Top Eight

Top eight stories for today including the federal government mobilized two mass vaccination sites in California; Temperatures plunged into the single digits across Texas and frustrations grew for millions left without electricity; Italy’s government crisis may be over for now after a new prime minister was appointed over the weekend, and more.

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National

1.) The federal government mobilized two mass vaccination sites in California on Tuesday, marking a major policy shift against the Covid-19 pandemic with the White House taking the lead more than a year after the first cases were reported in the United States.

Vehicles line up at a mass vaccination site opened by the Biden administration at California State University, Los Angeles. (Courthouse News photo / Nathan Solis)

2.) In the first of what is expected to be a mountain of litigation filed against the former president, a Democratic congressman brought a federal complaint accusing Donald Trump of inciting last month’s deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2020 file photo, Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., speaks during a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on 'worldwide threats to the homeland', on Capitol Hill Washington. Thompson has sued former President Donald Trump, alleging Trump incited the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The lawsuit in Washington's federal court alleges the Republican former president conspired with members of far-right extremist groups to prevent the Senate from certifying the results of the presidential election he lost to Joe Biden. The suit also names as defendants Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and groups including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, both of which had members alleged to have taken part in the siege.(John McDonnell/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

Regional

3.) Temperatures plunged into the single digits across Texas early Tuesday, and frustrations grew for millions left without electricity by a grid not equipped to deal with record demand and equipment failures triggered by a historic storm.

Icicles form on a citrus tree from a sprinkler system used to protect the trees from the freezing temperatures on Monday, Feb.15,2021 in Edinburg, Texas.(Delcia Lopez/The Monitor via AP)

4.) People across the Big Easy are decorating their homes in lieu of traditional Mardi Gras celebrations and leaving beads on front porches for passersby.

House floats are taking the place of the usual parades and street parties for Mardi Gras 2021. (Courthouse News photo/Sabrina Canfield)

5.) The New York City Police Department “cannot bargain away” its disclosure obligations, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday as it rejected a bid by police and firefighter unions to block the publishing of thousands of officer misconduct records.

Since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis over a month ago, a nationwide movement of organized protests against systemic racism and police brutality have demanded that cities “Defund the Police”, with thousands of activists in New York City calling daily to strip $1 billion away from the NYPD’s $6 billion budget. (Courthouse News photo / Josh Russell)

International

6.) Italy’s government crisis may be over for now after Mario Draghi, a former European Central Bank president, was appointed prime minister over the weekend.

New Italian Premier Mario Draghi presides over his first cabinet of ministers reunion after the swearing-in ceremony, at Chigi Palace Premier's office, in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

7.) Two former Central African Republic militia leaders pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges of murder, torture and the destruction of religious sites at the start of their trial Tuesday before the International Criminal Court.

Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona, a former Central African Republic militia leader, attends his war-crimes trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday, Feb.16, 2021. (Photo by ICC-CPI)

8.) A consumer group in the European Union filed a complaint against TikTok, the popular video-sharing app, saying the company inappropriately mined data from children and teenagers.

Icons for the smartphone apps TikTok and WeChat are seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. President Donald Trump has ordered a sweeping but unspecified ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of the consumer apps TikTok and WeChat, although it remains unclear if he has the legal authority to actually ban the apps from the U.S. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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