The New York Times

1. Congress Leaves DC as DHS Shuts Down

   Despite a deadlock over funding for the agency, lawmakers left town and left Democratic and White House negotiators to try to work out a deal in their absence.

2. Beyond the Big Cities, ICE Is Rattling Small-Town and Exurban America

   Far from the national spotlight, towns like Cornelius, Ore., and Coon Rapids, Minn., are dealing with President Trump’s expanding mass deportation effort, and the effects can be acute.

3. Trump’s Minnesota Retreat Points to the Power of Public Anger

   The withdrawal came as polls show Americans opposing the president’s immigration tactics, and as some Republican lawmakers began to find ways to distance themselves.

4. U.S. Inflation Eased at Start of the Year

   The Consumer Price Index fell in January to 2.4 percent from 2.7 percent a month

5. The Hidden Number Driving U.S. Job Growth

   After a year of just 181,000 new jobs, January’s 131,000 increase in the U.S. workforce was surprisingly positive. Ben Casselman, The New York Times’ chief economic correspondent, explains the numbers.