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 …

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 …

White House announces sweeping immigration bill  —  What Biden has said he'll do about immigration  —  (CNN)The White House announced a sweeping immigration bill Thursday that would create an eight-year path to citizenship for millions of immigrants already in the country and provide …

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 …

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 …

POLITICO Playbook: Biden-blessed immigration bill drops today — but even he's not sold  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  SCOOP: House Minority Whip STEVE SCALISE (R-La.) made the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday to meet with the King of the GOP while fundraising in the area.

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 …

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 …

Bob Dole diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer  —  Bob Dole, the former longtime Kansas senator and 1996 Republican presidential nominee, said Thursday that he has stage 4 lung cancer.  —  “Recently, I was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.  My first treatment will begin on Monday,” Dole, 97, said in a statement.

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.

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.

Simply the best: Why Rush Limbaugh was the GOAT of talk radio  —  Legendary.  Unique.  The GOAT (greatest of all time) of political talk radio.  And it ain't even close.  —  Rush Limbaugh passed away Wednesday at the age of 70.  He had battled Stage 4 lung cancer for more than a year …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Nearly 5,000 National Guard troops to stay in DC over concerns of potential violence in March  —  Thousands of National Guard troops will remain in Washington, D.C., in early March amid concerns over followers of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, some of whom hold out hope former President Trump will be returned to office March 4.

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.