Texas mayor tells residents to fend for themselves during power outage: ‘Only the strong will survive’  —  By Tuesday morning, the residents of Colorado City, Tex., were getting anxious.  More than 24 hours had passed since a deadly Arctic blast knocked out power across the state …

Trump attacks McConnell in fiery statement  —  Former President Donald Trump issued a caustic and highly personal statement against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday, effectively declaring war on the Kentucky Republican for failing to back his attempts to undermine the 2020 election.

CNN And NBC Both Paid $35,000 To Left-Wing Activist For Footage Of Fatal Capitol Shooting  —  A left-wing activist facing criminal charges for his involvement in the Capitol riots received $35,000 from both CNN and NBC for footage he recorded of a Trump supporter being fatally shot inside …

Brent Bozell IV, Son Of Prominent Conservative Activist, Charged In Capitol Riot  —  Online sleuths looked into Bozell because he wore the sweatshirt of a Christian school where he previously served as a girls' basketball coach.  —  Leo Brent Bozell IV, the son of conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III …

“Politically isolating”: White House issues obstruction warning to GOP  —  Mike Donilon, senior adviser to President Biden, argues in a memo to White House senior staff that GOP opposition to the COVID rescue package would shrink the party's already declining national support.

L.A. Unified is officially out of excuses for keeping elementary schools closed  —  Schools have been reopening across the country for months now, illustrating that students can return to classrooms with little risk if the proper precautions have been taken.

POLITICO Playbook: The best (and worst) of Biden's town hall  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  There's almost nothing President JOE BIDEN loves more than talking to voters.  It's where he's at his most empathetic, if loquacious, best.  Tuesday night's CNN town hall in Milwaukee put Biden's virtues …

The Baltimore Sun to be acquired by nonprofit from Tribune Publishing  —  Returning The Baltimore Sun to Maryland hands, the state's largest newspaper and its affiliates will be acquired by a nonprofit formed by businessman and philanthropist Stewart Bainum Jr. that would operate the media organization for the benefit of the community.

Trump Era in Atlantic City Will End With 3,000 Sticks of Dynamite  —  An implosion of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, the last vestige of the former president's once-dominant brand in Atlantic City, N.J., is scheduled for Wednesday morning.  —  ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — It will not be the biggest or the best implosion ever.

News Corp and Google Agree To Global Partnership On News  —  Long-term Deal Involves Payment For Premium Content For Google News Showcase;  —  Will Yield Substantial Benefits For Journalism And Society  —  News Corp announced today that it has agreed to an historic multi-year partnership …

Crenshaw Reloaded  —  The Texas Congressman wants it both ways  —  Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw has some deep thoughts about what ails right-wing politics these days.  —  There is, he says, way too much “performance,” rather than persuasion.  Too much much grift; too much talking about …

Princess Latifa: UN to question UAE about Dubai ruler's daughter  —  The United Nations has said it will raise the detention of Princess Latifa, the daughter of Dubai's ruler, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  —  Princess Latifa has accused her father of holding her hostage in Dubai since she tried to flee the city in 2018.

Who paid for Texas AG Ken Paxton to travel to DC for the Jan. 6 rally?  We asked.  He won't answer  —  The state paid for the attorney general's second in command to travel to Washington the week of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, but said the agency did not fund Paxton's trip.

When You Don't Have Trump to Hide Behind  —  There's now space for other scandals.  Witness the Lincoln Project.  —  In case you hadn't noticed, the Lincoln Project — an organization as pointedly anti-Trump as any other, its rise and political relevance symbiotically tied to his — is unraveling.

The False and Exaggerated Claims Still Being Spread About the Capitol Riot  —  Insisting on factual accuracy does not make one an apologist for the protesters.  False reporting is never justified, especially to inflate threat and fear levels.  —  1 hr ago

Scoop: Doug Wardlow announces run for Minnesota's attorney general  —  Republican Doug Wardlow is officially launching his second bid for Minnesota attorney general, Axios has learned.  —  The state of play: Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, edged out Wardlow by four percentage points in 2018 …

‘Hell or high water:’ Manchin tells Biden he won't back push to skirt Senate rules on relief bill  —  (CNN)West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has privately informed President Joe Biden that he won't join any Democratic efforts to force through provisions in his economic rescue package if they are ruled …

2021 TIME100 Next  —  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said the “ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”  Over the past few months, Congressman Adam Kinzinger has stood up for the truth …

The Post-Trump GOP  —  Florida's DeSantis offers one possibility for the party's future  —  Republicans in search of a promising politician capable of assembling a post-Trump coalition need look no further than Florida governor Ron DeSantis.  —  A pugnacious populist by disposition …