Donald Trump Dominates Republican Field in Pre-Debate Bloomberg Poll  —  Billionaire Donald Trump is lapping the Republican field, a new Bloomberg Politics national poll shows, as two prominent governors, Chris Christie of New Jersey and John Kasich of Ohio, rank in the top 10 ahead of the first presidential debate.

Senate GOP thwarted in effort to defund Planned Parenthood  —  A measure to defund Planned Parenthood failed in the Senate on Monday in a 53-46 vote, likely punting the issue into the fall debate over preventing a government shutdown.  —  Republicans fell short of the 60 votes needed …

Biden challenge to Clinton would face high hurdles  —  Vice President Biden would have to clear high hurdles to defeat Hillary Clinton if he launched a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.  —  The biggest one?  Carving out a niche — and a reason for his candidacy …

The Freakishness of Christianity  —  Evangelical Christianity has long had a stranglehold on how Americans imagine public faith.  Vague invocations of “religion”—whether it's “religion vs. science” or “religious freedom”—usually really mean “conservative, Protestant, evangelical Christianity …

Crisis in Santorum campaign  —  The moves leave the winner of the 2012 Iowa Caucuses without a campaign manager and raise questions about whether he can last until Iowa votes on Feb. 1 next year.  —  Several top staffers have left Rick Santorum's campaign to create a new super PAC …

Charles Koch's focus on ‘injustices’ is fueled by an unlikely partnership  —  DANA POINT, Calif. — Last month, billionaire industrialist and conservative donor Charles Koch was meeting in his Wichita office with Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund …

President Obama's Tough, Achievable Climate Plan  —  President Obama's Clean Power Plan, announced on Monday, is unquestionably the most important step the administration has taken in the fight against climate change.  —  It imposes the first nationwide limits on carbon dioxide pollution from power plants …

Montgomery boxes Confederate statue to protect it from vandalism  —  Montgomery County has erected a wooden box around a Confederate monument recently spray-painted with the words “Black Lives Matter,” in hopes of shielding the statue from further vandalism as officials seek to move it out of downtown Rockville.

2 immigrants in U.S. illegally are named to Huntington Park commissions  —  Julian Zatarain always assumed the doors of City Hall were closed to him because he is here illegally, arriving from Sinaloa in 2007 when he was 13.  —  The 21-year-old college student found other outlets for service …

Scott Walker just got punked at a New Hampshire pizza shop  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. — Maybe it should have been a tip-off that the two 20-somethings were so overly excited to meet Scott Walker.  Like dramatically excited.  The young woman was literally bouncing with excitement.

New Hampshire Voters First Forum: 5 takeaways  —  For some GOP candidates, the desperation is beginning to show.  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. — The candidate forum that drew 14 Republican presidential candidates to New Hampshire Monday night served as a practice round ahead of the first official GOP primary debate …

2 killed in tent collapse at Lancaster fairgrounds, initial reports say  —  Approximately 15 people injured in accident  —  Initial reports said two people were killed when a circus tent collapsed at the Lancaster fairgrounds as severe weather moved through the area Monday evening.

S.R. v. Kenton County Sheriff's Office  —  UNPUBLISHED  —  The children, an 8-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl, were so small that the school resource officer, Kenton County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Sumner in Covington, Kentucky, locked the handcuffs around the children's biceps and forced …

Committee approves bill to take Alabama out of marriage biz  —  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A state Senate committee has approved a bill to take Alabama probate judges out of the wedding license business following the U.S Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage.