POLITICO Playbook: Takeaways from a head-spinning night in Republican politics  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  If you're trying to figure out the direction of the Republican Party after Wednesday's circus of a five-hour (!) House GOP Conference meeting, good luck.

AP-NORC Poll: Americans open to Biden's approach to crises  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Two weeks into a new administration, a majority of Americans say they have at least some confidence in President Joe Biden and his ability to manage the myriad crises facing the nation, including the raging coronavirus pandemic.

Hunter Biden's memoir ‘Beautiful Things’ out in April  —  Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden and an ongoing target for conservatives, has a memoir coming out April 6.  —  The book is called “Beautiful Things” and will center on the younger Biden's well publicized struggles with substance abuse …

Militia alliance in Georgia signals new phase for extremist paramilitaries  —  ‘We are going to see a lot of this coalition building with some pretty nasty actors,’ says one expert.  —  The leader of a private paramilitary group that provided security for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene …

Jeff Zucker Announces Plans to Step Down  —  The executive shaped the look and feel of CNN since coming aboard in 2013.  The network hit record ratings in recent months, during which Mr. Zucker had tensions with his newly installed boss.  —  Jeffrey A. Zucker, the president of CNN who reshaped …

Biden administration weighs plan to directly send masks to all Americans  —  WASHINGTON — The Biden White House is considering sending masks directly to American households, according to three people familiar with the discussions, an action the Trump administration explored but scrapped.

‘Vote-a-rama’ to give GOP a chance to inflict pain on Dems  —  The self-inflicted suffering has begun for Senate Democrats trying to muscle through President Joe Biden's pandemic aid plan without a single Republican vote.  —  The procedural trick that shrinks the vote hurdle from 60 to 51 …

Movie at the Ellipse: A Study in Fascist Propaganda  —  On January 6, Trump supporters gathered at a rally at Washington DC's Ellipse Park, regaled by various figures from Trump world, including Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani.  Directly following Giuliani's speech, the organizers played a video.

Parler CEO Says He Was Fired by Conservative Political Donor Rebekah Mercer  —  The moderation-light social media platform was forced offline by tech giants last month over how it policed its content  —  Parler, a moderation-light social media platform that was forced offline last month …

Exclusive: Tim Lenderking to be US envoy for Yemen  —  Long-time diplomat was previously deputy assistant secretary of state for Arabian Gulf Affairs  —  Senior US diplomat and former deputy assistant secretary for Gulf affairs Tim Lenderking will be appointed as envoy to Yemen, sources told The National.

AOC faces backlash as critics point out she wasn't in Capitol building during riot  —  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was in the Cannon office building, across from the Capitol  —  Fox News Flash top headlines for February 3  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is facing criticism …

Broad Bipartisan Support for Biden Economic Plan  —  Share on:  —  Welcome to NAVIGATOR - a project designed to better understand the American public's views on issues of the day and help advocates, elected officials, and other interested parties understand the language, imagery …

Why it matters that Biden team restored regular press briefings  —  ‘A return to normalcy’: Former press secretaries weigh in on Psaki  —  Joe Lockhart is a CNN political analyst.  He was the White House press secretary from 1998 to 2000 in President Bill Clinton's administration.

Young and Ambitious?  Move to New York, Not Austin  —  Big cities and office-settings may be most appealing to early-career professionals who need the networking.  Cheap rents offer a golden opportunity.  —  The pandemic accomplished in 10 months what internet technologies have been promising for decades …

Mitt Romney Proposes $350 Monthly Child Allowance  —  The Utah Republican's proposal shows there's bipartisan energy for helping parents.  —  The federal government would pay most parents of young children $350 per child every month under a groundbreaking new proposal from Sen. Mitt Romney …

Biden Ousts All 10 of Trump's Union Busters From Powerful Labor Panel  —  On Tuesday, Joe Biden demanded the resignations of all 10 of Donald Trump's appointees to the Federal Service Impasses Panel, a powerful labor relations board, in a major victory for federal unions.

How Not to Address Our Domestic Terrorism Problem  —  We should reject calls by elites who have conducted a largely inept campaign of international counterterrorism to now use those tools on their domestic opponents.  —  After ignoring an entire summer of rampant political violence …

The Morning Briefing: Can Ron DeSantis Teach Media Relations to Weak Republicans?  —  The DeSantis Factor Keeps Getting Stronger  —  Happy Thursday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends.  Anyone know where I can get a used submarine in good condition?  —  The Republican party's Biden …

Biden holds all the cards in coronavirus relief talks — and he knows it  —  President Biden told Republican senators in the Oval Office this week that he has “an open door and an open mind” on his $1.9 billion coronavirus rescue bill.  But he has the votes on the Hill and overwhelming support …

Democrats Actually Learned From the Failures of 2009 … On Wednesday, Sen. Joe Manchin appeared on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” to talk about the state of negotiations over President Joe Biden's Covid relief package.  The network posted the video with a misleading headline: “Sen. Manchin calls for bipartisanship on Covid relief plan.”

His polls are sinking.  Democrats are mobilizing.  The Newsom recall just got real.  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom doesn't want to talk about the recall.  But his allies can't ignore it.  —  The campaign to oust Newsom went from unlikely to unavoidable this week …

Sanders shakes up Senate staff  —  Bernie Sanders is shaking up his staff as he steps into a powerful new role in the Senate, three people familiar with the moves told POLITICO.  —  The Vermont senator's chief of staff, legislative director and top communications staffer …

Iowa's House speaker said he can't make lawmakers wear masks — but he did enforce a ban on jeans  —  Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley (R) has repeatedly pushed back against imposing a mask mandate inside the legislature, saying that he cannot force lawmakers to cover their faces …

The New York Times Tops 7.5 Million Subscriptions as Ads Decline  —  In its fourth-quarter earnings report, The New York Times Company said 2020 was its biggest year for adding subscribers.  —  The New York Times set a record for its subscription business in 2020, a year when a pandemic …