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.

Last night I went to a bar on Mackinac Island for the GOP Mackinac Conference.  I ran into a guy named Rich Beeson, who frankly I didn't even know who it was at first because he isn't relevant in our political world.  Anyway, he is Marco Rubio's national campaign manager.

Crazy Talk at the Republican Debate  —  Eleven presidential candidates had three prime-time hours on the national stage on Wednesday to tell the American people why they should lead the country.  —  Nobody forced them to be there.  They were there freely, armed with the best arguments …

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.

Trump declines to correct questioner who says Obama is a Muslim  —  Washington (CNN)Donald Trump on Thursday declined to correct a supporter of his who alleged that President Barack Obama is Muslim and not an American.  —  “We have a problem in this country.

Sources: Scott Walker's Donors Are Circulating Rumor About Campaign Manager  —  As Scott Walker's presidential bid founders, some in the candidate's orbit are participating in a whisper campaign against his top strategist and campaign manager, Rick Wiley.  —  A number of Walker's donors …

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.

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:

Football Players Who Blindsided Ref Say They Were Following Coach's Orders  — Shares-  —  Play

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 …

A high-speed rail from L.A. to Las Vegas?  China says it's partnering with U.S. to build  —  For decades private developers and entrepreneurs have periodically announced bold plans to run high-speed trains between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.  —  None have gotten anywhere because they lacked money or suffered other setbacks.