. • 500,000 green card holders were granted exemption from Trump’s immigration orders. • The Department of Defense has secured permission to grant exemptions to the ban for Iraqis who work with the US military. • Most dual citizens (Germans, most recently) seem to be getting exemptions from the Trump ban. • A House Republican plan for a massive sell-off of public lands has been canceled.

  • Patriots owner wants ‘stolen’ Super Bowl ring back from Putin [New York Post] "Page Six reported that Putin stole Kraft’s $25,000 Super Bowl ring during their meeting in 2005. Putin admired his diamond ring and Kraft let him try it on. “I could kill someone with this ring,” Putin remarked. When Kraft put out his hand to get his ring back, Putin — surrounded by three KGB agents — pocketed the ring and took off."

  • 84 Lumber owner, a Trump supporter, explains Super Bowl ad [TribLIVE.com] "I still can't even understand why it was censored," Maggie Hardy Magerko, 84 Lumber's president and owner, said in an interview this week. "In fact, I'm flabbergasted by that in today's day and age. It's not pornographic, it's not immoral, it's not racist." Magerko voted for Trump after all.

  • Maggie Magerko [Forbes]

  • 84 Lumber Made Statement and Its Website Crashed, Now What?