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.

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” …

In State of the Union Address, Obama 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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

1 confirmed dead, 1 injured in I-75 overpass collapse … A construction worker was killed late Monday after a bridge collapse near Hopple Street on southbound Interstate 75.  —  The part of the bridge that collapsed was part of the old northbound off-ramp to Hopple Street and was undergoing demolition …

Obama Will Focus on Wealth Inequality—Not Just Income  —  The president's plan to raise capital gains taxes brings a long-standing economic issue back to the limelight.  —  When President Obama addresses the nation in the State of the Union address on Tuesday, he is likely to boast …

Ted Cruz builds his White House team  —  Team Ted Cruz is taking shape, and the Senate first-termer's presidential campaign could start before this spring.  —  The Republican senator from Texas tentatively plans to fill senior campaign positions with the triumvirate he signed last summer to expand his political operation.

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.

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 …