NATIONAL

“It’s time to start thinking about his—gulp—presidency.” – Politico

“Marco Rubio, joined at times by Ted Cruz, launched a battery of attacks against Donald Trump at a rowdy Republican debate Thursday, assailing his business record and even trying to turn the tables on the primary front-runner after he teased the senator over his infamous debate “meltdown” earlier this month.” – Fox News

“As an indication of how bad last night’s debate was for Trump, his supporters are going around on the Internet today saying ‘Debates don’t matter, voters do!‘ This is, for reference, the exact same thing Rubio supporters said the day after his disastrous debate in New Hampshire, and we see how that turned out.” – Red State

“After Donald Trump’s win in South Carolina on Saturday, there seemed to be a general consensus about where the Republican race stood, one we pretty much agreed with. Trump, according to betting markets, had about a 50 percent chance of becoming the nominee. Marco Rubio, who had closed strongly to finish in second place in South Carolina, had about a 40 percent chance as the leading traditional candidate. And the rest of the GOP field had only about a 10 percent chance combined.” – FiveThirtyEight.com

“In explaining why the Internal Revenue Service audits him every year, Donald Trump suggested Thursday night that the government agency has unfairly targeted him because of his religion.” – Washington Post

“During an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett on OutFront Thursday night, former Texas Governor Rick Perry seemingly left the door open on entering the 2016 race if it reaches the brokered convention stage.” – Mediate.com

“Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) is defending Donald Trump from calls for the GOP front-runner to release his tax returns.” – The Hill

“Appearing on the Today Show Friday, Marco Rubio kept up the strong attacks on Donald Trump following Thursday’s debate, calling him a ‘con artist’ who made a career out of defrauding Americans.” – Mediate.com

“In the first few minutes, after Wolf Blitzer rang the bell to start the fight at the GOP debate in Houston, Rubio threw punch after punch after punch at Donald Trump, barely letting one land before he moved on to the next one. Campaigns put together portfolios of attacks that plan to use, called ‘oppo books.’ Marco Rubio pulled every sheet out of that book and then tossed the empty cover at Trump, too, for good measure.” – Hot Air

“Early in 2016, radio host Glenn Beck endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, equating him to a modern-day George Washington. Not long after, James Carville, a political adviser to President Bill Clinton, argued former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton might be the most qualified presidential candidate since George Washington. Clearly, Washington’s name still carries weight in American politics.” – The Blaze

LOUISIANA

“You’re probably thinking it’s the poor condition of the road bed.  You might even think it’s the constant flow of large trucks and equipment that move through our state. You might think that it’s the design of the roadways and right of way that creates so many problems for Louisiana drivers. You’d be wrong on all of those assumptions. If you want to know what the most dangerous part of driving in Louisiana or any other state for that matter is, check your mirror.” – KPEL965.com

“Just hours after a key legislative victory Thursday, Gov. John Bel Edwards defended legislation to boost the state sales tax by one penny as less regressive than similar taxes in other states.” – The Baton Rouge Advocate

“Officials with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) say the two samples sent from Louisiana to the CDC have tested positive for the Zika virus.” – Fox8Live.com

“A dry cold front arrives tonight and will drop temperatures for tomorrow. We’ll wake up in the low to mid 30s over the next few nights on the North Shore. On the South Shore, temperatures will drop to the low 40s overnight.” – Fox8Live.com

“The National Weather Service says 13 tornadoes touched down in southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi on Tuesday (Feb. 23). The weather service’s revised damage assessment released Thursday night shows four more tornadoes than what was reported the previous day. Four of the tornadoes rated greater than zero on the enhanced Fujita scale, which measures tornado wind strength.” – NOLA.com

“You may want to buckle up; we’re about to tell you about millions of dollars of your money, poured into the tanks of high-speed automobiles – an investment that left taxpayers in the dust.” – Fox8Live.com

“The Louisiana House voted for budget cuts, drawing down reserve accounts and dozens of potential tax hikes Thursday (Feb. 25) in the first major round of voting aimed at fixing Louisiana’s financial crisis.” – NOLA.com

“In Vermilion Parish, the community is trying to help a family that lost everything in a house fire.” – KATC.com

“State Sen. Bret Allain’s attempts to reform Louisiana’s highly controversial inventory tax will have to wait — at least in this special legislative session.” – NOLA.com

“A bill to raise the state’s sales tax a penny has passed the Louisiana House floor Thursday.”  – KCTV5.com