The Undercard and the Mane Event  —  Donald Trump's rivals try to give him a haircut, but he ends up trimming himself.  —  Simi Valley, Calif.  —  By the time you see this you will have seen the soundbites, quips and cuts.  You'll have seen the clashes.  So, quickly:

What Is Hillary's Greatest Accomplishment?  —  Carly Fiorina dared Democrats to name it. 20 top Dems accepted the challenge.  —  Getty  —  “If you want to stump a Democrat, ask them to name an accomplishment of Hillary Clinton,” Carly Fiorina quipped at Wednesday's Republican debate.

Why I Am Boycotting Pope Francis' Address to Congress  —  It is difficult to convey the excitement I first felt when it was revealed that His Holiness Pope Francis was invited to Washington D.C. to address the world from the floor of the House of Representatives.

Trump Lets Comment About Muslims Being ‘Problem’ in US Slide  — Shares-

Donald Trump May Not Have a Second Act  —  In 1998, David Mamet, the acclaimed playwright, published a short treatise, “Three Uses of the Knife,” on “the nature and purpose of drama.”  The book, based on lectures he delivered the previous year at Columbia University, is well regarded …

Go ‘nuclear’ to stop Obama's Iran deal, urge 57 House Republicans in letter  —  Dozens of House Republican lawmakers are making a late stab at pressuring Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to abandon the filibuster on legislation to block the nuclear deal with Iran.

Finger-Pointing, but Few Answers, After a Syria Solution Fails  —  WASHINGTON — By any measure, President Obama's effort to train a Syrian opposition army to fight the Islamic State on the ground has been an abysmal failure.  The military acknowledged this week that just four or five American-trained fighters are actually fighting.

Summer was the hottest on record  —  June through August of this year was the hottest summer in recorded weather history, federal scientists said Thursday.  —  Surface temperatures around the globe were 1.53 degrees Fahrenheit above their average for those months throughout the 20th century …

Biden may not decide soon  —  <p>DETROIT — Joe Biden may have more time to make up his mind about running for president than most people assume.  He and the people planning his potential campaign certainly think so.</p><p>Running a primary race — particularly against Hillary Clinton …

Republican Candidates Promise to Keep Us As Safe As George W. Bush Did  —  <span>Should we feel comfortable giving the likes of Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio access to conventional weapons?</span>  —  Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate focused heavily on foreign policy …

Bristol Palin Rages: Obama ‘Needs To STAY Out Of’ Ahmed Mohamed's Case  —  Bristol Palin wrote on her blog Thursday that President Obama “needs to STAY out of” the case of a 14-year-old Muslim student in Texas who was wrongly arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school.

Obama to further ease Cuba travel, business restrictions  —  <p>The White House announced Friday that it is relaxing additional restrictions on Cuba regarding travel, commerce and investment, stemming from President Barack Obama's call to ease Cuban sanctions last December. </p><p …

An ultrathin invisibility skin cloak for visible light  —  1NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC), University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.  —  2Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.