Kerry Brings Paris a ‘Big Hug’ And James Taylor After Attacks  —  Secretary of State John Kerry, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit France since Islamic militant attacks in Paris left 17 dead, met with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and French President Francois Hollande to offer condolences this morning.

GOP tactics on ObamaCare move away from full repeal  —  Republicans are shifting their tactics on ObamaCare, an abrupt change from the party's “repeal-only” rhetoric that dominated the last five years of debate.  —  The GOP is coalescing around the idea that incremental changes …

European counterterrorism officials scramble to identify potential threats  —  Belgian police foil ‘imminent’ terror attacks 03:16  —  Story highlights  —  (CNN)Amid the deadly attacks in Paris last week and the raids in Belgium on Thursday, European counterterrorism agencies are scrambling …

Don't Do It, Mr. Romney  —  He'd have been a better president than Obama.  That's not nearly enough.  —  Hershey, Pa.  —  A conversation with a Republican governor who is a possible presidential aspirant:  —  I told him I'd been thinking about something and wanted his response.

Ben Carson to the GOP Establishment: I'm Not ‘Crazy’  —  The political novice with eyes on 2016 auditions before the RNC and blames his zealot image on the mainstream media.  —  CORONADO, Calif. — Ben Carson—a Washington outsider, a world-renowned neurosurgeon, a favorite among tea-party insurgents …

The mystery of shellshock solved: Scientists identify the unique brain injury caused by war  —  When the war poet Wilfred Owen wrote of “men whose minds the Dead have ravished” he was attempting to describe the mysterious effects of shellshock which started appearing during the First World War and of which he himself was a sufferer.

Regime Change in Switzerland  —  Blogging will be limited for the next few days, unless I can resolve the tech problems here in Delhi.  But I did want to say something about the Swiss de-pegging, beyond what I put in the column.  —  These days it's fairly widely accepted that it's very hard …

‘Boy Who Came Back From Heaven’ going back to publisher  —  Tyndale House, a major Christian publisher, has announced that it will stop selling “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,” by Alex Malarkey and his father, Kevin Malarkey.  —  The best-selling book, first published in 2010 …

All-women's college cancels ‘Vagina Monologues’ because it's not feminist enough  — Mount Holyoke College, an all-women's school, announced in a campus-wide email that the Theatre Board has cancelled its annual production of the “Vagina Monologues.”  — The board has decided to retire …

Democrat condemns ‘shocking’ comments about Muslim lawmaker  —  A top House Democrat on Thursday condemned suggestions from conservative websites that Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), a Muslim, should not have been appointed to the House Intelligence Committee.  —  It has “come to my attention …

VIDEO: Ex-Navy SEAL Pretends To ‘Choke Out’ Obama  —  Chris Heben had an unusual year in 2014.  —  The former Navy SEAL made national headlines in March when he was shot by what he described as three black assailants.  Then he was in the news again in September when prosecutors alleged he'd lied to police about the ordeal.

Charles Krauthammer: Obama: Charlie who?  —  On Sunday, at the great Paris rally, the whole world was Charlie.  By Tuesday, the veneer of solidarity was exposed as tissue thin.  It began dissolving as soon as the real, remaining Charlie Hebdo put out its post-massacre issue featuring a Muhammad cover that …

America Will Miss Obama When He's Gone  —  It's 2018, and Barack Obama leans toward the computer in his Chicago townhouse and punches in the title of his memoir.  He enjoys the silence and the solitude.  It's been over a decade since he had time to write.  This is Obama's third memoir and probably not the last.

Carly Fiorina ‘seriously’ weighing '16 run  —  Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina says she's “very seriously considering running” for president in 2016, a move that could make her the highest-profile female in the Republican field.  —  “I think we need different experience …

Secret US cybersecurity report: encryption vital to protect private data  —  Newly uncovered Snowden document contrasts with British PM's vow to crack down on encrypted messaging after Paris attacks  —  A secret US cybersecurity report warned that government and private computers …

The real “family values” party: On paid sick leave, Dems lead U.S to 21st century  —  With Obama's moves to expand workers' paid family leave, U.S. may join rest of the world — no thanks to the GOP  —  President Obama continues his recent crusade to bring American social policy …

GOP makes U-turn on net neutrality  —  Republicans in Congress are doing a 180 on net neutrality as the Federal Communications Commission prepares to issue new rules within weeks.  —  For years, GOP lawmakers have adamantly opposed any rules requiring Internet service providers to treat …

At The Oscar Nominations, It's A Good Year To Be An Idiosyncratic Man  —  The Oscar nominations are in (you can see the full list here), and Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel lead with nine nominations each, followed closely by The Imitation Game with eight.

EXCLUSIVE: How the FBI Foiled a 2012 Plot to Bomb the US Capitol … The arrest Wednesday of an Ohio man who allegedly plotted an all-out assault on the U.S. Capitol was not the first time the FBI nabbed someone for such a plot through an undercover operation - and surveillance video …

Obamacare Has Reversed A Negative Trend.  Researchers Call It ‘Remarkable.’  —  For the first time in a decade, the number of people struggling to pay their medical bills has started to decline, according to a new survey released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund.

Islamic State's Psychological War on U.S. Troops  —  This week, Pentagon officials began calling up retired generals to let them know that their home addresses, private e-mails and other personal information had appeared in a document that was publicized globally by a group claiming to support Islamic State.

Malian who saved lives in Jewish deli attack gets French nationality  —  Reuters 19 hrs ago  —  PARIS (Reuters) - A Malian Muslim who hid shoppers from an Islamist gunman during an attack on a Jewish supermarket in Paris will be given French nationality, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.