In documenting the drama that has swirled around the inner workings of The New York Times this last decade or so — perhaps culminating with Jill Abramson's ouster — Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Matthew Continetti makes this observation:

Gossipy, catty, insular, cliquey, stressful, immature, cowardly, moody, underhanded, spiteful — The New York Times gives new meaning to the term "hostile workplace." What has been said of the press — that it wields power without any sense of responsibility —is also a fair enough description of the young adult. And it is to high school, I think, that The New York Times is most aptly compared. The coverage of the Abramson firing reads at times like the plot of an episode of Saved By the Bell minus the sex... [Washington Free Beacon]

Was there much sex in Saved by the Bell? Not that I recall. Sounds more like 90210 to me. But I digress.

Sophomoric behavior, no doubt, permeates a lot of offices in America — and I suspect too many work environments feel like high school. But this is special. Commenting on the White House Correspondents Dinner recently, Mark Leibovich observed, "This is a classic case of the bubble world and the unselfawareness..." One could say the same thing about the recent spectacle surrounding America's "paper of record."

Americans already hate the news media. And based on the breathless coverage of Abramson's ouster by the Acela Corridor elite — and the embarrassing details and accusations that continue to trickle out — we're left asking this: Can anyone blame them? Matt K. Lewis

Former Vice President Mike Pence has landed a new job.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, announced on Thursday that Pence will join the organization as a distinguished visiting fellow. As part of his duties, he will advise policy experts, write a monthly column, deliver policy speeches, and fight back "against a socialist agenda pushed by those on the left," Heritage said.

Pence tweeted that the Heritage Foundation "helped shape my conservative philosophy for decades" and he looks forward to "rolling up my sleeves" and getting to work. Heritage President Kay C. James is excited to have Pence on board, saying in a statement that knowing Pence is "still in the fight is an adrenaline shot for the entire conservative movement." Catherine Garcia

David Hogg just started a pillow fight with Mike Lindell.

Hogg is a gun control advocate who survived the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Lindell, the founder and CEO of MyPillow, is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump who continues to spread false claims about voter fraud. On Thursday, entrepreneur William LeGate tweeted about starting a company with Hogg that could "put MyPillow out of business," and Hogg quickly responded that he was game.

Hogg and LeGate later confirmed that this isn't an elaborate troll, and that their pillows will be "union made in America to create good jobs that support American families." Also, they will "not attempt a white supremacist overthrow of the United States government." Hogg said their website should go up in a few weeks, and the yet-to-be-named company will hire veterans, formerly incarcerated people, and "the workers from MyPillow in the case we put them out of business." Catherine Garcia

Before the House voted to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) of her committee posts, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) explained why Greene's extremist social media posts put their colleagues in danger.

Hoyer brought a poster to the floor that showed one of Greene's old Facebook posts. The image depicted Greene holding a gun, next to photos of progressive Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. The women have been dubbed "The Squad," and written at the bottom of the post were the words "Squad's Worst Nightmare."

"I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle when they take this vote: Imagine your faces on this poster," Hoyer said. "Imagine it's a Democrat with an AR-15. Imagine what your response would be and would you think that that person ought to be held accountable?"

"They're not 'The Squad,'" he continued. "They're Ilhan. They're Alexandria. They're Rashida. They are people. They are our colleagues." Hoyer asked if the image — which was removed from Facebook for violating its policies — was intended to scare the women so they "would have a nightmare about somebody with a gun, an AR-15. I urge my colleagues to look at that image and tell me what message you think it sends." Eleven Republicans voted with all of the Democrats to eject Greene from her two committees. Catherine Garcia

The House voted on Thursday to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) of her committee posts, over inflammatory and violent remarks she has made and supported.

The vote was 230-199, with 11 Republicans joining Democrats to kick Greene off the Education and Labor and Budget committees. Greene has a history of making racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-Muslim remarks, and has also endorsed the execution of Democratic leaders, said there was no evidence a plane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, pushed the QAnon conspiracy, and harassed school shooting survivors.

Ahead of the vote on Thursday, Greene made excuses for her past comments, saying she conducted research on QAnon and regrets being "allowed to believe things that weren't true." She went on to say "school shootings are absolutely real" and "9/11 absolutely happened," but did not apologize for any of her remarks and claimed she is the victim of "big media companies." Catherine Garcia

Johnson & Johnson on Thursday applied for an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its COVID-19 vaccine.

This is a single-dose vaccine that can be stored in a refrigerator. If approved, it will be the third coronavirus vaccine authorized for emergency use in the United States, after the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna products.

Last week, Johnson & Johnson said its vaccine is 66 percent effective against moderate to severe infections, while offering protection against hospitalization and death. It is less effective against the COVID-19 variant first discovered in South Africa.

The FDA will now review the company's submission, and an authorization could come sometime in the next few weeks, Politico reports. Catherine Garcia

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is not afraid to enforce Congress' mask mandate — and encourage some basic common sense.

Continuing his reputation for calling out his colleagues for not wearing masks, Brown on Thursday turned his attention to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). When Paul made a request to keep a vote to just 10 minutes, Brown responded with an unrelated objection: "I would like to ask Senator Paul, in front of everybody, to start wearing a mask on the Senate floor like the entire staff does all the time." "I wish Senator Paul would show the respect to his colleagues to wear a mask," he continued.

Brown also got into a dispute with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) after asking the senator to put on a mask back in November. Video of that led Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to call Brown an "ass" for demanding Sullivan wear a mask "when nobody is remotely near him" — even though a Senate staffer's head is clearly visible in front of Sullivan in video of the incident.

Since Brown's brush with Sullivan, President Biden has mandated masks be worn on all federal property, including the Capitol building. Kathryn Krawczyk