News in Review: Tuesday, February 28, 2023

The 2024 GOP race is once again the top story, followed by the Ohio train derailment. The COVID lab leak theory entered the news cycle over the weekend.

This is how the top stories were covered on each side of the media yesterday:

• Trump / DeSantis / 2024 (34% more on the left)

• Ohio train derailment (61% more on the right)

• COVID / lab leak (29% more on the right)

Media bias ratings are from AllSides.

This is how articles from liberal and conservative outlets were distributed over the past five days amongst the top stories.

Liberal outlets used these words more than conservative outlets:

• fnn (114.4x)

• dobbs (64x)

• rupert (36.1x)

Conservative outlets used these words more than liberal outlets:

• buttigieg (5.7x)

• palestine (2.9x)

• lab (2.4x)

What is happening in the top stories?

Now for a deep dive into our top three stories, starting with…

Trump / DeSantis / 2024

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has signed a law giving Florida control of Disney World’s special district.

• DeSantis is aggressively testing the limits of running an unofficial presidential campaign, ramping up national engagements that leave little doubt about his plans for 2024.

• DeSantis will not be attending this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference, instead opting for a jam-packed travel schedule that includes several stops in Florida to promote his new book, as well as GOP dinners in Texas and an appearance at the Club for Growth’s annual donor retreat.

Ohio train derailment

• Government officials went door-to-door over the weekend to check on families in East Palestine, Ohio, in the wake of a train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals in the area.

• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said President Biden should visit the Ohio town instead of traveling to Virginia to speak about healthcare.

• President Joe Biden’s choice to visit Ukraine ahead of the embattled town was deemed “a slap in the face” by its local mayor

• Former President Donald Trump visited the crash scene, delivering goods to the town and ordering fast food.

COVID / lab leak

• The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the DOE determined with “low confidence” that the COVID-19 virus likely stemmed from a lab in Wuhan, China

• A key defense spokesman warned there is “not a consensus” on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic among the United States intelligence community.

• White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said there’s “no definitive answer” on the question of the virus’ origin.

• Rep. Seth Molten (D-Mass.) said he was “not entirely surprised” by the Energy Department’s reported determination that a lab leak likely caused the COVID-19 pandemic.