My focus is on Iowa caucuses - not straw poll  —  I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love Iowa.  My goal is to run a well-funded, well-organized, and well-executed campaign to do extremely well in the Iowa caucuses in 2016.  —  In 2008, I competed and finished second in the Iowa straw poll …

First Batch of Hillary Clinton Emails Captures Concerns Over Libya  —  WASHINGTON — The State Department is expected to release the first batch of emails from Hillary Rodham Clinton's private email address in the coming days.  —  The emails set for release, drawn from some 55,000 pages …

Carson says Iraq invasion was a mistake  —  Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson told The Hill on Wednesday that it was a mistake for the U.S. to invade Iraq, arguing that the nation should have found a different way to remove Saddam Hussein from power.

Fox News rules will limit the field in first GOP presidential debate  —  Fox News, which is hosting the first Republican debate of the 2016 campaign, will require participants to place in the top 10 in an average of the five most recent national polls in the run-up to the event …

Jeb Bush rails against ‘intellectual arrogance’ in climate change debate  —  Obama ‘abandoned’ Iraq, Jeb Bush says 01:00  —  Story highlights  — He says government should provide incentives for methods like hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling  —  Bedford, New Hampshire (CNN) …

Islamic State seizes Syria's ancient Palmyra  —  Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria have entered the Unesco World Heritage site of Palmyra after seizing the town next to the ancient ruins, reports say.  —  Unesco says its destruction would be “an enormous loss to humanity”, but no damage has been reported there yet.

1,400 investigated in child sex abuse inquiry, including politicians  —  Officer leading Operation Hydrant inquiry says out of 1,433 alleged offenders 76 were politicians, 43 were from music industry and 135 were from TV, film or radio  —  Police across the country are investigating more than 1,400 men …

Poof!  CNN's Jake Tapper disappears from Clinton Foundation website: Column  —  Journalists are supposed to report the news, not be part of it.  —  Yet another high-profile TV newsman may find himself embroiled in controversy over his connections to the Clinton Foundation.

Bernie Sanders' 2014 speaking gigs netted less than $2K  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) netted of $1,867.42 for two paid speeches and a television appearance last year, according to according to financial disclosure reports.  —  The total reflects a paltry sum compared to the millions …

Md. man suspected in killings of four people in Northwest Washington  —  (Tony Powell/Washington Life Magazine)  —  D.C. police late Wednesday said they have identified a suspect in the killings of Savvas Savopoulos, his wife, young son and housekeeper, who authorities believe were held captive in the family's Northwest D.C. home.

‘FATHER’ TO MARRY ‘SON,’ WITH COURT'S BLESSING!  —  The Pandora's box of same-sex marriage has just released a new pairing unimaginable a few short years ago.  —  Norman MacArthur and Bill Novak, father and son, though not biologically, will soon be husband and ... whatever, reports the Patch of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Ferguson plans permanent memorial to Michael Brown  —  The mayor of Ferguson, Mo., announced on Wednesday that his city would construct a permanent memorial to Michael Brown, the unarmed teenager shot and killed by a police officer there last summer.  —  Mayor James Knowles III said that the tribute …

Exclusive: China warns U.S. surveillance plane  —  High stakes surveillance over the South China Sea 03:47  —  Above the South China Sea (CNN)The Chinese navy issued warnings eight times as a U.S. surveillance plane on Wednesday swooped over islands that Beijing is using to extend its zone of influence.

Frank Fiorina: A regular guy tries on the role of campaign spouse  —  Frank Fiorina trudged through the aisles of Costco one day last week with a press handler, a photographer and a newspaper reporter.  It wasn't his idea, and the whole thing made him feel odd.

U.S. and Cuba Nearing Deal to Fully Restore Diplomatic Ties  —  MEXICO CITY — The United States and Cuba are closer than ever to reaching an agreement to fully restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies, officials in both countries say, as negotiators prepare to meet Thursday in Washington …

Hillary Clinton Super PAC Struggles to Raise Money  —  Priorities USA Action, an outside group backing the Democratic presidential candidate, has garnered only $5 million in ‘hard commitments’  —  The super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton's presidential bid is struggling to raise money …

A Gunfight, Not a Riot: What Happened in Waco  —  The shootout between members of rival outlaw motorcycle gangs in Waco has brought out a great deal of stupidity on the left — too much stupidity to catalogue, in fact.  But let us look at a few lowlights.  —  Making the comparison with Baltimore …

Sick man whose Obamacare story went viral could be screwed again by Supreme Court  —  By now you may have learned of the plight of one Luis Lang, a South Carolina man whose story went viral after it was reported that he couldn't afford to treat an illness that was threatening to make him blind — and blamed Obamacare for it.

Democrats Have a Todd Akin Problem  —  Alan Grayson is getting closer to a Senate campaign in Florida.  He could cost them a must-win seat—and threaten their chances at a Senate majority.  —  In the battle for the Senate, Democrats are off to a strong start.

Five Major Banks Agree to Parent-Level Guilty Pleas  —  Five major banks - Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays PLC, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc and UBS AG - have agreed to plead guilty to felony charges.  Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays PLC, and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc …