A Note from Jeb Bush  —  Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!  —  Like many of you, our family was blessed with the opportunity to gather together over the recent Thanksgiving holiday.  —  Columba and I are so proud of the wonderful adults our children have become, and we loved spending time with our three precious grandchildren.

Pakistani Taliban Attack on Peshawar School Leaves 145 Dead  —  Aftermath of School Attack in Pakistan Aftermath of School Attack in Pakistan  —  The scene on Tuesday in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan after more than 100 people were killed in a Taliban attack on a school.  —  Video by Quynhanh Do on

Ted Cruz reignites GOP civil war  —  Republican senators pounded Ted Cruz over the weekend, lashing him for his procedural tactics and ultimately voting in large numbers against his immigration gambit.  —  Now, Cruz's allies off Capitol Hill are looking for revenge.  —  Story Continued Below

EXCLUSIVE: New York Mag's Boy Genius Investor Made It All Up  —  In an exclusive Observer interview, Mohammed Islam, said to have investment returns of $72 million as a hs senior, admits he invented the whole story  —  Damir Tulemaganbetov and Mohammed Islam (r) in the office of 5WPR …

Iowa GOP chairman: Straw poll likely to survive  —  The head of the Hawkeye State's GOP says he believes the Iowa Straw Poll has enough support to take place next summer, despite disdain from establishment Republicans and Gov. Terry Branstad's continued concerns about the event, according to news reports.

David Brooks: Elizabeth Warren has chance of being nominated  —  New York Times columnist David Brooks says Elizabeth Warren has a “significant and growing chance of being nominated” as the Democratic candidate in the 2016 presidential election.  —  In an op-ed titled “Warren Can Win,” …

(Burp) Here comes Mitt!  —  Are you ready for Romney in 2016?  —  Mitt Romney has become the acid reflux candidate: He just keeps coming back up.  —  There has been poll after poll, story after story and now, over the weekend, a “Ready for Romney” website emerged that may or may not be serious.

“Witness 40”: Exposing A Fraud In Ferguson  —  TSG probe unmasks grand jury witness who spun fabricated tale  —  The grand jury witness who testified that she saw Michael Brown pummel a cop before charging at him “like a football player, head down,” is a troubled, bipolar Missouri woman …

John Yoo: If the Torture Report Is True, CIA Officers Are at Legal Risk  —  A surprising admission by an attorney who was instrumental in enabling the Bush Administration's brutal interrogation practices  —  The debate over the CIA interrogation program pits critics who insist illegal torture took place …

Cleveland Browns receiver Andrew Hawkins delivers emotional response to Cleveland police union's reaction to ‘Justice for Tamir Rice’ shirt  —  Adam Ferrise, Northeast Ohio Media Group By Adam Ferrise, Northeast Ohio Media Group  —  CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins defended …

Unqualified nominees get their jobs —  thanks, Harry  —  On Monday night, the Senate confirmed Vivek Murthy as U.S. Surgeon General.  His was just one of two dozen nominations that Republicans had hoped to avoid confirming by running out the clock on Congress's lame duck session.

Dozens More Companies Sign Up for Apple Pay  —  The list of companies working with Apple Pay continues to grow.  —  On Tuesday, Apple announced that in recent weeks the company had signed up dozens more banks, retail stores and start-ups to adopt Apple Pay, the company's new e-commerce product …

Russian Rate Jump Fails to Stop Ruble Crash  —  The ruble plummeted into a freefall, losing as much as 19 percent as panic swept across Russian financial markets after a surprise interest-rate increase failed to stem the run on the currency.  —  The ruble plunged to as weak as 80.10 per dollar …

The Irony and the Ecstasy  —  Every serious G.O.P. presidential aspirant invokes the glorious era of Ronald Reagan, to which the country must return.  Ignore the fact that, for the likes of Paul Ryan and Rand Paul, Reagan's actual record—from increased bureaucracy to higher deficits—should be seen as a complete failure.

Can't Have Your Cake, Gays Are Told, and a Rights Battle Rises  —  LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Jack Phillips is a baker whose evangelical Protestant faith informs his business.  There are no Halloween treats in his bakery — he does not see devils and witches as a laughing matter.

Bill Clinton: Eric Garner 'didn't deserve to die'  —  Bill Clinton urged people to move beyond hard-wire racial perceptions and said that the unarmed black man killed after an apparent chokehold by police in New York City “didn't deserve to die.”  —  Clinton made the comments in an interview with Fusion …