Capitol attack panel investigates Trump over potential criminal conspiracy  —  Messages between Mark Meadows and others suggest the Trump White House coordinated efforts to stop Joe Biden's certification  —  The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack is examining whether Donald Trump oversaw …

Mike Pompeo didn't lose all that weight the way he claims  —  OPINION AND COMMENTARY  —  Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters.  —  BY THE KANSAS CITY STAR EDITORIAL BOARD

POLITICO Playbook: Civil rights leaders see a turning point for Biden  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  SPOTTED: Speaker NANCY PELOSI, Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER and wife, IRIS WEINSHALL, Sens. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-Minn.) and DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) dining together at Le Diplomate on Friday night.

As More Teachers' Unions Push for Remote Schooling, Parents Worry.  So Do Democrats.  —  Chicago teachers have voted to go remote.  Other unions are agitating for change.  For Democrats, who promised to keep schools open, the tensions are a distinctly unwelcome development.

Manchin's $1.8 trillion spending offer appears no longer to be on the table  —  The West Virginia Democrat, who has consulted Mitt Romney and Trump's former economic adviser, had backed climate and education spending, but talks are now on ice  —  The week before Christmas …

The racist 1890 law that's still blocking thousands of Black Americans from voting  —  Revealed: Fewer than 200 of those affected have been able to regain their voting rights in the last quarter-century  —  The Mississippi officials met in the heat of summer with a singular goal in mind: stopping Black people from voting.

Ted Cruz Debases Himself for the Base  —  The Texas senator tries to be all things to all people, and ends up pleasing no one.  —  U.S.  —  What Happened on January 6  —  By KEVIN D. WILLIAMSON  —  The Capitol riot was just the tip of a very dangerous spear.  —  U.S.  —  Anniversary of a Disgrace

Cy-Fair ISD teacher put 13-year-old son in her trunk while driving to testing site for fear of COVID-19 exposure, documents reveal  —  Ninfa Saavedra, Digital Content Specialist  —  HOUSTON - A mother has been charged after her 13-year-old son was found in the trunk of her car …

Matt Walsh Suspended From Twitter Over Transgender Tweets.  Here's What Twitter Has Censored.  —  The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh on Friday night was suspended from Twitter over tweets he posted recognizing biological realities and not so-called “gender identity.”

Democracy is on the brink of disaster.  For voters, it's politics as usual. … It was the scariest of times, it was the stablest of times.  —  Contemporary American politics offers an unsettling study in contrasts.  On the one hand, Donald Trump's lies about a stolen presidential election …

‘The last straw’ |  After months of curfew violations and threats, DOJ wants Proud Boy locked up  —  Federal prosecutors say Joshua Pruitt has shown he won't abide by court-ordered restrictions while he awaits trial on charges related to January 6.  —  WASHINGTON — The Department …

Kazakhstan detains former head of national security as Putin and Kazakh president discuss restoring ‘order’  —  'We're not thugs or terrorists': Kazakh protester responds to president's blame  —  (CNN)Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev …

Can Eric Adams really hire his brother?  —  Bernard Adams wouldn't be the first family member of a mayor to work in their administration.  —  New York City Mayor Eric Adams' brother, Bernard Adams, is getting a high level job as deputy commissioner in the New York City Police Department …

Just 1% of the 7 million US climbers are African American, study finds  —  The lack of diversity in outdoor recreation is receiving more attention.  Facing Race looks at how Washington state is pushing for more equity and inclusion outdoors.  —  SEATTLE — Locking in and taking the first step …

Facebook's Former Elections Boss Now Questions Social Media's Impact on Politics  —  Katie Harbath says she left Facebook disillusioned; now she pushes for more online guardrails  —  Katie Harbath joined Facebook more than a decade ago as the first Republican employee in the company's Washington …

Covid may raise the risk of diabetes in children, C.D.C. researchers reported.  —  Children who have recovered from Covid-19 appear to be at significantly increased risk of developing Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday.

Amazon shortens paid leave policy for employees infected with COVID-19  —  Amazon is shortening its paid leave policy for employees infected with COVID-19 following the change in quarantine guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  —  Amazon told all U.S. employees …

COVID Is an Emergency.  To SCOTUS's Conservatives, It's Also an Opportunity.  —  Where the liberal justices see sickness and death, the conservatives see a chance to crush government.  — A Trucker Stuck for 14-Plus Hours on a Virginia Highway Explains What It's Like—and How She's Peeing

Inslee says lying about elections should be a crime  —  In a surprise announcement Thursday, the anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced that he's drafting legislation to make it a crime for elected officials and candidates …

America's Omicron Wave Already Looks More Severe Than Europe's  —  From abroad, where COVID-conscious Americans now look for portents of our near-term Omicron future, nearly all the signs have been positive over the last few weeks.  In fact, case numbers aside, the U.K. and continental surges …

Biden, funerals and a bygone America  —  LAS VEGAS — He spoke at a private memorial for the former first lady of Indiana, eulogized two former Republican senators and sat in the audience to honor the life of a onetime GOP secretary of state.  —  He flew to Delaware to pay homage to the state's former governor.