GOP braces for Pope Francis  —  The pope has become a political football.  —  Republicans want to use Pope Francis's visit to Congress this week — the first-ever by a pontiff — to highlight their opposition to abortion rights.  —  Democrats, meanwhile, hope the pope will lend new momentum …

Carson doubles down on no Muslims in the White House  —  Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson is standing by his view that a Muslim should not be president of the United States, telling The Hill in an interview on Sunday that whoever takes the White House should be “sworn in on a stack of Bibles, not a Koran.”

OBAMA READY TO ENDORSE BIDEN—WITH CONDITIONS  —  The talk in Democratic Party circles is that Barack Obama has told Joe Biden that he is prepared to endorse him for president if, in return, Biden promises to let Obama have a final say in the choice of his vice presidential running mate.

Drugs, debauchery and the making of an extraordinary Prime Minister: For years rumours have dogged him.  Now, the truth about the shockingly decadent Oxford days of the gifted Bullingdon boy  —  The door was always shut, but anyone walking past might have caught a whiff of the sweet musky smell …

Far from destroying our democracy, he's exposing all its phoniness and corruption in ways as serious as he is not.  And changing it in the process.  —  As the summer of Donald Trump came to its end — and the prospect of a springtime for Trump no longer seemed like a gag …

U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Afghan Allies' Abuse of Boys  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — In his last phone call home, Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley Jr. told his father what was troubling him: From his bunk in southern Afghanistan, he could hear Afghan police officers sexually abusing boys they had brought to the base.

Scott Walker Mounts a Last Stand in Iowa  —  It's been a thrilling—and harrowing—roller coaster ride for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.  —  First, the Republican presidential candidate suddenly rose and broke from the pack with a well-received speech at the Iowa Freedom Summit in January …

Planned Parenthood called to testify  —  <p>The House Oversight Committee plans to call Planned Parenthood to a hearing on the undercover videos one day before the government is due to run out of money, according to Democrats on the committee.</p><p> Democratic members are demanding that David Daleiden …

Muslims are transforming Europe, says Art Garfunkel in warning over dangers of mass migration  —  While luvvies such as Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch queue up to condemn David Cameron for not allowing more migrants into Britain, one major entertainment figure has bravely voiced an alternative view.

Cancer-stricken children, parents ejected from park near White House  —  The U.S. Secret Service ordered hundreds of parents and their cancer-stricken children out of Lafayette Square on Saturday night, barricading the park for at least two hours and disrupting the group's plans for a candlelight vigil …

Put a Fork in Him  —  Jeb Bush says a new TV ad attacking his brother, put together by an outside Democratic group, is “disgraceful.”  This comes after Jeb himself put out a meme after last week's debate embracing his “he kept us” safe line from his exchange with celebrity businessman Donald Trump.

Boosted by nuke deal, Iran ups funding to Hezbollah, Hamas  —  Operating on assumption sanctions will be lifted, Tehran increases support to proxies, while freezing out Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal  —  On Sunday, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano …

Brother of pro wrestler Kurt Angle charged with homicide after wife found dead in Dormont home  —  On a well-groomed Dormont hillside Sunday, stunned neighbors struggled to grasp the news that one of their friends stood accused of killing his wife hours earlier in the home they had lived in for decades.