BOOM: ICE Throws Down the Gauntlet, Arresting Two Illegal Aliens in a California Courthouse.

THAT’S A MAJOR IMPROVEMENT OVER RECENT YEARS PAST: CDC: This season’s flu shot nearly 50% effective. Though still not super-impressive.

NOT THE BABYLON BEE: Media Scramble to Fact Check Whether There Were Actual Crickets on Democrat Debate Stage.

#JOURNALISM:

MAYBE YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE SPENT THE LAST FEW YEARS PLAYING FOOTSIE WITH MOSCOW: Turkey Seeks U.S. Patriot Missiles to Deter Russia in Syria.

SHOULD’VE ISOLATED CHINA MUCH SOONER: Coronavirus: ‘Narrowing window’ to contain outbreak, WHO says.

California Bill Would Require Occupational Licenses for Porn Actors, Strippers, Cam Girls.

“On Tuesday, Assemblymembers Lorena Gonzalez (D–San Diego) and Christina Garcia (D–Bell Gardens) introduced Assembly Bill (A.B.) 2389. The bill would require adult entertainers and video performers, including webcam performers, to obtain a business license and complete a state-mandated training course before being allowed to ply their trade.”

TRAINING? 

MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE: Aided by machine learning, scientists find a novel antibiotic able to kill superbugs in mice.

DECOUPLING: Apple moving production from China to Taiwan due to Wuhan coronavirus.

OF COURSE NOT. THEY JUST WANT TO DISARM YOU. Baltimore Democrats don’t want Larry Hogan to rein in gun violence. “The Baltimore PD released data showing that the average homicide suspect arrested in Baltimore has eight previous arrests. They don’t have the resources to closely monitor all of the violent criminals who are out on parole, so the same shooters wind up being arrested over and over again. They believe that fewer than 100 gang members are responsible for the lion’s share of the murders in the city, but they can’t keep them off the streets. A recent poll commissioned by the Governor’s office showed that 85% of residents were in favor of tougher sentencing guidelines for gun crimes. But somehow the Democrats they keep electing to the state legislature aren’t listening to them.”

QUESTION ASKED: How’s That ‘Bail Reform’ Working Out?

DON’T GET COCKY: A new swing state poll paints an ominous picture for Democrats.

In a Quinnipiac survey of registered voters released Thursday, Trump beats all of the major 2020 Democratic contenders in the key state of Wisconsin by between 7 and 11 percentage points, with frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) seven points away from Trump in the state.

The major Democratic contenders fare better against Trump in Pennsylvania and Michigan, where all of them are beating the president, although the margins in Michigan are generally more narrow. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) beats Trump by four points in Pennsylvania and five points in Michigan.

Wait until Trump starts hitting the nominee on their promise to ban fracking (they’ve all promised to ban fracking), which is the best thing to happen to Pennsylvania since the ’70s Steelers.

MAGICAL THINKING: California’s Gov. Newsom Proposes Doctors Prescribing Housing Like Other Medications to Combat Homelessness Problem.

As if the taxpayer isn’t funding enough in California already.

On the other hand, as Karol Markowicz of the New York Post tweets, “I’m super in for this because being Russian means I can get any number of doctors to write me a prescription for a really big house. I’ll take Gavin Newsom’s house, actually.”

THEY AREN’T WOKE; THEY’RE HACKS: ‘Woke’ Media Fail to Notice Historic Cabinet Appointment by Trump. Of Course They Did.

CORN, POPPED: Dems Won’t Guarantee Same-Day Results for Saturday’s Nevada Caucuses.

I’d planned on spending Saturday evening grilling a ribeye rubbed with something spicy and making a pitcher of margaritas, but maybe I’ll indulge in a little schadenfreude-tinged drunkblogging, too.

HMM: Oddsmakers Say Democratic Race Just Got A Whole Lot Simpler.

According to Real Clear Politics’ latest averages of the various betting sites, Biden has collapsed from a high of 37.9% on January 20 to a grim 9.8% as of February 19. Warren peaked on October 13 at a field-burying 53.9% chance of winning the nomination. As of February 19, she’s all the way down at a dismal 3.6% (which is beneath Hillary Clinton, who’s not even in the race but who oddsmakers are saying still has a 4.9% chance of winning).

I REMEMBER WHEN LYNCH MOBS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE BAD: Accusers use ‘street justice’ to harass accused students before a verdict. Their lawyers are fighting back.

CORONAVIRUS: Coronavirus fears lead to worldwide face mask shortages.

SOCIALISTS GOTTA SOCIALIZE: Trump Breaks Another ‘Never Trump’ Person; MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace Confesses Who She’ll Vote For. “Former self-proclaimed Republican and MSNBC anchor Nicole Wallace has taken that step off the cliff and now said that she would support Bernie Sanders.”

OF COURSE HE DOES: Sanders sides with striking grad students who held grades hostage, stole food, got arrested.

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SHE’S NOT WRONG: Angry Chinese Woman Accuses Beijing of Bungling Coronavirus Response.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Katie Hill’s Rehab Tour Is an Incurable News Cycle STD. “Hill could very well be the worst human being of all the low-life Dems who have recently crawled out from under wherever it is these people hide while they’re pulling the wings off of flies for fun. She used the first whiff of power she ever had in her life to take advantage of people. Had she been allowed to rise in the ranks of the Democratic party, Hill might have gone full ‘Teddy Kennedy Off a Bridge in Chappaquiddick’ more than once in her life.”

DESERT STREAK: The USAF Thunderbirds practice a low level maneuver at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.