AP source: Sen. Cruz went to Mexico on vacation amid storm  —  DALLAS (AP) — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has traveled to Mexico for a family vacation as his home state struggles with a weather crisis that has left much of Texas without power.  —  The high-profile Republican lawmaker went with his family …

Texas was “seconds and minutes” away from catastrophic monthslong blackouts, officials say  —  Officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said that grid operators implemented blackouts to avoid a catastrophic failure that could have left Texans in the dark for months.  —  Copy link

Immigration Overhaul Would Offer 8-Year Path to Citizenship for Millions  —  The proposal offers an eight-year path to citizenship for most of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, eliminates restrictions on family-based immigration and expands worker visas.

Manhattan D.A. Recruits Top Prosecutor for Trump Inquiry  —  The Manhattan district attorney has enlisted a former federal prosecutor who is an expert on white-collar crime to join the team investigating the Trump family business.  —  As the Manhattan district attorney's office steps …

Trump snubs Haley  —  SCOOP: NIKKI HALEY reached out to former President DONALD TRUMP on Wednesday to request a sit-down at Mar-a-Lago, but a source familiar tells Playbook that he turned her down.  The two haven't spoken since the insurrection on Jan. 6, when Haley blasted Trump for inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol.

Trump Can Still Be The Republican Party's Future.  Just Look To Arizona.  —  Arizona Republicans keep losing.  But the Arizona Republican Party has already turned itself into a Trump machine, still trying to win an election that's long over.  And that might be the future of conservatism.

US life expectancy drops a year in pandemic, most since WWII  —  Life expectancy in the United States dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused its first wave of deaths, health officials are reporting.  —  Minorities suffered the biggest impact …

AG Jason Ravnsborg charged with three misdemeanors in crash that killed Highmore man  —  South Dakota's Attorney General will face misdemeanor charges for his role in a crash that killed a Highmore man more than five months ago.  —  The Hyde County State's Attorney's Office announced Thursday …

The Supreme Court is still sitting on Trump's tax returns, and justices aren't saying why  —  (CNN)Lawsuits involving Donald Trump tore apart the Supreme Court while he was president, and the justices apparently remain riven by him.  —  For nearly four months, the court has refused to act …

On the Ground … A Radio Man and His Presidents  —  For more than 30 years, the White House occupant could not ignore Rush Limbaugh.  —  Politics and law  —  Rush Limbaugh's conservative radio talk show debuted on August 1, 1988, at the tail end of Ronald Reagan's years in the White House.

Walk Away from Never Trump  —  The Lincoln Project isn't the only purveyor of fake conservative grift.  —  When one member of a romantic partnership practices infidelity, he or she becomes hyper-paranoid about the other partner committing the same crime.  Vice has this way of snowballing …

Bob Dole announces stage four lung cancer diagnosis  —  Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole has been diagnosed with lung cancer.  —  The 97-year-old Republican, a war hero who ran unsuccessfully as the 1996 Republican presidential nominee, announced he was “recently” …

Reply All Is Having Its Own Reckoning Now  —  Oh, you like podcasts?  Sign up for Vulture's new recommendation newsletter 1.5x Speed here.  —  Earlier this month, Reply All kicked off an ambitious miniseries, “The Test Kitchen,” which sought to take on one of the bigger stories …

‘Recipe for disaster’: Dem fears mount over immigration overhaul  —  “Biden is going to be dealing with a minority in Congress if he continues down some of these paths,” said one Democratic congressman.  —  Migrants are loaded onto a bus by U.S. Border Patrol agents after being detained …

Michael Madigan resigns from Illinois House after being ousted as speaker, defends his legacy in face of ‘vicious attacks’  —  By E. JASON WAMBSGANS / CHICAGO TRIBUNE “,sourceId: “119780616”,shareUrl: “https%3A%2F%2Fwww.chicagotribune.com%2 Fnews%2Fchi- illinois-politician-michael-madigan …

Pass popular Biden's popular COVID-19 bill  —  In the Real Clear Politics summary of all polling, as of Tuesday morning, President Biden's favorable rating was 54.7 percent while his unfavorable rating was only 36.5 percent.  Comparable favorable and unfavorable ratings for former President Trump …

NASA Lands Its Perseverance Rover on Mars  —  Here's what you need to know:  —  Cheers erupted in the control room as NASA's rover reached the red planet.  —  NASA landed a new robotic rover on Mars on Thursday, its most ambitious effort in decades to directly study whether there was ever life on the red planet.

AP source: Police suggest keeping Capitol fence for months  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Capitol Police officials told congressional leaders the razor-wire topped fencing around the Capitol should remain in place for several more months as law enforcement continues to track threats against lawmakers …

US and Europe allies reaffirm Iran stance in Paris meeting  —  The foreign ministers of the U.S., France, Germany and the U.K. reaffirmed their call for Iran to fall back into line with commitments under the Obama-era nuclear deal as a quid pro quo for the U.S. to recommit to the agreement.