Rand Paul attributes Trump's rise to a ‘loss of sanity’  —  Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) is attributing GOP rival Donald Trump's rise in the polls to a momentary “loss of sanity.”  —  “I think this is a temporary sort of loss of sanity, but we're going to come back to our senses and look …

Planned Parenthood “Hacking” Sure Looks Like An Orchestrated PR Stunt  —  Planned Parenthood claims on several of its websites that the organization's web operations have been attacked by “extremists,” but this so-called hacking has all the hallmarks of an orchestrated public relations stunt.

MSNBC cancels three shows amid transition  —  MSNBC has formally decided to cancel three programs — “The Cycle,” “Now with Alex Wagner” and “The Ed Show” — as part of a larger effort to shift its daytime lineup away from opinion programming, network sources told the On Media blog on Thursday.

Donald Trump: Number one with Hispanics and expecting to win  —  POLITICKING WITH COTTON CANDY: The early caucus state of Iowa's famed annual state fair turns into a political showcase every fourth year as candidates in party primaries vie for the kind of attention a helicopter can easily deliver

The Fox News GOP Debate Could Draw the Biggest Audience in Cable News History — and Roger Ailes Is Making All the Rules  —  “Crazy stuff!  You have a TV executive deciding who is in — and out — of a presidential debate!  ”  —  Shares

Star Of Bloomberg's Trump Supporter Vid: Wait, I'm No Trump Supporter!  —  Bloomberg Politics' “With All Due Respect” won the morning Thursday with a boffo focus group of New Hampshire Trump supporters singing The Donald's praises as a “classy” commander-in-chief in waiting who is definitely …

Facts in Clinton's ‘secret’ emails came from five intelligence agencies  —  Revelations put Clinton in the cross-hairs of a broadening inquiry into whether she mishandled classified information  —  Officials reviewed five classified emails and determined that they included information from five intelligence agencies

James Woods Sues Twitter User for $10 Million Over “Cocaine Addict” Accusation  —  The actor files a defamation lawsuit against an individual who replied to his tweets about Barack Obama and Caitlyn Jenner.  —  Incivility on social media seems to be a regular occurrence …

Santa Cruz: Disturbing details emerge about suspect, how Maddy Middleton died  —  SANTA CRUZ — When they first got word that he was a murder suspect, those who watched 15-year-old Adrian Jerry “A.J."Gonzalez grow up before their eyes at the Tannery Arts Center held out hope.

“Ted Cruz gives me the willies”: Camille Paglia analyzes the GOP field — and takes on Hillary Clinton  —  She dismisses Rubio, Jeb and Rand in part three of our interview, but warns Dems not to overlook Scott Walker  —  In the first two parts of Salon's conversation with Camille Paglia …

Child Found Unresponsive in Feces Covered Home in Gray Court  —  The Laurens County Sheriff's Office has arrested 25-year-old Savanah Morgan of Gray Court after they found her child unresponsive in a feces filled home with dead animals.  —  Deputies responded to a residence on Martins Lake Road …

‘What lion?’  Zimbabweans ask, amid global Cecil circus  —  As social media exploded with outrage this week at the killing of Cecil the lion, the untimely passing of the celebrated predator at the hands of an American dentist went largely unnoticed in the animal's native Zimbabwe.

AP Investigation: Filthy Rio water a threat at 2016 Olympics  —  24 photos  —  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The waters where Olympians will compete in swimming and boating events next summer in South America's first games are rife with human sewage and present a serious health risk for athletes, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Harley an awkward ride for ‘union-busting’ Republican Walker  —  For Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, there's something awkward about the Harley-Davidson motorcycles that he has been posing on at presidential campaign stops: each one bears a sticker on its frame that reads “Union made in the USA.”

Fraternity brothers sue Rolling Stone as top editor resigns  —  Share Tweet Reddit Digg Mail Print SMS More  —  Three members of the fraternity accused in a now-retracted Rolling Stone article of facilitating a brutal gang rape are suing the magazine, its publisher and the author.

Ky. man arrested after shooting down $1800 drone hovering over sunbathing daughter  —  A Kentucky man shot down an $1800 drone hovering over his sunbathing daughter and was then arrested and charged with first degree criminal mischief and first degree wanton endangerment.

Revised AP U.S. History Standards Will Emphasize American Exceptionalism  —  The company behind Advanced Placement courses for U.S. high school students will release a revision to the standards for AP U.S. history on Thursday morning, after significant pushback from conservatives who claimed …

After Firedoglake  —  As many of you know, Firedoglake has been on hiatus for eight months while I recovered from hip replacement surgery.  During that time I've been contemplating what the next chapter should be for the website.  After some personal reflection, I have decided to pass …

Jeb Bush Takes Positions on Climate Change, EPA Rules, Other Energy Issues  —  Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) acknowledges human activity contributes to climate change but cautioned against actions that would harm the U.S. economy.  In written answers to Bloomberg BNA …

U.S.-Trained Anti-ISIS Commander Kidnapped in Syria  —  BAGHDAD — The commander of a group of Syrian fighters trained by the United States has been kidnapped by Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, his group said in a statement Thursday.  —  The commander, Nadeem Hassan, and seven of his fighters …

Bernie Sanders Hosts a Nationwide House Party for Over 100,000 Would-Be Foot Soldiers  —  It had all the markings of a Washington house party: guests milling about, talk of politics and policy, a few custom cocktails and a crowd that would make a fire-code enforcer sweat.  —  Oh, and Senator Bernie Sanders.

GOP Women's Group Posts Shareable Graphic Of A Lynching To Facebook  —  If you are about to compare something to lynching, and it is not lynching, it's probably best to keep your mouth shut.  —  The Oklahoma Federation of Republican Women apologized on Wednesday after they posted an image …