Ted Cruz flew to Cancun with his family amid power crisis in Texas: source  —  Millions in Texas without power, at least 20 dead  —  Texas outages is proof we need to expand energy options: Wesley Hunt  —  Sen. Ted Cruz flew to Cancun, Mexico, with his family this week as Texas dealt …

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.

A Grim Measure of Covid's Toll: Life Expectancy Drops Sharply in U.S.  —  American life expectancy fell by one year, to 77.8 years, in the first half of 2020.  It may rebound as the pandemic's end approaches.  —  Life expectancy in the United States fell by a full year in the first six months of 2020 …

FBI, U.S. attorney in Brooklyn probing Cuomo administration on nursing homes  —  Investigation is in its early stages; no allegations of wrongdoing have been made  —  ALBANY — The FBI and the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn have launched an investigation that is examining, at least in part …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

While Texans Freeze, Governor Greg Abbott Lies About the Green New Deal  —  Republican politicians try—and fail—to deflect blame with outrageous spin.  —  Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been presiding over a waking nightmare, as millions of Texans have been freezing because of massive power outages caused …

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 …

Mostly united over covid relief, Democrats face divisions over Biden's massive second economic plan  —  Fights loom on infrastructure, climate and other major — and competing — agenda items  —  Even as President Biden and congressional Democrats work to pass their $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill …

Why We're Taught to Not Speak Ill of the Dead  —  We used to widely honor the instruction to not speak ill of the dead, at least in media and public communications.  But in our modern era of social media, the instinct is largely the opposite.  When a prominent political figure passes away …

Trump Frets Foes Will Be ‘Suing Me for the Rest of My Life’  —  Though the riot was the culmination of Trump's months of attempts to overturn the election, it's hardly the only incident that may have left the ex-president legally exposed.  —  A criminal investigation in the state of Georgia.

What, if anything, did the GameStop saga teach us?  —  What happened with GameStop exposed some real problems with the market.  Nobody knows quite what to do about it.  —  Plenty of smart people think that someone should do something about whatever happened with GameStop in January.

It might just be game over for the Iowa caucuses  —  The siege of Iowa and New Hampshire has begun.  —  The two states with privileged places on the presidential primary calendar are finding their roles more threatened than ever before — most recently in the form of a bill introduced …

Silicon Valley-backed groups sue Maryland to kill country's first-ever online advertising tax  —  The lawsuit from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and groups such as the Internet Association, whose members include Amazon, Facebook and Google, comes just a week after the state imposed the tax to help fund education

What Trump Gets Wrong About McConnell  —  Well, it's on.  —  Donald Trump ended his post-presidency silence not with a blast at President Joe Biden, or at the left, or at the House impeachment managers, but at the true enemy—Mitch McConnell.  —  The Trump forces aren't forming a third party …

How Oracle Sells Repression in China … Police in China's Liaoning province were sitting on mounds of data collected through invasive means: financial records, travel information, vehicle registrations, social media, and surveillance camera footage.  To make sense of it all, they needed sophisticated analytic software.

FEMA sending generators, water and blankets to Texas  —  WASHINGTON — The federal government is sending generators, water and blankets to Texas and is preparing to ship in diesel, as well, to help with backup power amid the massive outages that accompanied the recent cold snap, the White House announced on Wednesday.

The Christian Prophets Who Say Trump Is Coming Again  —  Perched on a cream-colored armchair, Johnny Enlow, a 61-year-old, California-based Pentecostal pastor with short-cropped gray hair, a trim beard and Tom Selleck-style mustache, looked into the camera and prophesied that Donald Trump would become president again.

Tennessee bill would grant fathers veto power over abortion, allow establishment of paternity without a woman's consent  —  In an effort to further restrict abortion in Tennessee, two Tennessee lawmakers have introduced legislation that would allow a father to deny an abortion without the pregnant woman's consent.