Jim Jordan sent one of the texts revealed by January 6 committee  —  Rep. Liz Cheney reveals frantic texts from GOP lawmakers to Mark Meadows on January 6  —  (CNN)Rep. Jim Jordan forwarded a text message to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on January 5, outlining a legal theory …

Trump Found Crucial Support in Congress as He Fought to Stay in Power  —  A small circle of Republican lawmakers, working closely with President Donald J. Trump's chief of staff, took on an outsize role in pressuring the Justice Department, amplifying conspiracy theories and flooding the courts …

Donald Trump's Megaphone  —  Fox News news hosts knew that Trump's lies were lies—and they amplified them anyhow.  —  Screw it.  —  I've shown a good deal of restraint since news broke that I left Fox News.  —  I haven't done any TV about it, and I've let a lot of nonsense go by without a response.

Sinema pops Democrats' filibuster trial balloon on voting rights  —  Kyrsten Sinema supports the elections reform bill that Democrats are considering a year-end push to pass.  She doesn't support a shortcut around the filibuster to get it done.  —  The Arizona moderate is making clear …

Unvaccinated Covid Patients Push Hospital Systems Past the Brink  —  Data analysis and visualization by David Ingold and Paul Murray  —  In a Kentucky hospital bed at the end of November, a Covid-19 patient from the state's latest wave of infections lay alone behind the glass isolation wall.

Two major airline CEOs question the need for masks on planes  —  New York (CNN Business)The CEOs of two of the nation's major airlines say they don't think wearing masks on planes does much to help limit exposure to Covid.  —  The comments from American Airlines (AAL) CEO Doug Parker …

Democrat Jeff Jackson expected to drop out of U.S. Senate race  —  A leading Democrat vying for North Carolina's soon-to-be-open U.S. Senate seat plans to leave the race, people familiar with the matter told WRAL Thursday.  —  Sen. Jeff Jackson, D-Mecklenburg, was expected to announce …

Scoop: Perdue rejected GOP appeals to skip governor race  —  A majority of Georgia's Republican state senators quietly sent former Sen. David Perdue a letter last month asking him not to run for governor, Axios has learned.  Weeks later, Perdue forged ahead and announced his primary challenge to incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp.

Scoop: Biden to stop holding undocumented families in detention centers  —  The Biden administration is ending the practice of holding undocumented migrant families in detention centers, turning to remote tracking technology such as ankle bracelets as alternatives.

MTA manager caught using blow-up doll in apparent attempt to skirt HOV laws  —  Surely, he can't be serious.  —  An MTA manager claims an inflatable doll that's been riding shotgun in his Kia Telluride is there “for the company” — and not to skirt HOV restrictions, as his coworkers suspect.

Americans can soon renew passports online, thanks to Biden order  —  The order also includes new technologies to speed up airport security  —  President Biden signed an executive order Monday to allow Americans to renew their passports online, eliminating the need for physical documents and paper checks to be sent through the mail.

Historic wind storm slamming central U.S. with rare tornado threat in the north  —  Minnesota and northern Iowa could see their first December tornadoes on record; winds are expected to gust over 60 mph in Denver, Omaha and Des Moines.  —  Half of the Lower 48 faces a dangerous weather event Wednesday …

After Taliban Return, Afghan Women Face Old Pressures From Fathers, Brothers  —  Family dynamics are changing as some men assert their power.  ‘Nothing scares me more than my father.  Not even the Taliban.’  —  KABUL—When Marjan Amiri marched for women's rights on the streets of Kabul in September …

The Nobel Peace Prize That Paved the Way for War  —  This is the story behind how Ethiopia's prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, won a Nobel Prize for making peace with his country's longtime enemy — and then used the alliance to plan a war.  —  NAIROBI, Kenya — Secret meetings with a dictator.

Leaving Gracie Mansion, Mayor de Blasio looks ahead  —  NEW YORK - Bill de Blasio stood on the front porch of historic Gracie Mansion a few nights ago, surveying a magnificent panorama of the East River, Triborough Bridge and towering skyscrapers before him.

3rd Circuit's Ambro to take senior status, giving Biden second vacancy  —  (Reuters) - U.S. Circuit Judge Thomas Ambro is stepping down from active service on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a court official said Wednesday, creating a new judicial vacancy for President Joe Biden to fill on the Philadelphia-based court.

Biden's Twitter doc army turns on him  —  Presented by the Black Women's Health Imperative  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With Allie Bice.  —  As the Biden administration has worked to confront …

Does Punchbowl News Play by the Rules?  —  Where hosting a confab for lobbyists meets journalistic ethics  —  On Sunday afternoon, the Washington Football Team lost to the Dallas Cowboys, and Punchbowl News was there to see it.  The D.C.-based scoop shop, a newsletter-based online publication …

Retailers say thefts are at crisis level.  The numbers say otherwise  —  Organized retail crime is haunting the nation this holiday season.  —  Captured on smartphones and closed-circuit cameras, thefts involving groups of people smashing windows or individuals wheeling loaded shopping …

NFL map endorses CCP's claim that Taiwan is part of China  —  The NFL appeared to endorse the Chinese Communist Party's claims to sovereignty over Taiwan on Wednesday in a map announcing the NFL's international marketing.  —  The world map shared by the NFL colored the Chinese mainland …

Russian Politician Calls for Kidnapping of U.S. Congressman on Live TV  —  “This is how we should be dealing with these bastards,” the Russian lawmaker said after advocating for the abduction of Rep. Ruben Gallego over his recent comments on Ukraine.  —  With tensions between the United States …

JFK researchers underwhelmed by latest release of assassination documents  —  Washington (CNN)Frustrated JFK researchers say there is little new to learn in Wednesday's release of previously classified documents collected as part of the government review into the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Expand the Supreme Court  —  I don't come to this conclusion lightly or because I disagree with a particular decision; I come to this conclusion because I believe the current court threatens the democratic foundations of our nation.  —  This month, a majority of justices …