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Parents in a Pennsylvania school district have expressed outrage after a photo of a school employee using tape to affix a mask to a child's face went viral online. The school district has confirmed that the photo is genuine.

Democratic strategist James Carville said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “The Beat” that President Joe Biden was tough and showed stamina during his first solo news conference of 2022. Carville said, “I thought today was a very good day. The best time to plant an oak tree was 25 years ago. The second-best time is right now. I think President Biden planted an oak tree. He decided that, ‘Hey, look, our political situation has deteriorated here, and I’m going to personally take charge of it.’ It is not a minor feat to stand there for an hour and 50 minutes, on your...

Wednesday, CNN political commentator Van Jones said on “OutFront” that President Joe Biden was “foggy and meandering” during his first solo news conference of 2022. When asked about Biden confirming Vice President Kamala Harris will be his 2024 running mate, Jones said, “I think a lot of Democratic voters appreciate that. That’s the one time that you don’t want to give any fuzzy, foggy, let-me-tell-you-a-long-story answer. Clear and direct, they are a team. He is staying together. They are going to fight it forward.”

President Biden told reporters on Wednesday that he doesn't believe the public opinion polls indicating his waning approval rating among moderates and independents. Asked by McClatchy White House correspondent Francesca Chambers how he plans to win back moderates and independents who voted for him in 2020 but, according to polls, are now unhappy with his job performance, Biden responded “I don’t believe the polls."

The Secret Service improperly redacted hundreds of pages of records related to Hunter Biden’s overseas travel — and apparently withheld information about trips to China, Russia and other countries, two leading Republican senators claim. In a Tuesday letter to Secret Service Director James Murray, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) alleged the agency “hid names and other information contained in email conversations regarding Hunter Biden without any proper legal justification.”

President Joe Biden shrugged off polls showing voters believed he was not mentally fit, during a press conference at the White House on Wednesday. One reporter asked Biden why only 40 percent of voters in a new Morning Consult survey believe Biden is mentally fit, 37 percent say he is in good health, and 43 percent believe he is stable.

MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow said Wednesday on “Deadline” that President Joe Biden’s critique of Republicans as unwilling to pass legislation and standing for nothing was “objectively true.” Biden said during his first solo news conference of 2022, “What are Republicans for? What are they for? Name me one thing they’re for.”

During CNN’s coverage of President Joe Biden’s press conference on Wednesday, host Jake Tapper stated that raising doubt about the legitimacy of election results is something Democrats and reporters have disliked about former President Donald Trump and Biden refused to say that the 2022 election would be legitimate, but he’s “certainly not going to compare what Joe Biden just said, President Biden just said, with Donald Trump’s history when it comes to the big lie on the elections.”

President Joe Biden defended the first year of his presidency at a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, refusing to change course amidst record-low approval ratings of his job performance. When asked by a reporter if he overpromised Americans what he could accomplish as president, Biden replied, “I didn’t overpromise. And I have probably outperformed what anybody thought would happen.”

President Biden on Wednesday attributed in part frustration among some Black voters who perceive a lack of urgency on voting rights legislation to his own lack of communication on the topic. Biden said part of the problem was related to timing of when voting rights was brought to the forefront in just the last week, suggesting it was "dictated by events happening in the country and around the world."

MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough on Wednesday criticized President Joe Biden’s first year in office. Scarborough highlighted how Biden ran and won as a moderate but has since “decided” to “govern as a leftist.” He added that “has failed miserably.”

Last week, Florida Democrat gubernatorial hopeful Nikki Fried compared incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to Adolf Hitler during an interview with Florida public radio. Fried received backlash for the remarks. However, her Democrat opponent, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), is not renouncing Fried for those remarks.

The Biden administration will be distributing hundreds of millions of free N95 masks from the Strategic National Stockpile, according to a report. The administration's plan, which will be announced Wednesday, involves dispersing N95s through pharmacies and community sites, offering more Americans easier access to the medical-grade protective masks amid the spike of COVID-19 cases, Politico reported.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday defended his opposition to changing the 60-vote legislative filibuster and told progressives threatening to primary him over the fight to “bring it on.” “I’ve been primaried my entire life. That would not be anything new for me. ... Bring it on,” Manchin told reporters, asked about some of his colleagues not ruling out supporting a primary opponent.

Senate Democrats will force a vote this week to try to change the rules and enact a talking filibuster to pass voting rights legislation, getting rid of the 60-vote hurdle. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on Tuesday that Democrats will force a rules change vote once Republicans block a voting rights bill as soon as Wednesday.

MSNBC's Chuck Todd said Tuesday that based on past metrics of job approval and the American people's impression of the country's direction, President Biden and Democrats could be heading into the midterm in "shellacking territory," such as what was seen during the 2010 midterms during former President Obama's first term in the White House.

Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Hallie Jackson Reports” that it was the Republican Party’s “business plan to suppress black and brown votes in order to gain an electoral advantage in 2022.” Markey said, “We celebrated Martin Luther King Day this week. And it is absolutely creating a moment in history where we have to stand up as Democrats and to fight for voting rights. Mitch McConnell said as recently as today. It’s a winning issue for the Republican Party if they suppress black and brown voters across this country. If those voters don’t get to the polls,...

The House select committee on Jan. 6 has subpoenaed and obtained the phone records associated with former President Trump's son Eric Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle, former Trump adviser and fiancée to Donald Trump Jr. Multiple sources told CNN that the phone records that were obtained are part of a new round of call records requested from communication companies. These records include incoming and outgoing calls, the dates they were made, the duration and the times of the calls.

University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban has co-signed a letter to West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D) to support the Freedom to Vote Act. However, the coach later stressed that he did not support killing the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster. In addition to Saban, the letter was signed by NBA legend Jerry West, former Bills linebacker Darryl Talley, former WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck, and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

The House select committee investigating the Capitol riot announced Tuesday it had subpoenaed former New York City mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani for documents and testimony related to his claims that voter fraud cost the 45th president the 2020 election. In addition to Giuliani, the committee subpoenaed former Trump campaign attorneys Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, as well as Trump 2020 strategic adviser Boris Epshteyn.