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.

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 …

Obama, Biden pay tribute to Harry Reid: “brilliant, sometimes irascible, deeply good”  —  LAS VEGAS — President Biden and former president Barack Obama, speaking at former Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid's memorial service Saturday, lavished praised on Reid's pragmatic, dealmaking style …

Was January 6 an Inside Job?  —  Have you been asking yourself some tough questions lately?  You sound like you're not rowing with both oars in the water.  Stop talking to yourself, and start asking Matt Labash.  That's why we call this Slack Tide feature “Ask Matt Labash.”

Sister-in-law: Ex-MI House Speaker Lee Chatfield sexually assaulted me as teen … LANSING—Former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield manipulated and sexually assaulted the teenage girlfriend of his younger brother when she was a student at the Christian academy where he taught, the woman said she has told police.

Conflict Quickly Emerges Between Top Prosecutor and Police Commissioner  —  A memo by New York City's new police leader sharply questioned Manhattan's new district attorney over his strategy for prosecuting crime.  —  New York City's new police commissioner has expressed severe dissatisfaction …

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 …

Why are Caucasians Vanishing in TV Commercials?  —  Commercials take up 27% of commercial television screen time and are the main source of income for TV and radio stations.  In most cases, advertisements on all channels appear simultaneously, so don't try to change the channel, there will be commercials elsewhere, too.

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 …

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.

New York hospitals admit that nearly HALF of their ‘covid’ patients were admitted for other reasons after Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered them to disclose the key statistic  — New York hospitals revealed Friday that 42% of COVID patients were admitted for other reasons, and tested positive for the virus only incidentally

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 …

Where was Justice Neil Gorsuch's mask?  —  Where was Justice Neil M. Gorsuch's mask?  If you think this sounds like a trivial question, I dissent.  I believe it goes to the heart of our fraying social fabric.  —  When the Supreme Court justices took their seats Friday morning …

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.”

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 …

Explosives found at Florida man's home after arrest at rally  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Authorities said they found homemade explosives, including hand-style grenades and a pipe explosive, along with nails and duct tape while searching the home of a Florida man arrested after he was spotted running away …

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

German SPD official defends pro-Nord Stream 2 policy  —  The Nord Stream 2 pipeline to bring Russian gas to Germany should not be mixed up with political and human rights disputes with Moscow, a senior official from the Social Democratic Party (SPD) that leads Germany's coalition government told Reuters.

U.S. plans to discuss missile deployments with Russia as part of effort to defuse Ukraine crisis  —  Negotiators for the United States are planning to show up to talks with their Russian counterparts Monday with proposals to discuss the placement of missiles and scope of military exercises in Europe …