*** REGIONAL NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

+ McClatchy Newspapers: Your Starbucks coffee run could soon cost more. Here’s why prices are going up

+ The Olympian: Little Creek Casino Resort [Shelton] opens new lounge for sports betting

+ KING-5 TV: UN calls on US to halt evictions of disenrolled Nooksack members – This may be the first diplomatic action on record to address potential Indigenous human rights violations in the U.S., according to the UN.

+ CNBC: [Seattle-based] Amazon shares soar on cloud revenue beat and profit gain from Rivan stake

*** NATIONAL NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

Freedom of the Press Foundation: Biden’s Justice Dept. promised to support a strong journalist shield law. So why hasn’t it?

CNBC: Facebook’s $237.6 billion fall sets record for largest one-day value drop in stock market history [Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth just fell $30 billion in one day]

Wall St. Journal: FBI Identifies People of Interest in Bomb Threats Against Black Colleges – Juveniles linked to disguised phone number are being investigated for hate crimes

The Washington Post: When the International Space Station retires, it will plunge into the ocean to die [January 2031], NASA says

CNBC: Southwest will bring booze back on board Feb. 16 after nearly two years

*** VIRUS NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

The Defender: 12 Countries Roll Back COVID Restrictions, Israel Scraps ‘Green Pass’ – Sweden and Switzerland joined Denmark, Norway, Finland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Italy, Lithuania, France and the UK in announcing they will lift COVID restrictions and open up their countries.

The Points Guy: New Zealand will finally start to reopen its borders this month

Newsweek: Replacing Soldiers Discharged for Vaccine Refusal Could Cost Army $200 Million

*** TRUMP NEWS FROM THURSDAY ***

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Fulton judges greenlight special grand jury for Trump probe – special grand jury will be impaneled May 2 [Editor’s note: I have always said this case is the one with the greatest threat of Trump being indicted!]

Politico: Trump considered blanket pardons for Jan. 6 rioters before he left office – The previously unreported conversations show the former president wasn’t simply musing when he floated pardoning the rioters if he runs and wins in 2024.

Common Dreams: Warren Calls on Biden to End Trump-Era Plan Aimed at Privatizing Medicare

The Washington Post via Stripes: Memo circulated among Trump allies advocated using NSA data in attempt to prove stolen election – The proposal to seize and analyze ‘NSA unprocessed raw signals data’ raises legal and ethical concerns that set it apart from other attempts that have come to light

The Washington Post via MSN: The extreme ideas floating around Trump on how to steal the election