Houston Equal Rights Ordinance fails by wide margin  —  Houston's controversial equal rights ordinance failed by a wide margin Tuesday, with voters opting to repeal the law that offered broad non-discrimination protections, according to incomplete and unofficial returns.

How Democrats Could Win the House.  Really.  —  Whatever happens in the White House a year from now, it's an article of faith that not much will change in the House, where Republicans have a seeming lock on the majority.  —  But wait: the ascendancy of Donald Trump and Ben Carson just might have cracked the window open.

The meaning of Ben Carson's stunning rise  —  It's very meaningful that the surgeon Ben Carson appears to be taking the lead in the polling for the GOP nomination — but not in the ways you might expect.  —  First, it means Donald Trump has stalled out.  Given Trump's standing atop the polls …

China Burns Much More Coal Than Reported, Complicating Climate Talks  —  BEIJING — China, the world's leading emitter of greenhouse gases from coal, is burning far more annually than previously thought, according to new government data.  The finding could vastly complicate the already difficult efforts to limit global warming.

Marco Rubio spent lavishly on a GOP credit card, but some transactions are still secret  —  It has become legend in Florida political circles, a missing chapter in Marco Rubio's convoluted financial story: two years of credit card transactions from his time in the state House …

Kelly Grills Cruz On Proposal That Only Republicans Moderate GOP Debates  —  Fox News Megyn Kelly, who has expressed skepticism of Republican candidates' demands following the CNBC debate, on Tuesday night quizzed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on his pitch that only Republican journalists moderate the Republican primary debates.

Oviedo middle school student gets detention for hug  —  Student's family fears principal taking policy too far  —  OVIEDO, Fla. -  —  A before-school hug between friends ended in detention for one local student, and now her parents are questioning the school's policy.  —  “I just like hugged them.

‘Get serious about enforcing our laws’  —  Passing immigration reform during the Obama presidency would render it meaningless.  —  The House of Representatives will not vote on comprehensive immigration legislation as long as President Obama is in office.  And the reason is simple …

Feds Rule to Force High School Girls to Undress Next to Naked Boys Who Think They're Girls  —  On Monday, the federal government declared itself fit for the madhouse by mandating that a Chicago high school allow a full biological male into the girls' locker room for all purposes, including nudity.

Ohioans reject legalizing marijuana  —  Ohioans pushed a monopoly marijuana-legalization proposal out the door Tuesday by a nearly 2-to-1 vote.  —  But the question is, will pot make a comeback?  —  Although Issue 3 was handily defeated, the debate and conversations about the issue …

Ryan refuses to rule out riders on spending bill  —  New Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Tuesday refused to rule out attaching legislative policy riders to an omnibus spending bill, foreshadowing a possible confrontation with President Obama next month.  —  “This is the legislative branch …

Steve Jobs Considered Building an Apple Car in 2008  —  The Apple co-founder kicked around ideas with longtime confidant and iPod co-creator Tony Fadell.  —  Count Steve Jobs among those curious about what an Apple car would look like.  In 2008, not too long after the Apple co-founder introduced …

The Chilling Regularity of Mass Extinctions  —  One thing we know for sure is that conditions on Earth were, shall we say, unpleasant for the dinosaurs at the moment of their demise.  Alternate and overlapping theories suggest the great beasts were pelted with monster comets, drowned by mega-tsunamis …

Jefferson County Public Schools see new five-member board take over after election  —  LAKEWOOD — Voters overwhelmingly chose to recall three members of the Jefferson County school board Tuesday night and elected two others to form an entirely new board in Colorado's second-largest school district.

Conservative plan would boot chairmen off Steering panel  —  Conservative House lawmakers are pitching a major overhaul of the influential Steering Committee, changes that include booting the chairmen of the six most-powerful committees off the Speaker-controlled panel in a bid to spread out the power, The Hill has learned.

San Francisco sheriff known for ‘sanctuary city’ defense loses re-election bid  —  The San Francisco sheriff who over the summer became embroiled in a national debate over “sanctuary city” policies on Tuesday lost his bid for re-election amid a host of local controversies.