"'I've been to countries all over the world that are indoctrinated by propaganda,' Mr. Newbold said in a long telephone interview last week, adding that he knew how misinformation could be used to manipulate the masses. 'I have no doubts; I'm convinced that the election was not free and fair.' He said he believed that unnamed elites had quietly pulled off a coup by manipulating election software, and warned that the country was still on the precipice of war." Dave Philipps on the remarkable power of the Big Lie: From Navy SEAL to Part of the Angry Mob Outside the Capitol.

+ Nearly 1 In 5 Defendants In Capitol Riot Cases Served In The Military.

+ This is Us: Further evidence of how deranging the big lie is: People took selfies in the middle of committing serious crimes, in part because they were convinced in the moment that they were fighting a worthy fight. AP: Rioters flaunt involvement in Capitol siege.

+ Teen speaks out after alerting FBI about father's alleged role in US Capitol siege.

"In a scene reminiscent of just a year ago — Trump is the first president twice impeached — the lead House prosecutor, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, stood before the Senate to read the House resolution charging 'high crimes and misdemeanors.' But Republican denunciations of Trump have cooled since the Jan. 6 riot. Instead Republicans are presenting a tangle of legal arguments against the legitimacy of the trial and questioning whether Trump's repeated demands to overturn Joe Biden's election really amounted to incitement." Trump impeachment goes to Senate, testing his sway over GOP. If Trump is not convicted by the Senate, sedition should be erased from federal law; and it can be just another affront moved from the felony column to the "norm breaking" column.

"Putin's palace is a toy—a gigantic Lego project of a deranged, obsessive mind. In his film, Navalny stresses that some of the most absurd elements of the project—such as a seven-hundred-euro toilet brush for a bathroom in one of the vineyard houses on the outskirts of the palace complex—serve no practical function; they were placed there in case Putin ever has the occasion to acquaint himself with that implement in that particular room in that particular corner of an estate the size of a small European country. In fact, the whole project was built not for pleasure, and certainly not for show, but to satisfy some insatiable fantasy of wealth. Putin will never sit on the twenty-six-thousand-dollar leather couch or dine at the fifty-thousand-dollar table." The New Yorker's Masha Gessen with a very interesting look at Putin's palace and the mind of a dictator. Putin's Unchanging, Unthinking Response to Alexey Navalny.

"The messaging app Telegram has long been an engine of resistance and an annoyance for tyrants. Authoritarian leaders in Russia and Iran have tried to ban it. When protests broke out recently in Belarus and Hong Kong, Telegram was the glue that held democracy movements together in the face of violent onslaughts by powerful security services. These days, though, Telegram is quickly becoming an online refuge for a different kind of resistance.Far-right conspiracy theorists, racists and violent insurrectionists have been flocking to Telegram in recent weeks" The NYT's Michael Schwirtz: Telegram, Pro-Democracy Tool, Struggles Over New Fans From Far Right. (This is a metaphor for the whole social media story. Everything good is also terrible.)

"Biden added that he expects widespread availability of the vaccines for Americans by spring, with the U.S. 'well on our way to herd immunity' necessary to end the pandemic by summer. Even so, he warned the nation was going to be 'in this for a while, and could see between "600,000 and 660,000 deaths before we begin to turn the corner in a major way.'" Biden more bullish on vaccines, open to 1.5M daily shot goal. (I've had my sleeve rolled up for weeks. Let's go.)

+ ‘New weapon' to kill COVID? UCSF-led team finds drug that could be far more effective than remdesivir. (This is part of a global team effort.)

"Over the last couple decades, investors have poured trillions and trillions of dollars into index funds and other massive funds run by three companies: Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street Global Advisors, which together have over $16 trillion in assets under their control. If you have a retirement account, there's a good chance it's run by one of them. Their combined average stake in each of the biggest 500 American corporations (aka the S&P 500) went from 5.2% in 1998 to 20.5% in 2017. As we've written before in the Planet Money newsletter, legal scholars and economists are increasingly concerned as these gigantic institutional investors gobble up greater and greater stakes in companies within the same industry." Is Your 401(k) Colluding To Make Cereal More Expensive? (They've been ... no, Dave, don't do it ... milking us for years...)

"Jim had operated open-house policy at his home every Sunday evening for more than 40 years. Absolutely anyone was welcome to come for an informal dinner, all you had to do was phone or email and he would add your name to the list. No questions asked. Just put a donation in an envelope when you arrive." BBC: Jim Haynes: A man who invited the world over for dinner. (This is the exactly opposite of my closed, and often nailed-shut, door policy.)

"Food companies are increasingly jumping into the plant-based space. In 2019, Chobani introduced coconut milk-based yogurt and Nestle brought out plant-based burgers and ground meat. Meat giant Tyson Foods, which used to own a stake in Beyond Meat, now has its own line of plant-based meats. Consumers are eager to try those products. U.S. sales of plant-based meat jumped 45% in the 52 weeks ending Jan. 16." PepsiCo goes Beyond Meat in new partnership. (Finally, meatless soda.)

Given the past four years, it was an unreal and welcome moment during a press conference when Biden Apologized to Kamala Harris for Saying ‘I' Instead of ‘We' During Speech.

As a person who primarily identifies as Jewish and Pro-Carb, I have to say, I feel seen. Now I want to feel fed. Joe Biden stops motorcade on return from church to buy bagels from trendy bakery. I don't know if unity is possible, but if it is, it will take a dude who scores bagels on the way home from church.

+ Target joins Costco in dropping coconut milk brand over forced monkey labor allegations. (Isn't that what Toobin got fired for?)