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Democrats are feeling increasingly confident about their chances of winning back the House and Senate in the 2018 midterms. Here’s what they said the party’s top priorities and strategies should be between now and November. Don’t be in a hurry to compromise Democrats think Republicans have good reason to be worried about the midterms given President Trump’s approval numbers, an endless stream of White House controversies and history: The President’s party typically loses seats in the first midterm of his term. Former Rep. Steve Israel said the focus has to be winning on November, even as lawmakers battle for legislative victories this winter. They say the administration should have to work hard to win them over. “It’s gotta be a good deal,” Manley said of any legislative compromise. While a party of Emanuel’s game plan was to recruit top candidates across the country, he also focused on the suburbs, a hotbed for moderate voters that Dems say will be the key to victory in 2018. “If we’re ever going to win again in the south we’ve got to put candidates up that people in the south will vote for.” Make the politics local While voters are attuned to what’s happening nationally, what they care most about is what happens in their backyards. They want members of Congress to focus on the issues that matter most in their daily lives,” she said. Every midterm election in history has had something to do with the president, and Trump’s unconventional presidency will be the biggest overriding issue in November.

But he gets poor marks for his handling of health care, the national debt and foreign relations. Overall, 35 percent who would give him an “F” — slightly more than the 34 percent of voters who would give Trump an “A” or “B” grade for his first year. The remaining voters give him a “C” (14 percent) or a barely-passing “D” (11 percent), and 5 percent have no opinion. Men are more positive toward Trump’s performance thus far: 38 percent give him an “A” or “B,” while 42 percent give him a “D” or “F.” Among female voters, fewer than a third, 31 percent, give Trump an “A” or “B,” while half, 50 percent, think he should get a “D” or “F.” Perceptions of Trump’s performance also break sharply along partisan lines. Just 27 percent would give Trump high marks — an “A” or “B” — while roughly twice as many, 45 percent, would give him a “D” or “F.” Trump’s overall marks were higher the last time the POLITICO/Morning Consult poll asked voters to fill out his report card — as he approached the 100-day mark in April of last year. At that point in his presidency, 39 percent of voters gave him an “A” or “B,” while only 37 percent gave him a “D” or “F.” But while his overall grades have declined markedly between day-100 and day-365, Republican voters are happier with his performance now, the poll shows. "Despite a tumultuous first year in office, our polling shows an uptick in Republican voters who think Trump is doing an excellent job as President,” said Morning Consult co-founder and Chief Research Officer Kyle Dropp. “In mid-April, 33 percent of Republicans said they would grade Trump’s presidency an ‘A,’ compared to 43 percent of Republicans who said they would give him the same grade today.” Trump’s best subject, per his report card, are the economy, jobs and fighting terrorism. Roughly half of voters (49 percent) give him a “D” or “F,” while only a quarter (24 percent) give Trump an “A” or “B.” In what might be a warning sign, Trump earns low marks on some core Republican issues. Only 33 percent give him an “A” or “B” thus far on international trade, compared to 40 percent who give him a “D” or “F.” Few voters think Trump has changed the culture of the nation’s capital: Only 22 percent give him an “A” or “B” on “draining the swamp,” while nearly twice as many (42 percent) think he deserves a “D” or an “F.” Trump is only a quarter of the way into his term as president, and voters are divided along partisan lines about his remaining time in office.

LOS ANGELES -- A jubilant Ava DuVernay was named entertainer of the year at an NAACP Image Awards ceremony that focused on the black community's power to create change. "This is our time," DuVernay said. Barris' show "black-ish" was the night's big winner. "Power" was named best drama series, and star Omari Hardwick won for dramatic actor. Other winners included "Gifted" actress Octavia Spencer and "Empire" star Taraji P. Henson, who were both absent, and Daniel Kaluuya, who won for his leading role in "Get Out." The special awards provided some of the night's most poignant moments. Halle Berry talked about the significance of presenting the NAACP Image Awards on Martin Luther King Jr. day. Beyond his union leadership, Lucy was also an activist who fought apartheid in South Africa. He dedicated his award to the Memphis sanitation workers who went on strike in 1968, several of whom were in the audience at the Image Awards. King spoke to the striking employees the night before he was assassinated.

Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. It's about to be some kind of week in Washington. The government's going to shut down Friday without a spending bill. But passage of that bill seems far less likely after last week's drama over immigration and DACA. Even the adults looked like children. More than 140 female athletes, including members of the gold medal-winning "Fierce Five" team from the 2012 London Games, have accused Nassar of abuse. Biles called out USA Gymnastics, saying it allowed Nassar to abuse girls for years. The alert created instant chaos Saturday morning in Hawaii, where residents and tourists had been told they'd have less than 20 minutes to find shelter if North Korea launched a missile attack. The Venezuelan police pilot accused of launching a shocking helicopter attack on the country's Supreme Court is dead. CNN has not been able to independently confirm Perez's death, but Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said an operation had been held to hunt down the "terrorist group that attacked the Supreme Court."

Representative Mark DeSaulnier voted no on a bill beneficial to all Californians, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He not only opposed this bill, but deliberately misrepresented it to his constituents. Ninety-five percent of taxpayers will benefit, including those in high tax states impacted more by deduction limits. Offsetting deduction limits, taxes at every level are reduced, the standard deduction is doubled and everyone will enjoy a lower marginal tax bracket making each dollar earned worth more. The AMT has been permanently fixed so that it impacts only the wealthiest as it was originally intended. Long overdue changes to corporate taxes will make companies globally competitive and invigorate our economy. We need an honest representative who will reject petty partisan politics. That person is clearly not Mark DeSaulnier. I respectfully ask DeSaulnier to resign so that we can be elect someone who will put our interests first. Thomas Nelson Danville Submit your letter to the editor via this form Read more Letters to the Editor

The Story: President Donald Trump campaigned in large part on dissatisfaction with the North American Free Trade Agreement. Talks toward "modernization" are underway, but are deadlocked. The Background: Trump's campaign promise was, "A Trump administration will renegotiate...

Seth Meyers' monologue from Monday, January 15. » Subscribe to Late Night: http://bit.ly/LateNightSeth » Get more Late Night with Seth Meyers: http://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers/ » Watch Late Night with Seth Meyers Weeknights 12:35/11:35c on NBC. LATE NIGHT ON SOCIAL Follow Late Night…

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer discusses the future of DACA and Trump's word against Sen. Dick Durbin's. Subscribe To "The Late Show" Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/ColbertYouTube For more content from "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", click HERE: http://bit.ly/1AKISnR Watch full…

You say tomat-ah, I say tomat-oh. Subscribe To "The Late Show" Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/ColbertYouTube For more content from "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", click HERE: http://bit.ly/1AKISnR Watch full episodes of "The Late Show" HERE: http://bit.ly/1Puei40 Like "The Late Show"…

Stephen makes a case for the Hawaii employee who notified the entire state of an imminent, imaginary ballistic missile. Subscribe To "The Late Show" Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/ColbertYouTube For more content from "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", click HERE: http://bit.ly/1AKISnR…