Outsiders take over GOP  —  Outsiders who have never before held political office are dominating the race for the Republican presidential nomination.  —  Donald Trump is the GOP front-runner, while businesswoman Carly Fiorina is surging after a strong performance in last week's debate.

CNN/ORC Poll: Donald Trump takes the top slot in Iowa - CNNPolitics.com  —  Read the full topline results from the CNN/ORC poll released at 4 p.m. on August 12, 2015.

The Post-Debate Losers (Walker) and Winners (Fiorina)  —  You've already heard a lot of different takes about who won and who lost the first Republican presidential debates last week.  We've deliberately waited to name names; winning the media spin after a debate is often more important than “winning” the debate itself.

The Queen of Paradox and Her Crumbling Stone Wall  —  Hillary Clinton is both a political colossus and a catastrophe.  —  For once, Hillary Rodham Clinton seemed to be a decent candidate.  Taking aim at weak spots in the GOP lines, she attacked Jeb Bush on women's health, Marco Rubio on abortion …

Enormous explosion rocks China port city Tianjin, kills at least 17  —  A fire and at least two massive explosions around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday local time injured hundreds and left at least 17 people and three firefighters dead at an industrial area roughly 75 miles southeast of Beijing.