Nicole Lafond

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Nicole Lafond is TPM’s deputy editor, based in New York. She has also worked as the special projects editor and as a senior newswriter for TPM. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously covered education in central Illinois.

Where Things Stand: Ronny Jackson Has It All Figured Out Prime Badge
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Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), the physician and rear admiral who successfully rode the coattails of MAGA world to land a seat in the House, is spinning up a new Big Lie for the 2022 midterms – and it’s a doozy.

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Where Things Stand: Fauci Is Getting Increasingly Annoyed With A Few Specific Conspiracy Theorists Prime Badge
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His recent remarks of disdain, aimed at Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, left no room for interpretation.

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Where Things Stand: Governor’s Mansion Is Apparently The GOPs Only Safe Perch For Trump Criticism Prime Badge
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Maryland’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan threw himself into the small chorus of GOP governors willing to distance themselves from former President Trump this week.

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Where Things Stand: House GOPers Roll Out Bad Faith Spin On FBI Plan To Track School Threats Prime Badge
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The DOJ announced in October that it would launch a task force aimed at helping local law enforcement track and investigate threats against teachers and school staff. We knew this.

But this week House Republicans released information about a new FBI tracking program reportedly designed to help the DOJ field these threats. The GOP campaign was, seemingly, part of a broader attempt to push a bad faith narrative: that the Biden administration is seeking to intimidate and silence parents and community members who disagree with local school policies.

That framing is, of course, not true or fair.

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Where Things Stand: GOPers Are Giving Us History-Rewriting Deja-Vu Prime Badge
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Remember the last time Republicans took credit for legislation they actively opposed?

We reported earlier today that anti-BIF Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) lauded the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill just hours after President Biden signed it into law this week, praising at least one element of the package that will provide crucial funding to complete construction work on one of his “top priorities” as a lawmaker — the Birmingham Northern Beltline, a six-lane bypass route around Birmingham, Alabama.

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Where Things Stand: There’s Now A Bounty On Teachers Who Dare To Touch Race Issues In Classroom Prime Badge
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The far-right’s push to make America the Wild West again continues.

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Where Things Stand: Docs Confirm What We Saw In Real Time – Trump’s COVID Handling Was An Intentional Disaster Prime Badge
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President Donald Trump and his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the earliest days of the virus’ spread in the U.S., was an unmitigated disaster. We covered this as it unfolded for months and months.

But new media reports and documents released by a congressional committee probing the prior administration’s steering during 2020 confirm jarring new details about just how far the Trump White House went to interfere with the release of crucial public health-related information to the American people.

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Where Things Stand: New DHS Bulletin Lines Up With Violence Themes We’ve Been Covering For A While Prime Badge
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Domestic extremists are still capitalizing on the spread of disinfo to encourage violence in online forums, according to a new anti-terrorism bulletin from the Department Of Homeland Security set to be released today.

And in promoting online violence, domestic extremists are targeting entities we’re all a bit too familiar with: members of Congress, public health officials and school board members.

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Where Things Stand: What Might Become An Intra-MAGA Primary Fight Gets Off To A Messy Start Prime Badge
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It appears that Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) might be trying to run for attorney general of his home state. “Might be” and “trying” are the key terms here.

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Where Things Stand: DeSantis Sues Over Biden’s OSHA Vaccine Mandate Prime Badge
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It’s a predictable move for the red state governor with 2024 aspirations and one who has built his national profile on, essentially, pretending that COVID is just Not A Thing in Florida, despite the state’s staggering death rates from the virus.

Just hours after the White House’s new vaccine mandate officially went into effect – formalizing the Biden administration’s earlier promises to require that employers with 100 or more workers must mandate vaccines or ensure their workers undergo weekly COVID testing – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his intention to sue over the new rule. The vaccination and weekly negative testing rules for 100-plus employee workplaces will be enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and will impact about 84 million employees around the U.S., according to the White House.

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