David Bowie, the Legendary Musician, Has Died at 69  —  David Bowie, the infinitely changeable, fiercely forward-looking songwriter who taught generations of musicians about the power of drama, images and personae, died Sunday, two days after his 69th birthday, according to his publicist.

Obama, GOP Congress near end of long, ugly relationship  —  It's happened over and over again since 2011.  A deadline quickly approaches.  Congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama are locked in a stare-down for weeks.  Then, just before calamity hits, a deal is struck — usually.

Poll: Neck-And-Neck 2016 Races in Iowa, New Hampshire  —  Three weeks until the first presidential nominating contest, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are running neck and neck in Iowa, while Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are also locked in a tight race in the Hawkeye State.

Trump's Campaign Is Damaging His Brand  —  If Donald Trump is nothing else, he's an American brand.  The Trump name adorns luxury condominiums, hotels and golf courses around the world; it has sold a TV show, millions of books, a line of cologne and even, briefly, an airline.

Senate Democrats Rammed Through Judges, Now GOP Calls Shots  —  After more than 400 days, Luis Felipe Restropo is finally getting a confirmation vote in the Senate that would make him the first Hispanic federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

Exposing Major PC Cover-up in Sweden - Leading Daily Dagens Nyheter Refused to Write About Cologne-like Sex Crimes in Central Stockholm  —  STOCKHOLM The Cologne sex assault on New Year's Eve, where groups of Arab and North African men groped more than a hundred German women, has shocked Europe this last week.

Obama's Guns Gambit  —  Last week at the White House, as President Obama announced a set of executive actions aimed at blunting gun violence, he seemed anything but numb.  He wept as he invoked the first graders killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Connecticut—a response for which some gun advocates mocked him.

HILLARY'S HOLLYWOOD HEADACHE: Benghazi movie in theaters Thursday gives spotlight to critics' claims — B'DAY: Ben Finkenbinder, Mark Halperin, Steven Law, Walter Mears, Gerald Rafshoon  —  By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; mallen@politico.com) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; dlippman@politico.com)

The State of Chris Christie's New Jersey, in Six Charts  —  Republican governor to give annual address to lawmakers  —  On the presidential campaign trail, he confronts his record  —  After a year in which Governor Chris Christie spent more than half his days outside New Jersey …

Vegas billionaire donor keeps GOP candidates guessing  —  Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson has joked privately that he belongs to a divided household: He likes Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and his wife Miriam likes Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.  —  But the truth, more than half a dozen sources close to Adelson say, is more complicated.

The Obama Boom  —  Do you remember the “Bush boom”?  Probably not.  Anyway, the administration of George W. Bush began its tenure with a recession, followed by an extended “jobless recovery.”  By the summer of 2003, however, the economy began adding jobs again.