NATIONAL

“In an exclusive interview for POLITICO’s ‘Off Message’ podcast, the Reverend Al puts Donald Trump on the couch and reveals his thinking on the Democratic primary.” – Politico

“FBI Director James Comey said late Sunday that the agency owed the victims of last December’s San Bernardino terror attack a ‘thorough and professional investigation’ in an effort to explain why law enforcement officials are trying to compel Apple to help them gain access to a cellphone owned by one of the gunmen.” – Fox News

“Saturday’s South Carolina primary wasn’t exactly what the polls predicted, but it was something of a Goldilocks result: neither good enough nor bad enough for any of the top three candidates to be decisive. With 47 states plus DC and five territories to go, we have a long march still ahead of us.” – Red State

“In the unsparing judgment of the Twittersphere, there was one clear loser after Jeb’s Bush’s graceful exit from the Republican presidential race Saturday night: political strategist Mike Murphy and the Bush-allied super PAC Right to Rise USA, which he directed.” – CNN.com

“Mainstream Republicans grappled on Sunday with Donald J. Trump’s sweeping victory in South Carolina as if cycling through stages of grief, with some refusing to accept that he could be the party’s eventual nominee and others searching for ways to prevent his insurgent candidacy from becoming unstoppable.” – NYTimes.com

“Republican primary front-runner Donald Trump on Sunday said he does not know what he was trying to say during a 2002 interview in which he supported the Iraq invasion.” – The Hill

“Ben Carson’s campaign is fast running out of money, despite raising more overall funds than any other Republican currently running for president.” – The Hill

“Donald Trump won by double digits in New Hampshire. On Saturday, he won by double digits in South Carolina. It was not the Roman triumph that was expected a week before the Palmetto State vote, but it was a solid victory. No GOP candidate who won both New Hampshire and South Carolina has subsequently lost the nomination.” – The Week

“Chinese banks including a branch of China’s biggest bank Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) <601398.SS> have frozen accounts belonging to North Koreans, a South Korean newspaper reported on Monday.”- Hot Air

“After a protester at a Donald Trump rally in Atlanta, Georgia, cut the spotlights Sunday, the result was a surreal scene in which Trump — rather than getting annoyed — actually preferred the dimmer room without bright lights in his eyes.” – The Blaze

LOUISIANA

“One State Representative is pushing for a new law that would require metal detectors in movie theaters.” – KATC.com

“Freshman legislator Rep. Beryl Amedee invoked scripture on Friday (Feb. 19) to tell her fellow House of Representatives members what a bad job they’ve all been doing managing the state’s finances.  The Legislature has just two weeks left in its special session to figure out a way to close a $940 million budget deficit by June 30, when the fiscal year ends.” – NOLA.com

“Early voting is underway in Louisiana for the presidential primary. It’s an election, which one political analyst says, is critically important.” – Fox8Live.com

“Want to help the state dig out of its debt? One state lawmaker wants to set up a way for people to donate to the cause.” – WWLTV.com

“In the latest chapter of a real-life family feud, the third wife and widow of drug smuggler-turned-government informant Adler ‘Barry’ Seal and the three children she had with him claim they had every right to contract with a major motion picture studio for a new film with actor Tom Cruise portraying Seal’s colorful life that ended with his 1986 assassination in Baton Rouge.” – The Baton Rouge Advocate

“What do Republicans in the Louisiana House want, and when will they reveal it?” – The Baton Rouge Advocate

“When Burl Cain hands over the keys to the warden’s house that was built for him at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola a decade ago, the state’s highest-paid civil servant will say goodbye to the prison he oversaw for 20 years — but not the state payroll.” – The Baton Rouge Advocate

“A common refrain among some lawmakers in Baton Rouge these days is that we should ‘look forward’ and stop blaming former Gov. Bobby Jindal for Louisiana’s unprecedented fiscal crisis. If those lawmakers were to read the latest annual report by the Legislative Auditor, they’d change their tune.” – Best of New Orleans