Obama tries to steal GOP thunder  —  President Obama, no longer handcuffed by worries about vulnerable red-state Democratic senators, has been putting Republicans on their back foot.  —  The GOP hoped Obama would be humbled by the midterm elections that saw Democrats swept from power in the Senate.

ISIS executes 13 teens for watching soccer  —  demonstrators chant pro-Islamic State slogans in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, northwest of Baghdad.  —  ISIS jihadists publicly executed 13 teenage boys for watching a soccer match.

Bobby Jindal doubles down on ‘no-go zone’ comments, even as Fox News backs off similar statements  —  Gov. Bobby Jindal was interviewed by a CNN reporter about controversial comments he made about Muslim “no-go zones” in Europe.  —  Gov. Bobby Jindal continued to claim Muslim “no-go zones” …

9-month-old dies after being shot in the head by 5-year-old brother in NW Mo.  —  ELMO, Mo. - An infant has died after being shot in the head in Northwest Missouri.  —  According to the Nodaway County Sheriff's Office, the nine-month-old baby boy was shot shortly before nine o'clock Monday morning …

In State of the Union Address, Obama Is to Move Past Hardship and Reset Goals  —  WASHINGTON — With the American job market surging to life, President Obama plans to use his State of the Union address on Tuesday night to effectively declare victory over the economic hard times that dominated …

Where Obama Has—and Has Not—Recovered  —  And what the president's changing fortunes could mean for the 2016 contest.  —  President Obama heads into his State of the Union address tonight enjoying reviving approval ratings from key groups in his coalition, but still facing entrenched skepticism …

The Swiss currency bombshell - cause and effect  —  The completely unexpected decision of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to remove the 1.20 floor on the Swiss franc against the euro on Thursday was one of the biggest currency shocks since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971.

How a vacuum salesman invited to a birthday party for a child with autism moved the room to tears  —  CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Ever since he was a two-year-old boy, Dylan Greene has had a passion for vacuum cleaners.  Dylan, who has autism, was never into “normal” toys, his mother Jodie said.

Pope: Catholics need not breed ‘like rabbits’  —  Pope Francis, after a visit to the largest Catholic nation in Asia, says Catholics may have a moral responsibility to limit the number of their children and need not reproduce “like rabbits.”  —  But the pope also reaffirmed the church's ban …

Puzzling Death of a Prosecutor Grips Argentina  —  BUENOS AIRES — Police sentries guarded the federal prosecutor's luxury high-rise building.  His door on the 13th floor had been locked from the inside, and a gun with a spent cartridge was found on the floor near his body.  There was no suicide note.

Ben Carson reminds C-SPAN on MLK Day: Don't forget that Obama is ‘half white’  —  DON'T MISS STORIES.  FOLLOW RAW STORY!  —  Potential Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson argued on Monday that President Barack Obama might not have ruined the opportunity to elect future black presidents …

Up to 50,000 gallons of oil spilled in Yellowstone River; residents told not to drink water  —  Story highlights  —  (CNN)A Montana pipeline burst sent as much as 50,400 gallons of oil gushing into the Yellowstone River, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.

European ‘No-Go’ Zones: Fact or Fiction?  —  Part 1: France … The jihadist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French magazine known for lampooning Islam, has cast a spotlight on so-called no-go zones in France and other European countries.  —  No-go zones are Muslim-dominated …

Obama trolls, talks trash with a purpose  —  Politically, President Obama has never been weaker, after losing both House and Senate.  At the same time, he has never talked tougher.  There is a connection between the two.  —  Obama recently told Democratic lawmakers that he's going to “play offense” in coming months.

Duckworth says she's considering Senate bid against Kirk  —  Rep. Tammy Duckworth ended a political guessing game Monday by making it official that she is exploring a challenge to Sen. Mark Kirk in 2016.  —  Duckworth, a Democrat from Hoffman Estates, told the Tribune she is considering …